Street Fighting Man

Lya

The note Cody had passed to me outlined times I needed to be at the training grounds, which also happened to be times he knew Oliver had prior obligations that would keep him out of the packhouse and away from the grounds. Today, he was supposed to be at the school, overseeing how the high school students were doing with their own training. It seemed like this pack revolved around being prepared, which didn’t quite make sense seeing as so many people bragged about how there had been primarily peace for so long.

I trudged over to the training grounds, taking as much time as I could spare. Rose had made sure to apologize before she started with riling Tala and me up so we could shift, but her words still bothered me. Maybe she was right. Maybe he hadn’t said something about me being his mate because he didn’t want me. Maybe he’d prefer someone who had had a good relationship with their wolf for their whole life. Maybe I just wasn’t good enough for him and he was just going to reject me.

And that made me feel very used. He had been in my bed every night for the past week, even if it was in wolf form. He had touched me. And I had allowed it. I had never been one to get hung up on a guy. Hell, I probably used them as often as they used me, but what’s the harm in having a little fun? This time, though, the thought of rejection had me wanting to throw up.

Tala’s anger wasn’t at her mate. It was at Rose for disrespecting her. Tala knew she was Luna, even if it hadn’t been recognized yet, and she would defend her title and demand respect. Tala did her best to assure me that what Rose said wasn’t the case at all, but I wasn’t so sure.

I made my way into Cody’s office, just as the instructions on the note indicated. He wasn’t there, though, so I just sat down across from his desk. I tried to throw my whole mind into the prospect of training - anything to get it off of my boy problems.

I had been waiting so long, I was debating leaving. I stood up, and just as I was about to open the door, it flung open, bashing me in the face.

“Sorry,” Cody grumbled, striding over to his desk and sitting down.

I swiped away the bit of blood that trickled out of my nose and walked back over to the chair I had previously been in, waiting for him to say something. Cody was one of the few people I had interacted with here, but I didn’t know him very well yet. I had no idea what to expect of the temper he seemed to have today. We just sat and stared at each other for a couple moments, the room getting more and more tense.

“You’re his mate and you know it,” he finally said.

The statement caught me off guard. It wasn’t that obvious, was it? “Uh… yes.”

“You haven’t said anything about it yet.”

This was beginning to feel more like an interrogation than a conversation, or training for that matter.

“No,” I confirmed, “but neither has he.”

Cody rolled his eyes. “He won’t. But you are communicating more with your wolf and shifting. With you two on the same page now, she told you.” I looked at him quizzically, waiting for him to continue. “Our wolves have an inherent desire to protect us, so she wouldn’t have told you until you two were a cohesive unit and she felt like the information wouldn’t have blown your brain.”

Were Tala and I a cohesive unit? Did she actually do stuff to protect me? Personally, I felt like both those questions had the same answer: no. It felt like all we did was work against each other, and she had gotten me into a lot of trouble in the past. I mean, just the other day, she wouldn’t even let me shift.

'That’s because you didn’t actually want to,' Tala chimed in. I huffed, annoyed that she was right.

“We don’t always get along with our wolves,” Cody continued. “But we need to always be looking out for the best interests of each other.”

That part I had actually consciously been trying to improve on. This werewolf thing wasn’t going away, so it was best if I just accepted it and figured out how to live happily with it.

“What does any of this have to do with training, though?” I asked.

Cody smirked at my confusion. “You know you’ll be Luna here shortly. You’ll have just as much say and authority as the Alpha of ours. We know you training right now goes against his wishes, but if you say you want to train and learn how to fight, I have an obligation to follow my leader’s demands.”

Things began to click in my head. I guess I hadn’t put much thought into the possibility of being a leader of this pack, and I wasn’t even sure I wanted to do that. Hell, I was still mostly convinced Oliver was going to reject me. But, at this moment, I could use the potential role to my advantage.

“I suppose the Luna is expected to be a skilled fighter,” I mused, “to protect her pack, of course.”

Cody nodded, encouraging me to continue.

I racked my brain for everything I remembered from the books I had been reading. “And with the threat of hunters and planning to go to war with them upon us, I should be capable of doing something, whether it’s fight in the battle, or have the means to protect and lead the pack that remains at home.”

He motioned for me to continue. I imagined he was getting a bit frustrated with how long winded I was making this, but I was having fun.

“And It’s reasonable to assume the Alpha’s desire to keep me from training is not in the best interest of the pack, so I do think I need to start training now.”

“Is that a request, Luna?” Cody asked darkly.

I smiled broadly at his use of my maybe someday title. “Yes, Gamma, that is a request.”

He nodded in confirmation, gesturing for me to follow him out of his office. “The people at the training grounds have no idea who you are, so I am not worried about them telling anyone about this. But, we should still keep it a secret until Oliver gives his blessing.”

And with that, I followed Cody out for my first session of actual training.