New Beginnings

CHAPTER 10

A/N:

Please read the author's note at the end of this chapter. Thank you!

*Avon’s P.O.V.*

I am outside somewhere, and I can hear the sound of running water nearby. I glance around and quickly realize I’m on one of the trails in the pack territory. It’s hot outside, and I glance down and realize I’m in shorts and a tank top.

It’s dark outside but my advanced senses allow me to see better than others. I begin walking forward when I suddenly hear the sound of wolves fighting, and a lot of them. I follow the sound and find myself in the clearing that Jake and I frequent that many don’t even know about.

Pack members are fighting in human and wolf form, and there are at least a dozen silver wolves included. I take in the scene before me, and immediately I see Jake’s black wolf and my wolf fighting as well. I hear hissing and realize we’re fighting vampires. As soon as I realize this, a fire ball flies in front of me, and the wolf it was aimed at only just barely dodges out of the way.

I think about all supernatural beings and those that possess the ability to use fire balls. Witches can summon them using magic and warlocks and demons can also use them. I look around and focus on scents to figure out which it is. Having witches in the pack meant I was familiar with light witches’ distinct scent, and dark witches have a similar scent, but for lack of a better word, darker.

I come to the conclusion that we are being attacked by vampires and dark witches and I could only guess that I was the reason and what they were after.

As suddenly as it started, it stopped, and I opened my eyes to find I was laying in our bed with Jake sitting in a kitchen chair next to me. I groaned and rubbed my eyes, causing Jake to stand up. His eyes clouded briefly and then he focused on me.

“Love, are you okay?” he asks.

I nod my head and notice my neck is stiff. “How long was I out?” I asked him.

“About two hours. You just suddenly went limp in my arms and started shaking. I took you to the hospital, but Dr. Brigham and Dr. Bryant both said you were fine. Then my dad came in and said you probably gained another power and to bring you up here. I just mind linked him,” he told me and right on cue, there was a knock at the apartment door. “Be right back, try not to move too much.” He disappeared out of the room and came back less than thirty second later with his dad behind him.

“Avon, what did you see?” Jake’s dad asked.

“How did you…” I began.

“I’ve seen a werewolf have visions before. It’s very tiring and taxing on your body at first,” he answered my unfinished question.

“There was a fight. In the northwestern part of the territory. Everyone was fighting, and there were about a dozen silver wolves. We were fighting vampires and dark witches,” I said to them.

“When was it?” former Alpha Bill asked.

“I don’t know exactly. It was summer, and it was hot and dark,” I paused for a minute to think before adding, “and the moon was full.”

“Well, it’s fall now… so we have at least 9 months to prepare…” he said. “We’ll have to make sure everyone that can train is training daily, Monday through Friday.”

I nod and glance at Jake who is watching me. We have to tell him and your mom, and soon. I can’t train after two months into my pregnancy, and I can’t do heavy training period, I mind linked him, and he nodded ever so slightly.

“Dad, we need mom in here, too. We have something we need to tell you two,” Jake says, and former Alpha Bill’s eyes glaze over as he mind links former Luna Sally.

Jake helps me loosen my stiff body, and all three of us walk to the living room. As soon as we enter, there’s a knock at the door. Bill looks through the peephole before opening the door to reveal Sally. He steps to the side to allow her to come in, and Jake and I sit down in the living room and Bill and Sally sit in the unoccupied chair.

“What is it you need to tell us?” Sally asks, worry in her voice.

“Well, I gained another power and had a vision of us being attacked by vampires and dark witches under a full moon sometime in the summer, but I don’t have a day or even the year it occurs,” I start, and she gasps.

“No wonder you gave Jake quite a fright. That first vision is extremely taxing on your body,” she told me, and I nodded my head.

“So, I’ve heard and felt,” I replied, laughing a little. “But that’s not why we wanted you both here,” I say.

“Then what is it? Is everything okay?” Bill asks anxiously.

“Um…” I hesitate. “Bill informed us that everyone who is capable and of age to start training will have to. And, well, Jake and I are expecting,” I tell them.

They both gasp and Sally jumps up excitedly and grabs my hand, pulling me to stand before she hugs me. “Oh, this is wonderful news!” she exclaims before realization sets in. “Oh,” she murmurs.

“Well, I’ve been training since I was 10 and started learning to fight someone in wolf form since I was 13, and then once I gained my wolf, I began training both ways. I can do light training to keep in shape, but in less than two months, I won’t be able to train at all for three months.”

“We’ll figure this out, together,” Jake said to me, making me smile.

“You’ve already seen my skills as a fighter during training, so I just need to be told what I need to focus on to improve, And I can do that. I also know that I can do the run in human form, and a few other strengthening exercises that won’t put me at risk of miscarrying,” I tell them.

