Chapter 11 — Training Blood Moon Wolves
“Seriously guys it’s only been an hour and you’re all out of breath. Ten kilometers should be a warm-up for Trackers.” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at the scene before me as I casually lean against the sturdy maple tree behind me. An hour ago, Dominic had called all of the Trackers and Tracker-in-training to the training field and introduced me to all of them as the Head Tracker candidate. At first, some questioned his decision to bring a rogue into the territory but when he mentioned my name and the fact I owned Fire Heart Bakery and Gift Shop they soon quieted down and gave me the respect of an Elite wolf.
Some wolves groan and fall to the ground as they try their hardest to catch their breath while others begin to puke whatever they had eaten for breakfast this morning. All I could say is how sad this sorry bunch of wolves looked with just a simple run that should have been a walk in the park for them. Clearly, this answered my question as to why a top pack couldn’t catch me when looting their territory in the past.
"How is training going?" A deep voice catches my attention and I turn to face Dominic, an easy-going grin on his face that I glare back at him. I call a water break for the trackers, rolling my eyes as they cheer for a rest and start planning how to bring their stamina up. Before I start advanced training, these so-called “Trackers” needed to up their stamina in human form then wolf form.
"They all suck. I normally do a loop around the forest in Neutral Territory that lasts about ten kilometers and honestly, some are still showing up after falling way behind. I am scared to see the shape of your Hunters with how bad your Trackers are.” I watch as Dominic’s face falls with my answer, his eyes scanning his Trackers that guzzle water like it is the last thing they would ever drink as some continue to lay on the ground their breath finally evening out. I knew my words worry him with how furrowed his brow is and his gaze filled with thoughts swirling in them, but it is the truth, and as an Alpha, Dominic needed to hear it even if the truth is hard to handle. I leave him to his silence and turn to gaze at the group of wolves I agreed to train. It is clear that they needed a true Head Tracker that can bring out their potential.
"Well how about training the Hunters as well?" My eyes widen in surprise as I turn to look at Dominic. A proud grin is spread across his face as his eyes sparkle with more hope. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at him as I turn back to the Trackers that were slowly ready to get back to training. His idea seemed logical though. For missions, sometimes Trackers and Hunters were paired up. Even during times of war between packs, the Hunters rely on Trackers to scout the area ahead and bring back a report to form a plan for victory. Maybe the Head Hunter and I could formulate a training schedule where all the wolves could learn from each other to improve the pack and their defenses.
"First things first, the same rule applies. One month, then I let you know if I am staying." I catch Dominic jumping from my sudden words. I knew that agreeing to this would make my weekends even busier, but something felt right to agree to this.
"Of course I understand" Dominic agrees easily, a relieved expression on his face.
"And I make them focus on stamina first before anything else. This also includes you Dominic DeValorse. The pack is only as strong as its weakest member and you’re the Alpha. You need to be the strongest." I add. Dominic’s smile falls as he eyes me for a moment seeing if what I said was a joke. But I guess he soon realizes that he too would be at the mercy of my training if he wants me to stick around. His eyes gloss over as Dominic looks into the distance, a look of seriousness crossing his face. I couldn’t help but enjoy ogling at him for the moment when I realize he is linking someone. Soon a group of wolves appears at the far end of the Training field as they make their way towards our group. A wolf I remember all too well splits from the new arrivals and make his way to where Dominic and I stood.
"What’s up Dom? All we were told in the link is to be here.” Christian the Beta asks as he turns to look at me for a brief moment.
“This is Amberle, the wolf I told you about. She agreed to train our Trackers for a month and possibly become our new Head Tracker. We were just discussing the shape of our Hunters and decided she would help train them as well. This also includes you and I Christian.” Dominic answers, filling his Beta in on the arrangements. I catch Christian eyeing me for a moment as he takes in my appearance and a slight frown appears.
“How long have you been a tracker?” He asks, crossing his arms over his chest. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at his antics before answering. I explain to him that I shifted young and began training with my mother, the previous Head Tracker of my old pack, as well as my training throughout the years I was left in Blue’s care. This answer seems to be what he is looking for as Christian just nods and welcomes me wholeheartedly. It was weird to know that the wolf who I am used to cursing at me when in wolf form is giving me respect. Maybe no one knows I am Fire Foot yet.
“Have you found a Head Hunter yet since Rick retired?” Christian asks Dominic. I am surprised that this pack had no Head Hunter but decided it isn’t my place to say anything as I begin to stretch for the next part of my training.
