Chương 219: MATE IS UNMATED

"Why are you following us?" I asked, annoyed. We had just gotten into the lift: Savy, me, Killion, and Mr. Bossy Pants aka Mate, who had put a hand on the small of my back protectively to guide me through the lift door as if we were passing treacherous trenches of doom. I should have guessed something was up based on their outfits alone. I mean, Mate being in gym gear, no matter how coincidentally matching to mine, was one thing—he probably just changed into whatever Killion pulled out for him.

But Killion in gym gear? Killion only wore gym gear when he was actually going to the gym or for Friday Training Sessions. I had been too distracted—I mean, annoyed by Mate—to notice it earlier, but Killion was wearing the same black tight T-shirt with the letter "A" on it, but with gray capri joggers that hung too low. Plus, there had been four water bottles on the kitchen counter. I mean, I noticed it, but I didn't connect the dots.

Not until the four of us were in the lift, heading to Thursday Night Training together. Why was I slow like that? I won't lie and say I wasn't happy to have them join us. I was always "the more the merrier" when it came to pack runs, but they were attending the wrong training group.

"Thursday Night Training is for under-18 shifted wolves," I informed the two guys.

"Luna is still 18. He hasn't turned 19 yet," Killion said. I guess that was close enough.

"What about you?"

"I'm always young at heart." Killion smiled. Bulls***.

"The trainers and elders had a discussion, and they decided it might be more effective to group us by tiers instead of the general criteria. So your Luna and I have been demoted," Killion said with a bright smile. This was good thinking, but why was I not informed? No, don't tell me, it was in the calendar, in that blasted contraption called a phone that was used for almost anything other than actually phoning someone. Omo. I sound like an old technology averse Scrooge.

I totally never expected to fall into that category of people before. I had always wanted my own phone. I had imagined streaming music with it, reading online novels, playing games, chatting with friends, and maybe even sharing pics and vids. In my imagination, I would be cool and all that. BUT it wasn't like that in reality. It's not fair. All I got on my phone was... Well, I wouldn't know since I barely used it, would I? Bah humbug!

"Who's in our tier?" Mate asked. I could sense the air crackle. Mate was already in his competitive mode, all set on winning. Hahaha. That was kind of cute. Omo. Urm... I mean, just a typical male wolf's over-competitiveness!

"Harvey definitely. And very probably Ben in a year or two when he shifts. They grouped us by our wolves' strength and speed. I can't quite imagine any of the others keeping up with us," Killion informed us.

"Luna and I will still train with the older wolves on Friday night," Killion informed me.

"It's a good opportunity to build bonds with the warrior wolves." Okay, so they're doubling up.

"But shouldn't Bell be going for Saturday Night with the other mated wolves?"

"You've mated?" Killion asked.

"Yes," I said.

"No," Mate said. I pointed at Mate.

"You're my mate. So you're mated."

"Princess, you're skipping a few steps here," Mate said. I flared up.

"Mine!" How dare he deny it? He was even wearing our bangle! Savy cackled. How dare she laugh! Grrr...

"Goddess, you're both betrothed, but not mated yet." Killion paused and looked at Bell.

"Right?"

"Right," Bell growled back curtly. He looked annoyed at Killion.

"Just making sure." Killion smiled guilelessly. Savy cackled again, but that was completely unhelpful.

"What?" I asked. Savy just shook her head.

"Don't worry about it, Sam." Grrr... I looked at Killion, who immediately deferred.

"Maybe you should ask your Luna, Goddess." Grrr... I looked at Rebel, who smirked condescendingly.

"I'll explain when you're older." That did it!

"I'M NOT A KID!" I pretty much alpha-bombed in the lift.

"Sam! Don't do that in an enclosed space," Savy yelled back. Who dares yell at the Alpha? Tell me! My hair had literally hit the roof.

"Calm down, baby." Mate tried to soothe my wolf. Who dares call the Alpha 'baby'? I snarled back, ready to bite off his hand. He retracted his hand. The lift door opened, and Killion held the door while Savy all but stumbled out. I felt a little sorry for bombing alpha control like that. Just a little. Mate guided me through the lift doors again as if they were the steel jaws of death itself. So damn protective, as if anything could hurt me, much less an elevator.

"Sam, it's okay, calm down and think," Savy tried to reason with me.

"It's not hard. You can figure it out."

"Of course I can! I'm not stupid," I blurted out. I'm super annoyed at the way everyone else knew whatever it was they were not telling me. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. I stalked across the third-floor corridor, being annoyed.

"No one thinks you're stupid, Sam," Savy soothed, and then she grinned evilly at Ki and Bell.

