Keira headed back to her room, upset.
'I can't believe him,' Sabelina was saying. 'He wants us to stabilize his pack! Doesn't he know how much money that costs! Does he really think his lies to the King are enough to pay us back?'
Keira shook her head; she agreed with Sabelina. 'He's biting off more than he can chew,'
Instead of staying in her room, Keirs changed into a black workout outfit. Without meaning to, she slammed the door shut, the sound echoing in the silent palace corridor.
The scent of pine trees and open air was a welcome distraction as she made her way to the training grounds. The rhythmic thump of a punching bag and the clang of weights quickly replaced the echo of Donovon's words in her head.
Several palace guards were already there, a mix of wolf-blooded and human, their forms blurring with focused energy. Keira grabbed a heavy medicine ball, its coarse surface rough against her palms. She started with forceful slams, each impact a silent release of the early morning's tension.
A few minutes in, a bulky human guard, Thorne, caught her eye. He was a veteran, his muscles honed from years of duty. He gave her a curt nod, a silent acknowledgment of their shared purpose. Then, he joined her, picking up his own ball and mirroring her explosive movements. Soon, another guard, a lithe female shifter named Lena, came over, her wolf-eyes glinting with friendly challenge.
"Fancy a spar?" Lena grinned, her hands already up in a defensive stance. Keira's lips curled into a genuine smile.
"Let's go, Lena."
They moved, a dance of practiced strikes and blocks, the air crackling with their combined energy. Keira's frustration began to melt away, replaced by the exhilarating burn of exertion and the simple joy of physical mastery. As they sparred, more guards drifted over, some offering advice, others just watching, their silent presence a shared understanding.
Here, under the harsh training lights, titles and pack politics faded. There was only the grind, the sweat, and the satisfying ache of pushing limits.
After the spar with Lena, Keira stretched a bit and decided to go for a run. Following Throne's directions, it didn't take her long to find the race track. She didn't expect to see anyone working out. The early morning was crisp, and the air smelled wonderful. Keira especially enjoyed the early mornings just like this one. It was just her and Sabelina.
Keira found a place to stretch and warm up once more before beginning. She was on her third lap when Keira felt another presence join her on the track. Keira looked at him, but didn't pay much attention to him when she didn't recognize him.
The sun was coming over the horizon when Keira decided to stop. She walked a lap around the track to cool off and headed inside for some water.
'That felt nice,' Sabelina commented.
Keira agreed, and after drinking some water, she headed to her room to shower. Once dressed, Keira headed to the cafeteria for lunch but was stopped by Nigel.
"Miss Grace," he said, calling out to her.
"Nigel, what can I help you with?" Keira asked.
"I've been instructed to take you to the new dining area," he replied, walking in the opposite direction.
Keira smiled tightly and followed him. Here she was hoping to avoid the Royal family and the General. It wasn't like she didn't like them; it was just that her life had taken a different turn than what she had planned. Nigel led them toward a different room from last night's.
"Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be served in here," Nigel said, opening a set of double doors.
"Thank you, Nigel," Keira said before heading in.
Lunch was served in a buffet style. Keira helped herself to whatever she wanted since there was no one else eating. She didn't know if anyone else was going to show up, so she had two helpings.
'Aren't we eating too many calories?' Sabelina asked.
'I'm loading up since we don't know when we will be eating a good meal in the future,' Keira reminded her.
Whatever Sabelina was going to say next was cut off when several other wolves walked in. They were chattering and enjoying themselves when they noticed that they weren't the only ones in the room.
'What are they staring at?' Keira wondered.
'You're stuffing your face,' Sabelina replied.
Keira ignored her comment and continued eating. Although no one asked her what she was doing or who she was, for that matter, Keira finished her lunch and left. She was sure the General had told them about her…well, at least she hoped that he had. Keira didn't want to imagine that awkward conversation with this pack.
The rest of the afternoon went without incident, and Keira quickly grew bored. She had gone to speak to Mr. Drew, but he had everything under control and was taking care of everything on her behalf.
Keira was in the gardens when she caught a familiar scent. It belonged to the same wolf from the race track.