“Not yet Christian. Amberle think you could help us out and decide who out of the Hunters has the potential to be a Head Hunter for the pack?” Dominic turns to me as he asks the last part. I was glad he is giving me a chance to choose considering the Head Hunter and I would have to be working together for this month to train all of the wolves and it made it easier for me if the Head Hunter is someone I could get along with.
“Sure. It will make training easier for us if I get to choose someone. I’ll keep an eye on the hunters during practice and so should both of you. We can talk about the options of who we think are the best candidates during lunch.” I answer with a smile. Shortly after Dominic calls for the hunters and Trackers to gather around as Christian and I take a spot on either side of Dominic.
“Thank you all for coming here today. I know normally we do not train Hunters and Trackers together, but it’s come to my attention that we are thoroughly out of shape. So, I have asked Amberle Crest here to train you all as our Prospective Head Tracker. By the end of the training, we will also be discussing who we decide to be our Head Hunter that will be working alongside Amberle to help train every Hunter and Tracker here both full and in-training wolves.” The crowd gives a big ‘Yes Alpha’ after Dominic’s instructions as my eyes scan the new wolves in the group. All the Hunters have a similar build: muscular with an unmoving personality. Even the she-wolves that are Hunters are built differently from the she-wolves that are Trackers.
"I will be testing you all for a month and will tolerate nothing but respect. Dominic asked me to come here to train you and ultimately it is my decision to stay or leave after the month is over. Remember to follow my instruction well.” I begin, seeing some males who roll their eyes at me and instantly recognize them as the ones who fall into the traps they set to capture me in. I couldn’t help the grin that spreads as I think of a way to make training harder for these Hunters.
"Most of you have dealt with me already this past year and I will be brutally honest: You all suck on teamwork and stamina," I state, not sparing any feelings. Some wolves growl at my harsh words only to be met with an even louder growl from Christian and Dominic, the two putting those dissatisfied in their place. Once everyone settles down I continue talking, making sure that everyone understands my words carefully.
"So for today’s training, I will be focusing on teamwork between the Hunters and the Trackers. Your Alpha and Beta will be joining in on this training as all of you are the backbone to this pack. Your sole goal is working as a team and improving your stamina. None of you are to shift at all. If you shift we return here and start from the beginning. At the same time if any of you quit or slack off we will return here and start from the beginning. We will continue restarting if we have to until everyone starts to collapse from exhaustion. If you think I won’t know I have the former Head Tracker sitting by looking at a tablet that is receiving video feed from the hidden cameras I’ve hidden throughout the forest. She has already been told to tell Dominic when someone quits or shifts, and he will call for a restart. Any questions?” The clearing goes silent as all the wolves including Christian stare at me in disbelief. They finally realized that I am not going easy on them and that training with me will be a challenge. No one raises their hand to ask anything as looks of fear and admiration are directed at me. I couldn’t help the feeling of pride swelling inside as the feeling of being a leader rush over me.
"Who are you?" I hear Christian asks after the silence continues, turning to look at the wolf with a smirk playing on my lips.
"You will know soon enough. Now, as a pack, you need to trust each other and work as one. The game is simple, take the scarf off of me using whatever means possible as long as I don't get severely hurt or killed. Scrapes and bruises are fine, but I have a feeling that today’s session will end with me winning." I continue the instructions, taking out a neon pink scarf from the bag I had brought for everyone to take a look at. I catch a few wolves breathing in my scent and smile as a Hunter with a green Mohawk stares at me. His eyes scan my appearance and scarf as he breathes in deeply. It is clear he is taking this seriously and I take a note of him to tell Dominic about it later.
“As mentioned earlier all of you will be in your human form. No shifting what so ever. I on the other hand will be in my wolf form because in a large green forest you’ll all be able to spot me easily.” The group chuckles at the end and I have a feeling they were underestimating me. But soon they will learn exactly who their Alpha asked to train them.
“I advise you all to take Amberle’s words to heart. You have all met her in the past and you’ll soon know why. She is a formidable Tracker and you’ll be able to become stronger and faster with her training.” I smile at Dominic’s words as he gives a knowing smile to his wolves. He knew my secret of who I am from when I saved him nine months ago. With a nod, Dominic gives me the go-ahead to go shift into wolf form and I take this moment to slip behind some trees that hide me from view of his wolves. I remove my clothes and place them in a hollow in one of the trees then tie the scarf to my ankle loosely enough so that when I shifted the scarf would be snugly on my left hind paw. Once set I take a deep breath and shift quickly. I let a moment pass before slowly padding out from the cover of the foliage and take a spot just in front of everyone, my tail wagging gently.
