I was running late again. Sleep had been scarce; my mind spent the night pelting a never-ending barrage of 'what if's' at me, and my imagination had run rampant with all the different scenarios of how the day could've gone better. When sleep did finally wrap me up in its tender arms, my alarm started blaring, and I'd snoozed it to within an inch of its life, which resulted in me arriving at the training grounds only a few moments before the War Chief. Reva cast her eyes in my direction as she walked to the front of the crowd, head tilting in a curt nod as I met her gaze.

I tuned out as she began her daily speech, fiddling with the charm on my bow. The War Chief always liked to inspire her budding warriors by telling tales of her adventures on the battlefield, her daring escapes and cunning plans. For the longest time, her stories inspired me, and I'd imagined myself in her place – cutting down rogues, fighting off wild animals, and going on grand adventures. I still fantasised about an adventure of my own, but that dream was now further out of reach, thanks to my stupidity. With a defeated sigh, I scanned the crowd for Ryen and Varl.

Varl's face split into a grin as our eyes met, and he waved me over to where he and Ryen were standing. I'd be lying if I said Varl wasn't handsome, with his dark skin and smoldering gaze, but he was like a brother to me. I grew up with him hanging around our house all the time. He and Ryen were best friends since childhood, and because I'd spent the majority of my time following Ryen around, Varl and I had grown close as well.

"Look who finally made it," Varl said, bumping my shoulder with his. I swatted him away.

"Are you done acting like a baby?" Ryen asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I dunno," I replied. "Are you done being a jerk?"

My brother's eyes flashed in annoyance and he took a step towards me, but Varl moved between us, diffusing the tension.

"Fox can train with me today," he said.

"Really?" I asked, surprised at the offer.

"Sure, why not?" Varl smiled at me. "You might even learn a thing or two."

"I don't know," Ryen said, unsure. "She should be doing laps."

"C'mon Ry." Varl was strong in his conviction. "You won't have to keep an eye on her this way."

"I don't need a babysitter," I interjected, but Varl silenced me with a look.

My brother looked torn, not liking the idea of me training with Varl, but unable to think of a reason to say no. Finally, Ryen conceded, pinching the bridge of his nose the same way our father did when he was exasperated. "Fine, but take it easy on her."

"I think it's Siora you should give that warning to," Varl replied. "You know I bruise easily."

It was Ryen's turn to roll his eyes, and he punched Varl on the arm.

"Ouch!" Varl feigned being injured, falling to the ground dramatically and cradling his bicep.

"Such a drama queen," Ryen muttered, walking away.

Varl was back up once Ryen was out of earshot, giving me a goofy grin. "Alright, Fox," he said, clapping his hands. "What do you want to do?"

I pointed towards the centre of the field where the sparring circles were set up. A pair of junior warriors already occupied one, working on technique.

"I need to beat the shit out of something," I said, taking off at a brisk pace towards the circles. My emotions from the day before were still high, and anger seeped from my pores – I needed a release. Sparring with Varl would be cathartic therapy.

Varl matched my pace, one of his strides for two of mine. "No sneaking off to the trails today?"

I shook my head. "There's no point."

Varl's only response was to wrap his arm around my shoulder as we walked, letting the air between us fill with a comfortable silence. That was one of the things I liked most about Varl – he just knew when I needed a shoulder to lean on.

We reached the circle, and I pulled off my boots one at a time, balancing on one leg while lacing each training shoe – I didn't care for the snow on my bare feet.

Varl didn't have such concerns, shrugging off his jacket and hanging it on the fence before pulling off his boots. He jumped over the railing and landed in the circle barefoot, beginning his stretches. I joined him in the circle after hanging my stuff over the fence next to his, jogging on the spot to warm up a little.

"Let's start with a few exercises before getting into the nitty-gritty," Varl said.

I nodded, following his lead. He took me through a variety of drills – I complained about the squats, but Varl calmly reminded me that if I wanted an arse like his, I had to work for it. I grumbled at that, not willing to admit he was right. He did have a nice bum. Once warm up was done, we met at the centre of the ring.

Varl grinned mischievously. "Alright, Fox, show me what you've got."

"What I've got?"

"Yes." Varl circled me, and I eyed him carefully. "Take the defence."

"Okay." I gritted my teeth, digging my shoes into the snow as I steadied my body, ready for the oncoming attack. He slammed into me like a truck, and the air left my lungs in a whoosh. I fell backwards, landing on my arse.

"What the fuck, Varl!" My skin rippled as my wolf threatened to burst forth, and I pushed to my feet, dusting off the snow.

