The calm movement of the swaying leaves contrasts the panting that can be heard all around the clearing. The clashing of flesh resonating as relentless attacks rained down on one of the young weres participating in the training. I remained still as Jeff kept his arms up fending the onslaught of punches from Kelian, another young were. The spectacle was causing a crowd to form. Their fighting form was sloppy.
Out of everyone in the training grounds, these two have it out for each other. They're known to be at each other's throats and frequent visitors of the infirmary. I paired them a while ago, wanting to find out what's up. Now, it ended up to this point. It was an all-out sparring.
Jeff already had a bleeding nose and bruised jaw while Kelian bleeds on his left brow. Jeff seems to be at a disadvantage. But then again, Kelian was having a hard time keeping Jeff down the ground while he pummels him out to death.
"Do something, Ma'am." I heard those words from somewhere. I recognized it as Lara, additionally, one of the young weres. When we supervise the training, we were all trained to call the trainers Ma'am/Sir to establish discipline and acknowledge the authority. We are a pack, after all. We are led by our Alpha and Luna.
"Kelian, Jeff, halt." the grim tone didn't even reach the two fighting weres. Jeff now has Kelian on the ground, hitting the latter with quick jabs of his elbows.
"Jeff, stand down!" I commanded but fell on deaf ears. This wasn't how I imagined my supervising to turned out. Since Wyatt was not around at the moment, and Beta Erden was out for the patrols, I was left with the responsibility of looking out for the young weres. Sky, George, and Dahlia, head's of the warrior units were left to keep them on their toes.
Unfortunately, I was tasked by Wyatt to supervise the unit of beginners currently under his training. The other unit heads were busy on their ongoing training and were keeping a lookout for me if I needed assistance for the hardheaded mutts.
When my orders were ignored, swift movements ensued as I grabbed Jeff by his shoulder away from the bleeding Kelian. From my point of view, he was about to pass out with more scratches and superficial wounds on his face. Moreover, he defended well.
My peripheral view showed Jeff scrambled up from his sprawled position, about to attack again. The other weres were about to grab him, yelling at him to stop. He wasn't having any of it. Jeff dashed back at the coughing Kelian who was slowly trying to seat up. In quick succession, I extended my legs and swept him off of his feet, causing him to stumbled back down the grass.
A frustrated growled burst out of him as I quickly rolled him to his front, successfully locking his arm behind his back.
"Damn pup, stay still!" I hissed, putting more of my weight as he tried his best to buck me off.
"Get off me!" the stubborn idiot just won't be stopped. Mind linking Amalia as I glanced back at Kelian, I saw the others were helping him up.
The disrespect of this young weres goes beyond me. I'm actually surprised Wyatt didn't already hang them upside down.
"What's wrong?" the worried voice of Amalia was clear in my mind as I linked her. One of the downsides of being a healer is you're required to open your link to everyone all the time. It takes a lot of mental training to be able to receive the link and keep your privacy at the same time.
"Injured weres in the training grounds, please come." I sheepishly said as I now grabbed Jeff on his nape. Exerting a small pressure to it, an act of demanding obedience.
"Goddess, kids," the frustrated tone on Amalia's voice made me smirk. I closed up the link when she confirmed to visit the grounds.
"You got him?" Whipping my head back, I saw Dahlia behind me, giving me an amused looked. George is behind me with his palm open in Sky's direction. He, too, is grinning while Sky, on the other hand, was scratching the back of his head. Sky's hand was rummaging his front pockets.
The realization hit me square on the face. The idiots were betting on my expense. Great. They'll face my wrath later. I gradually felt Jeff submitting under my hand. He's now catching his breath.
"Yup." I said in Dahlia's direction. "Jeff, you calm?" I felt him nod with his face still plant on the ground. I slowly let go of his nape and hands. I'll give him a moment to collect himself first.
"We'll talk later, you both," I gestured to them two. The crowd of weres slowly dispersed, now going back to their own training. The three of the unit heads were sneaking out of there as well. Did they believe that I'll let them off that easy?
"George, I've got fifty percent for that bet." sweetly calling out at the sneaking unit heads. I saw the protest evident on his face. He was about to negotiate his way when Amalia came out of the woods with her medkit.
"Fifty George." I reminded, and Dahlia snickered at George's floundering. These unit heads might be good at their job, but their betting vices shadowed their abilities.
The three unit heads went back to their supervising. It was pretty clear that the fighting between the two young mutts was a daily occurrence hence the absence of worry from the heads. I wonder what's the cause of the angst between Jeff and Kelian.
"Hey, sorry to drag you here. It was rude of me to disrupt your plans for today." I lead Amalia to Kelian first. Jeff was now sitting on the grass, wiping the blood on his nose. There's remorse on his face.
"No worries," Amalia assured her and glared at the two injured mutts. "You two, again." she grimly said, the chide on her tone would send people running. Both Kelian and Jeff flinched.
"Jeff." I beckoned him forward. Amalia opened her medkit and started to clean Kelian's wounds. Since I know the first aid, I assisted Amalia and fuss over Jeff.