Growls and gasps fill the training field as some wolves that instantly recognize me begin to lunge at me, their intent to capture me as my flame-like fur give away my identity as Fire Foot. I simply dodge each wolf, finding amusement in their antics while they struggle to even lay just one finger on me. A loud angry snarl floats over the group and my pursuers stop suddenly, a look of fear filling their eyes while they scramble to return to the group. I roll my eyes and glare at Dominic for ruining my fun then trot to stand beside him. I knew better than to continue to piss off an already angry Alpha.
“Amberle is the she-wolf I chose to bring here for the sole purpose of training every last one of you with the intent to make her the Head Tracker of this pack. I have watched her personally kill eleven Soulless that are the strongest I have ever fought against and saving my life in the process. I trust her even if she did loot our pack in the past, but she never caused any harm to us. None of you know what being a rogue is like so we can’t blame her Instead we should be thanking her for agreeing to train us all to be stronger considering none of you have ever caught her nor can any of you match up to her.” Dominic’s voice is loud as he directs his speech to the crowd. A look of shame crosses the group’s faces as their Alpha berates them. Power and anger radiate from Dominic and waves as disappointment fills his eyes.
"Alpha Dominic is right. None of us, not even I could capture Amberle in the past. We need her to strengthen us and be able to keep our position as the number one Pack in Ontario.” I felt touched at Christian’s words, smiling a wolfish grin when he places a hand on Dominic’s shoulder visibly calming down his Alpha. I can see why Christian is Dominic’s Beta. They complimented each other and Christian knew what he needed to do to keep Dominic calm. It reminded me of how Blue and my Father were in the past.
“So, when do we start Miss Amberle?” Christian asks after a period of silence has filled the crowd. I send a wink his way before darting off into the trees without warning, my paws digging into the soft earth while I dodge trees and shrubbery.
“I think she means now.” I hear someone say before the sounds of pursuit follow. I couldn’t help but laugh as best as I can in wolf form, rolling my eyes at how slow the Hunters and Trackers are. Heck, even Dominic and Christian are a pair of idiots considering I took off from right beside them. You would think and Alpha and Beta would be smarter than this but nope. It took a wolf pointing out that my running away meant to start. I was starting to realize why looting them was so easy a few months ago.
I took this time from my head start to go directly to the creek just ahead from the training ground, running through the water to get rid of my scent trail. Once I feel like they will have a hard time following me I scan around until I find the low hanging branch of a sturdy birch tree and quickly hop onto it. I continue to climb up a couple of branches until part of me is well hidden with the bright leaves and settle down to watch below me. Soon the group crashes through the bushes, stopping for a moment to stare in all directions. Some sniff the air heavily to catch my scent.
"Where the hell did, she go?" Christian’s cry of frustration reaches my ears and I fight back laughter. Man, this brought back memories of him trying to capture me when I first started looting this pack. I could see the gears moving behind Dominic’s eyes as he scans the forest. The sad part is many were searching the ground while some were sniffing in case the breeze brings my scent to them.
"Remember she is a top tracker." Dominic reminds the group, looking at the trackers mostly.
"What is the main hiding spot that you all use, the way you take when tracking rogues?" He asks it’s a smart question to ask and silently I do a little cheer for the Alpha. Maybe he isn’t as stupid as I thought he was. The group of trackers stops their movement as some look around confused. They definitely needed more training.
"Quick search the trees. I remember Ashlee said trackers use the trees since they are faster.” My eyes go to the she-wolf with pink-tipped hair. She was short, maybe five foot three inches tall with a lithe build. I had a feeling that she would be a great Tracker with a little more training. Eyes continue to search this time everyone looking into the trees in hopes of spotting me. I stay still and wait in my hiding spot waiting to see just how sharp these wolves are. The pink-tipped wolf walks forward and comes to stand beside the green Mohawk wolf, their gaze trained on the trees above the creek. The gears in their thoughts were clear to see as I stare into their eyes, waiting to see which one of them would spot me first.
"There, I see her." Pink tipped wolf says as her eyes widen with excitement and she points at the birch tree I am relaxing in. I lift a paw and wave before taking off hopping from branch to branch quickly. The sounds of branches bending with the weight of a body indicate a few wolves have joined me in the trees, but their movements were slow and clumsy. I knew instantly I would have to focus on their skills in navigating through branches. The scent of freshwater slowly fills the air, and the scene of a lake greets me. Focusing more energy into my legs I leap off the final branch and twisting my body to the left I dive straight into the safety of a lake, making sure I am deep under the water. Shadows pass by in the trees above and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. The wolves chasing me did not stop to sniff the air to make sure they were on my trail and instead bypass me and the lake altogether.
