Royal Wolf Box Set by Haley Weir
Chapter Nine
Aeron took his family into the forest, along with Rubius, to try and enlist the help of the wolf packs to fight alongside the kingdom in the coming war. Although the war was declared on the Kingdom of Grenvich itself, the battle could certainly spill over into the forests, which would mean that it would be in the wolf packs’ best interest to join the battle before it was in their own land. But it would still take some convincing to get the shifters on board with launching into a human war of kingdoms. There would be blood spilled and lives lost no matter what. Because of that, Aeron brought Samar along with them as well. Rubius had convinced him that their best chance was to be honest and upfront with the wolf packs and to tell them about Samar. The sheer fact that she was a Kitsune, and the only one, might convince the packs to protect her.
When they arrived, Rubius shifted and ran quickly through the forest to gather as many of the packs as he could. Once they were all assembled, Aeron gave a brief explanation of why they had come to meet with everyone and a short description of what had happened that would now be causing a war to come to their doorstep. Then he introduced Samar.
At first, some of the shifters didn’t believe him. They had trouble comprehending that Kitsune even existed. But then Samar shifted and showed them what she was. After the initial surprise, the shifters were fascinated by her. Some stroked her soft fur; others put their hand against her slender muzzle and looked into her eyes. A few of the shifters looked on with amazement at her multiple tails that swirled in all different directions around her back legs. When Samar eventually shifted back into her human form, Aeron handed her dress back to her, and she sat in anticipation to see what the wolf shifters would say to her. But to her complete surprise, most all of them welcomed her immediately. And, just as Rubius had hoped, they seemed to want to help protect this incredible rare shifter. Samar smiled and sat amongst them as they mingled and talked. Rubius looked on with Aeron as they watched Samar join in laughter and conversation with the packs.
“She’s a very special creature,” Rubius said.
“I know.” Aeron nodded in response.
“I hate to throw dirt onto this moment of blooming hope,” Rubius said, “but I have news from my scouts.”
Aeron turned his head to look at Rubius, and he could see by the dismal look on Rubius’ face that the news wasn’t something to be excited about.
“This war will be devastating for both sides,” Rubius said. “The two kingdoms seem to be equally matched in almost every way— numbers, weaponry, position on the field. It’s going to be a long and bloody war that will only end when one side, or both, have been exhausted.”
Aeron sighed deeply and went back to looking at Samar and his children, who were now playing with some of the younger wolf pups.
“We need to keep them safe,” he said. “Samar, Marquette, and my grandson, we need to keep those of us that cannot survive a war of this magnitude in hiding until the war is done.”
“Agreed,” Rubius said. “I know of a place deep within the bowels of the forest, hidden inside a thicket so dense, they will not be seen.”
“Good,” Aeron said with a single nod. “When the time comes, take them there. We will retrieve them once the war is finished.”
“If we are victorious,” Rubius added.
“We will be,” Aeron said. “We have to be. Our families depend on our victory.”
* * *
The next day, back at the castle, the training began. Aeron started training all of the people that would fight alongside of him in the coming days. Both humans and shifters alike trained beside each other, with none of the humans being the wiser that there were wolf shifters in their midst. Aeron estimated that they only had a few days before the other kingdom’s forces would show up on their fields. While Rubius trained the packs to fight in shifted form in the forest, Aeron fitted all of his people with weaponry and taught them the art of hand-to-hand combat. Most of the people caught on quickly, and Aeron was a skilled trainer and warrior, so he had confidence that they would be a formidable opponent.
Still, marching people into a violent war was not something any king wanted to do. He watched as his wife and daughter trained with each other and his son helped to correct the stance of a human who was holding their sword on the wrong side of their body. He was proud of his family, and he knew without a doubt that they were excellent fighters. But he worried about each of them and wished that he could keep them far away from the battle. Aeron knew that they would never agree to sit out the fight, especially not when they were protecting their own home and people. But still, he wished that he could convince them all to go hide in the woods until things were safely over.
“I want to join the training,” Samar said to Aeron just as he was coming out of his wandering thoughts.
“What? No,” he said. “You won’t even be on the battlefield. You’ll be deep inside the woods with Marquette and her son, and a few of the others. You can’t be on the battlefield. You’re the one they want. They won’t hesitate to focus all of their artillery on you and drop you dead upon first sight.”
“Yes, I know that,” Samar said with determination in her voice. “But what happens if the battle comes to us. What if they find us in the forest?”
“They won’t. Rubius assured me that the hiding place would not be found.”
“You know as well as I do, that is an assurance that no one can give. There is always the possibility of being found. Has Marquette been trained to fight? Has your grandson?”
“No,” Aeron said, seeing exactly where she was driving her point. “Of course not.”
Samar didn’t even need to say anything else. She just stared at Aeron, knowing full well that he understood the point she was trying to make.
“I am a Kitsune. I have immense power,” she said. “Train me how to use it in this situation of melee combat, and then you will know that I can protect your family and myself if we are discovered in the forest.”
Aeron sighed. The thought of Samar fighting made his stomach twist in fear, but he couldn’t argue with her logic.
“Okay,” he said. “Jump in.”
Samar smiled and ran to join the groups of people in the courtyard that Theo was in the middle of teaching a striking move to. Theo stopped when he saw Samar join the group and looked over to his father. Aeron nodded at him, and Theo continued with his training.
The fight training lasted all day, with breaks for meals and water. They sparred in combat matches with each other, practiced the various scenarios that might happen and how to counter them on the battlefield. When the day started to get late, Aeron advised everyone to go rest and they would resume training tomorrow. His plan was to train them every day until the war began.
“Eat, rest, and be ready to fight again tomorrow,” Aeron said as everyone began to filter out of the courtyard and head back to their homes for the night.”
He was tired too, but he stayed behind a little longer to work on some of his own fight stances and moves. Even Theo had gone for the night, to go back to Marquette and his child and try to have a night of rest and peace. But Aeron had spent the day working with everyone else, and now it was time to work on his own skills. He pulled his shirt off over his head and tossed it to the side of the courtyard. Even though he was tired, he pushed himself further and trained until his chest was heaving and beads of sweat were running down the defined muscles of his chest.