"Maybe just a little slow." SLOW? WHO THE HELL THOUGHT I WAS SLOW? I'll show them slow! I'll punch them so hard their tears will fall in slow motion!

"This is going to be a rough night," Killion realized. Savy cackled.

"You could just explain it to her."

"I can figure it by myself!" I insisted. Stupid guys, acting all superior.

"And if I say you're my mate, then you're mated!" I yelled at Bell. Stoopid! He's mine.

"Shhhh... Goddess, the entire packhouse will hear you," Killion cautioned. I clamped my mouth shut and took the stairs down to the open second-floor corridor. We made our way down to the training hall without another word. Why should I care that the entire packhouse heard it? Well, actually, I didn't care. I just shut up because when Killion said that, I could feel Mate actually slightly panicked through the mate bond. Was he shy? Well, fine, I won't shout it from the rooftop. That was embarrassing for me too.

But he was my mate. So why did he say he was an unmated wolf? Stoopid mate. Mine. Grrr... I'm so angry that I couldn't even think in complete sentences anymore, either that or Wolfie had taken over. Who knew? But it was Thursday Night Training, and I was ready to run and punch something hard. Grrr... I stalked into the training hall, flinging the doors open so that they crashed. Killion entered almost immediately after, catching the door from slamming backward into Savy.

The other teens immediately stopped whatever they were doing.

"The Alpha and Luna are here," Killion announced. Everyone made a quick bow. The mats were set up, and Hank was waiting. Harvey moved forward to meet us. I took a deep breath and released it evenly. Whatever. I shrugged and put on my best smile. I was the Alpha. No matter how I felt, it was time to train with my pack. Harvey made his way over to my side the moment we entered the training hall. I saw Savy slip off to join the other girls.

There weren't many girls who continued warrior training after shifting, but they were all here: Marissa, Lola, Jessica, and Savy. Oh, I wanted to go to them, but I had two betas and Mate to shake off first.

"Good evening, Princess, Luna," Harvey greeted.

"Congratulations on your betrothal."

"Thanks, Harv." Rebel accepted Harvey's handshake, and somehow it morphed into one of those buddy handshakes that guys do.

"Delta Hank has made some changes to the system in order to improve the effectiveness of the training. They have decided to rank the shifted wolves in tiers according to their ability. This will allow more targeted training for each tier. It will also allow us to train together with our Alpha and Luna for future missions together. This new reorg will also increase the safety and comfort for the female trainees, allowing them to train together in an all-female tier."

"Delta Hank will be announcing this new tier system today. The members of each tier are also expected to spar for ranked placements. Members from other tiers are allowed to challenge members from upper tiers to move up tiers if they are dissatisfied with their placements."

"Princess, if I understood the new system correctly, you would, by default, be tiered with the other females. Should you wish to change tiers, you would have to challenge and defeat someone in the tier of your choice."

"I believe that is the gist of it. Please do let Ki or me know if there is anything else we can assist you with." Did you hear that, Ki? That's the way a good Beta should report. Rebel nodded.

"Yeah, alright. Thanks, Harv." Harvey smiled.

"Welcome to Thursday Night Training, Luna." Hank's whistle blew, and I realized I hadn't warmed up yet. Grrr... Oh well, we gathered in the usual semicircle.

"Alright, the trainers had a meeting earlier this week, and we have made some changes to the training system."

"This is to step up the effectiveness of the previous evening each week that we have for training."

"But before I explain the system, I would like to welcome Beta Ki from Friday Night Sessions. We also have our future Luna with us tonight. Perhaps Sam might be able to introduce him better." In this way, Hank very suddenly handed the time over to me. But this was my pack. I grinned widely.

"Everybody, meet my Luna, Bell. He's mean and bossy. Please take care of him." Bell raised a brow at me, and the wolves from my pack laughed and clapped. Even the Morning Light goons. I guess they must have heard something about Luna Bell, who could play pool and the guitar, from the others by now.

"If I may add, Goddess?" Killion asked. I nodded.

"Sure, whatever."

"Outside our pack, our lovely Luna Bell is also known as James Rebel Lorent the Fourth, Alpha Heir to the Lorent Pack," Killion said with a smile. Rebel's face remained stoic, and he seemed completely indifferent to the reference to his pack and lineage. But the other wolves became quiet very quickly as they regarded the future alpha of the Lorent Pack.

"Please note that photography and videography of the main Lorent family members without written permission is strictly prohibited by Lorent law, and even though we are in Night Leaf, I would advise against causing unnecessary trouble with our neighboring pack," Killion stated, smiling his usual adept smile. Hank immediately picked up the reins.

"Alright, you heard it! There will be disciplinary action against anyone breaking this rule during training time. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir!" all of us said.

