"Alright cass, today you will be remaining in your Human forms to fight your enemies. Those that had been prey for the past two days will begin as prey today but the moment everyone has been taken out you will be switching, meaning that all of you prey will become predators and vice versa. As I had said before each of you will remain in your Human forms and you will be given a bracelet that you are to keep wearing from now on. As I had told you all before these bracelets have been made to tell me when you shift back and forth from one form to another. Along with shifting these bracelets will be able to show me just how much effort you use when using your magic, meaning they will show me how quickly using magic will drain you and how well you can use it which will tell me where it is that I will need to begin when we begin our magic lessons on the last week before the trip. Last but not least these bracelets have a tracking device on them to lead me to where you are in case any of you get lost or seriously injured, and with it they will show me how your hearts react in certain situations." Mr. Williams removes the small brown box from under his arm and begins to pass each of the small black bracelets out making sure that everyone gets one before he moves back to Jamies side and hands him one of the two large tablets that he had sat on top of his bag when we had first gotten here but I ignore it as I snap the bracelet onto my wrist before pulling my jacket sleeve over it making Cyril frown only to take my hand in his own with a gentle squeeze. "Now this may be difficult for you so I will not be apposed to any of you forming groups with one to three people of your choice, but there are rules for if you do decide on doing so. The first rule is that if one of you go down the both of you go down. It does not matter if you are a mile away from your partner, the moment they are pinned to the ground you are both considered pinned. The second rule is that you will lose points or be considered pinned if you leave your partner behind to save your own hide, that I will leave up to Jamie to decide. The third rule is that if your partner gets harmed you are to take care of them with the use of magic or not I do not care, they are under your charge and if they are not taken care of then you will be docked half the grade for today. There is a goal to this that I wish for each of you to learn, but of course I will not be telling you what that goal is. You are to learn this goal on your own or with your partner and tell me what it is when you think you know it. Now, if you wish to partner up all of you should do so now." As soon as the words leave his lips everyone, other than Cyril and I, begins to move to do as he says.
It does not take long before I feel a large hand gently slide into my left one as if asking for permission before Issac slowly and gently pulls me away from Cyrils side making his hold tighten on my right hand before his hand falls away to smack against his side making him glare at the man beside me just as my body grows stiff from his touch. "It is about time we got some one on one time together Lily, so what do you say? Will you be my partner?" I feel his hope flow through him as I turn my head to take him in making his deep green eyes brighten as I do so as if my answer means a lot to him. I do nothing to answer him as my eyes slide away from his to look over his shoulder only to meet with Jamies golden yellow eyes that already stare into my own. His eyes hold the same hope that rests within Issacs eyes as he stares at me and before I can stop myself I give him a slow nod.
"Of course Issac." The second the words leave me both men seem to let out sighs of relief and I feel Issac give my hand the same soft squeeze that Cyril usually gives it.
"Thank you Lily." I give him nothing more than a nod as my answer before I turn away from him only to take in our teacher as he looks over each of us as if debating on if we had all chosen well enough or not. Even if he finds a flaw in our choices he says nothing about it as he leans his head back as if to smell the air.
"Alright. Now that you are all partnered with someone here is what will happen. Like yesterday each of you predators are considered enemies to the prey so they will be expected to run away from you and you will all be expected to catch them. For the past two days I have realized that not many of you prey had fought against a predator once they had found you and that is alright, but I hope you know this is not only about running out of the predators reach but to also fight back to help get them off of your trail. You do not have to give a large fight with fists and thrown legs but a good blast of magic or a bite to one of their legs while in animal form is enough to make them stumble. Any opening you can get is precious, so take it whenever you are able to do so it could save your life." He lifts his brows as he speaks, his ocean blue and mossy green eyes take in each of us as if to show us just how serious he is. Just as they always do, his eyes pause when they meet my own and I watch his dark brows pull close together before he looks away to smile at the rest of the class. "Now begin, I cannot wait to see what is about to happen."
Just as the words leave his lips I feel Issacs hand tighten around my own before he begins to run towards the woods taking me with him as he goes but I do nothing to object. "I am not sure what the goal is to this session but Jamie has told me that you are a great fighter and after the past two days I know that you are capable of hiding. So which would you prefer to do?" His deep voice is a soft whisper as it leaves him and I allow for my eyes to take him in for a moment before I look away once more.
