Three

OCTAVIUS (15 YRS OLD)

   "You can not go all out on your sparing partners, Tav," Father growls as he grabs me by my arm and yanks me to a stop.

  I growl a little at the reprimand, but my head still drops respectfully.

  "You broke Garret's arm! He will have to spend the rest of the day healing! You mind telling me what that was about," Father shouts while letting his Alpha aura out.

  I shrug, and he throws my arm away from him.

   "That's not a good enough answer, Octavius. You are the Alpha in training. The pack needs to be able to trust you. Garret was not expecting you to go from basic combat to kill mode in thirty seconds. You could have ripped his arm off," Father declares, and guilt manages to push past my annoyance.

  I didn't mean to go all out on my friend, but my mind had wandered off. When it did, my usual control slipped. My true strength came out, and my packmate was unable to defend himself.

  "I lost control," I admit, and father growls lowly before rubbing his forehead.

   "This has to do with your mom," he mumbles, and I nod even though his eyes are still closed.

  "I miss her. She should be back soon. I visit her realm every night, but she has yet to return," I say, and father's dark brown eyes reopen.

   He stares into my soul for a long moment, and I feel the urge to squirm under the power of his scrutiny. Finally, he sighs, and his eyes fill with sad compassion.

  "I love your mother. I miss her every day. But she is dead. She is our Goddess now, and while we have made sure to spread the word of her new title, that does not change the fact she is separate from us. We are living, Tav. We are mortals. She is not. We must live our lives, and you aren't. You are obsessed with your mom when your focus should be on the living people around you," Father says, and my eyes narrow.

  Annoyance bubbles up within me, and Beerus moves to the back of my mind to avoid dealing with my building anger. 

  "I only want to see her! It has been years. I am not obsessed with my mother," I snap, and his eyes lose the faint hint of compassion they had.  

  "Drop that attitude, son. You may be stronger, but I have experience. You won't be able to get the upper hand on me," he snarls as my uncle's scent enters the gym.

   I keep my eyes locked on my father's, and the tension between us becomes unbearable.

  "Just saw Garret...figured I might pop in to see why a friendly sparing match resulted in my pup's arm being broken," Lucifer says, and once again, a wave of guilt overcomes my anger. 

  I glance at my uncle to find him staring at me with his arms crossed over his chest. 

   "I lost control of my strength. It was not intentional," I snap, and his eyes fill with fire.

   "You know Garret is the front runner for being your Beta. Kohn's daughter is two years younger than you and doesn't seem interested in learning about what it takes to hold such an important position. So maybe you should treat him a little better. Maybe control yourself a little better," Uncle responds with venom laced through every one of his words.

  I growl, and Lucifer's arms fall out of their relaxed position. He takes a step towards me, and father holds out his arm to stop him.

  "Drop it, Lucifer. Tav is looking for a fight. He is frustrated with how long Amber has been with the other Goddesses and is trying to take that out on us," Father says, and my eyebrows lift.

  "No, I am defending myself. Both of you are coming at me as I hurt him on purpose. I just lost control for a moment. I have a lot on my mind. It's not my fault I am so much stronger than all of you. I never hurt anyone unless absolutely necessary. Unlike the two of you," I say, in defense of my actions.

   I am not one that typically craves violence, unlike my father and uncle. They handle everything with blood. Most of the adults handle things that way. I don't. I don't pick fights or find pleasure in harming anyone who doesn't deserve it. I am a fair wolf. I prefer diplomacy and talking things out. Kohn says I get that from my mom.

  "He said you didnt apologize. You actually huffed and acted annoyed that he got his arm broken," Lucifer says, and my guilt rises.

   Father nods and confirms my behavior.

  "Exactly, Octavius. You aren't behaving like your usual self. You are craving violence today. Probably hoping it will distract you from obsessing over your mother's return. As I just said before," Father says, and I huff.

  "Why is this such a big fucking deal? Garrett will heal. I didn't mean to do it, and I do apologize. Is the lecture over," I demand while rolling my eyes, and Lucifer's eyes widen in shock before they become clouded with even more anger.

  "I will not be disrespected by you, nephew. I won't have you harming my pup during practice. Get on the mat," Lucifer growls, and Father sighs before turning away to walk back to his chair.

   "Fine. He needs to blow off the extra steam anyway. Think with your head Lucifer or Garret won't be the only one injured," Father says over his shoulder, and I realize they are right.

   I need violence. I have been craving a real fight since this morning. Practice with Garret wasn't cutting it, and I did get annoyed when he had to submit. I want the violence.

