"Common sense is common, right?"
One Month Later
Cassius stood on the porch, grinning from ear to ear, and Reeve patiently sat beside him. They listened to the gentle chirps of the birds as the sunlight filtered through the canopy of trees. A jeep rumbled to life from the garage, some of the warriors hooting in victory, and Cassius's grin grew roguish.
"Any minute now," He clucked his tongue.
As if on cue, he heard his Alpha and Beta coming down the stairs inside, and then the door swung open. The two leaders had duffel bags swung over their shoulders, and as they descended onto the porch, the jeep pulled up to the front of the house.
Last night, Leon had been contacted by the Werewolf Council. They had said it was an urgent meeting and his presence was required immediately. He couldn't refuse, and as any Alpha, their Beta always accompanied them.
The two men threw their bags in the back seat of the jeep, and Leon turned to observe his men, who had gathered in the yard. His gaze lingered a moment on Reeve as he thought of how she'd already earned the trust of the pack and he smiled a little. Some flowers just needed a little help to blossom.
Leon straightened his shoulders, clearing his throat, "I know this isn't an appropriate time to be leaving, but the meeting shouldn't last long--if not a false alarm with the Hunters. We should return by sundown in forty eight hours."
The warriors glanced at each other, a knowing light in their eyes.
It wasn't the first time they'd said goodbye to their superior leaders for a few days.
Leon focused on his Gamma, "Cassius, you are in charge while we are away, but that doesn't mean to break out and do some crazy shit," Cassius's eyes glowed with amusement as he nodded, and Leon shook his head, "As usual, Ralf is secondary command, along with my Advisers. No one leaves the territory, and if there is an--"
"With all due respect, Alpha," Elijah stepped forward, interrupting Leon, amusement danced in the Enforcer's eyes, "Just get the hell out of here. We know the procedure." The warriors nodded, knowing their Alpha was often plagued with concern, so as he helped them, they also helped him.
Leon's eyes flashed at Elijah, but then he shook his head with a small smile, "Okay, our mind link will be open at any time."
Finally, the warriors watched their Alpha and Beta climb into the purring jeep and then it drove off into the woods. There was silence for a few moments as everyone listened to the fading noise, and then they all looked at each other.
"So, we gonna spar or actually fight this time?" Someone spoke, and an excited energy zipped through the clearing. Darren rolled his eyes as he turned and disappeared into the Alpha's House. The sound of the door closing seemed to make everyone erupt.
"I say we fight, I'm tired of toying with Ace." Another warrior responded, and immediately Ace jumped in and said, "Hey, you can never beat me anyway!"
"The Enforcers should go against one of us!" Someone else said.
Elijah snorted, "I can beat you all in like two minutes flat, wanna rethink that?" The other three Enforcers nodded in agreement, equally amused.
The warriors laughed, "Absolutely not, show us what you got, Eli."
"Alright!" Cassius silenced the warriors beginning to argue with each other, and he glanced down at Reeve that had a look on her face that suggested she wanted to roll her eyes; he chuckled, "We'll meet by the river in ten. The first six wolves to get their first can vote on sparring or fighting."
Instantly, the warriors were shedding their human skin for their fur, and wolves sprinted into the woods. It was quiet once the yard cleared and the only remaining wolves were Reeve and Ralf.
"That worked better than I ex--" Cassius cut himself off, rolling his eyes dramatically, "Oh, don't give me that look Ralf, you knew this was going to happen as soon as they crossed the border." He raised his arm, pointing in the direction the jeep had gone, and Ralf shook his head with an unreadable expression.
Reeve watched in amusement as the two argued, one shielding himself with words and the other revealing himself with silence. It was almost like watching a different language, the two wolves knowing each other well. Eventually, Reeve got up and left the porch.
"Hey, where are you going?" Cassius shouted after the she-wolf but she had already disappeared into the woods, and he sighed, "Great. You gonna this time?"
Ralf eyed the Gamma for a moment, trying to appear like he was contemplating making him walk the whole mile to the river, but Cassius knew he wouldn't. Ralf gave no response but his massive body merged into that of a huge black wolf with a few scruffs of brown here and there.
Ten minutes later, Cassius arrived to a scene of chaos. A grin spread across his face as his feet hit solid ground. The warriors argued with each other, some in human form with basketball shorts on, and others in their wolves forms. He spotted Reeve laying by the base of a tree a few feet off, and the look of disinterest on her face amused him to no end.
It didn't take long for Cassius to instill rules, and then the warriors formed a circle. The first two contestants going against each other stepped into the make shift ring, and Cassius stood in the middle, eagerly waving a handkerchief, but once the material hit the dirt, the match began.
The warriors fought with each other in a more aggressive manner than they did sparring, but it was still friendly. They would go against each other human to human, then wolf to wolf, and when they really wanted a challenge, wolf to human. They drew some blood occasionally just to jostle each other.
