CHAPTER ONE - TRAINING

She was currently training the young pups in her pack. She loved what she did and she didn't just love it because of her warrior rank. She loved teaching the young children. She loved teaching the young girls because they still inspired her. They reminded her of when she first started training. Of when she toiled day and night to impress people and gain their respect until she was finally accepted in the warrior class.

She lived in a small but cozy house not that far from the pack house. She was supposed to still be living in the pack house because she still unmated but she wanted to stay away from the horny, unmated males. It wasn't as if she was afraid of them, though. It was just so she could keep herself safe. She always reasoned that just because she knew how to fight didn't mean that she enjoyed being in danger.

In the Red Moon pack, they were supposed to start finding their mates at eighteen but their wolves came to them at sixteen. She was twenty two and still unmated, but it didn't matter to her. She was somewhat of an outcast in her own pack because she was still unmated at the age of twenty two. People found her weird because she didn't follow the social norms of the pack but she didn't care. Nothing about all of that bothered her.

She had to fight to become a warrior because she was a female and female warriors weren't allowed in the werewolf world, especially in her pack. Basically, females were always protected while the males went to war because they were to stay at home to bear pups so that their pack could grow but she broke that jinx. She was the first female warrior in her pack and that title came at a lot of cost.

The Red Moon Pack was made up of four hundred and fifty wolves. They were a big pack, because most packs usually had only about one hundred to two hundred wolves. The name of their Alpha was Austin. He was a good Alpha, and she respected him, though the Luna, not so much. She didn't think Luna Margaret was Luna material at all. She also didn't think she deserved the position. She thought about many things but decided that her thoughts were best kept to herself because she didn't want to cause any commotion.

She didn't want to speak against the Luna of the pack because she knew it would be trouble. She couldn't afford to be exiled from the pack to become a rogue. That was a crime in the werewolf world, and people never respected rogue wolves. But she never cared about all of that because some people didn't consciously make the choice to become rogue.

That would be surprising coming from a warrior like her but she knew when to attack. She was taught to attack at the right time. To study people's movements, and to know the enemy. So due to all these, she knew how to identify bad rogues and differentiate them from harmless ones.

There was a royal family in the werewolf world. The Alpha King reigned all over all the packs and Alphas in the werewolf community. The current Alpha king and Queen were named King Henry and Queen Matilda. She never really cared for the royal family. They had nothing to do with her so most times, they didn't even cross her mind.

She looked around and saw the young pups practicing hard. They looked tired and exhausted so she decided to let them go.

"Alright. That's enough for today. Go home and rest. You have the rest of the week off," she said to everyone in the training room.

As she spoke, they all dropped on the ground in exhaustion. She knew they were tired but had no idea that they were this tired. She looked in the direction of one of her best trainees. He was her favorite, and she knew she wasn't supposed to have a favorite but she did. Valentina also thought that any teacher who said they didn't was lying.

The boy had pale skin and clear blue eyes. His hair was in messy curls which always looked adorable. He was tall, but not too tall. She had the feeling that he would still grow taller in the nearest future, though. His name was Jason and he was seventeen years old.

Her trainees knew that they weren't there just learn how to train but to learn about themselves also. This was a safe environment, even though a lot of fighting happened there. It was still a happy and welcoming place, irregardless of all that.

Some of the students started grabbing their bags and wanted to start exiting the training room. She grabbed Jason's hand and started to help him up. 

"Take a break for the rest of the week. You all worked hard today. I still expect your best next week though," she said to all the students.

"Oh, I'll bring in my best next week, Ms. Valentina, and I think I'll be ready to fight with you soon," Jason said and she laughed at him. 

"Are you getting cocky now? Maybe I should fight with you, so that I can see you fall on your butt," she said.

Jason laughed and walked to get his bag. "Bye, Ms. Valentina. l'll see you next week." She nodded to him, waved and turned around to get her water bottle and bag. 

Valentina's mom and dad were the stereotypical mates. They found each other at eighteen and automatically fell in love. Valentina didn't really understand how you could love someone that quick, though. Her mom was very sweet and caring. She was a teacher and she worked in the pack school teaching children. She had always been there for Valentina since she was a child.

Her dad was stricter and he was the disciplinary figure in the household. She didn't really talk to her dad much, but Valentina knew he loved she and her brother. They were just not that close. He was stricter on Jamie, her younger brother, though. 

Her brother Jamie was also seventeen years old but she didn't train him. He had a different trainer. Jamie was more like their mom. Their mom was caring and bubbly, and was always smiling and finding the good side of things.

Jamie was the exact replica of their mom. They both had brown hair and vibrant green eyes. Valentina looked more like her dad, though, and she acted like him too. They both had midnight black hair with deep blue eyes and skin a little on the dark side. She was more like her dad in everything. Maybe that was why she was so fond of her mom. 

But Valentina always knew that no matter how strict and cold her dad was, he was hopelessly in love with her mom. It was like her mom was the reason his heart beat everyday. That was how their love was and that kind of love scared her

She exited the large training room and looked out to the parking lot. She saw her small black car and started walking toward it. She opened the door to the driver's side, got into the car and started looking for her keys. 

Her wolf, Shay felt uneasy as if something different was waiting to come. She ignored the feeling and finally, she found her keys. That day was Wednesday and she really didn't have any work to do because she had given her students the week off.

Usually wolves around her age would be giving birth to their second or third pup by now. And that was what she had never understood. She knew that the moon goddess wanted them, werewolves to reproduce but never thought it to be so soon.

She praised the moon goddess. She was a very strong woman who created a magnificent species, and they didn't have to repeatedly get their hearts broken trying to find love like regular humans. However, Valentina wished they had more time before they settled down. Life was so interesting. She thought that since life was there and then it was not, so why not take advantage of every piece of it.

Today she was going to treat herself and then tomorrow, she would have fun with her best friend, Kendra. She had known Kendra since she was seven years old. Both of them had always been together. They genuinely loved each other. They laughed together, cried rogether, and they did everything together too. Even when they argued, they still loved each other.

I'll be going to see her tomorrow and we are going to have a jolly good time, Valentina thought.