Two

Ben's POV

My wolf informs me that something is not right the moment I open my eyes. He didn't need to do that, considering the day is already bright and the sun is up, filtering into the room through the curtains on the window.

I needed to wake up before the crack of dawn, but somehow, I didn't.

So unusual. I've never slept in when I meant to wake up before, which is why the feeling that something is not right keeps growing by the second.

Am I going to be beheaded when it's discovered that I was left behind when the rest of the warriors left to defend the kingdom? I pray not. My two kids need me.

As I shuffle out of bed, I keep a prayer in my heart: for the goddess to spare my life at least until my daughter Caterina finds her mate. Those can't always be counted on, but it would be better knowing someone will be there to protect her and her little brother.

First of all, I have to inform my pups about this. I figure it is better to let them know I am in trouble for neglecting my duty.

Considering there are too many warriors in the kingdom, it's possible my presence won't be noticed at all, but honor compels me to go and report my absence. The alternative would be to hide inside my house until the warriors are back, and I won't do that.

Before anything, I need to find my kids and let them know what's at stake.

I haven't made it to the door when something grabs my attention, almost giving me a stroke.

My wardrobe door is wide open, and my battle outfit, that should be seen the moment you opened that door, is missing.

Heart racing in my chest, I dash to the wardrobe as fast as my bad leg can allow me, reaching my arms out to feel the space the pieces of army uniform are supposed to hung, as if that will make them mysteriously appear out of thin air.

What happened? No no no! I don't want to think about it. It can't possibly...

I rush to my daughter's room, and sure enough, she's not in her bed. On her bedside table, there's a note, held in place by a mug cup.

I quickly limp over and snatch it frantically. Caterina's loopy handwriting, scribbled in a hurry, from the looks of it. My hands shake as I read the note:

"I am sorry, daddy. I couldn't let you go to war with your limp."

She's gone in my place, that naughty, naughty girl!

I've seen my daughter do some daring things before, some might even call them stupid (like when she went to visit a male friend at an all male boarding school and she pretended to be a boy because they didn't allow girls in) but this far tops them all. Did she think it was a joke? Clearly, she has no idea what happens in real battle. She likely thought we dress up in fancy clothing and strike down our enemies while they stand immobile, waiting to be struck.

I scrunch the note up and throw it in a bin as a mixture of emotions whirl inside my chest: anger, frustration and, most intense of all, fear.

I am so lost in those emotions that I fail to notice the presence of my son at the door. It's hard to tell when these two are coming to you because I noticed they sometimes hide their scent, and I never believed it is ever intentional.

"Is Cat out of her bed? I want to tell her what I dreamed about today."

My heart breaks in my chest.

No! I won't let anything happen to Caterina. I am going to fix this. She must be already gone by now, but I am sure if I speak to the King, he might send word to his son to send her back or something. To switch places with me.

But when I stand before the King and express my concern, the response I get from him shocks the life out of me.

*******

Caterina's POV

I may have grabbed the commander's attention during the physical tests due to my small stature, but luckily for me, we don't have enough time. The commander, who happens to be my mate (or should I say ex mate) is more focused on getting his wolves in order and being ready for when the enemy attacks as opposed to remembering when he ever admitted such a tiny looking boy into his army.

Before leaving home, I did a great job at trying to look like a boy (at least I hope I have).

I have thick golden hair, (thanks to my mom) which took a couple of hours to style into a perfect ponytail.

I wasn't that much worried about my looks giving me away because I've pretended to be a boy before and and gotten away with it, but that's a story for another day.

What I was worried about was my performance, which made me a nervous wreck. I'd never been involved in real combat before, it had always been the men. Whenever our pack was under attack, all women and children were forced to run and hide, and I'd always done that like a good girl. Until now.

But my performance was surprisingly average, if not better than most of Titu's seasoned soldiers.

"Hey scrawny boy, wanna move over and create some space? You don't need that much space. You're too tiny!"

I quickly glance up to see a red faced plump soldier donning a uniform a size too big for him.

