Growing Up With My Mate

4. Training

It’s 5am at the pack house and I’m so happy I’m not the only one who looked like they came out like the walking dead.  Dustin had us here 10 minutes early (which I will forever remind him of) so that he could introduce me to his cousin Sam.  When we meet up, he shakes my hand and I immediately blush.  Dustin notices my state and half laughs/half groans.  Apparently Sam is used to the attention since he has no reaction.  Sally and Anna stroll up and immediately start drooling. Literally.  It was probably the best part of the morning. I look down at all of our attire.  I’m wearing my only workout outfit, in which my black t-shirt has significantly faded.  Thank goddess my yoga pants have yet to suffer the same, so it looks like I’m going for a black/grey combo instead of all black.  My only pair of tennis shoes are worn to the point that there’s a small hole poking on the side, but you wouldn’t notice unless you were trying to.  Sally and Anna decided to color coordinate with grey and hot pink, including their shoes.  Dustin is in a fitted tshirt and shorts- his intention to be all black and succeeding.  I try not compare all of us, but it’s clear I’m the odd one out.

           After introductions were made with the trainers, everyone was placed into groups according to age.  After the groups were divided up into ages, they separated those groups into groups of 4-5.  Naturally, Sally, Anna, Dustin, and I formed a team.  We look around and see a blonde girl trying to find a group.  When she turns around, she smirks my way and starts walking. 

“Oh hell, it’s mascot from the mean girls club,” Sally scoffs. 

Apparently, Coral is in our age group while the other two are in 10th grade.  She’s also Karma’s younger sister.  Wearing just a sports bra and matching capri pants, she's matching like a good little follower she is, she stops in front of me, sizing me up.

“Looks like I’ll be leading your group. Everyone else is full,” sounding so sure of herself.

“Probably because they didn’t want their group to be hindered by your negative energy,” Anna states.

“You’re welcome to join us minus the bitchy attitude though,” Dustin says as he rolls his eyes.  “Also, there is no leader. Only teamwork, obviously”.

Coral just keeps her snarky smile and shrugs her shoulders.  I’m really hoping we don’t have to deal with stupid crap, on top of a 7hr training day. 

As I internally dread about todays events, a wave of power came over all of us.  You could feel him even before you seem him.  Everyone looks towards the pack house and standing outside is our Alpha.  Everyone bows their head to allegiance as a unified group, and then we all stand tall.  Alpha Steven looks like a man who has seen battle one too many times.  His body is huge, towering at around 6’4.  He has such a hard face and a lethal stare, until an arm comes from behind to grab his hand.  Then he smiles and he transforms into an approachable man.  Behind him is a beautiful woman with long raven hair that stops down to the small of her back.  I’ve always wanted long hair like that, but I can not stand the tangles.  Harrison walks next to her so I’m assuming that’s his mother, the Luna.  They’re a beautiful family, all with dark hair and not a care in the world.  I have a small pain of jealousy, wondering what it would be like to not have any worries, but I snap back into reality.

The alpha nods to the trainers and begins talking   “Welcome trainees!  I know school just started this week, so today we understand not everyone will be up to par- however, you need to strive and push yourself to become better.  We are a pack.  We are only as strong as our weakest link! Encourage each other, help each other improve, and above all else, be your best!” 

And with that, he takes his Luna’s hand and goes back into the house.  I see Harris walking towards his age group and he glances around.  When we see each other, I offer him a small wave as he gives me a polite smile.  This action does not go unnoticed by the infamous Clara, who runs over to him and drag him to her group. I roll my eyes and turn around to my group, to where Coral arches her eyebrow at me then takes out her phone to text someone.  Our trainer comes to focus on our group.  To my, Anna, and Sally’s dismay, it’s not Sam, but a brute of a man named James.  Honestly, I don’t know how he moves his head side to side with all the muscle that he has.  All groups are to do a 30 minute stretching session, help with partners as needed.  Sally, Anna, and I help each other by forming a circle with our legs stretched out, toes touching and pulling each others arms forward.  Coral is by herself, seeming a little sad but with her attitude I try not to care.  Dustin is doing some weird dance with his arms and legs, that I don’t even consider it stretching.  When that is done, everyone goes into exercise mode.