"I will follow whatever it is that you wish to do Alpha." His hair brushes into his face as he turns to look at me from over his shoulder as if trying to decide on which action would be best for us. Another second passes when he turns away and begins to shift his eyes from side to side as he searches for something and after a short few moments pass he seems to find what it is that he is looking for as he tightens his hold on my hand once more and begins to move to our right. When he stops running we are standing at the thick base of a tall sycamore tree with his head tilted back and his nose twitching as he takes it in. "It is void of any others." My deep voice makes his eyes move to my face and he stares at me for only a moment before he gives me a nod with a soft smile on his face.
"Then lets claim our territory." As soon as the words leave his lips I throw my body into the air making Issac yelp as I take him with me. My movements are silent as I land on the tree with the perfect balance that I had been forced to have but Issac's landing is the exact opposite of my own. The moment either of his feet touch the branch of the tree he is leaning back with his large arms moving in circular motions as he tries to stop himself from falling and each of his movements sends another thunder like scream through the air as his shoes scrape along the bark of the thick branch. Just before he is able to fall my long fingers wrap around the front of his shirt and I pull him closer to me until he is able to steady himself with a deep sigh leaving his lips as his wide eyes stare at the ground so far beneath him. "Maybe next time you should give me some sort of warning before you do that." I tilt my head at his words making his lips pull into a small smile before he looks at the tree that we are in and lifts his left hand to point above us. "I think that we should go a little higher." I nod at his words before I tighten my hold on his hand and jump to an even higher branch. Unlike on the last branch he is able to land beside me with a tight hold on the branch beneath us before he looks around us with a nod. For a moment he does nothing but take in the view around us before he lifts himself from the branch and moves until he is standing with his back leaning against the thick trunk of the tree as he takes me in.
"You may ask what it is that you wish to know Issac, I have put a shield around us keeping any and all of the others that roam outside of it from hearing us or even smelling you." Even without looking at him I know that his eyes have widened in shock and surprise at my words but he says nothing about it.
"I know that you may not wish to and honestly you have no reason to, but would you be willing to allow my little brother to come over to see you sometime?" As soon as the question is able to pass his plump lips my body grows tense and he immediately does the same as if in fear that his words may force my power to rip apart the very tree that we are standing in and in all honesty it could do just that. "Theo doesn't take to people outside of our family or even our Beta family, but something about you pulls him in. When you had left our house as you had he thought that it was because of the question that he asked, he thought that it made you hate him and he nearly cried over it. You don't know him so this may not seem all that big to you but Theo never cries over anything, he never allows people into his life, he rarely speaks to anyone other than our parents, and he never gives strangers a second thought let alone a first, but he even asked about you when we had gone over to the house yesterday for Jamie to see my mother and sister. Jamie explained to him that you didn't hate him and that you have a hard time being in Pack houses, he had even told him that he would speak to you about allowing him to spend the night sometime soon before we all go on that trip, but he isn't Theo's brother so it isn't his responsibility to do so. Theo is my brother and I should be the one to ask you this, and I hate to do so after seeing how much it had clearly pained you to be near him, but will you allow him to meet you? It doesn't have to be for more than an hour if you don't wish for it to be or can't let it be, but please Lily, allow him to see you."
The moment he finishes speaking the air around us shifts into a tense silence. I can feel his eyes on me as he waits for my answer, I can feel the way his hope slowly dwindles into that of understanding sorrow, and the way he begins to sigh as he runs one of his large hands through his hair as he begins to fill with slight pain as he thinks of telling the small child that I wish to have nothing to do with him. "Saturday Jamie and I will both be at my house because he wishes to have a movie night and neither of us have to work at the club. It is not a very far drive from your Pack to my territory and Cyril knows the way so he can show you where to go. If he wishes to meet me that is where I will be." A moment passes but he remains silent and his body still with his fingers still tangled in his short blonde hair as if he had not heard me or thinks that he may have heard me wrong but I do nothing to reassure him that what he had heard had been correct. Another moment passes as he stares at me before he lets his breath out in a deep sigh of relief.