An hour slowly passes by as I take the time to trick them, swimming to the island in the center of the lake and leaving my scent all around it. I brush against the bushes and trees, seeing some fur left behind and smirk. By the time the group decided to double back and regroup I was on the opposite side of the lake, letting the warm sun dry my fur while hidden by large bushes.
"Anyone catch her scent yet?" The question is voiced by the Pink tipped girl and I perk my ears up. Apparently, they were close, and I had to be ready to make a run for it at any moment. I peek under the bushes hiding me to take a look at the group. I could see some trying hard to track down my scent as some look around the trees and bushes.
“Miles you’re our best swimmer in this group. See if she is over by that island over there.” Dominic suggests, giving the order to a wolf in the group. It turns out Miles is the green Mohawk wolf and I smirk as he starts swimming to the island that I have left my scent all over. Another twenty minutes pass by before Miles once again jumps into the water and swims back to the group, a frown on his young face as he looks at Dominic and Christian.
"She was there but she must have left maybe an hour ago. She must be watching us." And he was right. Maybe I should throw them a bone. The wind was blowing in my favor as everyone’s scent is carried towards me, but this exercise is to test their skills as a pack. So quietly I make my way through the forest around them until the wind blew my scent towards the group. I waited to see who would catch my scent first to see which wolf has the sharpest nose and it isn’t long until I hear a shout.
"I smell her!" Dominic exclaims with excitement, signaling that it was time to leave the lake quickly. With a quick jog, I continue my path through the forest. Three more hours pass by in a blink and in those hours I continued to trick them, wait until many were just in reach to grab me before taking off in a sprint and even managing to lose the group. At one point, Dominic, Christian, and Miles split into three groups with a mix of Trackers and Hunters split amongst them impressing me with their idea. But no one has come close to taking the scarf away from me.
The sun is beginning to set, the sky ablaze in many reds, oranges, and pinks helping to disguise my fur better. I was starving, using the majority of my energy messing with the wolves being trained by me. They had done well—better than I expected—and I had an idea of what needed to be done. First thing first I had to talk to Dominic and Christian about Miles and how he would make a good Head Hunter and Partner in crime by training these wolves. I silently crept through the treetops, keeping an eye on the wolves below me as they continue to scan through the forest. I could see the exhaustion and weariness in each wolf below me as some soon lean against a tree to support themselves. This is probably the most training they’ve ever done but at least they knew their territory well. I knew how they felt though. Other than my stamina being fine and my breath even my paws were sore. I would be feeling it tomorrow if I decide to shift again into wolf form and go for a run.
"Is there a punishment for surrendering?" Christian asks each word being punctuated with a gasp as he tries his best to catch his breath. I wanted to let out a small growl at Christian for wanting to quit. What if this pack was being attacked? Would he quit and surrender then? Disappointment fills me as I look down at Christian and sigh. He and I will have to talk later about his attitude.
“We will not quit. Amberle is helping us to become stronger so we will keep going until she says so.” Dominic’s strong voice rings clear, silencing many cries of exhaustion and complaints. I couldn’t help but admire Dominic. Even with everyone exhausted somehow, Dominic brought out their fighting spirit. Maybe there is hope for this pack yet to get back into the best shape with an Alpha like Dominic leading them. Smiling I decide to end the training here while I carefully stand and stretch before jumping off the branch. Mid fall I shift back into human form, landing quietly behind Dominic and using the scarf and my hair to hide as much as my body from the group.
“You all did better than I expected.” I start, watching Dominic jump in surprise and turn towards me in a defensive stance. I catch a few of his wolves holding back snickers at their flustered Alpha while Dominic straightens and stands, his hand scratching the back of his neck while a blush creeps along his face. Christian though is full out howling with laughter before being quieted by a growl from Dominic leading to me rolling my eyes.
“Like I said you did well, but you all ultimately lost. We need to work on your stamina and endurance. I want you all to run at least five kilometers a day around the training ground before going off to do your duties. On training day, it will be a ten-kilometer run before doing this exercise again.” I look into each and every wolf’s eyes as I see a spark of determination ignite within them. Their fighting spirit is something I never saw back in Forest Paw, but it made me proud knowing that I evoked it into them. Finally, my eyes meet Dominic’s, and something flickers behind his dark green orbs, but it is gone before I can decipher it. I turn away to look at the pink-tipped wolf and Miles. I had a feeling that these two would be great assets and I planned to work with them one on one especially since I felt strongly about Miles being the Head Hunter.