After 3 hours, I am dripping in sweat and heaving out my breaths.  We’ve done nothing but straight cardio.  All groups alternated stations between outside on the grounds and inside the pack gym.  We’ve pulled tires, pushed weights, ran on treadmills, biked, rowed, and now we are back outside facing a climbing wall.  I internally cringe.  It looks at least 20 feet.

Wiping off his brow, Dustin huffs “Well, I guess this is the fun part.”

I side eye him, not answering because I want to conserve my energy.  Drill sargent James gives us a 5 min break between stations, and our time is up.  “Alright guys, our goal is to climb up and over this wall at least 5 times in the next 30 mins.  This is the last set of cardio, then you will get a 30 min rest.  Afterwards, we’ll start combat training. Any questions?”

“Can I go ahead and rest?  My shoes will slip right off the foot holes, so I don’t think I should even attempt,” Coral whines.

“There are no excuses and your shoes are fine Coral,” James counters. 

There’s no room for arguments and that much is clear.  He lines us up and I’m second to last, Coral behind me. I hear her mumbling under her breath but it sounds more nervous than anger.  Anna and Sally are first and they honestly look like they were made to climb this fortress.  Dustin is slower, but I’m not one to judge.  After he gets about half way he signals, and I start my ascent.  Pulling up one foot at a time, I take my time- not trying to win a medal for speed.  I’m almost halfway and I look down to signal for Coral, but she’s not looking up at me.  She honestly looks scared.  James yells at her to go, blowing his whistle, and she rushes to start her climb.  I’m almost to the top, maybe 3 more pull ups, when I hear a scream.  It jolts me for a second, but then I look down and see Coral hanging on for dear life against the wall.  She’s not that far from me and I’m guessing she went to fast and lost her footing.  I take another climb, but then James is yelling at her to continue and there’s a small crowd gathering.  She’s not paying attention to anyone.  Some older boys are laughing and pointing.  I see Karma in the crowd with a worried look on her face, trying to talk to Coral to climb down, but no one is getting to her.  I’m scared too, but I’m also worried that Coral will be more traumatized.  I ever so slowly take a step down, then another.  I have to shift to the left side so I’m not on top of her, and take another step down.  When I’m finally right beside her, I place my hand on top of hers.  She’s shivering so bad she can’t stop. “Coral?” Her head is bowed and shaking back and forth, no wanting to answer me.  

“Coral, we have to finish this. It’s okay,” I try to soothe. 

“I-I’m terrified of h-heights.  This is the f-first time I had to do the w-wall.” 

“Me too.  But we can do this.”

“T-they’re all l-laughing at m-me”

“We are the Opus Moon wolves and our pack is counting on us.  Don’t worry about those loser ass boys.  There are people are worried about you.  You need to show them how strong you can be... for them.”

She turns and looks to me.  She’s still pale as a sheet, but nods her head.  I put my body in the same position as hers.  “Okay, we’re going together, make sure we have the same movements, okay?”.

“’kay.”

We start slowly, reaching and pulling with our right hand, pushing our left foot.  Back and forth.  When we get to the top, we both sit and take a breather.  She’s still really pale and is only looking at the woods. 

“That’s the hard part, now we can get to the ground and call it a day,” I say with some positive encouragement.

“He wants us to do it five times”.  Coral has so much dread and fear in her voice.

“No, he wishes it to be 5x in 30 minutes.  Our 30 mins is up.”

She throws her face into her hands.  “I totally screwed up.” 

“Don’t worry about it, in all honesty, conquering a fear is better than seeing how many times you can do it.  All you have to do is practice and soon your fears will lessen.” I position my body for the descent and wait for her to do the same.  “Plus, I got out of doing this wall multiple times as well, so I’m not complaining."

“Thanks for this,” she says, not really looking at me.

“No problem.  This is training.  For our pack.  You can go back hating me once we get back to the real world”.  She looks at me for a second with an expressionless face, then we start to climb down.  Once we reach the bottom, everyone rushes to us.  Karma hugs Coral tightly and rushes her away from the crowd.  “Good job Brighton,” James says.  Dustin is behind him giving me a thumbs up.  I feel self-conscious that all I do is nod. 

The crowd starts to thin out and I walk to the field with Sally, Anna, and Dustin.  We sit down in a small circle and I tilt my head up so soak in the sun.

“Badass Brighton, saving one of the witches,” Dustin starts off. 

