I pulled myself into South Paw fighting position and saw Kai’s eyebrows rise. The pack started whistling and clapping. “Fight, fight, fight.”

Kai shrugged and stepped forward in a relaxed position as the pack made a circle around us. Kai nodded and I nodded back. I delivered a front kick to the chest, pushing him back and knocking some wind out of him. He stumbled backward and everyone started hollering. Kai rubbed his chest. “Aurora, I get it. You have some fighting skill but I don’t want to hurt you.” 

I ran at him and launched a flying side kick aimed square at his chin. He did a quick shuffle to the left, ducking and avoiding my move. He immediately started to sway to his right and left.

“Okay,” he said and I recognized the moves as Capoeira. It was a Brazilian from of fighting I was less familiar with. In one swift move he did a front flip and delivered a kick inches from my head. I jumped back as fast as I could to get out of the way but stumbled and landed on my back. Someone in the pack started to chuckle, but immediately quieted when I shot right back up with a perfectly executed kick-up.

Kai was grinning. The pack had abandoned any idea of pairing off. They were cheering us on. Kai charged me again and tried sweeping my feet, but I was quick enough to jump over his leg. We traded several shots for the next couple of minutes. I managed to dodge a few of his barrage of kicks and checked the rest. There was undeniable beauty in the perfection of his technique and fluid motion, but that didn't distract from the pain in my shins and arms that I was trying hard to conceal.

I circled to the left to buy some time. Kai approached the cupboard in the wall. Just when I thought he was going to call an end to the sparring session, he grabbed a Bo, a traditional ninja staff from the cabinet and threw it at me. He grabbed one for himself and charged at me. He ran as fast in human form as he did in wolf form. I would have to try that some time. I ran at him and attacked first with a precise swing at his head that he blocked with his Bo. We faced off and I spun my stick in my left dominant hand. I had many hours of practice with weapons. I charged him giving my loudest battle cry. I brought my stick up and then he blocked it on the way down. We exchanged blows and you could hear the clack, clack of the sticks hitting. He tried a jab at my abdomen, that I read early enough, and I was able to rotate away catching his staff between mine and my body.

Sweat shown on both of our skin. I hated to admit it, but I got the feeling Kai was going easy on me. This enraged me more. I feigned right and Kai took the bait. I quickly changed course and struck my stick out while pulling his stick up high into the air and out of his hands. I smiled and relaxed a little just as his leg shot out lightening quick and kicked my legs out from under me. I fell backwards as he pushed his way on top of me and held my stick lightly against my throat.

“I win,” he said softly as some of the pack cheered and some booed. Then he kissed me gently and rolled off me.

“How long have you been training?” I asked him loudly, panting.

A sly grin crept over his face. “Over a century.”

I tried to mask my shock at his age. “Well, I have only been training ten years. Give me more time and I will beat you.” I stated with a grin. Over 100 years? How old was he? Note to self: learn more about werewolf aging.

He smiled, appraising me, and tipped his head to one of the more dominant wolves. Trent was his name. I remembered him talking to my mother at the barbeque. He was a nice guy originally from California. “Trent, you spar with Aurora. Don’t go easy. Emma, you are with Anna.”

I nodded, thinking Trent was a worthy sparring partner. He was packed full of muscle and had a long reach. Max and Kai partnered up and everyone began sparring with the Bo staff. After a few minutes of sparring, I swept my stick out and Trent tripped backwards and slammed onto the padded ground. I stuck my hand out to help him up. “Nice move,” he told me as he grabbed my hand. The second our skin touched, I was pulled into a vision.

Kai’s sister Diya was crying, her mother was rubbing her back.

“Please, Papa! Let me go. I don’t want to stay in Delhi. I love him. I want to join Kai’s pack and live with Trent in the States.”

An older man with salt and pepper hair, who was the spitting image of Kai, approached Diya with a stern face. “You are my only daughter. I am happy you have found your mate but I will not permit you to leave. Kai is a strong Alpha but he is not strict enough to do what needs to be done for the good of the pack. His pack is emotional and weak. They cannot protect you like I can. They are not big enough.”

Diya stood defiantly and stared into her father’s eyes, and her mother looked at the floor in a submissive gesture. “Don’t make me go rouge. I want this, daddy. I’m asking for your blessing, but I will go without it.” She held her chin high and her father gritted his teeth.

He looked to his mate. “Why couldn’t you bare me a submissive daughter instead of this dominant princess I see before me?” His tone was light; he sounded defeated.

Diya softened. “You will allow it? A pack transfer?”     

He sighed. “I will talk to Kai about transferring your brother, Jai, along with you. Kai’s pack is small. If a war broke out he wouldn’t have enough numbers to fight larger packs. I’ll transfer you both. Trent needs to start video conferencing us. I need to get to know this guy better.” He growled.

Diya flew across the room and hugged her father as her mother smiled.

“Kai has never been concerned with being Alpha of a big pack,” Diya stated.