CHAPTER SEVEN

~FLORA~

I HEARD ALPHA Cameron curse behind me, but I was gone already. I hurried out of his room, looking for Lachlan. I found him downstairs, heaving a large spoonful of food into his mouth. He looked at me and frowned slightly. "Luna..." he said, struggling to swallow. "Alpha Cameron said..."

I snorted and turned away. Of course, Cameron had mindlinked my guard, and they had a stronger loyalty to him.

I bumped into Bonnie on my way out of the kitchen door.

"Luna..." she gasped. "What is the hurry about?"

"Take me to the training ground," I said to her.

"The training ground?" Her voice was confused. "What for, if I may ask?"

"Just take me there now, Bonnie," I muttered.

She bowed. "Of course. This way."

We had moved a few feet from the door when Lachlan burst through, his mouth still full with food. "Luna." He said, hurrying to stop me.

"What did your master tell you?" I asked, raising my face to look at him.

He looked away. "He does not want you to get hurt." Lachlan said. "He asked me to stop you from..."

"From what?"

He swallowed, not wanting to say, but he bent under my gaze. "He asked me to stop you from doing anything stupid."

Bonnie gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. "How can you say such a thing?"

"It is the Alpha's words." Lachlan said in a strained voice.

"And where is he?" I asked, my eyes blazing as I turned around to look at the castle, expecting to see Cameron storm out, but he was still absent.

Lachlan ran his hand through his short blonde hair, not answering me.

"If you think having a Luna who is trained in combat is a stupid thing, then try and stop me," I snarled. "And to stop me, you would need to lay hands on me. Go on. Use your big muscles to hoist me back to my chambers. I dare you." I took a step closer.

He kept his gaze away, stepping back.

"If you are not going to stop me," I planted a finger on his chest. "Then you will take me to the training ground right now."

We stood under the morning sun for almost a minute before Lachlan sighed and bowed. "This way, Luna." He muttered.

I couldn't believe that worked. I followed him, while Bonnie walked beside me, still confused at what was happening.

"You want to train?" She whispered as we approached a large field with bleacher seats. "You are going to injure your fair skin, Lady."

"Would you rather I lock myself up in the castle or run away when trouble comes?" I asked her.

"The men will protect us," she answered.

I smiled wryly and caressed her hand, but I turned to Lachlan. "Take me to the one in charge here."

I could see some younger children training, doing running drills, and some older ones were sparring at another end of the field. A short, stocky man approached us, bowing deeply to me and Lachlan. "Luna, ye are welcome." He said. "Gamma Lachlan, tae what dae we owe this pleasure?"

"Luna Flora, this is Trainer Adam," Lachlan said. "He is the general in charge of training our pack members."

Trainer Adam bowed again.

"The Luna wants to be trained." Lachlan said blandly. The smile on Adam's face faltered slightly.

"T-train?" He said.

Lachlan nodded. "Yes. Train."

Adam looked at me, then at Lachlan, then back at me. His mouth opened and closed twice before any sound came out. "Luna," he said carefully, "forgive me, but... train fer what, exactly?"

"For combat," I replied.

His brow furrowed as he seemed to consider this before saying, "Luna, ye are our Queen. Ye dinnae need to fight. Ye have an entire pack to fight fer ye."

"I am aware." I kept my voice even. "And yet I want to learn."

"With respect," Adam said, "the Alpha would not approve of this."

"The Alpha is not here."

Adam glanced at Lachlan, searching for support, but Lachlan stared straight ahead with a blank expression. He had already lost this battle. He was not going to fight it again.

"Luna," Adam tried again, "the training ground is nae place fer a lady of yer calibre. The men spar hard and break bones. Ye could be seriously hurt."

"I have been seriously hurt before," I said. "And I survived."

Adam blinked. "Luna—"

I stepped closer to him, close enough that he had to look up at me. I was taller than him. "I did not come here to argue. I came here to learn. Are you going to teach me, or are you going to stand there and tell me all the reasons I can not?"

He swallowed. "The Alpha—"

"...sent his Gamma to stop me," I completed. "The Gamma failed. Do you think you will succeed where he did not?"

Adam looked at Lachlan again. Lachlan shrugged. "She is stubborn," Lachlan said. "It is not worth the fight."

Adam's jaw tightened. He was outranked. He knew it. Lachlan was Gamma. I was Luna. Together, we outranked him twice over.

"Does the Alpha know?" Adam asked.

I did not answer, and Lachlan simply shrugged again.

Adam let out a long breath. "Fine. But the Alpha will have my head fer it." He gestured toward a low building at the edge of the field. "The changing room is through there. Ye cannae train in yer royal gown."

---

Bonnie followed me into the changing room, wringing her hands. "Luna," she said, "please. Reconsider. This is not proper. You are a queen. Queens do not—"

"Queens do whatever they must to protect their people," I said, pulling the royal gown over my head. "And I am tired of being protected. I want to protect myself."

Bonnie picked up the training garb and helped me into them. They were too big, as Adam had warned. The sleeves hung past my wrists. The trousers pooled at my ankles.

"You look like a child playing dress-up," Bonnie muttered as she finished rolling the cuffs.

The morning sun was bright on the training field. News had gone round that I was about to train, and now everyone had paused what they were doing and gathered from a respectable distance to watch.

I walked with my chin high and my shoulders back. Bonnie walked beside me, her head bowed. Lachlan followed a few paces behind.

We were almost out of the changing room when Bonnie stopped so suddenly that I nearly bumped into her.

"Bonnie?" I said. "What is it?"

She did not answer. She was staring across the field.

Bonnie turned to me, her face pale.

"You look to be in big trouble, Luna," she whispered.

I lifted my chin. I peered around her and saw him, looking angrier than I had ever seen. His arms were crossed over his chest, his jaws were set, and his icy blue eyes fixed on me like a blade.