21. Cade
Cade
Mark came into the office. "So, how did the call go." "Well, I didn't go too well. I agreed to let Annalise come stay here." "Why the hell would you do that?" "Well, it was a compromise." "A compromise that doesn't seem like one." "I am to have Annalise stay here and help her find a suitable mate other than me, or we go to war. I know we could win, but I didn't want to put wolf lives on the line for no reason other than that I wouldn't marry his daughter." "What if you wanted that pack." "Then I would take it. But, like I said before, we don't need to expand now."
"Yeah, I know, but I have a bad feeling about Annalise staying here. I don't think Kaya is going to like that very much." "I don't like it. But hopefully, she will see the reason behind why I agreed. " "I think she will understand, but I don't know if she will react okay to the news." "Yeah." "Remember what happened last time. I mean, Annalise barely said anything, and Kaya flew off the handle."
"Well, that may deter Annalise from, you know, pulling anything. "Hopefully that is the case. But I don't trust Annalise or her father. I feel like they are up to something." "Probably. But it won't work. I am going to find her a match, and then she will be on her way." "Just make sure the match is an ally of ours. You know, since he will be taking over Black night pack." "Yeah, I was thinking of Charlie." "That could be a good match. His pack is small, and his mate died before they even had a chance to bond."
"Yeah, I just don't know how I feel about saddling him with Annalise. I mean, she is." "A lot." "Exactly; I mean, I myself was wanting to back out of this arrangement even before Kaya." "Maybe just talk to him about it. I mean, what is the worst that could happen?"
"I don't know. What if I can't find anyone what happens then." "Hell, if I know. But we can cross that bridge once we get to it." We sat in the room reviewing some of the morning's other business. There were a lot of proposals, and a few people wanted to move closer to the packhouse, so we would need to find housing for those wolves.
Today, I also needed to meet with some people who wanted to move up to warriors in the pack. We had tryouts for pack warriors. Everyone trained a bit, but the best their sole job was to defend the pack. It was an honor to be a pack warrior. And the best of them could even move up to the delta position.
Typically, deltas were based on lineage. I only had one delta that moved into the position based on effort. Mark and I agreed on two proposals and left the office for lunch. Swiftly after, we made our way down to the training arena. It was about half a mile away from the packhouse. About twenty wolves were waiting for the two of us. I looked at the people in front of me, some women and some men. I began to speak to the group.
"Today is the beginning of the tryouts. They will last a few days. First, we will test endurance. You will all run around this field until you can no longer. The first 10 to give up are out." I saw how the people looked at each other, sizing one another up. They were all wondering who would be the ten. Endurance was just as important as strength. So, this test was designed to weed out the people who didn't have the endurance and those who didn't want to be a warrior enough.
I knew in the past this could go well into the night. We had tryouts for warriors a few years ago, and we started with this activity. It went two whole days before I called it, seeing as no one had dropped out. I had to wonder if this lot had that kind of determination. "Feel free to stretch at this time and get your water. There will be no breaks." Usually, people end up dropping out for various reasons. After a few minutes, I had them line up shoulder to shoulder.
"Now run the arena's perimeter until you can no longer or until I tell you to stop. Now go." They took off running. I looked at Mark. "What do you think?" "I don't think it will be like a few years ago." I knew he was referring to the year no one gave up on endurance. It was one of the best group of warriors to join our ranks. "I agree with you, but we will see." "So, do you think the girls are having fun?" "I don't know. I mean, it would have been a new experience for Kaya, to be sure. I don't know if she would have gotten that much out of it." "I bet she is having a good time."
I had to wonder. I hope she was having fun. This morning, seeing her out of buckskin and into regular clothes was such a stark contrast to what I had grown accustomed to seeing her in. I liked seeing her curves and how the clothes hugged her in all the right places.
Mark just sat back and watched the people run. Hours passed, and then I had a mind link. "Cade." Helen had mind-linked me. "Yes." "You need to mind link Kaya." "Why, what is going on." "She is very upset." "Why?" "These human girls were making fun of the tattoos on her forehead. It really hurt her feelings for people to disregard her culture. "Did she say anything?" "No, I think she just looks like she could use someone to cheer her up." "Thanks for telling me. I will mind link her now." "No problem." "Kaya?"
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