“Chill.  She was scared.  Heck, I was scared, but we can’t let high school pettiness interfere with training.”

I can feel their stares on me so I look to them, but they are actually looking past me.  Before I can say anything, Harrison plops down next to me, smiling and nodding to the others.  “Heard about the commotion, turns out my friend is pretty badass,” he states.  I laugh, shaking my head, trying to ignore the sweet smell coming off of him.  I turn to my little group and make introductions.  Poor Anna and Sally can’t seem to control their hungry gazes, which makes me shake my head more. We talk for a little bit and then everyone gets called back to their groups.  Coral seems to be better and we spend the next 2 hours learning combat moves and using them appropriately.  By the end of it, we are all dying, but at least I landed a couple of good punches.  After another 5 minute break, they tell all groups to take a run and to meet back at the dining hall for lunch. 

Running for a wolf, even in human form, was the best feeling you could have, especially if you do it with your pack. Dustin and Sally are arguing over which spot our group should take.  Coral already left to run with her sister. 

“But the Glade has more scenery and Brighton hasn’t seen any of the land yet,” Dustin persists. Sally turns to me “You haven’t?  Well lets go there then.”  We all start running.  Dustin and Sally are in front and Anna and I are behind them.  We head into the woods and I can see the trail splits up into 4 directions.  We take the far left one and are keeping pace. The smells of the forest are a comfort for me- the bark, the grass, the dirt at our feet.   Sally starts running faster and faster, Dustin clumsily tries to keep up and we all laugh when he trips, causing Sally to slow down We all start laughing.  Dustin doesn’t think it’s funny.  We come up to a clearing and as the sun is shining through the trees, a small gasp escapes my lips before we slow to a halt.  It’s a giant pond except way more exciting than it sounds.  Lily pads litter the boarder of the whole pond, and ripples of fish are scattered throughout.  Cat tails stand proudly on the water’s edge.  Surround the pond are areas of open land, and then surrounded by the forest on all sides. 

“It’s beautiful.’

“You should see it at dusk, especially when the fireflies are out.  It’s way more romantic,” Anna states.

“Any other causes of this romance Anna? Hmm?” Dustin says teasingly.

“Oh shut up- not everyone wants to stay celibate until their mating.”

“Not saying that dear, but your wolf might not like you very much for being too loose, Sally chimes in.  They’ve been friends since they were pups and always banter.

“I am NOT loose!  This is why I should never kiss and tell!”

We are all laughing when we see other trainees coming through the pass.  Soon enough small groups sit down and enjoy the sunlight.  I feel so at peace, even when there’s silence among the group, it’s not uncomfortable.  I may have only met these people this week, but I feel like I’ve know them for so long.  A horn in the distance sounds, alerting everyone that lunch is ready, and everyone starts running. 

“Last one there is rotten egg!,” Dustin screams, making us all groan.

But we all laugh and take the race.  When we get out of the woods and into the clearing, all bets were off, everyone trying to beat the rest.  Anna tried to trip Sally.  Sally slapping Dustin’s back.  Dustin pulls my hair.  I was laughing so hard I wasn’t paying attention to the ground and ‘c***k’! I landed wrong in a hole in the ground. 

“Aagghh!” I fall to the ground and clenched my ankle.  It felt like fire shooting through my leg.

“Oh my god Brighton are you okay!?” Dustin, Sally and Anna were huddle around me.  I looked up with a pained expression… literally only 20 feet from the canteen.  I don’t know what hurt worse, my ankle, or my disappointment that I didn’t make it to the food. I stare down at my foot and see that my shoe was torn- I could see two of my socked toes!

Dustin bends down to me up, when out of nowhere, Harris is in front of me.  He turns his back to me and squats “Come on, I’ll take you to the infirmary.”  Embarrassed is the understatement of the year.  Thank god he’s the son of an alpha, because I’m not a little girl.  I hop on and he thrusts me up for me to get adjusted.  I look at my friends and they look torn between coming with me and going for lunch. 

“Go ahead guys.  I’m not dying” I give them a small smile, and then Harrison starts walking off.   I turn my head to see where we’re going.  “You’re anything but boring Brighton, aren’t ya?”.

“All I wanted was some food,” I humpf. 

“Don’t worry… I'll bring you a tray.”

“Can I have seconds?”

He laughs at me.  “Only if you’re good.”