The Enforcers took the lead in strength as there was shoving and laughing, betting and hollering. It was an overall good time between the members, exploring each others strengths and weaknesses in battle form and learning new techniques.
They tried to bribe Reeve into going against one of them but she refused to get involved as Ralf always sat a few paces behind her. Together, they kept a keen eye on their surroundings while their fellow pack mates goofed off and the clear blue sky above the blooming forest canopy began to darken with heavy clouds.
Eventually, a distant rumble of thunder broke up the fighting matches, and a soft rain began to descend upon the earth. It was the first thunderstorm of the spring, and as the lightning snaked through the sky above and the rain grew harder, the warriors shifted into their wolves and sprinted through the woods.
They were soaking wet by the time they reached the pack houses, but as they began to file into the Alpha's house for a 'movie night', as Cassius had called it, Reeve paused in the door way. Her form blocked the remaining warriors from entering the house, and as they started to complain, they didn't notice how her muscles tightened and her nose lifted into the wet air.
Ralf grunted when Reeve growled, and Cassius emerged from the house with a frown, "Reeve, what's the matter with you? Stop blocking the door and come in."
The she-wolf growled louder as her eyes snapped to Cassius' in warning. He was confused by her behavior, glancing at the warriors who were equally confused, and when he tried to reach out to calm her, she snapped her teeth at him.
Her eyes conveyed a sense of urgency mixed with an underlying excitement. She gnashed her teeth a few more times, pointing her head towards the east, trying to say something, but when no one could understand, she bolted off into the rain. Alarmed shouts followed after her, raising a state of panic.
"Someone go after her!" Cassius ordered, but Ralf's massive wolf was already disappearing into the woods after Reeve, and a few seconds later five warriors, including two Enforcers, followed them. The Gamma stood in the pouring rain for a few more minutes, the fading daylight ready to leave the earth in darkness, and his stomach churned uneasily.
His mind reeled to come up with an explanation. Reeve had been happy from what he could tell, he didn't understand why she would possibly be trying to escape, but the current circumstances would give her a chance. There was no leadership besides him, and she was clever enough to evade the warriors in the rain, but he hoped that Ralf's skills would beat her.
Suddenly, one of the warrior's that had went after Reeve prodded the barriers of his mind, and he opened the pack mind-link.
'Gamma, we have a situation.' The warrior spoke quickly, 'Eight rogues have crossed our borders, and we're about to intercept them close to the eastern border. Ralf and Reeve have ran ahead of us.'
'Tell me if you need back-up,' Cassius replied, 'Keep an eye on Reeve, she might try to slip away in the chaos.'
'Yes, Gamma.'
Their mind link cut, and Cassius anxiously went back into the Alpha's House. The door closed, and the remaining warriors in the house stood in the living room. He completely fell into his Gamma mode as he explained the situation and aligned back up wolves in case something went wrong. He ordered that no one alert Alpha Leon and everyone agreed. Lucas and Harley calmed Cassius, their words of wisdom holding comfort, and eventually the Gamma took a deep breath.
Luckily, the Moon Goddess had only intended to keep them on their toes, and Cassius received word from the warriors that they'd eliminated the rogues a half hour later. They were heading back, and Reeve was with them. They would take care of the bodies in the morning, but during the short period of waiting, Cassius sent two Enforcers and two warriors out on patrol.
They couldn't be letting their guard down, and the nature of being on top of his game and serious was a foreign feeling to Cassius. He was always used to being the one that just hung around and made the atmosphere a little less heavy. Authority wasn't his figure.
The front door opened, and Cassius's worry was to put to rest as the six warriors came in, drenched to the bone and Reeve followed. She shook her coat by the door, spreading water everywhere, and then Cassius was wrapping his arms around her neck.
"My gosh, you scared the shit out of me, Reeve," He lightly scolded, pulling back to examine her, "Don't you ever run off like that ever again."
He heard some of the warriors chuckle quietly, closing the door behind them, but he ignored them. Reeve regarded Cassius with an amused expression as if to say 'I tried to warn you.' He sensed something else beneath her facade, glimpses of it battling in her eyes, but he chose to let it go for now.
Elijah cleared his throat behind them, his attention directed to Reeve, "You could smell those rogues, couldn't you?" Reeve blinked and then she nodded, causing the Enforcer to chuckle, "You got hella good senses."
"Saved our asses," Someone muttered.
They settled down after that, Cassius having completely dried Reeve's fur, and several bags of popcorn were popped while the guys piled onto sofas, arm chairs and spread sleeping bags out on the living room floor. They were going to watch The Expendables, upon Elijah's request because he claimed it to be totally badass.
Reeve actually joined the guys, settling down in between Cassius and Elijah, the one's she trusted most, and the television came to life with previews. Once the first movie was over, the warriors would change patrolling shifts, and then they'd watch the second movie with whoever was still awake.
Sometimes grown adults have to act like teenagers, too.
✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙
We're back, guys!
And what a way to start out, am I right?
*snickers quietly while eating Easter candy*
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