Emma
994 Words
There are two different marks you can receive—if the moon goddess deems you worthy—and only a select few are lucky enough.
Hunter and healer.
Hunters were the warriors of the pack who served the Alpha and ensured the strength of the pack, while healers practiced the medicine and magic that made a pack resilient. Both groups underwent vigorous training to become the strongest members of the pack—aside from the Alpha and Beta. It was a great honor.
I never dreamed I would become either because both groups were elite. They were smart and caring, agile and ferocious, or some combination of all these attributes and more that made them stand out as exceptional. I was utterly ordinary.
But there it was. A tiny crescent moon, directly below my left collarbone.
I sat down hard on the lid of the toilet and stared at the wall in shock. How could this be? I’m so young. I couldn’t remember hearing of a hunter being chosen before their twenty-second birthday.
I didn’t even know what to do next. Hunters were so uncommon that we weren’t even taught much about their rituals in school. I guess the pack elders thought they’d address it on an individual basis. No need to bore everyone with the details.
I remembered the last hunter being chosen; he had to leave his family and begin training immediately. Four years ago? Something like that. I thought he was my sister’s age.
As I got in bed, I made a mental note to ask Ada about him.
***
I woke up early, still feeling jittery from last night’s revelation. I threw my hair into a bun, grabbed a pair of athletic shorts and a long-sleeved shirt, then checked my reflection to make sure my mark was hidden before heading to the training arena.
When I arrived, Caleb was already waiting for me.
“S’up sleepyhead”, he called, pointing to a cup of coffee waiting for me on the window ledge.
“Oof. You’re a life saver”, I replied, taking a sip.
We warmed up with a few laps around the track, then stretches. I watched Caleb out of the corner of my eye, noting how his red t-shirt clung to his muscled chest and brought out the green of his eyes.
“What are you staring at, dork?”, he asked playfully.
I blushed but replied, “Nothing! Just zoning out. I had a late night. Anymore news about the Alpha switch?”
“Nope! All dad will say is he’s coming soon. Almost seems like he doesn’t trust me to keep a secret”, he said, rolling his eyes.
“Well considering it took you all of five minutes to tell me, that seems pretty reasonable”, I said, laughing as I crouched into an attack position.
“Yeah, yeah”, Caleb admitted, before launching himself at me with surprising quickness. I dodged his extended fist and turned, grabbing the back of his exposed neck and pushing down to force him onto his stomach.
“Goddess, Em! Have you been roiding or something?”, he gasped.
“Of course not! I just have a pansy of a training partner, that’s all”, I joked.
Caleb growled and jumped to his feet circling me. The arena had slowly been filling up with groups of training partners, and as usual, there were several training mentors observing the sessions.
Caleb lunged again, this time striking out at me with a strong foot. I felt as though he moved in slow motion, and I could almost see the air rushing past his foot as it extended toward me. With a swift motion, I grabbed the arch of his foot and threw him backward with enough force to send him flying into the soft mats behind him. A few people glanced around at the commotion but quickly returned to their own fights.
One of the benefits of being taller for a lady was that I didn’t have as much of a size disadvantage when fighting men. Still, Caleb and I had been sparring for years and I’d never taken him down with such ease. I wondered if the mark had something to do with it.
Caleb hopped up from the pile of mats and ran at me. I saw a steely glint in his eye and braced myself for his retribution. He moved fast, striking out with fists and feet, but I knew his fighting style and stayed a step ahead, blocking and counter striking without thinking.
His usual lopsided grin became more of a snarl, and I knew he was getting frustrated. I backed off a bit and he threw a heavy kick on my ribs. I felt a little crack, and stumbled backward, holding my side. That bastard.
I flew at him as he bared his teeth at me, answering my growl with an even louder snarl. We were a blur of flying limbs as we each did what we could to knock the other off balance. I saw an opening and took it, sweeping his legs out from under him. Quick as a flash, I was on him, his arm pinned painfully behind his back and my elongated canines at the side of his throat.
I suddenly became aware of the unusual silence in the arena and looked up to see everyone watching us. It was clear that we’d had an audience for awhile—some pairs were even seated on the floor. I looked at the gallery where the training mentors were sitting, and saw looks of surprise and approval.
I could already feel that my ribs had healed. Strange. Broken bones usually took at least a few hours.
I let Caleb up, and he stared at me with wide eyes.
“Okay, what is up with you?”
I had no answers; just more questions of my own.
- Writer