Both of them were silent and looking remorseful. It was unusual for me, actually. The two young men were known to be calm and collected. Now, they're the total opposites. I don't know what went wrong between them. Granted, I wasn't as involved in the pack defense and training like I did before, but, it was still weird for me to see how these two young men changed.
When I went to another state for my degree, they were cute little boys and good at that. They're not fond of instigating unnecessary fights. Maybe, puberty hit them differently.
"I appreciate it." Amalia offered me the medical tape to finish patching Jeff up. It took more minutes before Amalia declared them good to go. I stood up with her and follow her to the entrance of the woods. The training grounds were strategically nestled amid the woods.
"Keep them away from each other in the meantime." I nodded at her. Maybe Amalia knows what's behind the fighting mutts. The twigs crunched beneath their feet as they continue to walk.
"By any chance, do you know what's between those two? I've been told that they're at each other's throats these days." I stopped and face Amanda. The understanding in her face got me giddy. Maybe she really knows the reason. I would like to solve it. Solving it makes a load lighter for the Luna. Of course, I like a harmonious relationship been the pack members.
"I'm not really sure but from what I've heard it's because of a girl." she shrugged, nonchalant. I sighed in dismay, So no one knows the exact reason. A tap on my shoulder brought my attention back to her.
"Don't worry your head over it. Wyatt was doing his best to diffuse those two. They'll get around." Amalia left the grounds. I watched her left. Gathering my thoughts and breathing deep one more time, I straightened my back. I'm gonna interrogate the two young men.
The humid breeze blows by as I marched back to the middle of the grounds. The other young pups under Wyatt's wing were already engrossed in their training routine. I nodded in approval. Sneaking a glance at the two figures lying on the grass under an oak tree, I will let them rest before I tackle the problem. I focused on the practicing pups.
"John, you need to turn your body sideways to throw a stronger punch. Nadia move your left foot back a little. You're going to fall with that stance," I was full-on commanding mode. Keen on correcting their movements as they execute the routine.
"Again," I approached one of the young pups, Bran. Everyone's attention turns to me. I corrected his stance. He throws his punch with his torso stiff and the force coming from his wrist. "Use your shoulder, Bran. You'll break your wrist with that form," I gripped his waist and turned it slightly sideways. "Now, try throwing a punch."
Bran did exactly what I told him to do. He throws a packed punch. I was on the direct path of it. I easily flicked it sideways. He staggered.
"See that Nadia? When throwing your punch you need to move a step back with your other foot forward. That way you can regain your balance and dodge attacks easily without stumbling." Bran's foot was stiff so I corrected it and instructed them to continue. Nadia was taking it into account and applied what she saw. I hummed my approval and ordered them to run a few laps.
When the unit set out to do the laps, I ambled towards the lying figures. I took a seat between them and stared at the running unit.
"Is it Lara?" Lara was part of the unit under George. I noticed her a while ago. She strayed from her unit and led the young pups a while ago to crowd the brawling young men.
I saw the two flinched. They're clearly uncomfortable. Dang, so Amanda heard it right. It's because of a girl after all. How old were these teens again? Sixteen? Seventeen? I didn't realized I said it out loud.
"Seventeen." the grass is comfortable beneath me as I squinted down at Kelian. Ah, a good age to recognize their fated pairs. As the word mate sink in, I immediately shook my head to stop my thoughts from straying at the problem in front of me. Focus. I've been doing great so far.
"Is Lara your mate?" Kelian's jaws gritted in annoyance at the question. His fist clenched following whatever he's feeling.
"Of course, not. She's not our fated pair." That caused my brows to arched this time. Jeff was so adamant with his answer that it leads me to wonder why they're so against each other.
"So what if she's not my fated mate? I wanted her to be mine and that dick wanted her too. I met her first!" Kelian spat in anger. It caused a few curious looks from the trainees. Though, I doubt if they can hear the conversation clearly during their training. It required utmost focus and the fact that they cast curious looks our way, the unit heads ordered to start the routine from the top. The groans of protest were dominating.
"You met her first? I approached her first! I made my intention known," Jeff retorted. I winced, they're yelling at each other. It's abusing my ears.
"Did you confessed to her? Did she say yes to any of you?" the deafening silence that followed after my question was an answer enough. I wasn't able to stop myself from slapping my forehead in disappointment.
"She wanted to wait for her mate." that small voice got my attention. Kelian rolled to his side, away from me. Why did I felt a prick on my heart when I heard him say it. It took me a few moments to gather my thoughts.
Looking at Jeff, he was covering his eyes with his arms. The heartbroken look was distinct on his face.
"Then why won't the two of you do the same?" the question just showered out of my mouth with a tinge of dismay. "Why wouldn't the two of wait for your mates? Do you think she'll be happy finding out that her mate is already taken?" I further said. It may seem old-fashioned and harsh to humans but that's our custom. We wait for our mates no matter how long it takes.
Or, so it seems.
I was answered with a jarring silence.