JAMES.

CHAPTER 7.

“Get it into gear!” Carson yelled across the field at the group of warriors doing drills.

James stood beside him, watching the training. “How are they doing?”

“They’re a bunch of sissies,” Carson grumbled. “Didn’t we used to do full-day workouts with only one break?”

“Yep,” James replied bluntly.

“They can barely make it through one drill session before they all start whining,” Carson said with exasperation, throwing his hands up into the air.

“Well, then let’s push them,” James grinned darkly.

James and Carson walked into the center of the field, grinning as they stood in the middle of the warriors.

“Warriors!” James called out, earning the attention of the field. “It seems you don’t enjoy the training that Coach has worked so hard to set up for you!”

Carson glared at James, earning a smirk from his Captain. “We have a proposition for you,” Carson hollered.

“You against us,” James spoke firmly. “You take us down and you can have the rest of the day off. We win, and you get a full-day training.”

All of the warriors turned to look at each other, each grinning darkly at the fact it was thirty against two.

“You’re on!” one of the warriors from the back yelled.

“Perfect,” James spoke quietly as he removed his shirt.

Carson rolled his eyes, “I’m too old for this crap.”

They both shifted into their wolves, James standing proudly as he waited for the warriors to gather their courage.

James and Carson fought boldly, each sparring with the pack warriors, and each taking their opponents down without much trouble.

With just four warriors left, Carson tapped out, shifting back and sitting on a bench at the edge of the field and leaving James to fight on his own. He knew it would be a piece of cake for him.

In just minutes, the four warriors were down and James shifted back. “Well,” he panted, “You gave an okay fight. I’ve seen better. Clearly you need this full day of training.”

Carson stood with a chuckle, “You all take ten and get yourselves handled.”

All of the warriors laid on the field, breathing heavily from the fight with their leaders.

“That was fun,” James smiled, wiping some stray blood from his chest.

“You seem chipper today,” Carson muttered as he wiped a towel across his forehead.

“Don’t tell anyone,” James replied as he sat beside Carson, “But I found my second chance mate last week.”

“No way,” Carson hollered with shock. “You’re messing with me.”

“Honest,” James sighed. “Her name is Mallory, she works in the pack clinic.”

“That’s great, congratulations,” Carson said softly.

“It would be, if she actually wanted anything to do with me,” James huffed. “She has all but rejected me. I don’t understand how I could possibly have this bad of luck.”

Carson shook his head, “Wolves nowadays think they know better than destiny. If she rejects you it’s her loss, end of story.”

“It’s not that… my first mate had the same problem. Apparently I’m too big and scary,” James grumbled. Carson laughed loudly. James turned to him with a glare, “It’s not funny.”

“James, look at you. You’re kind of scary!” Carson laughed. “You’ve got scars all over yourself, you have some pretty severe resting-grump-face, and you’re seven feet tall and built like a brick house.”

“She said I’m mean…” James muttered.

“Well,” Carson shrugged, “You’ve had a hard time. There’s a difference between being mean and being firm. And I don’t believe you’ve ever crossed it. You are firm with your warriors and it’s what makes you a good leader.”

“Awww, Coach,” James grinned cheesily, “I didn’t know you felt that way about me. I love you too, man!” He leaned over and gripped Carson tightly, earning a moan from his Coach.

“Get off,” he grumbled, pushing James away. “You’re an idiot.”

As James made his way up the hill toward the pack house, he smiled when he saw Mallory walking up from the clinic.

“Hi,” he said softly, hoping to get more than an angry moment from her.

“Oh, James… hi,” she replied quietly, her eyes shifting around.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” she answered, pushing some hair behind her ear.

“Do you want to join me for lunch?” he asked politely, hoping she would say yes.

Mallory looked around again, “No, James. I don’t want to join you.”

“Can’t we just get to know eachother?” he asked, her scent filling his mind as the wind shifted.

“I don’t want to get to know you. You’re exactly like I said you were. I saw you earlier, beating down all of those warriors. You enjoyed it. That’s not-”

“What you saw earlier was me doing my job,” James interrupted, his anger igniting as she once again accused him of being a terrible person. “It’s my duty to make sure the warriors in this pack train hard to protect you. What you saw today, that was me making their training fun. So yeah, I enjoyed it. I enjoy fighting because I’m good at it, and I won’t apologize for that. Just like I enjoy protecting my people.”

James glared down at her, his face softening for a moment as he searched her hazel eyes. He stepped closer, daring to be near her for a just moment. Her scent surrounded him and all he wanted to do was be with her.

Mallory looked up at him, her face filled with a mixture of fury and fear. “I don’t want a mate.”