"Stay focused," Shiro told Geo. They had all decided to do some training today so that they could stay in shape.

"Are you sure you're okay to train, Shiro?" Geo asked. His face showed a hint of worry. "You did just get shot by a silver bullet last week."

"I was going to say that myself," Hiroko spoke up in their mind link.

"It is healed," Shiro assured them. "Every warrior needs to train regularly if they want to maintain their strength. Even an Alpha."

They spoke through their mind link, but they were not in their wolf forms, or in any potential danger. This was how they talked when they were training. That was how they maintained stealth. Through being able to talk through the mind, they are able to know where their enemies are and kill them silently. They might have been the smallest wolves out of the ones in BlackCreek, but they knew how to use their weaknesses to their advantage.

They were also using the mind link because of a location change. Shiro had decided to bring them to the community center in the city rather than their normal training grounds. A change of scenery helped keep warriors sharp.

"I could always try and piss him off," Miki said. The only member of his council that wasn't there at the moment was Jin. He was busy helping his father with yet another project. Shiro would have to train with him to see if he was still sharp at another time.

"I can stay focused," Geo rolled his eyes. "I was just wondering about the wound."

"The wound is healed," Shiro told him. "Let's get started."

Shiro liked to train with his friends. It was easy to see all the stress leaving Geo and Miki's bodies when they trained. Both of them released all of their anger and frustration as they focused their mind and body on the tasks at hand. And whenever Hiroko came back from a trip, she would always teach him some of the things that she had learned from the pack that she went to. That way they could all learn the many ways in which these wolves fought.

However, right now he was focused on Geo. He had many reasons to be angry and frustrated. If he didn't find an outlet for it, then it would eat him up inside. Shiro still couldn't believe that he was mated to Jett's Beta. The Spirit of the Moon must have really had it out for them if she made two matches like that so close to one another. Shiro worried that this would mean the end to his pack. Did it mean that she wished to merge the Reverence Pack with Valor? As much as he appraised the Valor Pack for all of their accomplishments, he didn't wish to be apart of them. The Reverence Pack was his.

It didn't seem like Jett had wanted that either. He merely seemed to want to try and find a middle ground for them. But what of Geo and Alex? What would be their middle ground? Would they want to be apart from each other when they finally marked?

He let all of these thoughts flow freely as he trained with his Beta. There were many ways in which you could meditate. Any action that helped you find your center was meditating on its own. Shiro would meditate many times a day because of this. As long as he found his center while he was working, he felt as if he could do anything.

Each of them were taught to be aware of their surroundings whilst fighting. Just in case another enemy tried to surprise them while they were already in battle. Being aware of what was going on around you was key to any success in battle.

Except when it was the scent of Geo's mate wafting into the room.

"Stay focused," Shiro told him. He had to get past this. If there was going to be any chance of still using his second in battle, he needed to get him to not focus so much on his mate's scent. Those eyes dilated and his nostrils flared, but they stared focus on the training routine. He was one of the best warriors that their pack had. Shiro and him had trained together since they were young. They had a connection through their training that was difficult for warriors to get. Neither had to say much for them to know just what the other wanted.

Shiro noticed Jett's scent coming into the building. He shouldn't have decided to do training here. He merely wanted to take them all to a different place to train. A place where they could relax a little bit and have some fun. And now they were all getting distracted by the Valor Pack stopping by.

"Enough," Shiro said. Geo stopped immediately. They both bowed to show that it was the end of their training for the moment. Then Shiro looked towards the door to the room where Jett and a few of his pack members had just come in.

"It's a pleasure to have you come see us, Alpha Jett," Hiroko was the first to speak.

"It's good to see you again, Hiroko," Jett smiled at her. "You missed quite a big fight last week."

"So, I was told," she smiled. "I had to keep Shiro from moving around too much during the time that he was healing."

"Why did you tell him that?"

"Because he's obviously worried about you," she looked like she was holding back giggles. "And it's cute how he looks at you."

He looked away when she said that. The last thing he wanted to do was look at Jett at the moment. He didn't want his face to heat up in front of all of them.

"I'm glad someone was making sure he didn't overdo himself," Jett said. "It was hard to keep him in the infirmary that whole night."

