As Alison and Kira were returning to the castle, they paused as a small group of young men and woman exited through the door. Alison reconized a few scents, slightly different but familiar nonetheless. She couldn't help but stare at them as they walked past them, bowing respectively at them as they did. Kira returned the bows with gentle smiles, but Alison just stared.
The last person to leave was a very familiar looking man. His beard and hair were frazzled a bit, but they were trimmed and cared for. His expression was stirn, but his eyes showed a familiar kindness that Alison knew all to well. Her body reacted before Kira had a chance to look back at her, and the young wolf sprinted towards him and nearly took the man off his feet with a hug.
"Alison!" Kira called from behind her. Alison could hear the vampire jogging up behind her, but she buried her face in the man's chest as tears began spilling from her eyes.
"Luna, what's wrong?" The man asked, then paused, glancing up at Kira's soft smile.
"Haiken. This isn't Luna." Kira explained.
Haiken's expression twisted to confusion before he looked down at the woman in his arms just as Alison leaned back and looked up at his face, the tears streaming down her face.
He reached forward, gently touching his palm to Alison's cheek as his eyes began to cloud over in his own tears.
"Hi dad." Alison practically whimpered, her voice cracking.
"Alison. I thought... I didn't know you were here. I would have found you sooner, I'm so sorry." Haiken answered, his other hand coming up to Alison's other cheek, effectively holding her in front of himself, as if to make sure she was real.
He looked like time was mostly kind to him. Though he did have a lot of wrinkles, and his hair was mostly gray, but he was still built like a warrior.
Alison reached up with her own hands, cupping his against her face as she closed her eyes tightly, letting more tears flow like even she thought she was dreaming. "I'm so sorry Dad. Kira told me the pack was here but I was so overwelmed with everything else I didn't think to come looking."
"We're blaming ourselves now?" Haiken laughed through his tears, leaning forward to rest his forehead against Alison's. "Let's agree not to, and just be grateful we're together now."
"Okay." Alison nodded. She heard a few sniffles from the other people beside them who were clearly watching. As Alison leaned her head back without letting her father release her, she looked over at the other wolves with a soft smile. "Sorry for taking your teacher away from you."
"Don't worry about it."
"It's okay."
"It's fine."
"Be happy."
They all spoke in unison, with soft smiles on their faces.
"We've never seen him cry before. It's nice to know he has emotions." Said one of the older boys.
Haiken leaned back, releasing Alison's face and wiping the tears off his face. "Just for that I'm going to work you guys even harder."
They chuckled in response, clearly calling his bluff, but Alison smiled. "I think you should Dad. After all, I'm living in the castle now. Plus, I'm going to need some training myself."
The other wolves seemed to realize that they might be in a spot of trouble, and when Kira smirked herself, they turned and sprinted towards the river.
Alison looked back up at her father. "You think you're still a good enough teacher to train the next Pureblood Werewolf?"
"If I did it once, I can do it again." Haiken answered.
"Can I watch?" Kira asked.
"You can be Alison's partner if she needs it. If she went up against my other pups she'd probably hurt them unintentionally with how whiney they are." Haiken scoffed, walking his way down towards the river.
Alison spotted Drake and that Fairy watching them before they waved with curious smiles.
Haiken and Kira lept across the river like they had done so a thousand times, and Alison did the same before following them into the forest. "I thought you had a training arena in the castle?" Alison asked.
"We do. But they don't use it all the time. For wolves, its mostly about instinct and nature, and there's not a lot of that in a magic stone arena." Kira shrugged. "It's usually my sister and I who use it."
They walked up to a small clearing where the group from before had set aside any gear they brought and were facing each other in two rows, waiting for them. Haiken motioned for Kira and Alison to take their place at the end of the row as Haiken walked between them giving everyone a once over.
The young woman beside Alison leaned towards her a bit, even though they were separated by about five feet or so and whispered to her. "Good luck against Kira. I know she's your mate and all, but she doesn't really hold back in training."
Alison paused and looked back at Kira. I thought you said you didn't know how to hold back?
The wolves that Haiken trains are much more sturdy and durable than your friends. Sure, I've broken a few bones, but I've never killed any of them.
So you think you're going to break some of my bones then?
The vampire shrugged in response, getting Alison to wish she wasn't as rusty as she knew she was. She remembered sparring with Kira on numerous occasions, and she wondered if she could pick up on muscle memory.
Haiken barked out a few orders before standing behind one of the rows and the other pups raised their arms in stances, before moving closer to meet their partners before hand to hand sparring with each other. Kira did the same, and Alison copied her motions, moving her arms in the same stance as her girlfriend's.