Bill nods his head and puts his hand to his chin while he thinks. After a few minutes of silence, he speaks. “Well, to be quite honest Avon, there isn’t much to improve on. You are the best fighter in this pack, along with Jake and me. I’ve seen you run the obstacle course we built while you were at Silver Moon, and you are the fastest at completing it, even faster than Jake and me. Your combat skills in human form are unmatched against a wolf, and in wolf form, you’re still damn impressive, even without your powers. If you weren’t already the Luna, we’d have made you the head trainer.”

I was stunned. “Really? I didn’t think I was that good, and there’s always room for improvement for anyone.”

“Well, yes, of course there is. There are always new fighting styles to learn, ways to become stronger, et cetera. But to be honest, your old pack’s training regimen is much better than ours has ever been. We never though about training pups as early as 10, because, well, they’re still pups.

“But in the short time that the training has been switched, we’ve seen greatness from everyone who trains. The 10–12-year-olds are enthusiastic and eager to learn, and they pick up on things quick. The 13- and 14-year-olds are still gaining strength since they don’t have the advantage of having those three years of strength training and learning the fighting style best suited for them, and the 15-year-olds and older love to be able to let their wolves out nearly daily, including the pack run in wolf form. It allows their wolf side to get out first thing in the morning, enabling them to have more control of their wolves throughout the day. It also helps keep their wolves in shape as well.”

I smiled at Bill. “I’m so glad to hear that. It seems a lot of members are benefiting from the new training regimen, then.” I turned to Jake. “I think we should call Harvest Moon, Blood Moon, and Frost Moon to talk to them about their training regimen,” I told him.

“That a great idea. Maybe we can get them to change theirs to resemble ours so that when the time comes, if they decide to join us, they will be used to the way we train and will already have the strength, endurance, and skill that we need. Let’s go now,” he said and took my hand, pulling me with him towards the door.

“Thank you, Bill and Sally,” I called out over my shoulder as Jake led me out the door. I heard them chuckle softly before the door shut behind us.

Jake took me to the elevator, and we rode down to the second floor. We walked the hallway to his office and shut the door behind him. He flipped through the list of pack names and phone numbers and flips to Blood Moon first. He takes the phone off the cradle and dials their number before placing the phone on speaker. After a few rings, someone picks up.

“Alpha Declan and Luna Amara, may I ask who’s speaking?”

“Alpha Declan, this is Alpha Jake and my Luna Avon, who is actually the one who came up with this brilliant idea.”

“Oh? And what might that be?” Alpha Declan asks.

Jake looked at me, signaling me to speak.

“So, as you know, I am Primordial. I had my first vision about the battle occurring sometime during the summer. I don’t have a date, but it was hot, and it was at night during a full moon. That gives us around 9 months to prepare since it’s the beginning of fall. I’m hoping that I’ll get more and more details in future visions.

“Anyways, after speaking to former Alpha Bill and Luna Sally, I came up with an idea that would help get us all on the same page regarding strength, endurance, and skill. I was thinking that we all use similar, if not the same, training regimens,” I explained. “But also, I need to know if you have any silver wolves in your pack.”

“Yes, we have two. And we like your idea, it’s genius. What is the training regimen we will be using?” Alpha Declan asks.

“Well, I want to call Frost Moon and Harvest Moon to find out whether they would like to do the same and if they do, I would like to do a video conference with all three of your packs to go over our training regimen and any suggestions to improve it,” Jake responds.

“Okay, sounds great. Please text my personal cell with the conference room video conference number when you are ready.”

“Okay. Oh, and Alpha Declan?”

“Yes, Luna Avon?”

“What are your pack members’ names that have silver wolves, and what are the wolves’ names?” I ask.

“Adonis and his wolf’s name is Hephaestus, he is 17, and Aurelia whose wolf’s name is Eos, and she is 16.”

“The God of fire and the Goddess of dawn,” I mused. “Okay, thank you Alpha Declan,” I tell him. “I’m going to add them to my chart.”

“You’re welcome. We look forward to hearing from you shortly.” With that, the phone line clicked, ending the call.

“I’ll be right back,” I tell Jake as I walk next door to my office where I had moved the chart of silver wolves. I unpin it from the board and take it with me back to Jake’s office. I place it on his whiteboard with a magnet and add Adonis and Aurelia to it.

I nod to Jake after I finish, who picks up the phone and dials the number to Frost Moon and puts the phone on speaker. We go through the same process that we did with Blood Moon and find out they have two silver wolves as well, Bryce, whose wolf’s name is Zeus, god of thunder and sky, and Cataleya, whose wolf’s name is Cybele, goddess of caverns, mountains, nature, and wild animals. I add them to the chart while Jake dials Harvest Moon.

We yet again go through the same process as we did with the other two packs. I find out that they have another silver wolf, Ezekiel, whose wolf counterpart is named Aether, god of upper air, light, atmosphere, space, and heaven, and I add him to the chart.

Jake then texts everyone the conference room video conference number after we start up the video call and have Archer and Nyla, our head trainers join us. One by one, the calls come in until all three packs have joined in the call.

