Training Begins.

"Control your breathing," Tristan whispered as he circled Helena's form with slow, steady steps.

"You are the master of your mind, body and emotions." He recited in a soothing whisper that did little to calm the purple-eyed woman trembling uncontrollably.

"I don't know how much longer I can do this." She whispered with a breathless huff, sweat trailing down her tense and achy muscles, and falling in little drops to the pavement below her.

Tristan stopped walking and stood in front of her, giving an upside-down Helena a perfect view of his large, bare feet.

"Your magic is inside you, Helena." He informed her as he dropped to a crouch and placed a palm on her trembling abdomen. "To control something as uncontrollable as your power you need to push your body to the limit."

"I know... I just..." She tipped over and began falling towards him, her weak arms unable to hold her body up.

Helena relaxed as he easily caught her and spun her body so she was standing upright and leaning against him for support.

"I'm never going to get this right," she huffed, pushing a wet strand of hair out of her face and glaring at the tall trees surrounding them.

He stroked her arm in comfort, a knowing smile on his face. "We all said the same thing at the beginning of our training but as time goes on and it gets easier, you'll rejoice in your perseverance and determination."

She nodded, mutely, thinking about how little time she had to gain control of her powers and take down Rigel.

Maybe if she had arrived a little earlier she would have had more time to plan, but she hadn't and in two months' time Rigel is going to present as her mate, marking the start of his destruction.

"We'll end the lesson here, today..."

Helena made to protest but was stopped by his raised palm.

"You're exhausted and weak..."

"I've done more under worst conditions, I can handle it." Helena bit out as she pulled away from his hold and stared at him with a stubborn set to her shoulders.

Tristan smiled at her like she was a precocious child and Helena could not stop her from responding annoyed pout.

"I have known you for twenty years, daughter of mine, and I have never witnessed you in such a situation." He joked and Helena pursed her lips, knowing responding will only bury her.

"Come on," he urged her into the house with a firm hand on her back and she allowed herself to be led, dragging her feet just because.

The silence of the house reminded her of her absent brother who had been overjoyed to handle their father's duties while he trained her.

Helena worried her bottom lip as she took a seat in one of the chairs by the table and watched him fill up two cups with water.

"Charon told me that our pack was asked to host the annual meeting," she began when he walked over to her and handed her the cup.

Tristan nodded and leaned against the countertop, his probing gaze on her nervous figure.

"Well..." She cleared her throat and shakily took a large gulp of water before continuing, "...I was hoping you could maybe change your mind and reconsider..."

"You want us to host the meeting?" He asked slowly while squinting at her in surprise.

Helena shrugged, awkwardly and took another clumsy sip from her cup, causing water to spill out of it and trickle down her neck, soaking her tank top.

"I thought you hated these things and the people who attended them." He stated more than asked as she tried and failed to wipe away the wetness.

"I..." She started and paused, knowing that his supernatural ears would catch her in a lie then continued carefully, "... want to break out of my shell and experience more of the world while I'm still young."

The blue-eyed man nodded in understanding, a sad expression on his face that made her heart clench but assured her that she had successfully fooled him.

"I mean, I'm the twenty-year-old daughter of a very powerful and handsome Alpha," she joked, "so I should be more involved in our pack and its relationship with others. And I can't keep running away from hurt and humiliation so I might as well face it head-on and damn the consequences."

"When did you get so wise and brave?" The older man cooed with pride shining in his blue orbs.

"With a dad like you? It was bound to happen."

"Okay." He agreed after a few moments of silence as he placed his cup on the countertop and she perked up in excitement.

"We're going to host the meeting?" She asked, trembling in her seat and he nodded in consent.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Helena squealed, excitedly as she ran towards him and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug.

"You're welcome, my dear." He responded with a gentle stroke of her back. "Oh. It's a shame your mother's not here to see the woman you've become." He lamented and Helena leaned back with a sad smile.

"I know." She whispered, getting lost in the faint memories of the woman who had given her life for her.

She frowned when she remembered something and hesitated before asking. "What do I smell like to you?"

"You want to know what your scent smells like," he repeated and she nodded.

Tristan smiled and tapped his chin, thoughtfully. "Raindrops on grass, earl grey tea..."

She smiled, knowing it was his favourite.

"...cinnamon, candied lemon, freshly washed cotton and..." He sniffed at her with eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "Well... the only way to describe it is the smell of burnt oak and rosemary."

The air fell still and Helena released a heavy sigh, her smile dropping from her face.

Tristan frowned in confusion.

"Are you alright, darling?" He asked, as he led her over to the table and they took a seat.

"How long have I smelt like..." She shuddered, "...burnt oak."

"For the last two days but I didn't see any reason to inform you about it because it's normal for people's scents to change." He revealed, a worried and concerned frown on his face.

"It is?" She asked with surprise, having never heard of such of thing.

A person's scent was more than just a bunch of smells mashed together. It was a reflection of their character, dreams, aspirations and weaknesses, things that rarely changed in the course of their life.

"It's not common," Tristan corrected, "but it's not rare either." He grabbed her small hand and cradled it in his large palms, a warm look in his eyes.

"People are like seasons, Helena, all it takes is one experience or event to change them."

She frowned, her free hand clenching by her side and he squeezed her hand to draw her attention back to him.

"I don't know what caused you to change so much in so little time and I do not care. Yes, people change but there will always be that part of them that forever remains the same. You'll always be my daughter because you'll always have those parts of you that make you my sweet, shy, curious and empathetic Helena."

She smiled, bashfully at the older man, thankful to have a parent as supportive as him.

"You're lucky to have me," she teased and he laughed, nodding his head in response.

"Come on," he urged as he rose from his seat and gently pulled her out of her up by the hand he was holding.

"If you want to socialize with our visiting guests, you're going to have to learn how to not let your emotions stir up your powers." He lectured as he led her outside and they took their positions, facing each other.

"We can't have what happened to Henry and his gang happen to the confrontational and sometimes irritating werewolves we are fortunate enough to share a boundary with." He joked with an amused twinkle in his eyes.

Helena blinked in surprise. "How did you..."

"Henry came crying to me last night about how you tortured them and their deserved apology and vengeance. It turns out that you somehow put a block on their healing powers and he was in a great deal of pain when we talked."

"I did not know I could do that," she informed him with a small laugh, filing away that piece of information for later.

"Let's add it to the growing list of things we have to worry about." He joked then cleared his throat, his face growing serious as he went into teaching mode

"One of the best ways to gain control of something uncontrollable is by learning how to do it under stressful, near-death situations." He lectured as he began pulling off his clothes. "Which is why I'm going to hunt you down in my wolf form and maybe take a bite or two out of you." He revealed, casually as his muscles and bones began to bulge and shift beneath his skin.

"What?" She squeaked with wide eyes as he dropped to a crouch. "You can't be serious-, I-, what if you hurt me?!"

"Which is why you should start running," he growled in a muffled voice, the almost complete transformation causing his giant fangs to spill past his lips.

Helena sputtered as fur began to grow out of his skin, looking around nervously then took off into the forest when it became clear he was being serious.

She squealed, nearly tripping over a fallen branch, when her father's ferocious roar shook the leaves off the trees and pushed herself to run faster.