After a long morning of training, we are back into camp and, thankfully, having our meal.

I have a full plate in front of me, chose a bench in the corner to sit by myself where I won't have to compete with the men eating like pigs.

Now this one pig has decided to join me.

"Did you hear me? move over, kid, or I'll push you on the floor!"

I glare at his pink face and clench my jaw. "Try it!"

The man didn't expect to he challenged. His face is now red with anger, his claws emerging slowly. I can hear a low growl of warning, and I prepare myself for the attack. I don't want to cause a scene and draw attention to myself lest someone finds out I am a girl, but if this man attacks, I am not goin to just sit back and watch.

The growl gets louder, promising a sure attack, and I tense up in readiness to defend myself, my own growl starting low in my throat when...

"Leave him alone! You can't bully your way into everything, Jordan."

A tall lean soldier comes to my defense. He has warm brown eyes, a full head of hair and he's carrying a plateful of food, walking purposefully in our direction. I instantly make room for him, but much to my dislike, the plump man 'Jordan' also sits down next to the leaner man when he sees the free space.

The nicer guy turns to me. "Jordan has always liked to pick on smaller folks since highschool. You are a perfect target," his eyes slide over my body. "I mean no offense, but how come a boy of your size is in the army?"

I shrug.

"Skill, I guess."

He gives me a half smile and nods. "No doubt about that." Then he digs into his own food, gulping it down like the rest of them. I try to imitate him as much as I can, praying it is not something as trivial as eating food that gets me exposed.

After lunch, training begins, and this time, I come out the best in all the challenges, fully drawing the attention of the general.

His two friends franking his sides, he walks towards me, a curious look on his face.

"You boy! whose son are you? I don't remember seeing your face among the warriors before."

I hold my hands together to stop them from trembling. I don't know why I am so good at being one of the warriors but it was dumb to show it off. I make a mental note to do a better job at keeping a low profile from now on.

"You picked me recently, sir. I was among the latest recruits." I try to make my voice sound as manly as possible.

He doesn't seem convinced, his green eyes gazing steadily at me, as though trying to figure out if he'd seen me before.

"Good," Titus surprises me by saying. "I need five of my best warriors to come with me to meet up with with that ambitious monster Alejandro Santiago. We go ahead of everyone tomorrow at dawn. If everything goes right, we might not have to shed any blood."

I don't know what he means by that, but I dare not ask. Too risky.

"Yes, sir," I end up saying in my best male voice.

I would, with all my heart, like him to know it is I, the girl he rejected, representing the women he'd always thought too weak to join his army. After all, he just said I was good at this.

I would like to see the look on his face after he found out the truth. But, unfortunately, the look on his face would be the last thing I saw before I was hanged, if he ever were to find out. I don't want my neck stretched by hanging. I like it the length it is. So I continue to shut my mouth and face the ground.

The training ends at nightfall, and as soon as it does, I rush into a nearby bush to relieve myself.

Fearing someone might accidentally walk upon me squatting on the ground to pee, I move into the trees as far away from the camp as I can get.

I've been walking for only a few minutes when I stop suddenly, the scent of someone following me reaching my nostrils.

From what I can sense, they are not far behind me, stopping movement when I do.

Oh no, now I am going to wet myself. I don't think I can hold in the pee any longer.

I am wondering what to do when I catch the scent of water ahead, and I quickly follow it, only to come upon a river.

Perfect! I was beginning to stink from all the physical activities and not bathing.

I jumped in, army uniform and all, praying to the goddess I don't drown because taking my clothes off is way too risky.

I hear whoever is following me move closer and closer until they are close enough to reveal themselves.

"Hello, there, poor, rejected fellow."

He watches as I gasp in horror. I recognize the man. Dane, one of the Alpha Prince's best friends. He was present when the rejection between me and Titus took place.

"Surprised that I recognized you? Not all of us are dumb enough to be fooled so easily, see?" He smirks at my horrified expression before continuing, " We can either do this the easy way, or the hard way, your choice. Now, be a good girl and come out of there!"