'He is following us,' Sabelina observed. 'If I had to guess, he belongs to the King or the General.'
'We're a Luna now,' she continued. 'This sort of thing is to be expected. We are going to be part of the Royal family. I'm sure they just want to make sure we are safe.'
Keira rolled her eyes. Had they forgotten that it was her training program that was used to train all of the guards? As the path curved around in the garden, Keira hid herself to one side of a statue, waiting for the wolf to approach.
"10-4," a voice said, growing louder. "I'll have eyes on her in a few more moments. The gardens have a lot of curves."
"And it's easy to lose someone," Keira said, stepping in front of him.
"Luna!" the wolf exclaimed, taking a small step back. "I-"
'He belongs to the General,' Sabelina stated, giving the wolf a once-over.
"Why are you following me?" Keira asked, ignoring the "luna" title.
"I'm…not," the wolf said, trying to hide the walkie. "I'm just taking a stroll through the gardens."
"Don't bullshit me," Keira said sternly. "I overheard your conversation on the radio."
"The pack wanted to make sure you were safe," the wolf said. "Marcus told those of us here, and we decided among ourselves to keep you safe. I volunteered."
Keira narrowed her eyes at him, sighing heavily. She gave him a long look before replying.
"Fine. But don't follow me. You can walk next to me. I'll have to teach you how to properly follow someone at a later time."
The wolf nodded, and they resumed walking. By the time they made it back to the entrance of the garden, Keira had learned a lot about the wolf, the pack, and what was going on in the General's territory.
The wolf was called Wade, and he joined the pack about a year ago. He wasn't anyone important, and he didn't have a mate, but he was more than happy to serve as a bodyguard.
Wade had enough people skills to start asking her questions. Since Keira had been in the Task Force at such a young age, that's all she spoke about. Wade didn't seem to mind. In fact, he got even more excited and had a lot more questions to ask.
"Luna, would you train me when we get home?" he asked. "We have a training program, but I think it's very lacking, and I'm sure your training would be so much better."
"I'll think about it," Keira said, walking back to the palace.
She didn't want to make promises or give any hint of what she had planned to do once she left the palace.
"What if there is a group of us that want to train with you?" Wade continued leading them toward the new mess hall that Nigel had shown her earlier that day.
"I'm not in charge of that," Keira reminded him. "It wouldn't be up to me."
"It won't be a problem," Wade assured her. "Alpha Donovan wants the best for us."
When they entered the room, Keira got in line. Wade followed after her.
"What time do you get up to train, Luna?" He asked, looking at the dinner options.
"At 5," Keira replied, taking a plate and loading it up with food. "Wade, you should stop calling me Luna."
"No wonder I couldn't find you," he replied. "You're the only one I know that would wake up at that time."
"It's a habit," She replied.
"Wade," a wolf called from one of the tables. "We saved you a seat over here."
"Go join them," Keira said when she saw him hesitate. "I'm sure I'll be safe with everyone here."
Keira found an empty seat and sat down to eat. Within the next several minutes, more pack members began showing up, and Keira was grateful that they didn't stare, unlike earlier. This time around, she was sure that everyone had been told about her.
As the chatter continued around her, Keira was happy to eat her dinner in peace. She was more than happy to avoid conversations and the stares. The conference with the Alpha King was still occurring even though she wasn't a part of it, and she was sure there were rumors going around. Nothing she could be sure about, but wolves liked to gossip.
Once she was finished with her dinner, Keira threw her plate away and headed back outside to walk a different trail. She wanted to stay out of the way as much as possible.
'I'm tired of doing nothing,' whined Sabelina. 'When are we leaving?'
'In a few days,' came Keira's response.
She didn't know when exactly. The General had said two days, but she hadn't heard anything about packing or details about the trip.
'I'm bored,' Sabelina continued. 'Can't we go on a run or something?'
'We don't know if it's safe,' Keira said.
'We are in the King's territory,' Sabelina challenged. 'How could it not be safe?'
'If it was 100% safe," Keira said. 'We wouldn't need someone to escort us around, now would we?'
Sabelina huffed and puffed but eventually calmed down.