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Eleven
Last Updated:
2024-12-06 02:30:43
C. L. OlsonAn editing error has made this a shorter chapter than usual, my apologies.
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PAWN OR QUEEN Twelve
Everyone is well into their warm ups by the time Morrigan makes it to the clearing, which luckily means that most of them are too focused on themselves to notice her sneak in with her tail tucked between her legs. Unfortunately, Takota and Nicholas are not warming up, and she can feel their burning gazes on her as she’s obviously the last one to arrive. She makes her way over to Amira, who looks her up and down with concerned eyes. Morrigan does her best to hold her head high, but she can’t hide the defeated look behind her eyes. Amira goes to open her mouth, but Morrigan shakes her head before she can. She doesn’t want to talk about it.Morrigan begins her warm ups, as everyone was given the same warm ups to complete but can do in their own time. She tries to stretch, but there’s not much she can do without agonizing pain from her ribs or arm. She pushes through the pain as she does a sit up and does her pushups with only her left arm. She does squats and lunges without much issue,
Last Updated : 2024-12-10PAWN OR QUEEN Thirteen
She swallows harshly. Her heart starts to race as she wonders what is going to happen, but she knows that there’s nothing she can do about it.“Yes, Commander,” she says softly.Without further prompting, she pulls off her t-shirt, folds it, and places it on the ground. Then, she reaches for her long-sleeve underneath. She keeps her eyes on the ground, avoiding the reactions of the two guards. Pulling the hem of the shirt up, the bruises littering her ribs are immediately visible. She continues, pulling the shirt above her head and wincing as she slides her right arm out of the sleeve. Again, she folds it and places it on the ground with her t-shirt before reaching for her leggings.Nicholas holds up a hand to stop her, causing her to look up. She feels sick at the sight of concern, or maybe pity, in the two guards' eyes.“What happened, Morrigan?” Nicholas asks.“I fell down the stairs, Commander,” Morrigan answers. She swallows harshly, trying to stop the bile rising up from her th
Last Updated : 2024-12-11PAWN OR QUEEN Fourteen
Morrigan is awake and out of bed by the time training is over for the day. She still has some pain, especially in her ribs since Takota had hit them again that morning, but she’s able to move around just fine. Jasira had fed her well when she woke up and she is feeling a lot better now. Amira and her older brother, Erwin, enter the cottage. At the sight of them, Morrigan puts her hand to her mouth and gasps.They are both absolutely caked in dried mud. “What’s going on?” Jasira asks, entering the main room from her bedroom. Her jaw drops as well when she sees her children. “What happened here?”Amira looks at her brother to explain.“They had us crawl through the mud,” he says, defeated.“Don’t look at us like that,” Amira chides at Morrigan. “You’ll have to do it too.”Morrigan shakes her head.“I have to head home,” she says, and the mood immediately drops.The Gamma Family exchange worried glances with each other. Though they can’t say it, and they don’t know the full extent beca
Last Updated : 2024-12-16PAWN OR QUEEN Fifteen
“Is it alright if I use your shower?” Takota asks.The two women were now in Morrigan’s bedroom in the basement. Takota was taking in every detail, making Morrigan a bit self conscious. She’s still bewildered as to why and how the taller woman came to be standing in her bedroom.“Of course,” Morrigan responds, but then she pauses. “Let me get the water ready for you.”Before Takota can protest, Morrigan heads into the bathroom. She kneels down to turn on the shower and slowly moves the handle into the red. Placing her hand under the faucet, to her relief and surprise, the water heats up. She stands up and lets out a sigh. Oskar must have quickly turned the hot water to the basement back on. She exits the bathroom, motioning for Takota that the water is ready. The taller woman looks at her quizzically but enters the bathroom, taking her bag with and closing the door behind her.Morrigan all but collapses onto the bed, her head spinning. What was Takota playing at? She knew Takota didn
Last Updated : 2025-01-09PAWN OR QUEEN Sixteen
For the next two weeks, that became Morrigan’s schedule. She would wake up early to train with Takota before training with the other warriors for the rest of the day. Jasira redid Morrigan’s hair, and the warriors were allowed two days off each week, to which Amira took full advantage of. Morrigan was surprised when Takota asked her and her cousin to show her around the pack grounds. She had seen a lot of it on their runs, but she hadn’t been able to take much time to enjoy it. Amira quickly led them to the falls–a pool of water in between two waterfalls going down the mountain. Even in the warm sun, the water is near freezing. Takota joined Morrigan and her family for breakfast and dinner and continued to spend the nights on the floor of Morrigan’s room, essentially acting as a buffer between Morrigan and her uncle. At first, Morrigan could feel Oskar’s hatred whenever his eyes met hers, but Takota would simply stare back at him. After a few days, he finally began to back off, creat
Last Updated : 2025-01-13PAWN OR QUEEN Seventeen