Kira's eyes glowed in her amusement before she swung from the left. She was clearly holding back, not using the full extent of her speed, allowing Alison to see and anticipate it's motion. She raised her right arm, and blocked the swing, moving her left arm to prevent leaving herself wide opened. She didn't know if she did it consciously or subconsciously, but she was grateful, because she was able to block Kira's right knee with her forearm.
She expected the blow to hurt. Kira had monsterous strength. She thought her arm would give out and the blow would continue and strike her in the stomach. Instead, it stopped almost instantly, and even Kira's expression was surprised. The vampire took a step back, to keep herself out of Alison's reach, raising her own arms back up as she studied her mate.
"You're eyes are glowing." Kira noted.
In the back of her head, Alison could see her own reflection through Kira's eyes. Indeed, Alison's already inhumanly green eyes were a glowing an aquamarine color. No longer green, but more like Luna's.
"Your blood is waking up." Kira smiled softly.
"Are they going to keep glowing?" Alison asked.
"Until you forget again."
"I am Alison Dawn." The wolf retorted. "Daughter of Luna." As she said the words, her chest swelled with a power she was familiar with. Her wolf howled in the back of her thoughts, and filled her with a sense of power and pride. She is the Daughter of Luna. One of two Pureblood Werewolves alive.
"Remember that feeling. That pride you feel. Don't ever forget it, and your eyes will never dim." Kira answered before dashing forward, this time much faster than before. Alison almost couldn't see her, but her body reacted anyway, stopping Kira's kick by grabbing it, then pulling her towards herself, and slamming her palm into Kira's chest, throwing the vampire onto her back still holding her by the leg.
Kira didn't show any signs of being in pain, and instead stared back up at Alison in confusion. "Who taught you how to do that?" She asked.
"Dunno." Alison shrugged.
"Weird." Kira noted. There was a couple seconds of pause, before Kira realized that she was the one on her back now, and her expression steeled. Her other foot came up, slamming into Alison's chin, knocking her back and making her release the vampire, who rolled backwards towards her head where she made it back to her feet and dashed forwards once again.
Alison had collected herself, and shook the daze from her head just as silver eyes gazed up from below her. Alison leaned her head back, dodging a fist that shot past her ear with so much force she could feel the air pressure in that ear. She pushed her forearm into Kira's chest and pushed her back, grabbing her shoulder with that same hand and went to put her shin into the vampire's ribs. Kira's other arm caught her at the knee as her first blow came back down, slamming her elbow into Alison's elbow causing her to hiss in pain.
Her jaw clenched tightly, so tight she could feel her gums ache in pain. With all her strength, she pushed Kira back with her leg making the vampire slide around her a few feet but putting enough distance between them that Alison could flex her arm. She found the joint sore, but not broken.
"Rude." The werewolf muttered.
Kira answered by hopping from side to side a bit, still holding her stance. Her eyes seemed determined, like she had something to prove to herself.
"Are you jealous that I got the first hit?" Alison asked with a grin.
"Yes." Kira answered honestly. "But it's okay."
"Oh?"
"Yes."
Kira was gone. Like a ghost. Alison raised her head to blink when she could sense her vampiric mate behind her. But her body couldn't move fast enough, and she only barely managed to glance over her shoulder as a foot planted into her back with enough force to knock all of the air out of her lungs and send her flying across the dirt where she rolled a few feet before coming to a stop just before Haiken who smirked down at her.
"Because I'll get the last one." Kira answered.
Alison could hear the vampire dusting herself off, and a few giggles from the other wolves around them as they sparred, trying to pretend like they weren't paying attention to the two Purebloods duking it out.
"I think you broke my back." Alison muttered. "My feet are tingly."
Haiken helped the werewolf up, and she did steady herself. She put her arms behind her back and leaned backwards, stretching with a groan. "Fuck, that really hurt."
"That was fun." Kira answered with a smirk.
"Zoe helped you, didn't she?"
"No." The vampire answered. "Though she did find it entertaining." Kira looked up before her Shade even appeared, once again growing out of her back with her hands on the vampire's shoulders as she looked towards the wolf with a smirk.
"I didn't think Kira would have it in you to cause any kind of physical harm to you." Zoe admitted. "So I thought it was a cool show."
"If I broke you a little I could just bring you into the garden and have you healed." Kira shrugged.
"Remind me not to get on your bad side, jeez." Alison groaned.
Haiken put a hand on Alison's shoulder. "Maybe you should take a break."
"Maybe I should just have a different partner." Alison scoffed.