Absconditum

Chapter 2

"You're being lazy, you're not dodging any of his attacks."

Blowing a strand of hair from my face, I narrowed my eyes at my opponent. Since Finn is leaving in a few days, he's training me harder than ever. Correcting every single mistake I make, even if it is a small one. Such as not blocking a few attacks from the other warrior and making low blows. Blowing out a breath, I twist around Holden as he lunges for me. I spin and grab his arm, folding it behind his back in a painful manner, causing him to yelp from the torment. I quickly dug my heel into the back of his knee, forcing him to fall towards the ground. Before he was able to fight back, I put all my weight on him and slammed his forehead against the ground, successfully knocking him unconscious. 

"Am I being lazy now?" I gasped.

A smirk danced on his lips as he shook his head in amusement, "No, but you certainly get angry whenever I say you are. You can't allow your enemies to get the best of you like that. I mean...you're pretty tough to beat when you are pissed, but it's not always the best way to go. Your anger can easily blind you to any attacks from others. These rogue know how to fight and they do it good, especially if they can beat an alpha like Alistair."

I sighed, "They're going to come for our pack, aren't they?"

"I'm afraid so, even with all the plans mom has. They're excellent ideas, but these rogues....whoever is their leader seems to know how a pack works."

"You think he may have been a pack wolf before?"

Finn pursed his lips in thought, "Possibly. Though, it's rare for an ex pack wolf to become part of a rogue pack. He didn't only do that, he became their boss as well. 

"I don't get it, aren't they considered a pack then? Rogues are supposed to be loners, right?"

"No, that is what a lone wolf is. Rogues are normally....feral, they don't follow pack rules and their packs aren't like regular ones. They only have an alpha, no beta. They do have a general sort of wolf, he or she controls their attack plans but they must run it by the alpha first."

"And how do you know this?"

"You learn a lot when you manage to capture one."

I frowned, "You tortured that rogue, didn't you?"

"You have to if you want answers from them. They won't just tell you everything out of the kindness of their heart."

"I hate the idea of doing that to someone though," I murmur as I shake Holden awake.

He groaned from the pain, "Did you have to be that aggressive? Damn."

"Yeah," I laughed. 

Finn laughed, "Holden, go get checked out for any concussion."

"Yeah yeah, I am."

As soon as he was a good few feet away, Finn pulled me closer. "I know you hate how dad used to torture them and I followed in his footsteps. But you can't be nice to rogues, Eden. That's how you get killed and put the pack in danger."

I nod, but I couldn't help to silently disagree with him. I know rogues are dangerous, they're nothing like the few bad apples that I've run into. Even so, I hate needing to torture someone just because they're part of a pack of savage wolves. It doesn't seem fair to me, we don't even know if every single rogue is part of this group. Some may actually be lone wolves, but call themselves rogues due to how confusing the terms can be. 

Looking up, I watch as pups play with each other, acting as if they're warriors already. A smile dances upon my lips, but it doesn't stay long. Being a werewolf is nothing a mortal could possibly think of. Sure, mortals probably believe we turn into those odd wolf/man like creatures and are loners. I can't count how many movies I would watch and instead of being an actual wolf, they were some weird, deformed thing. There's even some who believe if we bite a human, they'll become one of us. The thought always causes a chuckle to come from me, we aren't vampires. We can't inject some special venom or saliva into a human and make them into the same species we are. Gods, would that be terrible. They wouldn't know what to do with themselves, it's difficult having an animal side to you. 

In our beginning years, starting at age four, we're taught how to handle our emotions. We don't actually shift until we reach age twelve, but it's smarter to have us learn to handle emotions earlier. By the time we shift, we're able to let problems go and not allow our anger to take over. If a young werewolf lets their feelings get the best of them, they could easily shift into a wolf and attack anyone. It's dangerous to do that within a pack, but it's worse to do it when we're walking among mortals. It's not everyday you see someone turning into an overgrown wolf in the middle of the mall and terrorizing others. 

According to my mom, I was the most difficult to control. Even now, I still allow my anger to get the best of me but I know how to stop myself from shifting. It's still difficult though, the pain that comes from holding a shift back is more painful then getting my head bashed in. It takes buckets of self control to not scream or give it away that I was suffering. Which is why I try to avoid getting too close to humans, despite my friends always begging me to come with them. 

They're always going on and on about some place called Starbucks, telling me that I need to try it. I always decline, I tried their drinks once and I wasn't a fan. The drink wasn't terrible, but I much rather the Colombian coffee that my mother buys from the supermarket. Add some vanilla creamer and a little bit of sugar and it's like heaven in your mouth. But it can easily destroy your stomach as well, I rarely drink it while at training or in my lessons. 

The sound of my mom doing dishes quickly pulls me from my thoughts as I follow Finn into the kitchen. She greets us with a smile before focusing on the dishes again, her eyes narrowed on a small tomato sauce stain. I quickly grab a bottle of water before going to my room, desperate to shower. I've always loathed the feeling of being sweaty and dirty, of course my brother never understood. He claims it's the scent of the hard work and power. No, it's just the scent of deodorant that didn't last long. He isn't fooling me.

As the water hit my skin and began relaxing my muscles, I let out a small sigh. I quickly forgot about all the stress of being alpha some day and thought over the times where my father was alive. The pain still tugged at my heart, but the memory of the happiness and laughter he brought to us caused a smile to still appear on my face.