#Chapter 4: Respect

Knight

Knight watched as his son-to-be brother-in-law stormed out of the dining hall. Badger’s snort brought him out of his trace. He turned to look at him.

“He’s a kind of a bitch,” Badger said.

“Disrespectful,” Ash chimed in. It was classic Ash to grunt out one word comments on what was happening around him. Blade grunted in agreement.

“Knight, you gonna put him in his place?” Badger concluded.

Knight glanced at his friends. “Don’t sweat the small stuff,”

“Small stuff?” Badger snorted. He threw a hand towards the doorway. “He just basically called us predators. It’s like he’s never hung out with the boys before.”

“I admire it,” Knight said. “He’s clear on what is okay and not okay. More than I can say for Anderson Blueheart.”

Knight had met with Anderson Blueheart a few times in the process of setting up his marriage with Blueheart’s niece. He was a shifty guy who never was set in his beliefs. He’d say one thing then completely shift and say something else based on Knight’s response to the first thing he’d said.

Knight admired how Ethan was stern in his beliefs. He was already proving to be far easier to work with than his father. It was something that the largest pack in the territory could use. Furthermore, with the addition of the Blueheart pack, the Darkmoon pack would gain access to the sea. They’d become invincible. It was a suggestion that Knight had brought to his father to prove his ambition.

Alpha Darkmoon was incredibly proud of his son and granted him the marriage to the Blueheart girl. But Knight’s ambition didn’t stop there. He wanted to join all the packs in the territory and claim them on his own. Knight wants to be the King of the Alphas. In order to do that, he’d continue to expand his pack’s land until the smaller packs had no choice but to follow the Darkmoon pack’s rules.

Blueheart was the first step, in Knight’s eyes, and it was already his. He could care less who Riley Blueheart was and what she looked like. He’d be respectful of her, of course, but she was just a ploy in his plan.

Ethan, how ever, could be a future ally. If Knight showed him respect, Ethan could wind up backing him in return. All it took was teaching Ethan a few of his tricks, and Knight would have half the territory under his thumbs.

Riley

I found my dorm room and crashed for the entire rest of the day, completely exhausted. The next morning, I dragged my still sore body out of bed and to my first class. It was endurance training.

I’d been a fairly fit girl back at home. I ran regularly and made sure my cardio-vascular fitness was high. Despite this, I still didn’t know if it would be enough. I trudged across the campus and back into the place where I’d fought with Knight the day before.

I’d learned that the atrium was the gymnasium and would be where most of our training would take place. That morning, there wax’s mainly first years in the gym.Major stood in the middle of the room, hands still on his hips.

“Move along, Blueheart,” he snapped. “You’re late.”

Great, I thought to myself. Another person to piss off. I scrambled across the gym and stood in the back of the crowd, hidden behind a few of the other first-years. Major raised his eyebrow at me but went back to pacing.

“Right then,” he said. “This morning, we’ll be doing a ten kilometer run. It’ll go through the woods outside of the school and be led by one of our top third-years, Badger Highmoon.”

My stomach sunk down to my toes as Badger came out from the locker rooms. He’d traded in his crisp shirts for training shirts and training shoes. His sandy brown hair was shoved off his face and he wore a sickly smirk.

“Badger will be in charge of leading,” Major said. “Don’t pass him and don’t—“ Major made sure to look directly at me. “—get left behind.”

I swallowed thickly. I had to keep up. I had to make sure I got through this school, whether they wanted me to or not.

“Right then,” Major said. “Begin.”

Badger took off out of the gym and the crowd of students followed him. I hung in the back, keeping pace with them but pushing myself to be able to do so. Badger darted out of the buildings and took off into the forest. I kept pushing myself to keep up with them all.

About half way into the run, my lungs were burning as I tried to keep up with everyone. Slowly, the pack faded away and into the forest. I kept my legs going, fighting to keep up. Suddenly, I was slammed into by someone. I stumbled to the ground and landed face down in the dirt. My ankle burned.

I rolled on my back, ready to absolutely destroy whoever or whatever had attacked me. I looked up to see Badger sneering down at me.

“The hell?” I exclaimed.

“You may have Knight fooled,” Badger sneered. “But I know what you really are. A low-level, pussy-ass bitch who scammed his way into this school.”

I opened my mouth to fire back but Badger took off. The rest of the class followed after him, glancing at me like I was nothing more than a nuisance. I pushed myself back onto my feet ad then continued behind them back to the school.

I wound up being the last one into the locker room. It was less than ideal given that, to shower, I’d have to not only unbind my chest, but get fully naked. I shuffled back over to the locker I had been granted that morning. Then, Knight filed in and stood directly next to me. He must’ve had class after me and was coming in to change.

He gave me a half a look before he peeled his shirt over his head and — oh my…

Knight Darkmoon was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. He was stunning from head to toe and all the bare bits of him in between me that I could see. My heart was pounding in my chest and I could barely contain the desire I had to reach out and run my fingers down the ridges of his abs. But I kept it together as best I could.

I’d never felt these intense of feelings and desires before. The fated mate bond was truly the strongest bond to exist. I swallowed thickly and opened my locker. I shrugged my shirt over my head to reveal my undershirt hiding my binding.

I propped my locker open even more to shrug my shirt off. I’d decided I was going to shower in my room and all I needed to do was put on my day clothes and I’d be fine. I quickly made work of my shorts and then I was standing in was my binding wrap and the pair of men’s underwear I’d taken from Ethan. Though, I couldn’t see anyone behind my locker room. Then, I heard Knight clear his throat. I froze.

“Ethan,” he said. “You smell…different.”