"Thank you Lily." His deep voice is soft as it leaves him, full of hope and relief as he speaks but I do nothing to look at him as I watch a small group of our classmates roam beneath our tree. "I know that you don't wish to do this so is there anything that I will be able to do to repay you?" His deep voice is even softer than it had been before as if worried that anything he says may set me off but I do nothing more than watch the men beneath us as they sniff at the air around them.
"All I ask of you in return is to make Jamie happy. I do not completely understand what a mate means to someone but I know that you are his from the way he acts around you, you make him forget about his past, about the family that had abandoned him for what he is. He may not show it but I know it still pains him to think of them even the sight of a happy family brings him pain so he needs the freedom you bring him." I watch the small group of men beneath us spin around at the snapping sound of a twig breaking within the trees behind them only for each of them to run after the sound before I slowly pull my eyes away from them to stare into Issac's eyes as if to show him just how serious I am, and even though he is not able to see them I know from how tense his body gets that he is able to feel it. "When I had first met Jamie I had been cold towards him, I had threatened his life every chance I had. I had even thrown him into walls, but he had never once given up on me. We do not share the same blood with one another but he is my brother and I cherish him just as much as I cherish Ala and Azriel, so if you are able to make him forget about the pain even for a second then I want you to do so." I watch his eyes darken into a forest green as they stare into my own as if my words had pained him in some way before he gives me a gentle nod.
"I will do everything within my power to make that pain leave him." His deep voice remains soft but there is now a determination within it that makes me stare at him for a moment more before I nod and look away to take in the world beneath us.
"Cyril and Jake are getting close to here even with the shield around us he will be able to feel me." I feel all of that determination he felt shift into curiosity when I finish speaking but he keeps his questions to himself as he squats in the branch beside me and allows his eyes to take in the world beneath us.
"What is it that you would do to distract them?" It is obvious that he is not asking me to lead him but to give him an example and I tilt my head as I allow my eyes to roam along the trees around us.
"Cyril is able to feel when I am near just as much as I am able to feel him so rubbing your scent on the trees would do nothing more than confuse Jake. With a shield, even as powerful as it is, he would still feel me as if it were not there to begin with. Neither man is allowed to shift so jumping from one tree to the next will be to hard for him to do yet if I did so there is a possibility that you would be harmed and if there is such a connection between you and Jamie that allows him to feel your pain then I would rather not do that." His eyes lift to my face as I speak and even without looking at him I am able to see the way he lifts his brows in surprise just as much as I am able to feel his respect. "Mr. Williams had said that we are allowed to fight just as much as we can run but with how close they are for you running is out of the option but for me it would be easy but then again I am not allowed to leave you. So setting a trap would be our only choice in this matter."
"What kind of trap are you thinking?" His deep voice is full of curiosity as it leaves him and I tilt my head as I look at the trees around us.
"The kind where we use you as bait." His brows lift so high on his head that they nearly reach his hairline as they do so but he remains silent as if he is telling me to continue. "Is Jamie able to feel your pain?" I turn my eyes to his as I wait for him to answer and the moment he gives me a nod I give a small tisk. "Is it possible to block him from being able to feel it?" Once he nods I nod back and look away once more. "Even if you are the third born child you are still their Alpha and to see their Alpha in pain would make them pause with worry for your well being. So, if you will allow me, I am going to take you to the base of the tree and rip into one of your legs and maybe even your side. I can make them think that they hear fighting in the distance and with a few simply spoken words from you they will think that I am fighting off your attackers giving them two very different options. One being that they will wish to go to you, you are their Alpha and because of their natural instinct they will wish to help you and the second is that they come after me to help or take me down. Cyril is my mate so his natural instinct to protect me may be even greater than the one he feels to protect you. There will be an argument either aloud with Jake or silent and with himself but either way Jake's instinct will be to help you and get you to safety as soon as possible." I feel it as my words fill him with just as much shock as they do surprise and oddly enough relief but he seems to ignore all of his emotions as he looks at me.
"What is it that you would be doing?" His deep voice holds curiosity and I tilt my head as I lift my eyes from the ground bellow only to allow them to meet his own.