Alliance of Shadows, Book 4: DRESON

Boys Being Boys

I was content for the first time in my life to have one friend that I knew no one would pick on.

Despite our earlier meetings, Neil proved that he was a good friend by helping me teach Kaden how to fight. We played games outside with a few other kids until it was time to go in for the night. That was when Alpha Henry told us that Neil's mom was away at a one-month Botanicals Conference with her family.

Neil was actually a lot of fun after we got to know him. He still called Kaden a brat, but now he wasn’t so mean to him, especially since I told him I would be his best friend if he stopped.

Some nights after dinner, we’d sit on the floor in Neil’s room, flipping through the covers of his board games before deciding what to play. Kaden would always reach for the game with the smallest pieces, claiming he could win if he got to roll first. Neil had more toys than I had ever seen in one place—rows of action figures lined his shelves, each one frozen in mid-battle, swords raised or fists clenched. His gaming console was tucked next to a stack of controllers, and his bed was covered in a mess of blankets and pillows from our earlier wrestling matches.

Kaden, on the other hand, somehow knew that Neil was only joking with him and started challenging the other boy to races all the time. Every time they raced, Neil won, but Kaden refused to give up, always insisting that he was going to win someday.

"Come find me when someday happens," Neil said one day as we walked around the pack lands, trailing behind Henry as he led us through the winding forest trails. The towering trees swallowed the light above, casting everything in a soft, filtered glow as the dirt path crunched beneath our feet. Henry told us about how some of the older wolves trained here, using the uneven ground to strengthen their endurance. Neil listened carefully, nodding along, while Kaden tried to copy the movements by hopping over rocks and roots, pretending he was already a warrior.

We’d learned so much about one another, but our time was coming to an end. Neil was becoming more like another brother to me rather than just a friend. It was something I knew I would probably be grateful for later in life.

He’d woken that morning with the idea that we could probably try teaching Kaden how to fight. I was game for giving my brother a few lessons, but I wasn’t sure how he would take it.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Kaden squealed when I asked him. "I want to train with my big brudder and our friend. That way, when Dre is not with me, I can fight the bullies all by myself."

Little did I know how badly he needed to learn.

After breakfast, we ran outside to play. Instead of going to the usual spot, we went behind the house. Neil started goading Kaden again, trying his hardest to make my brother lose his cool.

It didn’t take long before he said something that ticked off Kaden and made him pounce on the older boy.

"You’re a Mutt, Kaden," Neil yelled with a smirk.

I watched from the sidelines as Kaden’s face went pale at the insult. For a pack wolf, being called a Mutt was like being told you were worthless.

"I am not a Mutt," I heard my brother say before he charged at Neil.

Grabbing Kaden by his shirt, Neil rocked back on his heels and tossed Kaden onto the ground. The impact sent up a small cloud of dirt, but Kaden barely hesitated before scrambling to his feet. Growling low in his throat, he snapped his teeth at Neil, his body tense, every muscle braced for another attack.

I sighed, "Kaden, I know you're only four but stop letting people get to you. Try not to get mad, or you're going to get beat up!"

"I am trying," he shouted back. He pushed his bangs from his face, stomping his foot angrily.

Laughing, Neil said, "You call that trying? All I did was call you a Mutt. I know you're not, but your brother is right. You can't let people calling you names bother you too much. Laugh it off and call them something back. My dad says if they hit you after that, then fight."

Kaden blinked at Neil, his frustration momentarily fading into confusion. "I don't know how to, though."

"That's why you're learning, baby brother," I said as I walked over to them. I nudged Kaden’s shoulder, coaxing him into throwing a punch at me.

"Stop, Dre," he whined.

"No," I told him. "You wanted to learn how to fight, so fight. Hit me, Kaden."

His lip started to shake as his eyes filled with tears. "I don't want to. I'm not s'posed to, Dre. Brudders don't hurt brudders, remember?"

"Yeah, I know," I replied, pleased that, in the few days since our arrival, he’d become better with his pronunciation of words. "But if someone pushes you down and I'm not there, what will you do then? You have to fight. You wanted to learn, so we're showing you how."

Rolling his eyes, Neil shoved me hard. I landed on the ground with a yelp and looked up just in time to see Kaden tackle him. He grabbed Neil around the middle, using his weight to trip him up, shoving until a sharp gasp escaped my new friend as the air was knocked from his lungs.

Getting to my feet, I reached for Kaden as he pulled back, ready to punch Neil in the face. "Kaden, stop!" I cried out, grabbing his wrist before the punch could land.

"He hurted you, though," he sobbed, his voice thick with frustration.

Pulling him into my arms, I hugged him tightly, feeling his small body trembling against mine. "And that's okay, but he was just trying to see what you would do. If you do that with a bully, don't just sit there. Run from them if you can, okay?"

Neil got to his feet with a grin, brushing dust off his clothes. The rich scent of damp earth filled the air, carried by the breeze rolling off the hills behind the packhouse. A river wound lazily through the sprawling backyard, its waters glinting under the afternoon sun, forming a natural boundary between our play area and the dense forest beyond. The towering trees stood like sentinels, their dark trunks casting long shadows over the landscape, separating the safety of the yard from the unknown depths of the wilderness.

"At least now we know what to do to get his head in the game. He's a defender, and they are im – por – tant to the pack," Neil said, shaking his head as he scanned the open land around us.

Kaden looked between us before turning to me, his brow furrowed. "What does impotent mean, Dreson?"

Neil and I exchanged a glance, both struggling to hold back laughter at my brother’s mispronunciation.

"Important, not impotent, Kaden," I corrected, shaking my head. "It means that you could be a powerful fighter. I'm not sure what the other word means."

Kaden frowned, clearly dissatisfied with my answer. Then, as quickly as the conversation had started, his attention shifted. "I gotta go potty," he said suddenly, before taking off toward the huge mansion that served as the packhouse without another word.

I let out a chuckle as I sat down beside Neil, watching my brother disappear inside. Neil laid back, pulling a long piece of grass from the ground and sticking it between his teeth. He gazed up at the sky, thoughtful. The rolling hills stretched out in soft waves, bathed in golden light, their grassy slopes swaying gently under the breeze. "Your brother’s not that bad. He’s gonna need a lot more training, but he’s really defensive."

"I know, but he's still a bit too small right now. Dad said that when Kaden gets older, he's gonna learn how to fight, too," I told him.

Scoffing, Neil rolled to his side and looked me over. The sunlight filtered through the trees at the edge of the yard, dappling the grass where we lay. The faint rustling of leaves in the distance mingled with the steady ripple of the river as it wound its way through the landscape, creating a quiet, rhythmic sound beneath our conversation. "He needs to learn now, or people are going to keep beating him up. You're not always going to be around to help him, Dreson."

"I know that, and you know that, but the adults think he's still too small. If I hadn't stopped him, though, he would have hurt you really bad. Kaden's punches don't tickle."

Neil huffed, running his fingers over a blade of grass before plucking it from the earth. He studied it for a moment before sticking it between his teeth, chewing absentmindedly. "Yeah, I figured. He's got spirit, but he's gonna need more than that if he wants to survive in a fight."