I notice they too, have a third and/or fourth person with them who I assume are their head trainer(s). Frost Moon also has two middle-aged people, a male and a female, who I assume are Alpha Xavier and Luna Alice. I notice they are including the future Alpha and Luna, Cooper and Cali, in the video conference, who we met back at Silver Moon.

The Deltas introduce themselves one by one.

“Deltas Noah and Ava,” Alpha Declan introduces.

“I am Alpha Xavier, and this is my mate and Luna, Alice. It’s nice to put a face to your names,” the middle-aged male from Frost Moon tells us. “And this is our head trainer, Delta Camila.”

“Deltas James and Hazel,” Alpha Quinn from Harvest Moon introduces.

“These are our head trainers, Deltas Archer and Nyla,” Jake introduces, motioning towards them. “Alright, since we are all on the same page on getting our training regimens to be the same, I would like each of you to tell us your current training regimen, along with when your members start training, and we will write it on the whiteboard behind us to keep track. We will let Blood Moon go first, then Frost Moon, and then Harvest Moon,” he adds.

Delta Noah from Blood Moon explains their training regimen while I write it down on the white board behind us. They start training at 15.

Once Delta Noah is finished, Delta Camila from Frost Moon tells us their training regimen in detail, along with that they start training once someone shifts for the first time.

Lastly, Delta James explains their training regimen and age for beginning training, which is also 15.

I finish writing everything down while Deltas Archer and Nyla take turns explaining our current training regimen and when our members begin training. I notice everyone’s mouth drops and hold back a laugh.

“Why do you start so young?” Alpha Declan asks.

“Well, we start at age ten because that’s when my former pack began, and former Alpha Bill thought it was a good idea. It allows them to build up strength and endurance and allows them to find the skill/fighting style they are best at in human versus human form. Then, at 13, they take these skills and put them to use in learning how to fight someone who is in wolf form to further improve their fighting style. At fifteen, or once thy shift for the first time, they begin to learn how to fight in wolf form,” I explain.

Only the word, “wow,” came from everyone’s mouth.

“We implemented this new regimen only about a couple weeks ago when I arrived here. So, the 13-and-14-year-olds don’t have the advantage that the 10-13-year-olds have, but they are learning rather quickly and building up strength just as well.

“And the 15-year-olds don’t have the advantage that either of the other two groups have, but they are doing just as well and quite enjoy being able to let their wolves out almost daily for the pack runs, which helps keep their wolves in shape and allows them to have better control over their wolves throughout the day. Some even do a five-mile run on the weekends in wolf form. We have a large group that run the path we usually take together on Saturdays and Sundays,” I tell them.

“That makes sense. A lot of sense. How do you determine who trains?” Alpha Quinn asks.

“Right now, anyone that is 10 or over and can train, trains. The elderly are exempt, but some still train to keep up on everything just in case. Our pregnant members do a light training consisting of the 10-mile sprint, yoga, and stretches,” I answer.

“What do you mean by ‘right now’?” Alpha Xavier asks.

“Well, with the premonition Avon had and the fact that we know a battle is going to occur regardless, we want to make sure we have as many warriors as possible prepared. After the battle, we will change it to just those that actually want to train. And those that aren’t the strongest won’t be fighting so we don’t risk their lives. We have a few that aren’t strong fighters and we’re still giving them a chance to improve and a timeline of four months to show improvements,” Jake explains.

“Okay, that makes sense,” Alpha Xavier says, and everyone nods in agreement.

“Now, does this training regimen sound reasonable to everyone?” I ask them and everyone answers yes with a nod. “We would like this to be implemented effective immediately.”

“Of course,” every Delta responds as they write down our regimen, glancing up every now and then to look at the whiteboard behind us.

“Any further questions?” Jake asks.

“Did you just send a massive mind link, or did you call for a pack meeting to tell everyone?” future Alpha Cooper asks.

“We sent out a massive mind link to inform everyone of the mandatory pack meeting, where we told everyone the news. Some parents were not happy that their pups would be training, but they understood the necessity in the end. And of course, we did not inform them that those whose performance wasn’t up to par would not take part in the battle.”

“Of course not,” future Alpha Cooper says.

“Any other questions?” I ask.

Everyone shakes their heads, so we say our goodbyes before the video call is disconnected. Jake takes my hand, and everyone files out of the conference room.

A/N:

I want to apologize once again for the very delayed update. As I said in my added author's note in the previous chapter, I had some health issues I needed to take care of first and foremost, as my health and wellbeing comes before my writing.

I will be starting a new, full-time job soon, so I do not know what my update schedule will be specifically. Until I do, I will TRY to update as frequently as possible, hopefully at least every other day. As I will be out of town on weekends, there will most likely not be updates on the weekends, except on rare occasions.

Thank you for your understanding and continuing to support my stories and me.

-CookieK