Training Day

Hazel slept in most of the following day, but Rhett was up early. He was restless and needed to take a quick run to clear his mind. Daniel had given him permission to run through the forest so he took him up on it.

Rhett went out in the woods then undressed and left his clothes tucked away in the arm of a tree then shifted. When the brown wolf emerged, he shook out his fur and howled. It felt good to finally be free again. He had been so wrapped up in Hazel over the past few months that he barely had time for this anymore.

He sniffed the air and, Hazel was right, everything is bigger, stronger. He could smell her under the blankets in the castle. He could hear her breathing.

Rhett began walking slowly through the woods, remembering the smells and landmarks of his new home. Then he caught an interesting scent...smelled like death.

Rhett ran through the woods following the scent as it got more pungent. It burned his nose and made him wretch. It was the sickening sweet smell of rotting flesh. A few miles into the woods, Rhett began to hear voices speaking a language he didn’t know. Not the old language. Something else. As he came closer to the voices he slowed down and crept quietly to the edge of a cliff. He peeked over the side and saw a handful of pig like men. They were filthy and smelled like they had never even seen water. He didn’t know what they were talking about but he didn’t get the feeling that it was good.

Rhett heard Daniel’s voice in his mind and he looked around, but the only thing he saw was a Raven sitting on a branch watching the creatures. The wolf crept closer to the Raven and sniffed the air. Smelled like Daniel. Then he heard Daniel in his head again, ‘They’re called goblins. They’re filthy pigs who attack small villages and slaughter the people who live there for food. They’re trespassing on our lands, your lands. It’s time to evict them.’

Rhett understood. The Raven dropped off the branch to the ground and then the human Daniel stood up from the spot it landed on. ‘That’s a pretty neat trick’ said the wolf in Daniel’s mind as they both crouched down near the cliff’s edge. ‘It’s a glamour. Any sorcerer worth his weight could do it’ said Daniel.

Daniel sat there for a minute thinking then he said ‘They’re not magical but they’re strong and hateful. They use weapons and put up a good fight, be careful wolf.’

Rhett said, ‘Don’t worry about me.’ Rhett knew this was a test. He had nothing to prove to Daniel, he already knew Rhett was weaker than him. But, Rhett wanted to prove his worth.

Then, Daniel stood and spoke in a booming voice, “You have trespassed on the lands of the Darke, the punishment for that is death.”

The goblins looked at Daniel in dread, they knew who he was and what he was capable of. To their shock, a giant brown wolf barreled down the cliff towards them instead.

Rhett used his hind legs to push off the cliff's wall and leaped out, tackling a goblin under his massive frame. He quickly ripped out the goblins throat out and spat it out before the two remaining goblins had time to react.

Then, he looked back at the others as he slowly turned around and began to circle them. The smaller of the two had a hatchet and the larger had a dagger. Both would be painful, but Lycan heal quickly. The goblins stood side by side, so Rhett jumped and tackled both at the same time, pinning them beneath him. He went for the larger first and bit down on his windpipe until blood gushed from his mouth and throat then he ripped the throat out of the smaller one. He climbed back off them slowly then stood in front of their dead bodies and howled out triumphantly.

Then, Daniel misted down to Rhett’s side. As the wolf watched, Daniel blew over the bodies like he was putting out a candle and the bodies erupted into flames. When they were consumed, the fires died down until they stopped completely.

“Nicely done,Alpha,” Daniel said.

Daniel had served as Head Commander of his entire empire for many years on Earth. Despite the outcome, he was exceedingly proud of the position he achieved and respected leadership and authority. Rhett was no witch, but Daniel respected him anyway. His willingness to kill mercilessly and without hesitation. He knew that he would make a fine addition to the Darke’s army.

Rhett went to a nearby stream to drink and get the taste of their filthy blood out of his mouth. Then, he jumped in and splashed around, washing off his blood tinged fur. When he was finished, he climbed out and Daniel spoke, “Finish your run Rhett, you earned it.” Then he disappeared into a black mist.

After Rhett had seen enough of the woods, he returned to the tree then got dressed and headed back to the castle.

Dinner was being served when he came in and he walked to the side table to wash his hands before he sat down beside Hazel. He leaned in, kissed her cheek and said. “You look like you slept well sweetheart.”

She took a drink of water and said, “I did, must have been all that activity yesterday.”

Rhett grinned and said, “Probably.”

As they ate, Daniel spoke up and asked, “Rhett, how many miles can you travel per day as the wolf?”

Rhett swallowed his food and said, “It depends on if I’m messing around or hunting. I don’t know about 20-30 miles.”

Daniel nodded his head and then said, “Hazel said you were the forest ranger on Earth.”

“It was just a cover story really, but yeah, I patrolled the forests in my territory.”

Daniel leaned in and said, “I’m making you Ranger of the forests on our lands, Rhett. All of them. You can recruit other wolves to help you patrol them if you need to, after my approval of course. You can guard them at your discretion. We can’t have goblins and God knows what else trespassing. We have a large army for castle defenses, but this will be your responsibility alone. I don’t want anyone stepping foot on our lands without permission ever again.”

Rhett laughed out. “Umm, wow, are you sure about that? You don’t need to just give me a job because I’m married to Hazel if you don’t think I deserve it.”

Daniel said, “You don’t have to do anything to deserve something in this family Rhett. But, yes, just so you know, you do deserve it. I don’t trust anyone else with this task.”

Hazel smiled and glanced over at her husband. She was always proud of him, but right now she was overwhelmed with it. She put her hand on his leg and he said, “Well, in that case, I accept.”

Daniel leaned back and said, “I had no doubts you would.”