He didn't have too many people with him this time. Alex always seemed to go everywhere he went. He was staring at Geo, who was obviously trying to avoid eye contact. Other than him, though, was Blake the Delta, and Manny with his wife. She was a beautiful omega, with a very motherly look to her. Shiro liked just how calm she was. She seemed like an easy person to talk to.

"I will be fine," Shiro told them all. "Thank you for your concern."

Those orange eyes captured his in a mere second. They had a protective look to them that he hadn't seen before. It confused him. Did he think that he needed protection? He might be young, but he was not weak.

"Are you guys training?" Blake looked over at them excitedly.

"We thought it would be better to have a change of environment," Hiroko explained. "Have we taken a room that you normally use?"

"Not really," Blake elbowed Alex. "The Hound Dog just got too curious."

"Geo," Miki mind linked with them. "I thought you were trying to hide your scent!"

"It's not easy when you have that bloodhound on your tail!" Geo said. Shiro held back laughter. As much as this was a serious issue, he liked hearing his friend gush about his new mate. He only did it when they were alone, but it convinced Shiro not to be so harsh on him about this. Besides, Geo needed some good things while they were all being challenged.

"Are you training with them, Mrs. Hiroko?" Sophie asked. She looked shocked to see her in the training gear that they had. It was common for most to not suspect his sister of being a warrior. Her small frame and kind face made her seem dainty and frail. If they knew her like Shiro did, though, they would know that she was anything but.

"Of course," she said. There was a playful glint in her eyes. "Did you think that I wasn't a warrior?"

"If we can be honest," Blake chimed in, looking a bit confused. "I didn't expect you to be a warrior at all."

"This is going to be fun," Miki said. He looked over to her to see a huge grin on her face.

Shiro shared that grin. Not many people knew much of his sister. He would like to change that. She was going to be the next Luna of their pack after all.

"Perhaps you'd like to train a little, then?" Shiro asked Blake. "My sister loves new challenges."

"Uh, well," Blake put his hand on the back of his head. "I don't know. I wouldn't want to hurt anyone."

"You don't have to worry about hurting me," Hiroko smiled innocently at him. "However, if you're too afraid to face me, I understand if you back down from this challenge."

Alex and Jett looked like they were trying to hold back laughter. He liked that they all had a sense of humor and could joke around with each other. His father's council always had to speak to their Alpha in a respectful way no matter their situation or location. This council seemed much calmer than the one that he had been raised around.

"No, he'll do it," Alex pushed him forward. "I think he needs some practice anyway."

They all moved to give the two some space. Shiro wound up being right next to Jett during the shuffle. It was nice to be near him again. Talking on the phone at night was a good substitute, but it was nothing like the real thing.

"If Hiroko's going to be challenging people," Miki gave Manny an evil grin. "Then I challenge you. It's been a while since we've trained with anyone outside of our own pack."

Manny looked over to Jett, who nodded, before walking over to her.

"How badly are they going to get their asses kicked?" Jett whispered to Shiro.

"You believe your warriors are going to lose?" Shiro asked him. "That doesn't sound like the confident Valor pack that I always heard about."

"Someone's getting cocky," Jett smiled at him. "You've been smiling like a madman ever since you set Blake up on that challenge."

"Of course," Shiro said. "My sister is one of our pack's greatest warriors. Every pack that she visits, she learns their way of fighting and brings it back to share with us."

"That's impressive," Sophie looked in awe as Hiroko fought Blake. She was taking it easy on him at the moment. She liked riling her opponents up to truly test her capabilities. "I wonder if she's visited my old pack."

"Most likely," Shiro said. "She's been in search for her mate for many years."

"How come she never visited any of the neighboring packs?" Jett asked. "We never got word about her searching."

"It was just something that never happened," Shiro shrugged. "Hiroko always loved to travel anyway, so this was a way in which she could see the world before she became Luna as well."

Jett always asked such personal questions. He knew it was to try and understand him and his pack, but they made him uneasy sometimes. He feared the day when he wouldn't have a good answer to one of his questions.

He feared the day when he would finally have to tell him the truth.