"You were meant to defend yourself," he called, grinning from back across the circle.

"Yeah, but you can't knock me down like that!" I shouted.

"Of course I can! Do you think a real opponent would show any sort of integrity in a fight?"

My nails lengthened into claws. He was right, of course, but I didn't like being used as a punching bag to get the point across.

Varl settled back into his stance, ready to attack. He charged towards me once again, but this time I was prepared, jumping out of the way and spinning to send a kick into his back. He was too fast for me, though, having already spun back around and grabbed my foot, using it to toss me away from him onto the frozen ground.

I hissed through my teeth, laying in the snow like a pathetic idiot. After a moment, I tried to get up, only to be knocked down again.

"Fuck off!" I shouted, again trying to stand. Varl delivered another blow to my chest, sending me straight back on my arse.

"Come on, Fox!" he shouted, circling. "You're better than this!"

An irritated growl escaped me as I crashed to the ground again, blood trickling down my hand when a gash in my wrist opened up on impact.

Fuck this, I thought. I needed a new plan. Varl was just going to keep knocking me off my feet until I gave up.

He approached while my mind whirred, watching for my next move. Calculating the chance of success, I took a risk and pulled my knees up underneath me, making it look as though I was attempting to stand.

Varl took a long stride.

Crouched, I scooted between his legs and kicked the backs of his knees. He collapsed into the snow, and I jumped on his back, grabbing his hair and forcing his head up, a claw at his throat.

Yes! I did it! I actually beat him!

I thought that was the end of it, but Varl surprised me by rolling over, crushing me beneath his weight and pushing my hand away from his neck. My knee popped, but I ignored it and scrambled out from under him.

The surrounding snow was covered in blood droplets, with new ones being added as my wound bled in earnest. Defending was tiring; all my years of training had taught me to stay on the offence wherever possible, and Varl was showing me why. My body complained at me, the gash in my wrist stinging ferociously.

Fight through the pain. The words Reva always drilled into us for years echoed through my brain.

Transitioning into my wolf, I took Varl by surprise, plowing through the snow towards him and burying my claws into his shoulder as he tried to dodge the attack. They sunk into the muscle and we tumbled to the ground.

Varl shifted, his chocolate coloured beast coming to life, letting out a monstrous growl. I dodged a swipe from his paw, instead using mine to smack his head to the side. His eyes glowed with annoyance as he realised I'd just slapped him.

We began circling, vigilant for an opening. I regarded Varl's wolf, taking in his muscular form and shiny coat. A slight rumble escaped me as we completed another circle, growing tired of this.

Before I could even register that he'd moved, I found myself on my back, his teeth at my throat. We struggled for a few moments, but a wild growl from him had me conceding defeat.

Stepping away, Varl shifted back to his skin, reaching out to help me up as I did the same.

"Good job, Fox," he said, ruffling my hair as we walked over to where our stuff was. "There's definitely room for improvement, but you weren't bad at all."

"Thanks." I took a long drink from my water bottle, wincing as my body screamed at me.

Varl reached for my wrist then, having noticed the gash. Carefully, he washed the dirt from the cut with the water from his bottle, and we both watched as the skin knitted itself back together, leaving a jagged pink line in its wake. Another perk of being a shifter: moderately fast healing.

He dropped my hand, moving to sit down in the snow and pull his boots back on, not caring about his clothes. They were already soaked and covered in blood. "Want to go again after lunch?" he asked.

"Sure, I'd like that," I replied, offering him a smile.

"Sweet." His returning smile was wide. "I'll see you back here."

"You can count on it." I stuffed my coat and training shoes into my bag. "Thanks for doing this. I appreciate it."

Varl just gave me another cheeky wink before heading off towards the Pack House. I watched him for a moment before slinging my bag over my shoulder and turning towards the path that would take me home for lunch and a fresh set of training clothes. I groaned as I noticed Cren making his way over to me.

After last night, I was in no mood to speak with him – not even to dump his arse. I just needed to be left alone. He changed his course when I tried to avoid him, ending up right in front of me and blocking my path.

"Hey." He had his hands in his pockets, looking sheepish. "Can we talk?"

"No."

"Please, Siora? I wanted to apologise."

He grabbed my shoulder as I tried to step around him. Not thinking, I twisted his arm and kicked his feet out from under him, and he landed on his butt in the snow. He glared up at me, but I marched off before either one of us could say anything we'd regret.

Glancing to my right, I saw Ryen in the distance, standing with our father, both of them smirking at me.

Dad's voice filled my head. That's my girl.

***

Ready for round two, Fox? Varl's voice swirled through my mind as I returned to the training grounds after lunch, and our gazes collided, a grin breaking across his face.

