Chapter 46 - Training

Daemon POV

I regretted agreeing to train this morning.

I love my mate, I really do, but when he started gently shaking my shoulder to wake me up, I wanted to do nothing more than lock him in a shed and go back to bed.

Begrudgingly though, I woke up with many curses and groans. I know, it's only 6:30, but that was still stupidly early for me. It always had been.

Matias just chuckled, though, kissing my lips and dealing with my grumpy morning side.

____

We eventually made it downstairs and had breakfast with a few of the other people that were going out for training.

When we got outside we had to walk a little way into the forest, before reaching a large clearing. The area was mostly compact dirt, with a few weeds pushing past the dirt here and there. People were already warming up, stretching while talking with other pack members, and a few heads turned when we walked out, friendly smiles greeting us. One man, in particular, came up to us and slapped Matias on the shoulder when he spotted him.

"Finally decided to join us, huh?" He asked a smile spread wide across his face. He was only a few inches shorter than Matias, his skin a slightly tan color but still much lighter than my mate's. His sandy brown hair was shaved on the sides and longer on the top but looked like it had recently been cut. His eyes were green, and filled with amusement and energy. He overall looked like a very fun man, but I didn't really like the fact he was currently hanging off my mate.

Matias rolled his eyes, and pushed the other man's arm off, much to my enjoyment.

"Hello Andy, yes I'm back to join the training," Matias smiled, looking around at the crowd. The man, Andy, smiled even wider at my mate, slapping him on the shoulder once again.

"Let's hope you haven't gotten rusty, dude." Matias rolled his eyes again, before looking over at me. Andy also looked over at me, and his eyes lit up.

"Hey," He stepped around Matias and stood in front of me, offering his hand out. "I don't think we've actually met yet, surprisingly. I'm Andy, Matias's Beta." I shook his hand hesitantly, offering him a slight smile.

"I'm Daemon," I replied, looking over at Matias. Matias smiled at me, before wrapping an arm around my shoulder and pulling me into his side. Andy smiled.

"Oh yea, I know. I think everyone knows you, you just don't know everyone." Andy shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. I nodded too, looking around and at the crowd.

"That's partially why he's here, to get to know some more people," Matias stated, and I nodded, still looking at the crowd and what people were doing.

"That as to let his wolf out for a bit." Matias squeezed my shoulder and I returned my attention to him and Andy. I nodded again, glancing at Andy and then Matias. Matias smiled at me, his eyes shining with excitement. I gave him a small smile back, before turning my head back to Andy as he began to speak.

"No problem. We usually start with some human-orientated workouts before switching over to the wolves" Matias and I both nodded, and Andy smiled.

"Let's go get started then!" Andy turned on his heel, walking back over into the crowd and yelling, drawing their attention. He started listing stuff off, warmups, and then what the workout would be. Everyone seemed ready to start, bouncing on their toes and smiling at each other. I looked at Matias, who was smiling brightly and also very eager to start. He looked down at me after a couple of seconds though, and his smile grew even wider. He dropped his arm from my shoulder and grabbed my hand instead.

"Come on, it'll be over in no time and you'll want to do it again." He laughed, pulling us towards the crowd as Andy finished off his instructions.

"When you finish the human portion, we'll wait until everyone is down before starting with the wolves. If you want to shift right away though when you finish, that is fine, but stay in the clearing and wait until everyone is done." Head nodded and Andy smiled, shouting for everyone to start and people quickly launched themselves into the workout.

I watched for a second, before turning to Matias, who was patiently waiting for me.

"I highly doubt I'm going to enjoy this," I sighed, and we started.

___

I did not enjoy the human portion. At least, not while we were doing it. When we were done it was satisfying to know I had completed it, but more embarrassing knowing that Matias and I finished last. Matias would have been done quicker if he hadn't done the workout at my pace, which was incredibly slow.

When we finally did finish though, half the group was already shifted, their wolves eagerly bouncing on their paws, happy yips and playful barks filling the air. I could feel my wolf pushing at me too, eager to get out and stretch his legs finally. I happened to not want to get up from my sitting position on the ground, though.

Matias was standing, looking down at me with a soft smile.

"You ready?" He asked, and I groaned, dropping my head back.

"I'm never ready for anything," I sighed. Matias snorted, before sticking his hand out for me to grab. I did, and he easily hauled me up onto my feet.

Matias shifted first, rather easily at that, and his dark wolf now stood in front of me. His fur was a deep brown color, with what almost looked like light strings of gold flowing through his coat. His eyes were actually gold, the light reflecting off them making them seem every brighter. His wolf's head turned towards me, and his tongue lolled out of his mouth as he started to bow down, tail wagging up in the air. I laughed, reaching down at petting his large head. His wolf was huge, did I mention that? The last time I had seen him in this form I hadn't really noticed, but now that he stood next to me, I was a little intimidated. His wolf was almost to my shoulders. I'm short, I know that but I'm not terribly short; his wolf was just huge. Perks of being an Alpha I guess.

His wolf nipped softly at my hand, nudging it.

Shift. Matias spoke through the bond, his wolf panting eagerly. I sighed, my wolf coming to the forefront of my mind.

It'll be fine. He said, and I could tell how happy he was that he was getting to do this. I sighed one last time before I let him take over.

He quickly pushed me back, and my body began to shift, bones snapping and rearranging. It wasn't necessarily a painful process, more like finally cracking that one finger that wouldn't crack. It was relieving, in a way. Especially after you haven't shifted in a long while.

When my wolf was fully out, I could tell almost all the attention was on me. Matias's wolf was staring wide-eyed at me before his voice invaded my head again.

You're....beautiful. If I were in human form, I would have blushed, so thank Goddess I wasn't. I looked down at my paws, pitch-black fur in the place of what once was a dirty grey color. I know my eyes were weird, one blue and the other purple, but the black fur was weirder. You didn't see many wolves with black fur, and even when you did, it was usually very strong wolves.

Do you doubt my strength? My wolf asked, and I snorted.

I haven't seen your "strength". That was all I replied before Matias was back in my head.

We're starting with a run, then we'll be back here for sparring. He was still staring at me with that awestruck, wolfy, look. My wolf nodded, before jogging off. Matias was at our side in a flash, brushing up against us.

And it was one of the best things a werewolf could ever feel, and I was so glad that I got to feel it now. Or I guess, technically my wolf.

You get the point.

PLEASE READ

Alright, guys. I'm going to be honest here.

I'm only going to do a few more chapters and then I think the book is going to end.

I'll close off as much as I can, but at this point, I'm just dragging the story out for no reason.

I don't really feel a connection to this story anymore, and I never really planned it out. It was my first story and I was just excited to write it. It really had no direction, and it started off kind of shitty and with a lot of plot holes and stuff. If I re-write it, it'll be a lot more organized, but at this point, if I re-wrote it would just be a totally different story with the same character names. So I might not even re-write it really. Because writing this one right now is just starting to feel like a chore.

So there will probably be less than ten chapters left and an epilogue.

Thank you all so much for reading through, and sticking with this story. I might change my mind and there might be more chapters, but no promises. This won't be my only book either, so if you did like this one feel free to follow and stick around for other stuff. (Most of which is going to be fantasy and stuff)

Once again, thank you all so much for the comments, reads, and votes. They mean so much to me and are the reason I am still continuing this story. <3