He Will Be Mine (New Horizon Book 1)

The Trials Part IV

Aly

Tyler and I were up a little late talking about werewolves again. The Elders let him keep his memories this time, and he came back to me filled with questions. I appreciate his eagerness and willingness to learn, I really do, but eventually I had to cut him off with a reminder that 5 a.m. always comes too soon.

This time, he gets up with me and we get ready for training together. He really seems to want a chance to train with us in wolf form, but I know that even with how fit he is, he is so far from ready for that.

“All in due time,” I assure him. “But if you want, I can shift for you and you can spar with my wolf for a bit at some point. I’ve been wanting to show you anyway.”

“Aly, that would be amazing. I really want to see your wolf, and I want to see a shift in real life. I saw it happen in my dream or fantasy or whatever that was yesterday, and I want to compare notes on what it’s really like,” he says as he finishes lacing up his running shoes.

We head down to breakfast together and both of us scarf down some fruit and oatmeal before meeting up with the others on the training grounds. I notice a lot of curious looks as we approach where they are gathered. Everyone saw him the other day before the holiday feast, but I guess no one expected him to show up to train with us. Thankfully, most people seem receptive to it, though a few worry whether it will affect our training if we have to make concessions for a human.

“Tyler will be paired with Aly, and the rest of you will stick to the normal activities,” Dad informs us in answer.

After finishing his morning routine of announcing assignments and reminding everyone of upcoming events of note on the schedule, he pulls us away from the group.

“I want you to spar with him for a bit so I can observe and make notes,” he instructs.

“We do this all the time at the gym,” Tyler remarks, and my dad smirks at him.

I can tell he feels confident, and I hate to have to break it to him.

“No, we don’t. We spar like humans at the gym. You’re on my turf now, Jenkins,” I add playfully, which makes him grin.

“Bring it,” he says tauntingly.

I hear Dad chuckle. He seems to be warming up to Tyler and even coming to appreciate him to an extent. I wonder if he can see, though, that Tyler isn’t as cocky as he can come off to people who don’t know him. He jokes and plays around, which I think helps make difficult situations easier for him. I can tell he knows he is about to receive quite a beating. I also know he is open to it, and even welcomes it, because he wants to learn. I hope that’s what my dad sees, too.

After the first couple rounds of me pressing the attack and him scrambling just to defend, he seems to recover from being surprised by my true strength. I’m still holding back, but only slightly. I know he got a taste of what it’s like to be a completely unprepared human facing off with a werewolf, and I do genuinely want to help him learn how to maneuver that sort of situation better.

Eventually, he starts getting in some hits of his own, and by the time Dad calls an end to it, he has landed some that I think might actually bruise before they heal.

“I want to shift so he can meet my wolf and get a sense of what sparring with that form can be like,” I tell Dad.

“Alright, that seems like a good idea. Nothing too intense, though,” he warns.

“Of course not,” I agree, that having been my intent all along. Mostly, I just want to see his reaction to seeing me shift and find out what he thinks of Mari.

I begin removing my clothes in preparation for my shift, noticing the smirk creeping across Tyler’s face.

“Really? Here? Now?” he teases, and I’m stunned that he would have the gall to do that with my dad standing right there.

“Shut up, Tyler,” Dad and I tell him at the same time, and he snickers.

I will say I’m glad to see him loosening up and becoming more comfortable here and with my dad especially. I worried at first how Dad would respond to his snark, but he seems okay with it at this point.

Tyler watches in awe as I begin my shift and Mari’s form starts to emerge. I wish I didn’t have to close my eyes so that I could see the expression on his face the whole time. With that in mind, I try keeping them open this time, focusing on his face to guide me through the nausea and dizziness that usually overtake me.

It works. It seems a bit like everything else disappears and it’s just me and him in this moment, his eyes transfixed on my transformation and his mouth open slightly in wonder. I can see in his eyes that there is no fear or disgust, only awe and admiration. My vision blurs momentarily as my head and face transform into Mari’s and her brown eyes replace my green ones, and then I blink a couple times and there he is again, sharper and clearer than ever.

