“You didn’t really think that those howls of yours would go unnoticed?” Hermes asked. “Every human in the city heard that. And if humans could hear it you have to know that we wolves could hear it.”
“You seem ok this morning. Are you hurt at all?” Ares asked. William shook his head. Truth be told, up until a few minutes ago he had felt better than he had his whole life. “I remember asking you where you were going, you never answered that question.” Ares folded his arms in front of him.
William looked at Ares. “I was going to explore the forest and maybe take a bath in the stream that is around here somewhere.”
“Don’t you think that I might have something to say about what my student does and does not do?” Ares looked at William. “You’re as ready as you ever will be to start learning what I have to teach you. We have a lot to do.”
William looked around at the circle of werewolves that surrounded him. Hermes, Physis and the others looked at him. Their eyes studied him with a cold calculation that made him feel very uncomfortable. They’re trying to figure out if I’m going to pass Ares’ training or if I will become the second werewolf of his to have to be put down.
Ares looked at the other werewolves in turn. Hermes and the two females that came in with him turned quietly and left. Ares looked at Physis and she reached up and nuzzled his neck with her nose. Then she too left, following the other shape shifters to disappear back into the forest. Ares was left standing there facing William.
“I will help you when I can, William. I’m your teacher, that’s what I’m here for.” Ares looked up at the trees and the ceiling of the underground cavern. He ran a claw up over his head and scratched at his ears. The human idiosyncrasy seemed out of place coming from an eight-foot-tall werewolf. “I was chosen to be your teacher for a reason. You are not the first human born I’ve been around.” Ares turned his back on William and inhaled the scent of the forest around him. “What are you willing to do?”
“What do you mean? Willing to do about what?”
Ares turned around and closed the distance between the two of them in a single step. William had to crane his neck to look up at Ares as he towered over him. The shape shifter was looking down at William and their noses were almost touching. William could smell the musky earthy scent that was his teacher, and he was sure that Ares could smell him just as keenly. William could smell his teacher tense and he was suddenly nervous.
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“What are you willing to do? What are you willing to do to learn how to control what you are? How far are you willing to go to prove that you belong with Aceso and the rest of your pack?”
“I will go as far as I need to, to learn what you have to teach me.”
Ares took in the young pup in front of him. William thought that he saw Ares lips raise into the slightest of smiles. Ares placed a massive paw on his shoulder and gripped it. The strength in that grip was beyond anything William could describe. It was warm and almost fatherly in nature. In the darkest corners of his ego, he thought that Ares might even be proud of him. Ares let go of William’s shoulder. He turned back in the direction that he had been facing and let out a howl. The howl wasn’t angry. William thought the sound of the howl seemed happy, almost excited. Without the howl dying away completely Ares broke out into a full out sprint.
The sudden movement of his teacher caught William off guard, and he had to kick off the ground so that he didn’t lose him. Ares speed was not aided by torn up turf. Ares seemed to glide over the land and the pine needles. It seemed that the only thing that moved in the forest around him was the wind of his passing. William had to grip and throw himself off the earth to keep up with Ares. Running seemed so effortless to Ares. The two werewolves were on all fours and they were nothing more than brown and tan streaks flying through the forest.
William tried to study his surroundings to get a better idea of this forest and where exactly they were going but Ares’ pace was too fast. William had to put all of his concentration into running and keeping up with his teacher. Just when William was starting to enjoy the pure rush of the run, Ares stopped.
William had to jump to the side to avoid crashing into Ares. William was able to keep his feet but only just. He skidded to a stop a few inches from a sizable tree trunk. William whipped his head around and looked at Ares who was once again standing on his two hind legs. William stood up on his hind legs as well and walked to stand a few feet from Ares.
Ares seemed to not notice what had just happened and looked at William. As William approached, he said, “The first thing I have to teach you is how to hunt.”
William almost rolled his eyes but kept a strict discipline on his body. “I already know how to hunt. I’ve done it a hundred times and over a dozen times in this form.”
Ares folded his arms across his chest. He looked down at William. “Then hunt me.”
Ares kicked off the earth and ran. William was caught off guard by the challenge and by the shear speed by which Ares ran. His teacher ran much faster than he had even a few moments ago. He was nothing more than a disappearing streak through the woods. William stumbled into a clumsy gait before he found his legs again. Those two steps, it seemed, was all the head start Ares needed. William ran in the direction that his teacher took but he could see no trace of Ares at all. The massive werewolf was gone.
William ran on for a few more steps before he let himself slow down and stop. He looked all around him. The trees were unfamiliar to him and they all looked the same. He had no idea where he was or where Ares might have gone.