1. A Fight for Her Freedom

     As she was running through the forest she could feel the damp earth between her paws. The earthy scent heightened with each step she took, her paws impaling the earth & digging up the ground in their wake. The scent of flowers in full bloom invaded her snout as she came into a field. 

     "Remember who you are..." a silky serene voice filled her mind. Her wolf, Gia, howled in response. 

      "Who are you?" She asked through the mindlink as Gia rolled on her back in the field under the moonlight. But the only response she received was the voice repeating those words over again. 

       "Remember who you are."

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        "Maeva? Maeva?" Alpha Maxwell's deep husky voice sounded through the mindlink awakening her from her dream.

         "Yes Alpha?" She answered, her voice thick with sleep. 

          "Sorry to wake you, princess," he answered sarcastically, "But I need you to get up, get dressed & meet me on the training field immediately." He commanded with his aura flowing through, then cutting the link before she could even reply. 

          Although his alpha command never actually worked on her, she complied anyway. She dragged herself from the warmth of her bed & grabbed a pair of yoga pants & a sports bra from her dresser, hastily throwing them on before grabbing a t-shirt and tossing it on her unmade bed. She pulled the hair tie from the bottom of her braided hair and worked her fingers through until the braid was out, & damp ringlets hung in its place. She pulled it up into a curly, messy bun before throwing on her t-shirt & then her shoes. She ran out of the pack house without breakfast & hurried over to the training field. 

        Upon her arrival to the training field she couldn't help but notice the men dressed in white dress suits standing with a man dressed in a royal blue suit who was speaking with the Alpha. His kinky black hair was faded low, but not so low as to not notice the tight kinky curls that sat on the top of his head. His caramel colored skin was peeking through the suit, which dramatically outlined his muscular frame. But what she had noticed the most was the power that radiated from him. The aura surrounding him was strong & powerful, yet gentle. 

       As she approached them they both turned to greet her. 

       "Headmaster Ronan, I would like you to meet our most promising junior warrior, Maeva." Alpha Maxwell spoke as she closed in on them. On instinct she lowered her head in submission. Though his powerful aura didn't quite effect her the way it would the other warriors, she had noticed his power, & wanted to show him the respect he deserved for a man in his position. 

        "Maeva, why don't you get out on the field & show the headmaster what you can do?" The Alpha said as though it was a suggestion. He was an older man, especially in terms of an Alpha. He hadn't found his Luna until he was in his late twenties, and hadn't conceived his alpha heir until his early thirties. His son, only 2 years older than Maeva, had been enrolled at the International Werewolf Academy for the past 2 years. 

       "Ofcourse Alpha." She spoke as she lowered her head in submission. 

        She made her way into the middle of the training field & stood there waiting for an opponent to come take their place opposite her. As she stood there waiting, she listened in on the Alpha & the Headmaster's conversation. She heard the Alpha tell the Headmaster about how impressive her fighting skills were, stating that there were very few members within the pack that could hold their own against her. Her wolf Gia nodded her snout in agreement with the Alpha. As she listened further, she heard the Headmaster suggest pitting her against one of his own warriors. The Alpha agreed, & one of the men dressed in white made his way towards her. 

      He was a muscular man that towered above her. She estimated that he stood around 6'6" and easily weighed double, if not triple her own weight. At 5'3", 125lbs., the man no doubt thought she would be an easy take down, but she knew better. 

      "The bigger they are, the harder they fall," Gia reminded her as she glanced at the tall muscular frame that stood before her. 

      "And fall, he will," she replied smiling inwardly at her wolf. 

      The Headmaster gave a nod to them, & with that, the man began his advance. He lunged towards her & she slid easy to the left side, while simultaneously taking out the warrior's leg with a hard kick. She heard the crack of bone before it registered to the warrior & he landed on his side with a loud thud. She watched like a predator watches it's prey as he landed and saw the wind get knocked from his lungs from the impact of the fall. She used the moment to take the offensive and advance on him. With one swift movement she pivoted, using the momentum of her pivot & the full weight of the right side of her body she brought her foot down on his jaw. Her movement caused a loud crunching noise to echo across the training field, followed by the nasally sound of incredibly loud snoring. 

       She stood there emotionless, staring down at the large pile of muscular man as he continued to snore loudly from her knockout blow. She was brought out of her gaze when sounds of laughter and clapping reached her ears. Not quite sure of what to do, she turned to the Alpha & Headmaster and bowed her head. 

      "Maeva!" The Headmaster called her name happily as he walked towards her. She lifted her eyes to find him quickly closing the distance between them with a bright smile on his face. 

      "He looks impressed!" Gia giggled. She nodded inwardly acknowledging her wolf. 

       "Wow Maeva, Alpha Maxwell wasn't kidding! You are quite impressive! You just took down one of our senior warriors, and in only 2 moves!" He laughed as he glanced at the unconscious warrior laying behind her. 

      "Maeva it would be my honor to offer you a scholarship to the acedmy, a full scholarship if your even half as bright as the Alpha says. I would just need you to complete some entrance assessment exams if your interested." He beamed brightly. She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face as she nodded at him. The entrance assessment exams would be easy for her and then she would finally be free of this place that hadn't felt like home since her father died.