"Now, I'm going to call your names. Please gather and stand in rows, from my left to right! Tier 1: Killion, Harvey, Luna. Tier 2: Link..." Hank read out all our names, tier by tier. As Harvey predicted, I was in the last tier along with the other females. Next, Hank got us to sit around a large mat in our groups. He explained we would be sparring for our individual rank within our tier, starting from Tier 1. We may also request to challenge someone from a higher tier to switch tiers.

"You may issue the challenge at the beginning of any Thursday Night Training Session, and the trainer will schedule a time for the match to take place," Hank said. At this point, I raised my hand. I wanted to fight Tier 1. Hank looked at me.

"Yes, Sam?"

"Like, we can issue a challenge now?" I asked. Hank looked conflicted, and then he answered, "Yes, you may, but for today, you may also wait and watch the first round of ranking fights within the tiers and then challenge afterward. It might be better to study your opponents first. You need to win the match to cross over." Oh, okay.

"Okay, thanks." I nodded happily. This was going to be so fun!

"Are you thinking of switching to Tier 1?" Lola asked.

"To be with your mate?" Jessica asked shyly. Oops, Jessica... I never told her.

"Harvey's really tough," Lola warned me.

"Be careful."

"Maybe Luna would let you win? You can use your charm," Jessica suggested.

"Jessica... You know I'm hopeless with stuff like that—and there is no meaning if I don't win by my own strength," I said. Jessica sighed.

"Sam, a woman's charm is also her strength." Lola laughed at that. Marissa, who had been listening, said, "The other two can't be easy to beat either. Did you see their wolves last week at the run? They were the two huge white ones."

"Marissa, are you going to switch out of the girls' tier?" Jessica asked. Marissa shook her head.

"Since Lola is here, I think I'll stay." So all the girls were staying together. Savy was currently leaning on my shoulder. It was completely comfortable here being with the girls.

"Let's watch the match for now," Jessica said.

"If it gets boring, Sam can tell us all about her romance with the Lorent's future alpha!" The girls giggled and sat closer to each other.

"Looks like they're going to start from Tier 1. Harvey's got competition. Those two white wolves are damn hot," Marissa surprised me by saying. She cast me a quick glance.

"No offense, Sam." Lola laughed softly and then filled us in.

"The one named Ki is already 22. Luna is younger; he turns 19 in September." Wait, how did Lola get that information? Savy covered her mouth so no one could hear her cackle.

"It's more fun with us girls, isn't it?" It's true... In a way, sitting back and listening to random details about the guys from the girls' POV was pretty fun.

"My cousin says he's the bad boy type," Jessica shared. Then she looked at me.

"Is he?" I tried my best to answer her, but I couldn't. He wasn't like Marlow, who was currently my living definition of the pack's bad boy. I wasn't sure if there were other types of bad boys or if it was like a spectrum. I shrugged and was forced to admit, "I dunno the answer to these kinds of things." Savy shook her head and answered for me.

"Bell is like a meaner and sharper version of Sam." WTH? What was that supposed to mean? The other girls considered the idea with serious expressions.

"So not a bad boy. What kind of guy does that make him?" Jessica wondered. Please, it's not really something they needed to analyze so deeply, but all three of them stared hard at me, as if the answer was found somewhere on my person.

"You know those gangster movies where the old mob boss has a super ambitious, good-looking, capable, and loyal second-in-command?" Savy finally said.

"He's that kind of guy." Essentially, you're saying my mate is not a bad boy type, but a bad guy type? I remembered the time in the dungeons with the rogues... Yeah, Mate had potential for the underworld. But Savy wasn't there at the dungeon, so where did she get the idea from? But now that she had said this, I couldn't quite shake off the image of Mate as a young black-and-white movie mobster.

"We'd better be careful not to cross our new Luna," Marissa decided cheerfully. As opposed to crossing me? WTH. And then Tier 1's ranking matches began, and it was so fun, I suddenly understood something about myself: Maybe this was the reason why I'd never make it as one of the girls. I remembered how the girls at Winderhill liked to sit around and watch Liam and the boys play football. I liked listening to the girls talk and laugh, but...

It's a hundred times more fun to run into the action than watch from the sidelines. I mean, it's one thing to sit back and watch Harvey or Mate play the guitar and sing. But this wasn't music; this was a fight! You know my Wolfie was a fighter wolf, right? If I died fighting in a match like this, I would have died happy. So there was no way I was going to sit out on tonight's fun. Ah, wait, I want to write down each fight in more heart-stopping detail.

I'll try to include some of the girls' comments too, but please understand that the main point was the heart-stopping action. The first match was Harvey vs. Mate. I hope my description will do the match justice. Let me just start it on a fresh page...