“Aly, you’re so beautiful,” he gushes, automatically stepping forward and reaching out to pet my wolf.

“Actually, her wolf is named Mari,” Dad corrects him informatively.

“Mary?” Tyler asks, his eyes still fixed on my wolf, drinking in every bit of her. His fingers glide through her coat, and he looks giddy as though it’s the coolest thing he has ever seen.

“No, Mah-ree,” Dad exaggerates the pronunciation to be sure that Tyler understands.

“Oh, got it.”

Mari lunges for him playfully and rises on her hind legs to knock him over onto the grass. I can sense that she feels a little giddy too, enjoying how he laughs and wriggles beneath her.

“I guess her wolf decided play time is over and it’s time to spar,” Dad comments.

He’s wrong, actually. Mari decided that play time is on.

“It is a good chance for you to get to know her, which is important,” Dad continues to explain, standing over us and observing with interest as Mari tugs on Tyler’s clothes with her teeth and playfully nips at him. Tyler just giggles and continues trying to pet her.

“After all, if her wolf doesn’t approve, it will be difficult for you to mate with her,” Dad adds sternly, reminding us that there's a serious reason beneath all the fun.

Tyler freezes for a moment and looks concerned. “Why is that?” he asks.

“Because if Mari doesn’t approve then she won’t be willing to mark you.”

Tyler looks back at Mari with the first worried expression I have seen from him. “You mean this wolf is going to pee on me?”

I think he might be serious.

My dad starts laughing, which only confuses Tyler.

“I can’t even deal with you right now,” Dad says, still laughing as he starts to walk away from us. “Good luck, Tyler,” he calls out over his shoulder.

Tyler looks up at Mari with a worried little smile. “You wouldn’t pee on me, would you, Mari?” he asks.

Mari leans her head down and starts licking his face reassuringly. He really does seem worried about getting peed on by a wolf, and I have to agree with my dad that it’s pretty funny. Mari takes him seriously, though, and wants to reassure him the best way she can for now. Later I’m going to have to explain how werewolves mate, it seems.

She backs off of him to let him get up. After getting to his feet and brushing himself off, he turns to her and holds up his fists in a mock fighting stance.

“Alright then, let’s go, wolfie.”

-

-

Tyler

I quickly realize that Aly’s wolf, Mari, isn’t sparring with me like she means it. She is helping me realize a lot of the ways that fighting a wolf would be challenging for a human, though. Even as we’re just playing, she seems to easily be able to knock me over and drag me around. I’ve trained a bit in hand-to-hand combat and have learned all about keeping your guard up and how to defend, but when the opponent has four legs and a tail and uses razor sharp teeth to fight, well, I’m not sure how to deal with that.

Mr. Bentley comes back over to us after awhile and brings someone new with him. I realize when I glance up that he is probably another Elder, just judging by the look of him. His hair isn’t as long as Elder Gerard’s, but it is mostly gray, and his style of dress is similar to the others.

“Tyler, this is Elder Benjamin,” Mr. Bentley introduces him. “He’s here to take you for the next part of your trials.”

“Hello, Tyler,” Elder Benjamin greets me, clasping my hand in his and smiling at me warmly. In a way, he kind of reminds me of my grandpa. He looks me up and down with a twinkle in his eyes. “I see you’ve already gotten a head start on what will be the last part of your trials. It shouldn’t take long to finish you off.”

His demeanor is still friendly, and he is chuckling good-naturedly, but I don’t like how he worded that. I hope he means completing the trials rather than “finishing me off.”

“I thought there were seven parts?” I question. By my count, I’ve only completed three, and this will be four. I hope that doesn’t mean they’re discontinuing the process early because I’ve screwed something up.

I’m vaguely aware of Mari moving around behind me, and by the sound of it, shifting back. I hear the rustling of clothing and that confirms it for me.

