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irst female warrior the country h
santly surprised at how well you used the takedown to get your opponent to the ground. But r
to-sixteen-year-olds. All defence training happens in the out
sweat trickling down his face. "Thank
th. He's so young and already has the kin
ef!" he shouted, then took of
ost count of how many students had wished me happy birthday today. My birthda
without turning around. "It's not hard to
h. "Turning nineteen isn't something to hide. I felt
of you," I
e replied, completel
like that for a while, quiet, watching the sky shift
wingly. "Since it's your birthday,
re already setting up my party
e raised me ever since. They've thrown me a birthday party every yea
y quietly," he laughed, standing with me. "The party
nerves catching me off guard. For the first time, the pa
ith the people I know? Jay must have sensed the shift in my mood, bec
around lunch, we hunted two deer and ran f
shrieking in the distance. "Sounds like everyone's
him a reassuring smile. Out of everyone, he knows me best
ct, and the two of us have never handled it well when
d the whole pack away from me. No matter how hard I tried to bury that instinct to dominate, it was
ure Alpha; dominance is just in his blood. Me? I had no excuse. Most of the pack w
nto one of the strongest wolves in
but after enough trials and evaluations, I was finally cleared to join. That decision bruised more
read to every pack in the country, and Alphas started showing up just to watch me fight. Eventually, I earned their respect -
omoted to Chief Warrior. I train the younger wolves and spar with the defence team to keep the pack safe. I
e, and I never
uldn't stand a chance against them. Everyone else is fair game. I fight for
ask for, and I'm grateful for it. Lately, Kaitlyn - J
, since I've travelled so much for matches without ever crossing paths
n know what being in a relationship is like - it's an uncomfortabl
makeshift snorkels as they dove in. I shook my head, smiling - I've never understood the appeal of drinking for us. Alcohol
sion before breaking into smiles and drifting our way. Seeing them so h
as his green eyes narrowed at the crowd. I frowned, confused, until I peeked over his shoulder a
birthday, calm down," one of the guys sa
ly just tell Jay to calm down? Of
ck I picked up from Kaitlyn that, ironically, actually calms him down. O
nd Kaitlyn and Magnus, okay?" I looked up at him, smiling. I
trusting himself to speak. I stepped in front of him befor
ng, before falling into their own conversation.
How cute," one m
- have you seen her i
ed at that. It's aerodynamic and lightweight; that's the whole
I'd worn a fitted black long-sleeve shirt with grey joggers cinched at the ankle, and my
at good sweating and panting like
rt. Before I could rea
't underestimate her," another one sighed. I smiled at t
- judging by his face, he definitely hadn't caught any of it. I didn't want to imagine what he'd do if he had. He see
warm voice called
over and pulled her into a long, tight hug - I could never put i
xclaimed, wrapping his
- I felt someone else join the hug. Looking up, I wa
hed, his voice muffled against my hair. Mag
n unison as the hug broke apart, ca
op of my head. "I w
him. Then Kaitlyn kissed the top of my head, gave me a
one?" Jay whined, fixing the mess he'd made of m
ebrow raised. We'd both been sure he was
waiting. Magnus just chu
glancing at his father
d, backing out of the room. I held back my laughte
pishly. "You know I can't stop listening once I start! I heard th
invited into. That's basic manners, and I taught you that a
n doing the same thing
aitlyn," I said quickly, st
top of my head. I smiled and waited for his wis
g, or just stand there like an idio
k of one," he said, taking my hand
iss for?" I laughe
felt l
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