As per usual, Morrigan wakes to her internal alarm clock in the morning, the clock on her nightstand reading 4:00AM. Listening, she hears her brother and uncle asleep in their beds upstairs. Quietly, she changes into a sports bra and spandex shorts, slips her tennis shoes on, and sneaks up the stairs. She keeps to the sides of the steps and avoids the ones that she knows creak. At the top of the steps, she listens again, ensuring that Oskar and Ander are still asleep when she opens the door to the basement. From there, it’s easy to slip out the front door.She and Takota never really talked during their early morning training, but Morrigan finds herself missing her presence regardless. The street is silent, everyone still asleep in their homes as the sun peeks over the treetops. Morrigan makes her way towards the commons, then to the group training grounds, and further past that to the smaller cleari
Last Updated : 2025-01-14PAWN OR QUEEN Eighteen
Once they reach the clearing, the two split and approach their respective groups. Amira, having seen them walk in together, raises an eyebrow at Morrigan. Her cousin simply shakes her head, and the two begin their warmups.Their routine is the same every morning, including today. They’re timed on how fast they can complete the required warm ups before they all shift and do laps around the territory. Whenever Nicholas decides that they’re done, they begin working on their hand-to-hand training. They haven’t truly sparred since that first day, going over instructed attacks and defensive moves. Recently, they’ve been introduced to other weapons, mostly knives. They practice with non-silver knives in order to not cause too much damage, but they’re all well aware that a real enemy would almost definitely be using silver weapons.S
Last Updated : 2025-01-15PAWN OR QUEEN Nineteen
“Tell everyone how you don’t allow Morrigan to eat the food that she cooks, and that this is started because she dared to speak up to you,” Ander says, standing between his uncle and his sister, talking loudly so that almost all the eyes in the street are on him.The Summit Keepers believe in survival of the fittest, but that does not mean they believe in abuse and beating others into submission. They believe in giving their young all of the resources they can so that they can survive, not withholding food or beating them. Sometimes putting someone pack in their place in the hierarchy requires fists to be thrown, but it is never against a defenseless opponent or for a stupid reason. Along with survival, they value fairness.Oskar looks around the street, taking in all of the eyes watching him, especially those of his nephew. He takes a s
Last Updated : 2025-01-17
Latest chapter
PAWN OR QUEEN Twenty Three
It was difficult to leave her life behind, but Morrigan soon found herself too excited to spend much time thinking about her past. It was a two day journey on foot down the mountain, all the while members of the guard told her stories about their own parts of the world. Through their words, Morrigan found herself visiting deserts and jungles and islands in oceans she’s never seen before. When they camped at night, one Guard member told stories of the stars from their pack. When they reached cell service near the base of the mountain, they spent time teaching her how to use a phone. When they finally reached the base of the mountain, Morrigan saw her first ever car.She also proceeded to get carsick for the first time.After a few hours, Morrigan was able to fall asleep in the vehicle as it took her even farther away from her home and to the capital. Her dreams were fitful–as excited as she was, she was also nervous. She had to be, considering how sheltered her life had been up until j
PAWN OR QUEEN Twenty Two
As the sun rises over the treetops, Nicholas exits the pack house, gaining the attention of the two white wolves protecting the flag. He smiles and gives the two a small nod. Immediately, they raise their faces to the sky and let out a victorious howl. Quickly, the rest of the warriors join in, filling the mountaintop with their song.Soon, the rest of the young warriors and members of the Guard are back in the commons, the Summit Keepers quickly finding their clothes and shifting back into human form. Nicholas approaches Innik, in particular.“You did a great job,” Nicholas commended him. “I have to ask, though, when did you notice the second entrance? You never mentioned it in any of our meetings, making me think you never knew about it.”Innik takes the praise with a large smile, but at th
PAWN OR QUEEN Twenty One
The warriors were swift in their obedience, stripping from their clothes and immediately shifting into wolf form. Morrigan’s white wolf began leading the way, followed closely by her brother's nearly identical wolf and Innik’s black wolf. It’s only when Morrigan and Ander are side by the side that their differences become clear–Anders wolf is slightly larger, and he has two amber eyes, while Morrigan retains her heterochromia in wolf form. “It’s right up here,” Morrigan mind-links Innik as they near the cliff wall.“Alright, slow down and spread out,” Innik commands. The pack quickly comes to a trot, placing their paws carefully and spreading out through the trees. Morrigan leads Innik forward to the edge of the brush, motioning towards the crack in the wall. Innik’s eyes darted around, taking stock of the situation. They sniff and listen for a few moments, but can’t pick up anything.“The cliff would block out their scents and any sounds until they’re already inside,” Innik thinks
PAWN OR QUEEN Twenty