I'm gonna kick your arse this time, I replied.

Varl raised an eyebrow. Walking over to the sparring rings, I strategised my plan. Even though he hadn't gone easy on me this morning, I wanted him to go full warrior on me, to get angry and fight like he would with a true enemy. After my encounter with Cren, I needed nothing more than to get all the irritation out of my system. To fight like I was taking on an enemy – be it rogue, seasoned warrior, or anything else that felt the need to fuck with me.

While I waited for Varl, I pulled on my training shoes and jumped over the fence. It was windy today, and the winds brought with them a vast array of scents. They were the scents of the Pack, but I also detected hints of what lay beyond the embrace, intriguing me with their alienness.

They also reminded me that I had a short attention span – I copped an elbow to the chin.

"Focus, Fox!" Varl barked.

Grumbling, I pushed away his hand as he offered to help me to my feet, confused. A minute ago, I was ready to show Varl how well I could fight, and now I couldn't even think straight. What was wrong with me?

Mentally slapping myself, I focused on Varl, who was stalking in a large clockwise circle. He grinned, igniting the urge to slap it off his darn mug. I couldn't let him take the offense again, he was too good at that.

Using what I hoped was the element of surprise, I ran towards him, leaping into the air and shifting into my wolf at lightning speed. He wasn't quite fast enough to dodge me, and my teeth sunk into his hand.

Varl sent a fist flying straight at my muzzle, pain shooting straight up into my skull. I released him with a yelp, blood and saliva splattering everywhere. He shifted quickly, his wolf-form much larger than mine.

I stopped Varl at every attempt to take the offense, refusing to give him the advantage, and he was getting frustrated, annoyed at having to defend himself. I was close to coaxing the warrior out of him. I could feel it with every bite, scratch, and kick that I landed, as the fire in his eyes had taken hold. His chest was rumbling with anger and he tracked my every move like his life depended on it, ready to break out of the corner I kept him in.

Tread lightly, he whispered into my mind. Don't start a fight you can't win.

Don't worry, I replied, lunging forward and taking a swipe at his neck, landing a couple of scratches before retreating. I'm going to win this.

He hissed as I took another chunk from his pelt, finally breaking and unleashing a growl that reverberated through the ground. Varl rushed towards me, using his shoulder to knock me backwards. I lost my balance for a moment, and he used it to his advantage by giving me another shove, but I latched onto his jowls with my teeth, dragging him to the ground. Releasing him, I sprung to my feet, knocking him over as he tried to stand.

Varl would not give up so easily, though, and just as quickly as I thought I had won, I found myself in the same situation as earlier – on my back in the snow, his teeth hovering dangerously close to my neck.

Submit, his voice roiled through my mind.

No! I struggled to break free, but Varl kept me pinned.

Submit. This fight is over. Another growl rumbled from him and I froze. He wasn't fucking around this time.

Suddenly, the wind changed again, carrying with it the same intriguing scents from earlier. My mind emptied and focused solely on them. They called to me, almost beckoning me to follow them.

Varl's hand slapped my muzzle and brought me back to reality. I glared up at him, shifting to my skin.

"You fought better this time, Fox," he assessed, wiping a cloth over his neck, cleaning the lacerations my teeth had put there. "Wasn't expecting you to take the offense, but that was my error in judgement. I won't make that mistake again."

"I would love for you to make all the mistakes," I countered. "Then I could win."

"It's dangerous to hope that your opponent will make a mistake," Varl said darkly. "You should focus on learning technique and using it to your advantage."

I gave him a look. "You sound like Ryen."

"Well, he is one of the best."

I opened my mouth to give him a snarky retort, but his face went slack and his eyes grew distant; someone was mind-linking him. After a few moments, he blinked and gave me an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I've got to take off. Thiran and Daphne are back. They want to speak with the warriors. Same time again tomorrow morning?"

"I'll be here," I sighed, pulling on my coat.

"Thanks, Fox." Varl gave me a quick hug before jogging away towards the Pack House.

My brain swirled as I watched him leave. I was so sure I was going to win today. If only those stupid scents hadn't clouded my mind.

What the hell were they?

My body was still coiled with tension, and I was mad at myself for losing focus. Needing the comforting solitude of the embrace, I grabbed my things and dropped them off at home before running back down to the village gate.

"Keep safe out there," the guard warned.

I nodded as I slipped outside and shifted into my beast, already on the trail of a hare. Slowly, I stalked into the snow, allowing the crisp powder to wash away the pent-up energy, replacing it with a serene tranquillity.