Octavius- I hate admitting that I want to hurt someone. I feel bad but also pleased that they are giving me what I need.

Beerus- We may have human emotion, Tav, but we are still werewolves. We crave raw meat. We like physical combat. We enjoy the strength running through our body. Don't push away who you are.

Octavius- I don't. I've just never suffered from bloodlust. I've never wanted to inflict pain before. I always thought that was something the old werewolves had.

Beerus- No. We are just as battle-hungry as the "old" wolves.

  Beerus chuckles in our head, and I focus my attention on my angry-looking Uncle.

  "I'm not going to hold back, Uncle. I am tired of always holding back for the sake of others. I have never been allowed to see what I am truly capable of during a fight. But that changes today. I deserve to blow off steam," I declare, and he growls a little before kicking off his expensive sneakers.

  "Shut up and fight, Tav," Lucifer snarls, and something within me snaps.

  I let go of my usual caution, and I release the natural-born killer that only my prey has seen. Beerus snarls within our head, enjoying the freedom as I attack my Uncle's weak guard.

  If he is surprised by my speed, he doesn't show it as he dodges my fists. But that is something I have come to expect from my Uncle and Father. They never show emotion when fighting. They just fight, and they fight to kill.

  We exchange fast punches mixed with hard elbows and kicks, but neither of us gains an advantage. Uncle is fighting cautiously, and that alone annoys me. I want him to take me seriously. I want him to fight me all out. I'm not just some random pup. I am powerful, and I deserve respect. They have no idea how strong I truly am. If they did, they wouldn't challenge me. They would be too scared.

  Lucifer lands a surprise kick to my ribs, but the impact doesn't hurt me. On instinct, I wrap my left arm around his outstretched leg and twist my body to the side. I drop a hard elbow down on his knee, and a massive roar leaves his mouth as his leg snaps from my blow.

I release his broken leg with a smug smile, and he falls to the mat in agony.

  "Fuck," father whispers from behind me, and within half a second, he is next to us.

  "I told you to use your head, baby brother. Now you and Garret are going to be out for the rest of the day," Dad growls as he proceeds to hoist my uncle up on his good leg.

   Lucifer grumbles something and avoids looking at me as Dad helps him off the sparring mat.

  "I told him I wouldn't hold back," I say as I watch the two burly men move past me.

  "I am aware of that, Tav. Why don't you go run it off? Hunt. Do whatever it is you do out there, but don't think this is over. I plan on beating some respect into you later," Dad says with a growl, and it's my turn to fold my arms.

  "I didnt do anything wrong. The two of you blew my loss of control out of proportion and pushed me into blowing off steam. That's on you two, not me," I declare angrily, and dad pauses at the door.

  "I am still your Alpha. Your lack of respect is not acceptable. This is a werewolf pack, Octavius and I run the show. It would be in your best interest to remember that. Remember your place before you find yourself standing alone," Dad says, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

  A cold shiver runs up my spine, and a thousand years' worth of tradition makes my head fall.

  "Yes, Alpha," I immediately reply, and he nods before exiting the room.

Beerus- I agree with you. They pushed that situation on us.

Octavius- I think my dad just gave me a test...and I failed.

Beerus- Really?

Octavius- Yeah. I feel ashamed for some reason. I don't feel good about the win, and I definitely don't feel like I worked through my problem. I got big-headed and hurt two people that I care about.

Beerus- What lesson could he have been testing you on?

Octavius- Basically what he said. Respect. I didn't show my packmate respect when I injured him. I didn't show my Uncle respect even though he outranks me. I didn't show my father respect, and he is my Alpha. Underestimating an opponent and/or disrespecting them might win you a battle or two, but it might cost you the war.

  I explain while quoting a book dad had me read when I turned thirteen and thought I was invincible.

Beerus- That's much too complicated thinking for this wolf.

Octavius- It basically talked about burning bridges. For example, if you insult and disrespect someone, you create an enemy. Too many enemies, you become overwhelmed, no matter how strong you are. No one will come to your aid because of the kind of person you are, and you will have to fight all the people you have scorned.

Beerus- That's not good. Wolves rely on teamwork. We can't win on our own.

Octavius- Exactly. But I just acted like I could and failed Dad's test.

    The truth of my thoughts slaps me in the face, and I feel as if I am two inches tall. My father is typically pleased with me after a sparring match. He knows I hold back, and he always brags about my control. He gloats around the mansion, telling everyone who will listen that I will be a fantastic Alpha.

  "Let's go hunt. Then I need to apologize," I whisper out loud, and Beerus whines in my head to show he agrees.