The Blood Moon Twins
Chapter 66

CAULDER

I leaned against the wall, waiting for Harper to finish getting ready. She didn't know I was here, because I wanted to surprise her. I just hadn't been expecting her to take this long to leave her room. I checked my phone, and it was almost time for the training

session-not that I minded being a little late.

Finally, Harper's door flung open, and she jumped when she saw me. "Dang it! Caulder, how long have you been standing there? You scared me. I thought you were going to meet me in the training area."

I rushed forward and wrapped Harper in my arms, kissing her deeply. Her arms found their place around my neck as she melted into me. I backed her up a few steps until her back was pressed against the wall. I was in pure bliss as her taste filled my mouth, and it was getting harder and harder to hold myself back from her.

When we finally parted our lips, I kept my body hovering over hers as we caught our breaths. Her ocean eyes practically glittered as she looked up at me. Everything was finally starting to feel right again. Remy knew the truth about who she was, and her magic was back. She had already soared with her magic skills, despite having it back for only a week.

My parents seemed to be warming up to Blade, who had started teaching daily training sessions to all of the werewolves to help prepare us for any possible attacks. I was getting proper sleep, too, since I didn't have to train with Blade in secret any longer. On top of all of that, I had spent almost all of my free time with Harper, and I felt at peace. There was still a looming threat, but it felt much more manageable now that we were all on the same page, and no one was keeping secrets from each other. On top of that, I was no longer feeling the pressure of being the future alpha, and for the first time in a long time, I felt like I could take a breather.

Harper reached up and touched my cheek. "What has you in such a good mood today?"

I shrugged my shoulders and resisted the urge to kiss her again. "It just feels like everything is going to be okay."

Harper smiled back at me and shifted her hand to my chest. "Come on. We're already late for practice."

I licked my lips, feeling especially playful. "In that case, what's a few more minutes?" Before Harper could react, I kissed her again, pulling her waist into mine. I didn't sense any protests from her, so I just let myself fall into her presence.

-

Harper and I ran to the training session, both of us giggling and laughing as we ran. We were beyond late, but I didn't even care. It felt nice to not be the one running the session for once, and I was sure the lightness in my chest was what happiness felt like. "Shift!" Blade ordered. There was a group of twenty werewolves in front of him, and they all started striping so they could shift into their werewolf form. Blade shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose as he watched all of his students. I approached Blade, surprised to see that Remy wasn't by his side. Despite them being mates, I had seen very little of the two of them together. Remy hadn't mentioned anything to me, but I could tell there was something going on between the two of them. She was determined to break the prophecy and get her happily ever after, but I was sure it wasn't easy to learn that she was destined to release some sort of powerful energy onto the world that would lead to its destruction, instead of getting her happy ending. "Things not going like you planned?" I asked, stopping next to Blade.

"No. These werewolves seem to treasure their clothes more than their lives," Blade said, looking out among the werewolves assigned to today's session.

I looked at the wolves who were here, and they were all my classmates. "Of course they do. They think that style is one of the most important things. They don't feel the pressure of their lives being at stake."

"Clearly," Blade muttered. He seemed to be in a sour mood today. He took a step away from Harper and myself to face his class. "Let's do this again. This time, try to remember that if you are attacked by a vampire, your best shot is shifting into your werewolf form as soon as possible. It's the only chance you will have to protect yourself against a vampire. In your human form, they won't hesitate to rip your throat out. However, they also won't give you a chance to change into your wolf form if possible, which is why you need to practice shifting as quickly as possible. A few seconds could be a matter of life and death."

The students looked around at each other, their faces twisting with distaste. They didn't seem to be taking too well to Blade's training, which wasn't surprising. Most of these students did the minimum they could during school, and they weren't train ing to be warriors of the pack, either. They lived a life of comfort, and that was showing now.

My father ordered every werewolf who was old enough to start training, because after the attack on the high school, he didn't want to leave anyone defenseless again. Now with Blade at our disposal, everyone was also required to attend vampire training. Those who weren't interested in being future warriors always showed up, but their hearts weren't in it.

"You two are late, by the way," Blade noted. "I take it you two got...distracted?"

"You could say that," I said with a coy smile. I didn't regret showing up late for one moment.

Harper smacked my arm, and I knew she felt a little embarrassed. She didn't want Blade to know the truth about why we were late, but Blade was smart. He already guessed as much.

"You had better start practicing to make up for the time you missed. Start working on changing into your wolf form as fast as possible," Blade said.

"I'll get right to it," Harper said, before joining the others.

I hung back for a moment, not ready to join the others yet. I had had plenty of practice improving my speed. "You have to give these guys a reason to want to train. Telling them to pretend their lives will be at stake won't work for a crowd like this. Here, watch this." I approached the group, and it felt familiar stepping into the role of leading the group.

"All right everyone. Listen up," I said. I waited until I had all eyes on me. "Anyone who can shift into their werewolf form in under two seconds can be done for the day with training. Have a partner time you and report it to us when you hit that mark."

Everyone instantly paired up and started timing each other as they shifted into their werewolf form. The mood of the group quickly changed as they started competing to see who could change into their werewolf form the fastest. The motivation to stop training and return to their normal lives was probably the biggest motivator they could have.

Blade stepped up next to me. His hands were clasped behind his back, and he took a moment to watch the class. "That's incredible. How did you get them motivated so easily?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Practice, I guess. I've been leading my own training sessions for over a year now, and before that, I would co-teach with my father or some of the more experienced warriors. You just have to replace the right motivation for the group you are training. Once they are hyped, they put more effort into it."

"I think it's more than that," Blade commented. "You have this energy that makes people want to listen to them. You are a natural born leader."

I looked at him, a little surprised. People had always listened to me, but I just assumed it was because they felt like they had to. "Nah, I just know how to talk to them." "Don't count yourself short," Blade said. "These werewolves see you as a leader. You'll make a great alpha one day."

It was a little strange hearing him say that to me. In my mind, I had given up that role, even though it hadn't been officially announced. My parents were on board, but they wanted to work out details and make sure Draven was dealt with before focusing on it too much. It would be years before either of us would take over officially anyway.

"I'm not going to be the alpha. Remy's going to take over the pack. I thought she would have told you that," I said. I knew Remy hadn't been around Blade much, but I was fishing for information to see if I could figure out what was going on between them. "She didn't tell me." Blade's face stayed the same, but I could have sworn his eye twitched as he answered my question. "She's been busy training her magic."

"Is that where she is now?" I asked.

He nodded his head, but he didn't offer up any more information.

"How are you doing?" I could feel that Blade wasn't in the mood to talk, but I wanted to check on him still. He was staying in a werewolf pack, and he and Remy hadn't been talking much. On top of all of that, he found out that he had been created with a dark intent. I was sure he wasn't doing great, and I wanted him to know that I was on his side.

"I'm fine," Blade said. He was a man of few words, so his reaction didn't surprise me too much, but I wasn't going to let it dissuade me, either.

"You're not alone here. I know you may feel like it, but if you ever want to talk or distract yourself, I'm here, and I'm sure Harper is, too." I leaned in and added in a whisper, "Harper is rooting for you and Remy. She says you are the only one who has ever made Remy smile the way she has recently." I patted him on the arm. "I know things might seem rough right now, but I'm sure we'll be able to figure this out. We have the smartest people working on how to stop this prophecy."

Blade pulled his lips tight. "I sure hope so." A silence fell between us. I didn't know what else to say, but this time it was Blade who spoke first. "Thank you for your friendship. If you don't mind, can I ask a favor of you?"