Blake got thrown across the room in one fell swoop. He didn't look that beat up, but he had definitely lost that round. Miki and Manny were actually relatively matched. They were both warriors that focused on defense, so both of them could handle a few punches and still be able to swing one back.

"I'm still looking for that confidence," Shiro smiled at Jett. This had to be the first time he teased someone like this. He had to admit it was fun.

"Oh, there's confidence," Jett smirked at him. As if on cue, Miki got thrown into one of the walls of the room. She stayed there a moment to catch her breath.

"It's not how many times they fall," Shiro said. "It's how many times they get back up."

Miki caught her breath fast and charged at Manny. The man was lucky he could dodge her quick attack. The battle was quickly brought back to life.

"You definitely trained them well," Jett said. "I'd love to see Geo and Alex training against each other."

Where were they, actually? Shiro had lost them sometime while he was talking with Jett. He scanned the room until he saw them both in the corner of the large room laughing and talking. He missed that look on his friend's face. The carefree one that he always had when they were kids. Shiro used to have that look as well, a long time ago.

"Why don't you two train together?" Sophie asked. "It might be fun for you two to learn from each other."

That would be interesting. Shiro didn't know whether he particularly liked the idea of battling with him. But he was curious as to how strong Jett was. Their wolf forms were easy to figure out. But human forms could do so much, no matter the size or shape.

"I don't know, Sophie," Jett said. "I wouldn't want to break him. Although it might be fun to knock that ego down a few notches."

"Ego?" Shiro looked at him. The man had lit a fire in him. He used to love challenges when he was little. Now he rarely had someone to challenge.

"Yeah," those orange eyes looked playful. "You teased me enough about my warriors. I wonder just how you and I would match up."

"Is it a challenge?"

"Maybe."

"Yes or no," Shiro shook his head. "There are no 'maybes' when it comes to a challenge."

"You speak too much like Munni when you get like this," Jett laughed. "All of this is reminding me of the times I trained with him."

"He trained you?" he knew that his grandfather would help warriors from other packs to become stronger. But he never knew that he helped Jett before.

"A few times," Jett said. "He was a good man."

Shiro smiled when he said that. He loved hearing from all the ones who knew his grandfather. They helped keep the man alive with him.

"Come on, then," Shiro started walking towards the middle of the room. "I want to see what he taught you."

Jett followed him. He seemed pretty excited for this. It wasn't every day that two alphas fought one another. The rare times that they did, it was for something serious, like leadership over a pack. Rarely was it merely for fun.

They circled each other first. It was something that always started a challenge. Jett might have been trained by his grandfather, but Shiro knew every lesson the man had ever taught by heart. He had mastered them all.

"Don't get too confident when you are in battle," his grandfather berated him. He was on the ground, rubbing his back at the moment. "Being overconfident blinds you."

"But I had him!" he pouted. "I just missed one little thing!"

"And one little thing can be the deadliest," he said. He was always too serious when they were practicing. "Find your balance, Shiro. When you do, you can achieve anything."

Jett was the one who made the first move. He led with a punch. Shiro blocked it and quickly kicked as high as his leg would go. But Jett was quick as well. He caught his foot, attempting to use it to his advantage. Shiro wasted no time in jumping with the other one to kick him in the face. It wasn't enough to hurt him, but his leg was freed after that.

They continued to fight like that. Both of them blocking each other's attacks and getting a few punches or kicks in here and there. All the others had stopped their training to watch them. He didn't think that doing this would be something that he would actually enjoy. It was fun to have someone that equaled his strengths to challenge. Hiroko was close, but he had grown stronger than her over the years.

He hadn't had this much fun in years. It felt freeing; as if he didn't have to hold back. He never had to hold back with Jett. He absolutely loved it.

"Shiro!" a familiar voice filled his head. "What are you-!"

A punch cut off that voice for him. Shiro had been too caught by surprise from that voice that he failed to dodge one of Jett's punches. It had so much force behind it that he flew into the wall on the other side of the room.

"Shiro!" Jett ran up to him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he kept his words short and lacking of emotions. He stood straight back up in one fluid motion and looked at the man that he had hoped wouldn't show his face there.

Straight ahead of him, on the other side of the room, stood his father.