“There are seven characteristics we wish to observe, but we can witness multiple simultaneously if that’s how it works out. How long it takes and how many sessions varies depending on how you respond to the stimuli. I’ve been told you’re an easy, straight-forward candidate to observe.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I reply, mentally patting myself on the back until I realize that easy and straight-forward could also mean simple-minded and unimpressive. I choose to stay positive, though. “Lead the way. And so you know, I prefer to remember what happens.”

Aly joins me after she is dressed, winding an arm around my waist and leaning her head on my shoulder for a moment.

“Good luck, and be safe,” she says, before joining her dad.

I follow Elder Benjamin a few paces. He turns to me, explaining to me as we continue walking, “The way I do things is very different from what you have experienced so far. There is no option to forget. It’s a hands-on experience.”

“Ah, well, I have to say that’s more my style anyway,” I remark.

He takes me to an area of the training grounds that has been sectioned off and specially prepared for a competition, or so it looks. The way it is set up kind of reminds me of a boxing ring, though in place of the ropes are tall chain-link fences. Wait, no. This is a cage. This is meant to contain the competition, or more like corner the competitors.

He does take me inside that area, but to my surprise, he hands me a bo staff and keeps one for himself. He spends some time instructing me how to use it, explaining things like staff grip, bo stance, block up, block down, until the terms he is demonstrating and throwing at me are starting to become a dizzying whirlwind in my head.

“Elder Benjamin, I mean no disrespect, but I’m a bit of a hands-on learner,” I timidly interject once I realize I’ve already forgotten most of what he has shown me. “If you want to just start beating on me and explain it that way, I’ll probably learn it better.”

He laughs heartily, nodding his head once he regains his composure. “Alright, I can knock some sense into you if you’d prefer.”

He doesn’t even give me a moment to take that in before he has closed the distance between us and is lunging toward me with his bo staff. I raise mine to block his in the way I saw him do, and he nods his approval. “Good.”

Time seems to fly by as I’m having an incredible amount of fun doing whatever this is called with him. Sparring? No idea. It’s a lot of hard work and I can feel my muscles burning, but I’m loving it. I feel like a ninja. Granted, when he hits he hits hard and I know I’m going to be in agony tomorrow, but I feel like I’m learning quickly and I’m having a blast doing it so I don’t even care.

Finally, he pulls back and holds up a hand, and I know he is calling a stop.

“I think we should get you some water and check you over before we continue with the next part,” he says as though it is a suggestion, but I know my place here. It’s a command.

As I’m tossing back a big bottle of water, he seems to be regarding me appraisingly.

“You are surprisingly strong,” he remarks, and then drinks from his own bottle.

“Strong, or strong for a human?” I ask, wondering how impressed I should consider him to be.

“Exceptionally strong for a human, and comparable to some werewolves. I won’t clarify that further, because I don’t want you think I’m insulting you when I’m not. You are strong,” he insists.

As promised, he checks me over, surveying the damage, and determines that I am fit to continue. We return to the cage he has constructed for us, and I notice that there are four additional guys here now. Somehow, I get the feeling that I’m going to fight them. All of them.

Elder Benjamin hands me the bo staff again and begins to explain the rules.

“I’m going to start you one-on-one with one of these fine gentlemen, and I’ll be over there observing,” he points to an area outside the fence. “You need to stay alert and be ready to react, because at any point one or more of these others might see fit to test you as well. I assure you that they are not here to hurt you, at least not more than you can handle, but we do aim to test your limits. If at some point you have had enough and want to call it off, you can use a signal word which will indicate to them to back off. Once you do that, we will be finished here, but do not let that influence your decision to use your signal word. Otherwise, we are finished when I call stop. Understand?”

“I do,” I respond in acknowledgement. “Just one question, though. Do I get to choose my safe word?”

I hear some of the others chuckle, and even Elder Benjamin smirks.

“Yes, you may choose your signal word, or we can use mine.”

“I choose ‘mercy’ because that’s the one I’m familiar with from growing up with my cousins.”

“Alright then. Everyone heard that?” Elder Benjamin asks, looking around to see all the other guys nod or say that they have.

