Chapter 1

The forest was alight with the sounds of nature, the creaking of the branches as they swayed along with the gentle morning breeze, and the chirping of the birds flying in the blue sky. 

The grass beneath my bare foot was warm because of the sunlight as I stood straight holding my breath in anxiety. My heart had been beating in anticipation of the upcoming move of my opponent. When I was informed in the morning about our practice session in an open field, dwelling was the last thing I could have expected. 

Now standing in the middle of the circle, formed by the members of our pack I could no longer decide whether I could fight or not. The eyes on me made me shiver. I was not bad at fighting but I was not that good either, only capable enough to dodge some punches and kicks. 

Their stares pricked like thousands of needles on my skin. I gulped, licking my dry lips, my palms sweating in nervousness. I could never get used to those staring. 

"Ready"? 

The loud authoritative voice of our instructor made everyone flinch, as I took a deep breath before replying a loud 'yes'. My opponent  stood meters away from me, her posture calm and relaxed, eyes on me as she also nodded her head with confidence. Evelyn was best out of all of us. She understood the war zone better than any of us. And dwelling with her meant ending up with either a broken jaw or some fracture here and there. But as I said I was not bad either, I could at least dodge the attacks and that's what I was about to do. 

Evelyn and I were not friends but we'd exchange a few words during our training sessions. Some of the days she would volunteer to train us when our instructor was not available. 

Competing against the best warrior always makes you feel insecure when you know you just cannot win against her. Her eyes were fierce while mine held nervousness. Exhaling a deep breath I looked up 'always look into their eyes' I reminded myself, blinking against the sun rays I looked at her. She knew my tactics, while I have tried to do the same I couldn't. She was fast. 

The silence of the forest was broken by a shrill whistle. It only took a few seconds to land her a punch against my check which I'd failed to dodge. The impact was so hard that even my inner wolf growled in disrespect. Although I could allow myself to be punched during the training my wolf would not accept it. Many times she would try to take control over me but that was against the rules. I would always hold myself back from getting in trouble.

I turned my head quickly before Evelyn could punch me again as I caught her wrist this time rather harshly before kicking on her right knee which made her stumble upon the ground. I twisted her hand while she groaned in pain. It might have looked easy but I knew she would fight back. This is what we'd been taught. The best time to fight back is when your opponent thinks they have already won. 

The sharp pain on my stomach came sooner than I'd expected it to be making my hold on her wrist loosen up. Before I could move I found myself on the ground. Pain shot through my right arm as she twisted it. I could never improve at this rate. 

I heard the low whispers around me as I lay on the ground, defeated, again. The mockery of the others would fuel my Wolf's anger more. Being the youngest of them it would always lead me to be bullied by them. Their taunts and snickers would always remind me of how much I hated this pack. 

I have always wanted to run away from there, to live peacefully in some other pack or some other part of the world with my Nana where no one would question or taunt me but Nana would never agree with me, for her this pack was everything and I refuse to leave her alone.

"You did better than last time Iris" I heard the voice of our instructor. Evelyn had let go of my hand as I breathed heavily against the ground. If I'd known I wouldn't have showered before coming here since. After the training I'd have to go to the pack house for my work but now that I was covered in dust and grass I'd have to go back home to look more presentable. 

"All of you are dismissed for today" our instructor dismissed us.

I layed on the ground breathing heavily underneath the sunlight as I felt the dust on my skin, the smell of my own sweat. My throat had gone dry during the fight so I sat on the ground with my legs crossed staring at the deep forest ahead of me. It'd been so long since I've gone out for a run. As my eighteenth birthday was near I was not able to focus on anything else other than that. The thought of finding my Mate had kept me awake at nights while I was always occupied with work and training during the day. 

A part of me was eager to find my Mate but the other part was against it. He was not in our pack that I was sure of. He would have claimed me long ago if he was someone from our pack and other than that everyone had their Mates with them. I could only sigh in relief since I won't be claimed by a stranger as soon as I turn eighteen.

On my way back home I kept thinking about my possible future mate and my training. Lately we were assigned more work and weekly combats that kept me busy. Nana would always complain about it but I would shrug it off saying it's better to be prepared than regretting later. 

As I got closer to my home I could hear faint giggles and laughter which instantly made me smile. The children of the pack would often come together to listen to stories from Nana or sometimes she would teach them the basic knowledge of our kind. Everyone was fond of her.

As soon as I reached the yard of our home I found the children immersed in the story Nana was telling them with so much interest in their eyes. No could actually see the twinkling stars in their eyes, their lips agape for the next information. 

"And we are done for today." Nana announced, disappointing her audience who whined for her to continue. They began to protest as to why she didn't finish the story and how they cannot wait for the next day. But Nana only shook her head "it's your time to go home pups. Don't make your mother's wait for you. Remember what I taught you" She said to her sulking audience. 

"Yes Nana we know but let us hear the ending of the story. I want to know if the princess lived happily with her prince or not"? One of the kids spoke and the other kids nodded along with her request. 

"Then there won't be any fun in it" I finally said, gaining their attention as I walked towards Nana who sat comfortably on her chair. I kissed her on the forehead before facing the little pups. 

"Iris? Do you already know the story" A girl asked me as I crouched down on her level. "Yes, I know and it is very interesting and I can promise you guys won't be disappointed so be a good pup and wait for tomorrow" I patted her head while she giggled and nodded her head. "Now go, your mother's are waiting".

"We will be back tomorrow for the story Nana" One by one they said their goodbyes and ran towards their home. 

"You look like you have been beaten badly" Nana said as I looked towards her and found her eyes on me, scanning my bruises. "It was pretty intense but I'm good," I replied to her, not wanting to make her worried.

"They should have been a little careful, you are still underage and your healing needs time" she expressed her concern but i just shook my head "it's nothing trust me Nana, I have had worse than this".

"Still be careful, Iris. And also some guards were here asking for you to be present at the pack house as soon as possible after your training" I frowned at her words. I worked as a cook in the pack house since Nana could no longer work for us and Our Alpha had allowed me to work for us. "They said it was important so you have to be there".

"Then I better get going" I nodded my head and made my way into my room.