The Human Luna

Say That Again

(Adam's POV)

Let's go buddy. They aren't going to be happy, but let's get this over with.

I could feel Pik's reluctance, a low grumble of discontent in the back of my mind, but he agreed. We began moving down to the training ground, cutting through the woods with ease. A path we've taken hundreds of times before. The familiar scent of pine and damp earth did little to soothe the churning in my gut. The Scar. Of all the vindictive, manipulative punishments my father could have devised, this was the cruelest. It was a test, certainly, but one with deadly consequences.

We burst out of the trees, the shift washing over me in a painful, familiar rush. Bones realigning, fur receding, muscles screaming as they reshaped into my two-legged form. Before the last of the tingling sensation had faded, an Omega was there, holding out a pair of gray sweats. "Thank you," I grunted, pulling them on. The simple act of covering myself felt like donning armor again.

"Come to join in the fun, future Alpha Adam?" Rufus's voice called out, laced with its usual jesting tone. I turned, a sharp retort on my tongue, but stopped myself. I noticed there were other wolves around too, not just him and Ronan. Younger warriors, their eyes watchful. So that was the reason for the formality.

I shake my head. "Came to talk to you two. So, end this match and come see me."

Ronan, ever the one to take things as a challenge, seized the moment. He rushed Rufus, who, with his preternatural speed, went low and pulled his legs out from under him. Ronan crashed into the dirt floor with a solid thud that made me wince in sympathy. Several others cheered and a few laughed.

"Why does the dirt always taste like this?" Ronan asked, spitting out a mouthful of grit before sitting up.

I shake my head, a small smile touching my lips despite the weight on my shoulders. I walk to the edge of the training grounds, overlooking the valley where our pack lands sprawled. Rufus was by my side first, his usual joking demeanor replaced by an unusual seriousness. He could feel it too. The wrongness of this.

"What's the damage, big man?"

I turned to see Ronan walking up too, pouring a bottle of water over his head and shaking it out, sending a spray everywhere. He stopped beside us, his expression grim.

"The Scar."

The word hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. Rufus's eyes widened, his blue eyes darkening with understanding. Ronan seemed to freeze, his hand pausing mid-air. Then, in his normal dry sense of humor that always surfaced when things were darkest, he said, "Oh sure. You beat the s**t out of someone so all three of us have to die." He deadpanned, looking me right in the eyes.

Rufus turns to him, his voice a low hiss. "Sure, c***k a joke. This is The Scar, Ronan. The home of a lot of rogues who went feral after the war when they learned what had happened to their pack."

Ronan shrugged at that but never took his eyes off me. "Death by rogue or death by your father's temper. What's the difference?"

"It's for two weeks," I continued, ignoring his gallows humor. "We start tomorrow night."

"The hell is your dad trying to do?" Rufus turned back to me, his voice sharp with concern. "Force you to be anti-human through just... whatever this is? Make you so scared you'll fall in line?"

I shake my head at him. "I don't know, man. He's never been this harsh, but it wasn't the first time someone landed in the infirmary because they wouldn't shut up."

"Yeah, I get that," Ronan chimed in, "so why do we have to pay?"

"No clue," I admitted, my gaze drifting over the other warriors. "Maybe because they don't want to punish someone who sides with them on how we should treat humans."

That's when I saw it. A few of the warriors on the other side of the training grounds, sidelong glances filled with resentment. Then, clear as day, a sneer and a muttered word carried on the wind. 'Human lover.'

My patience, already worn thin from the confrontation with my father, evaporated. The anger that had been simmering beneath my skin boiled over. Pushing past Rufus and Ronan, I stalked over, my eyes locked on the warrior who spoke. He was a younger one, maybe a year past his first shift, all muscle and bravado and not enough sense to keep his mouth shut.

"Say that again," I said, my voice low and dangerous. "I dare you."

His eyes went wide. He hadn't expected me to hear, let alone confront him. As an Alpha heir, I was stronger, faster, and my hearing was the best in the entire pack. He knew he was out of his depth. "I... no. Please Adam... I'm sorry." I could see the fear in his eyes and smell it rolling off of him, a sour, cloying scent.

"I already put one warrior in the infirmary today," I growled, stepping into his space. "You want a bed next to him?" I grabbed him by the throat before he could even respond, my fingers digging into the soft flesh of his neck. He made a choked, gurgling sound, his hands coming up to claw uselessly at my arm.

"Adam, stop!" Rufus's voice was sharp in my ear as he wrapped his arms around my chest, trying to pull me back. Ronan was on my other side, his grip like iron on my bicep.

The other warriors, seeing their packmate in genuine danger, rushed forward and pulled him away, holding us apart. The warrior stumbled back, clutching his throat, his face turning a mottled red.

"Don't EVER call me that again," I snarled, my vision tinged with orange. Pik was right at the surface, his fury a roaring inferno in my mind. My eyes flashed bright orange, the color of my wolf's, a clear sign that my lycan was making his presence felt.

The warrior nodded so fast he looked like a bobblehead, his terror a palpable wave that washed over the training grounds. I released him with a shove, turning my back on the cowering wolf and the shocked silence of the pack. I stalked back off to the edge that overlooked the pack lands, my chest heaving, my hands clenched into fists.

That was not the way, Pik said, his voice now a low grumble of disapproval. We showed them our anger, not our strength.

He needed to learn his place, I shot back, though I knew Pik was right. I had just proven every negative thing they thought about me. That I was unstable, a danger, a future Alpha who ruled through fear instead of wisdom.

I looked out over the valley, at the homes dotted among the trees, at the wolves going about their lives, blissfully unaware of the storm brewing within their future leadership. I was supposed to unite them, to lead them into a new era of peace. But all I was doing was tearing them further apart. And tomorrow, I would be leading my two best friends into the most dangerous place on the continent, all because I couldn't control my temper.