“Then return to the center and get ready. We’ll begin at my signal,” Elder Benjamin says as he backs away from us, making a show of running up the fence and hopping over it. Impressive for an old man, or any man really. I don’t think I could do that.

I get back into the stance he showed me and the other guys circle around me, one closer than the others. I assume the test can begin at any point and expect that though he looks like the one I’ll be fighting first, it could be a trick. I try to keep myself nimble and ready.

Once Elder Benjamin gives the signal, sure enough, one of the other guys lunges for me. I spin to meet his attack with a block from my staff and try not to let myself get distracted by the ego boost that gives me.

We face off for a bit, and then I hear movement behind me and spin quickly to block the incoming attack. From there it just becomes a blur, sometimes fighting one or the other of them, sometimes two or three. I feel like I hold my own as well as can be expected, considering that I just learned how to do this. I also feel like I’m getting the crap beaten out of me, and by the time Elder Benjamin finally calls ‘stop’ I’m breathing more heavily than I ever have in my life and my entire body is throbbing. Even the tips of my ears.

The other guys shake my hand before they return their weapons to Elder Benjamin, who comes to meet me where I’ve flopped on my butt on the ground. I don’t care how weak it makes me look to the others, I need a rest. He brought a water for me, thankfully, as well as a protein shake and some cool towels.

“Bless you, Elder Benjamin,” I tell him playfully, though my gratitude is sincere.

He chuckles, plopping himself down beside me. “You did well today, Tyler, I thought you should know. The others may be tight-lipped about their impressions of you, not wanting to give away any indication of what you can expect the outcome to be, but I’ll tell you flat-out that you have impressed me immensely. I’m only one of seven, though, so my opinion may not reflect that of the others, and they could still decide against you, but you have my support.”

“And that’s not nothing," I answer him, honored by his praise. "You don’t know what that means. Would you believe that not even a decade ago I was a wimpy, skinny kid who could barely handle the weight of his own body? I’m proud of how hard I’ve worked, and I feel like it all finally paid off in the best way today. Even if I fail, I’ll always know that I survived four werewolves at once, and that Elder Benjamin believes in me.”

He smiles warmly at me, considering me still. “I do believe that. It makes a lot of sense. That would be where your drive to succeed and to prove that you’re more than others think comes from, I’d guess. I wish you all the best, Tyler.”

-

-

Kane

I sit across from the three Elders who have made the trek to visit my pack for Tyler’s trials, marveling at the noticeable differences between them. Despite their similar clothing that signifies they are each one of the seven honored Elders who have been chosen to govern our werewolf societies, their distinct personalities shine through. There’s the animated and passionate Elder Norissa, the imposing yet somehow inviting figure of Elder Benjamin, and the subdued, introverted Elder Gerard who always seems to be in a bad mood.

“Tyler has completed all his trials, and we have collected careful notes and observations to take back to the others to discuss,” Elder Norissa informs me. “I believe that we are in agreement that his prospects look promising, though of course we cannot decide just between us three.”

“After we have convened and come to a decision, you’ll be the first to know,” Elder Gerard promises.

“I’d like to state for the record that even if it turns out that he is determined to be unfit for an Alpha’s mate, he still seems like a good friend for your daughter to have,” Elder Benjamin adds. “He’s a good kid, Alpha. Don’t let the opinions of some crotchety elderly people influence how you see him.”

“I’ve come to learn the truth of that in his time here,” I agree with him. “As difficult as that is for me to admit. I wanted to hate him, but there’s something about him that just won’t let me.”

He chuckles at that, and I can see from his face that he has enjoyed the kid in his short time with him.

I shift in my seat to address them as a whole, assuming my professional demeanor once again. “We have been honored to have you all as guests, and you are welcome to stay as long as you wish. I also appreciate you all coming despite the short notice. I just wanted to get it out of the way so that my daughter could have a clearer picture of how he could potentially fit into her life, to help her decide.”

“Of course,” Elder Norissa replies. “Tell her we wish her, and them, the best of luck with that.”