A shirt is thrust towards me; breaking me from my train of thoughts and making me turn to see Dominic shirtless. My eyes flicker to his toned body, still as well defined as when I first saw him while taking his shirt gingerly from him with a small thanks. Quickly covering myself with the large shit I let the scarf loosely hang around my neck while the group begins to head back to the packhouse. I take a moment to take a deep breath, inhaling Dominic’s scent and allowing it to settle around me.
“Hey Fire Foot.” I turn to the sound of a familiar voice, seeing the pink-tipped wolf coming to walk beside me.
“You can call me Amberle,” I reply smiling at her. I really liked this wolf and felt good about her. She could be a good second to me. My partner in crime when training the Trackers and coming up with new ways to train (and slightly torture) them.
“I’m Avery. You’re amazing.” I couldn’t help but laugh at the energetic tracker as she bounces beside me. Even though I could tell that little pink-tipped-haired wolf is tired from the training that didn’t stop her from being excited and prattling on like a pup. Avery begins to fill me in on how the Trackers used to be trained and what exercises they had to do in the past. It was a good foundation and explained why these trackers had skills, to begin with, but also gave me more of an idea of how to train them. Since the Hunters are also being trained by me as well I needed to learn their past training schedule in order to make a proper training regime to fully bring the potential of Blood Moon to its peak.
“Dominic must really like you.” Miles comes up on the other side of me cutting off Avery’s rant about wanting to learn how to travel through a tree as I turn to look at the wolf with a green Mohawk.
“Why do you say that?” I ask wondering what he meant.
“About two and a half years ago he met his mate. She rejected him because he was the Alpha of this pack and she didn’t want to be with a quote on quote ‘Bloodthirsty monster’. Before he could prove to her that he wasn’t his father he watched her run away with a rogue that was banished from our pack. As he chased after them to talk three Soulless attacked and killed both the mate that rejected him and the traitor till you couldn’t even recognize them.” Miles explains. My heart wrenches at Dominic’s past and I turn to look at him. I watched as a group of wolves joke around with Dominic, a smile on his face and laughter drifting over to the three of us. It explained why Dominic allowed me to cry in his embrace yesterday.
“In all honesty that bitch deserved to die Dom’s mate or not. She had a habit of harming pack members who stood in her way and had a high and mighty attitude. Dominic thought he could change her when he found out they were mates but Christian and the majority of the pack were against her.” Avery’s voice is laced with hatred as she scoffs at the mention of Dominic’s so-called mate. I understood how she felt about dealing with someone with a high and mightier attitude—I did grow up with Mia wanting to make my life hell after all. Avery and Miles soon change the subject while my thoughts drifted to their Alpha. Dominic had this air about him that sent butterflies into me so I couldn’t understand how someone could reject him. Hell, I understood why Leo rejected me even though we were once best friends but from what I could tell Dominic’s mate grew up in this pack. She had to have known what Dominic is like.
“Penny for your thoughts?” A deep voice asks as I feel someone poke my cheek. My head swivels to see Dominic peering down at me, a gentle smile on his face.
“The Canadian government disbanded pennies years ago. I will take a nice fat lump of cash though.” I retort, bumping my shoulder into his playfully.
“Well, that will come later when you make your final decision on staying or not,” Dominic replies, winking at me as he wraps his arm around my shoulders. I couldn’t help but blush as no wolf has ever been this intimate with me other than my friends. Not since my parents’ deaths. I tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear nervously not bothering to remove his arm. Frankly, I liked how it felt being wrapped around me.
“So what are you thinking about so deeply here Fire?” Dominic asks. I could feel his eyes on me, and it takes everything in me not to shy away.
“Plenty of things are on my mind but I think I found your new head Hunter and an Assistant Tracker for me right now,” I answer. I decide to shelf the mystery surrounding Dominic and his own rejected past. When the time is right I have a feeling that he would go into more detail about it since being rejected is such a hard subject for the rejected to talk about. The packhouse comes into view finally and the wolves cheer as many rushes inside. The smell of a good meal reaches me from the open doors and windows causing my stomach to growl.
“How about we grab some food and Christian, you and I go to my office to talk about who you want to have as your partners in crime for torturing us.” Dominic chuckles out, giving me a flirty smile as we head into the large building and right towards the dining room. I couldn`t help but smile as well. For once I felt like I am home again.