Generally, there would be a celebration if the Nine-Tailed Foxes won a full house. But not this time because their sister was not there to celebrate with them. Alannah was the glue that held them all together, and it was times like these where it became noticeable. They all went to bed gloomy when ordered by Tao, and in the morning they were desperate for news.
" Alannah is stable, but still on a ventilator. The ribs did not pierce the heart, which is something! " Maya reported with a sympathetic look.
"Yes, she is a fighter! Right, let us get down to training! " Tao said, and the other men nodded. Tao knew he would have to keep them all busy for a while.
Tao thought, "Fighting men suffer if they are left to dwell."
The men were starting to warm up in the fighting area when Tao felt a vibration in his pocket. Taking out his phone, he quickly answered it when he saw that it was his boss."Chairman Lang?" Tao said politely.
"Hi Tao, could you come to the office, please? I have sent a car and it should be arriving any minute now. " Xan said.
"A car, boss?" Tao said, surprised. Xan did not normally send cars for staff.
"Yes, a car Tao. Now hurry up, I am unaccustomed to waiting! " Xan said as he hung up the phone. Ethan and Aiden ran over.
"Is there any news on Alannah?" They asked in unison.
"No, it was the boss. Plus, stop with the twin thing; it freaks me out! " Tao shouted as he walked out of the warehouse.
As predicted, a large black Mercedes was waiting for him. With a sigh, he got in. He had a bad feeling about this.
Fifteen minutes later, Tao was standing in Xan's office waiting. Xan came in with two people, one of whom he was very shocked to see.
"Kurt?" Tao said, stunned, and Kurt nodded his head.
"Good morning Tao, I have some exciting news for you!" Xan said as he motioned for everyone to take a seat.
"Yes, Boss?" Tao asked suspiciously. There was rarely any good, exciting news in his line of work.
"Yes! I have a friend who wants to understand more about what we do here. I owe him a favour, and so he is going to stay and train with the Nine-Tails for a few weeks. " Xan stated matter-of-factly.
"Can I ask who this friend is?" Tao said, dreading the answer.
"Absolutely, you met him already; it is Kurt!" Xan said with a smile.
"Boss, I have to protest! The group is going through a rough patch as it is, and a new person would cause... Xan extended his hand.
This is not a discussion, Tao, but an order. You will take Kurt and show him the ropes! Understand? " Xan said in a tone that Tao knew, from bitter experience, was final. Tao folded his arms, defensively glaring at Kurt. "Now Tao, enough of that! I do offer you a little peace offering."
"Oh?" Tao said.
"Yes, I offer you the services of Theo Evans to help you train the Nine-Tails," Xan said.
"With all due respect, I don't need help! They are top of the table and have been for months! " "Tao said grumpily.
"No one is questioning your ability, Tao. Theo Evans is the leader of the Mad Dogs. " Xan said.
"I know, boss!" Tao said.
"Then you know it would be foolish to turn down someone of his skill. After last night's match, it is clear that they all need to work on their Andromeda's Chains! " Xan said pointedly, and Tao sighed. Tao knew something was going on, but he also knew that there was no point in asking.
"It would be foolish and I would appreciate the help," Tao said politely.
"Good, well, that is settled then. Oh, one last thing Tao said last night, " Xan said.
"Don't worry, I will talk to her when she is better," Tao said.
"Good, we can't have one of our best fighters be so reckless! She is worth more to us than three points or a double-winning pot. Even if the match last night increased her market value. " Xan said.
"Who has put in offers now?" Tao inquired as to whether she was interested.
"Oh, the normal; the Silver Wolves, Blood Moons, and Tiger Claws. Not that I would even consider selling her, especially to those barbarians! " Xan growled.
Not every gang treated their fighters well; some were treated no better than slaves. This disgusted Xan deeply, and he made sure that his fighters were treated well. They had returned the favour tenfold by winning matches and turning The Triads into a very wealthy gang.
"We need to keep an eye on the Tiger Claws; they are far too interested in Alannah!" Tao said, stroking his chin.
"Yes, if they lay one finger on her, we will retaliate in force!" Xan said.
"I wouldn't worry, Boss, the boys would kill anyone who dared touch her!." Tao said, looking at Kurt.
"Good to hear. Now if you excuse me, I have a meeting to attend. Tao will show you out. " Xan said, nodding to Kurt and Theo.
Once they were all in the car, Tao spoke: "Now you listen to me. I don't know what the fuck is going on and I don't care. What I care about are my Nine Tails. I have trained them, and Goddamn, I nearly raised half of them. I won't have you two little fuckers messing it up! Understand? " Tao growled at Theo and Kurt.
"Yes, of course!" Kurt said, whilst Theo just rolled his eyes.
"And you! You leave Alannah the fuck alone or I will castrate you with a wooden fucking spoon. " Tao said, glaring at Kurt with murderous intent.
"You have my word, I will not touch her unless she wants it," Kurt said, glaring back.
There was a staring contest for the rest of the car ride home. The only reason it stopped was that the driver told them to get out.
"Well, let's meet the boys. I hope you are fucking ready!" Tao said with a smirk. He led them into the warehouse.
"What is Probie doing here?" Aiden asked, confused.
"And who is he?" Ethan said, looking at Theo.
Matt, Bruce, and Adam stopped training and walked over in front of Tao. Aiden and Ethan quickly joined them all.
"The boss says we'll be showing Kurt the ropes for the next few weeks." Do you mind if he bunks with you? " Tao asked.
"Sure!" Bruce said, with a smile.
I don't understand! He should not be here, not after what he did to Alannah! " Adam pointed this out grumpily.
"That is none of our concern, Adam!" Tao snapped.
"Well, I am not training his weak arse!" Adam retorted.
"Well, I'm sure Alannah will be more than happy to do one-on-one sessions with Kurt!" Ethan said with a smirk. Bruce slapped him on the back of the head.
"Enough! The other person is Theo Evans. He will be helping me get your lardy arses into shape! " Tao said.
"No freaking way! Theo Evans of the Mad Dogs? " Aiden said, almost jumping up and down with excitement. Since he was a boy, the Mad Dogs had been his heroes.
"Yes! But don't expect me to go soft on you, kid! " Theo said with a wink, clearly seeing Aiden's excitement.
"Oh no, sir, I would expect nothing less!" Aiden said, whilst Ethan rolled his eyes.
"Good, now all of you drop and give me 50 push-ups. That includes you, Kurt! " Theo said as everyone dropped.
Two weeks later.
Kurt inwardly moaned as he sat down at the dinner table. For the last two weeks, he had been pushed to his limit of physical and mental endurance. It did not help that the Nine-Tails made his life more difficult where they could! Whether it was putting hair remover in his shampoo or punching him a little too hard in practice, they were always up to something. All except Bruce and Matt, who seemed not to mind his presence.
Theo, on the other hand, was getting along with them like a house on fire. Kurt complained about it one day and Theo shrugged, saying, "You messed with their sister. They are going to make you pay!"
Kurt hardly thought that was fair; it was a misunderstanding. One thing he wanted to clear up desperately. He was eating his rice when he heard the voice he had been waiting for.
"Is there room for a small one?" Alannah asked.
Everyone turned and saw Alannah, who had an arm in a sling and a bruised face.
"Alannah! " The twins said it in unison as they jumped up and ran to her.
Alannah was suddenly the filling of a twin sandwich, making Kurt jealous. The rest of the family followed, and Alannah was guided to the table. It was only when she sat down in between the twins that she noticed Kurt.
"Can someone please explain what he is doing here?" Alannah said, her eyes as hard as stone.