"Do you think Tan is going to be okay?" Kegan asked as they walked back through the town.
His primary focus was to get Calix to talk to him and calm down before they got close to other people, since Calix was still being overly protective.
Calix shrugged. "I don't know. I hope he gets something. Tan is strange, for an Alpha. Unless he's being controlled by his wolf, like when you first met him, he's very non-confrontational and would remind you more of a Beta or even an Omega with how relaxed and calm he usually is. Honestly, before you showed up, he and Astra were the peacemakers in the pack house," he explained, body less tense as he began to speak about his friend.
"How is he a top warrior if he acts like an Omega?" Kegan asked, still confused by the customs of the Blood Moon pack.
Calix laughed. "Love, we don't care about your biological status here. If an Omega wanted to be a warrior and they were the most experienced and strategically the smartest, they'd be the top warrior among the others. We have a few Omega warriors, but they aren't at the top because they still have some technical things that they need to work on in order to better defend themselves," he said, before pausing in his tracks. "Actually, the warriors are training right now. Do you want to go see?"
Kegan shrugged before nodding. "Sure," he said, easily changing direction with Calix when they began to walk toward where Calix's parents cottage was.
"They practice in the field near my parent's cottage. My father always says he's ready to retire, but he demanded his retirement home be built near the field so he can keep an eye on the warriors," Calix said, laughing to himself.
Kegan giggled as well as they approached the field, finding warriors fighting in both human and wolf form. They were all aggressive, but as soon as they knocked each other down or landed a hit, they helped each other up.
In the Red Claw pack, whenever the warriors trained, the one who got knocked down was beaten until they couldn't fight back or got knocked out. So, seeing the fighters respect each other was new and shocking.
Calix noticed Kegan's confusion but didn't mention it. He approached the head warrior leading the training that day, a Beta woman named Lace, and shook her hand before turning to the rest of the warriors, who paused seeing their future Alpha before them.
"Alpha Calix," Lace said, smiling brightly. "How can we help you?"
"I just wanted to introduce my mate, your future Luna. He hasn't really met the pack and I told him about how our warriors are different from his old pack," Calix said as the pack all looked to Kegan.
"Welcome to the training grounds, Luna," Lace said, holding her hand out to Kegan and introducing herself. "Are you a fighter?"
Kegan shook his head. "I haven't tried it," he said softly, watching Lace raise an eyebrow.
"I'm surprised Calix hasn't made you learn yet. He is one of our lead warriors."
Calix cleared his throat loudly, interrupting the pair. "He hasn't been here very long and I'd like him to feel more comfortable before I ask him if he'd like to be a fighter," he said, making Kegan's jaw drop.
"Y-You want me... you want me to fight?" he asked, stepping to the side with Calix while the other warriors continued to spar and fight.
Calix decided it would be best to continue their conversation away from the group, so he tugged Kegan and pulled him toward the forest so they could walk back toward the town.
"Only if you want to," Calix promised, noticing how nervous Kegan seemed. "You don't even need to do it to be a warrior. I'd personally be happy if you chose to learn just so you can defend yourself in case we are attacked and I can't get to you in time."
Kegan looked at the group fighting and shuddered slightly. "I want to... but I don't want to train in front of all of these people," he mumbled, bowing his head. "I don't want to look like a pathetic excuse of a Luna."
"You are not pathetic," Calix said firmly, placing his hand on Kegan's cheek and brushing his thumb over the skin there. "You're in a new place and you didn't expect to be a Luna. You just need to adjust and learn."
Kegan nodded and decided not to battle with Calix. Not only would the Alpha win any verbal battle, but Kegan wanted to believe him. He knew that the Blood Moon pack had different customs and that they would protect him and help him to be a better, braver person.
"Who's going to teach me?" Kegan asked softly, thinking that a smart, kind Beta would guide him and help him to be strong.
It would be much less intimidating if an Alpha wasn't the one teaching him to fight. Even though he was friends with Tan and Kai and was slowly falling for Calix, other Alphas still intimidating him and made feel like a terrified, nervous wreck.
"I am," Calix stated, making Kegan pale.
"What?!" he asked in shock, stepping away from Calix. "I mean, you have other things going on and I'm sure someone else can teach me-"
Calix stopped him. "It's safer," he said, crossing his arms. "I don't trust anyone else to train you."
"But... I don't..." Kegan trailed off, unsure of what to say.
"I'm not going to hurt you, you know that, right?"
Kegan nodded. "I know that."
"But?"
"Alphas intimidate me."
Calix was taken aback. "I'm your mate!" he exclaimed, unsure if he should be hurt or confused and settling on a mix between the two feelings. "I thought you were starting to trust me."
Kegan glared at Calix, irritated by Calix's response to his reservations. "I do trust you! I don't want you teaching me, though!" he exclaimed, anger obvious in his tone.
"Why?!"
"Because you're intimidating! I won't see you as a sparring partner, I'll see you as one of the Alphas who hurt me in the past!" Kegan exclaimed, trying to stay angry in order to overshadow the sadness creeping into his voice.
Calix stopped in his tracks. "I didn't even think about that," he mumbled, seeing Kegan's glare.
"That's obvious," Kegan growled to himself, but Calix overheard.
"I'm sorry."
Kegan shrugged. "Can I just find someone else to teach me?" he asked, feeling as though that no matter what, Calix would have the final say on who taught him.
Calix nodded instantly. "Tali can teach you. She's a good fighter but she does more undercover type stuff," he said, referring to when she went undercover to watch Kegan.
"That's fine," Kegan said as they entered the town.
As soon as they did, Tan came running toward them. There were tears in his eyes, which was extremely unnatural for him, so Calix stopped instantly, confused by the Alpha. He assumed it had something to do with their prisoner, but he wasn't sure.
"Luna?" Tan asked, not looking at Calix and going straight to Kegan. "May I talk to you?"
Kegan knew from what he'd been told that pack members confided in their Lunas a lot and often took their advice in stride. So, he immediately agreed to listen to Tan and told Calix he'd meet him back at the pack house.
Calix didn't want to leave his mate alone, but he knew better than to try to force Kegan to do something else. His mate deserved to be heard and respected.
"See you soon, love," Calix said, kissing Kegan before leaving him with Tan.
"What's wrong?" Kegan asked, concerned by the tears in Tan's eyes.
"I... can you keep a secret for me?" Tan asked, almost skeptically and as if he didn't trust Kegan.
"Yes, of course," Kegan said without hesitation.
Tan sighed. "The Alpha that attacked you... I don't know what to do. He's my mate."
"Wh-What?" Kegan asked, eyes widened. "But you're both Alphas! And he's... he's..."
"A pathetic excuse of an Alpha? I know," Tan growled. "He was sent here by Alpha Leon to take you. Says you're a piece of property."
Kegan hung his head. "Thank you for telling me," he said softly. "I know it's not my business... but did either of you reject each other?"
Tan shook his head. "I know I should-"
"Don't say that," Kegan snarled. "He's your goddess given mate. I'm sure he can change."
Tan wasn't optimistic, but he chose to trust the Luna. "I don't know, but I trust you, Luna," he said, shaking Kegan's hand.
Kegan just smiled. It felt good to be trusted.