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Nineteen
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2025-01-17 02:00:22“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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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“Again,” Morrigan grits out. Though the sun has begun its descent, it’s the warmest time of the day, meaning the perfect time to train. Traces of wet snow cover the ground, drenching Morrigan’s clothing; a plain t-shirt and leggings. She had just had the wind knocked out of her, but she forced herself to her feet. She clenches a small ball of soppy snow in her hands as she stands before it drips out. A few feet in front of her is Idris, her uncle and Gamma of The Summit Keepers. He watches silently as Morrigan raises her fists into a ready position before she gives an almost imperceptible nod. He repeats the same move he had before, one that Morrigan had seen in advanced training but had never had done to her. She responds differently this time and easily dodges the attack, even setting herself up for a counterattack.“Alright,” Idris calls before putting his hands down. He knows from past experience that if he doesn’t call his niece off, she’ll keep going until one of them is on the
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Morrigan was born during the worst snowstorm the pack had seen in decades, and coupled with other factors, the birth was too much for her mother. Her mother died after welcoming her second child into the world, and losing his mate was simply too much for her father to bear. He died a few days later.Taking a deep breath, Morrigan grabs her boots from where she had set them and carries them upstairs with her. The cabin is still quiet, meaning that Oskar and Anders must have left for dinner before she came home.Anders is only two years older than Morrigan, but that makes him next in line to be Beta. Oskar spends almost all of his time training and teaching him everything he knows.Stepping out the front door of the cabin opens up to a dirt street lined with houses similar to Oskar’s. In one direction, the street leads to the path down the mountains, and in the other direction, the street leads to The Commons. The latter is the direction Morrigan heads in.The Commons is a large, cleare
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After their first shift, every pup in the pack is required to learn basic defensive skills, though they all learn at their own pace. Once they pass basic training, the Elders decide if they are to continue further training or if they are better suited for another role in the pack. Morrigan shifted at the age of eight, only a few days after her brother, a sign of great strength for her age, but Oskar had brushed it off. She completed her basic training at the age of eleven, another feat, but Oskar had tried to dissuade the Elders from allowing her to continue training. It was only with the help of one Elder, a man named Barrett who had been a close friend of her father, that the Elders allowed her to train to become a warrior. In addition to group training, Morrigan had private sessions with Barrett, Idris, and Jasira. Morrigan turned eighteen a few months prior, officially becoming a warrior of the pack, though her dream is to join the Royal Guard. Since her mate isn’t in the pack, t
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“It’s your turn, Rigan.”Morrigan turns her head at the sound of her nickname, confused. She’s sitting on the floor of Idris and Jasira’s living room, taking in the sight of the sunlight streaming through the windows. The two had invited her over for breakfast, and so after making a meal for Oskar and Anders, Morrigan made her way to their cabin. After eating, Jasira was braiding her mate and childrens hair.“You don’t expect to train with the Royal Guard with your hair down, do you?” Jasira questions. She motions to a cushion placed on the floor in front of her. “It’s your turn, come here.”Hesitantly, Morrigan rises and makes her way over to her aunt. She closes her eyes as Jasira begins her magic, gently running her fingers through Morrigan’s hair and brushing it with an ivory comb. The care that she passes through her hands is very intentional, and it’s a sense of love that Morrigan can’t remember ever receiving. Oskar never let anyone braid her hair before, or teach her how to b
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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
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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
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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