The final test was a tournament, similar to the one they had on their first day of training. This time, males and females would fight against each other, and there would be a tournament in both human and wolf form. Morrigan was a bit nervous at the thought of possibly fighting her future alpha or her brother, but she decided to deal with that when it came time.In wolf form, the first to draw blood wins. Morrigan was able to make it to the finals before she was faced with Innik, her future alpha. She caught him off guard with her speed and agility and was able to get her teeth into his scruff, winning her the round. If they had only needed to pin the other, though, she’s certain that Innik would have been able to use his larger size to defeat her. When they shifted back into human form, Morrigan bowed to the future alpha, showing that she meant no disrespect. To her surprise, Innik simply laugh
PAWN OR QUEEN Nineteen
“Tell everyone how you don’t allow Morrigan to eat the food that she cooks, and that this is started because she dared to speak up to you,” Ander says, standing between his uncle and his sister, talking loudly so that almost all the eyes in the street are on him.The Summit Keepers believe in survival of the fittest, but that does not mean they believe in abuse and beating others into submission. They believe in giving their young all of the resources they can so that they can survive, not withholding food or beating them. Sometimes putting someone pack in their place in the hierarchy requires fists to be thrown, but it is never against a defenseless opponent or for a stupid reason. Along with survival, they value fairness.Oskar looks around the street, taking in all of the eyes watching him, especially those of his nephew. He takes a s
PAWN OR QUEEN Eighteen
Once they reach the clearing, the two split and approach their respective groups. Amira, having seen them walk in together, raises an eyebrow at Morrigan. Her cousin simply shakes her head, and the two begin their warmups.Their routine is the same every morning, including today. They’re timed on how fast they can complete the required warm ups before they all shift and do laps around the territory. Whenever Nicholas decides that they’re done, they begin working on their hand-to-hand training. They haven’t truly sparred since that first day, going over instructed attacks and defensive moves. Recently, they’ve been introduced to other weapons, mostly knives. They practice with non-silver knives in order to not cause too much damage, but they’re all well aware that a real enemy would almost definitely be using silver weapons.S
PAWN OR QUEEN Seventeen
As per usual, Morrigan wakes to her internal alarm clock in the morning, the clock on her nightstand reading 4:00AM. Listening, she hears her brother and uncle asleep in their beds upstairs. Quietly, she changes into a sports bra and spandex shorts, slips her tennis shoes on, and sneaks up the stairs. She keeps to the sides of the steps and avoids the ones that she knows creak. At the top of the steps, she listens again, ensuring that Oskar and Ander are still asleep when she opens the door to the basement. From there, it’s easy to slip out the front door.She and Takota never really talked during their early morning training, but Morrigan finds herself missing her presence regardless. The street is silent, everyone still asleep in their homes as the sun peeks over the treetops. Morrigan makes her way towards the commons, then to the group training grounds, and further past that to the smaller cleari
PAWN OR QUEEN Sixteen
For the next two weeks, that became Morrigan’s schedule. She would wake up early to train with Takota before training with the other warriors for the rest of the day. Jasira redid Morrigan’s hair, and the warriors were allowed two days off each week, to which Amira took full advantage of. Morrigan was surprised when Takota asked her and her cousin to show her around the pack grounds. She had seen a lot of it on their runs, but she hadn’t been able to take much time to enjoy it. Amira quickly led them to the falls–a pool of water in between two waterfalls going down the mountain. Even in the warm sun, the water is near freezing. Takota joined Morrigan and her family for breakfast and dinner and continued to spend the nights on the floor of Morrigan’s room, essentially acting as a buffer between Morrigan and her uncle. At first, Morrigan could feel Oskar’s hatred whenever his eyes met hers, but Takota would simply stare back at him. After a few days, he finally began to back off, creat
PAWN OR QUEEN Fifteen
“Is it alright if I use your shower?” Takota asks.The two women were now in Morrigan’s bedroom in the basement. Takota was taking in every detail, making Morrigan a bit self conscious. She’s still bewildered as to why and how the taller woman came to be standing in her bedroom.“Of course,” Morrigan responds, but then she pauses. “Let me get the water ready for you.”Before Takota can protest, Morrigan heads into the bathroom. She kneels down to turn on the shower and slowly moves the handle into the red. Placing her hand under the faucet, to her relief and surprise, the water heats up. She stands up and lets out a sigh. Oskar must have quickly turned the hot water to the basement back on. She exits the bathroom, motioning for Takota that the water is ready. The taller woman looks at her quizzically but enters the bathroom, taking her bag with and closing the door behind her.Morrigan all but collapses onto the bed, her head spinning. What was Takota playing at? She knew Takota didn
