Lionel took it better than Zera had initially anticipated because he just nodded and said he was fine with it. She didn’t want to believe his words, but she had to trust that he was telling the truth.
When Manon finally arrived, Lionel was one of those to welcome him, as he had no prior visit to this one. There was no bad blood or grudge held, or at least she couldn’t see it.
He shook hands with Manon and told him he was the luckiest man alive to have Sesi as his mate. Then he told him to take care of her, or he would hunt him down and kill him. It was a threat, and from the sound of his voice, he was dead serious. That should have been Aaron’s line, but Lionel didn’t care; he said it. He obviously still cared about Sesi and wanted only the best for her.
Manon nodded and told him he would not forget his words in case he ever did something to hurt Sesi. Lionel tapped his shoulder and walked away.
Zera turned to Aaron and asked him if he had any threats left for Manon, and he shook his head.
“Sesi had three badass older brothers and an ex that is still very protective of her; he knows his fate if he ever hurts Sesi,” he told her.
Manon was just like everything Zera has heard in the last couple of months; he was calm, kind, and decent. He was also Sesi’s mate, because Zera saw the way his eyes lit up as soon as Sesi stepped out. He stopped speaking and instead smiled. They were perfect, and though the sight of them together grieved her heart for Lionel, she had to admit the truth. This was the same way Aaron was around her, and she could tell the feeling anywhere.
Two of the other packs that Aaron had sent his betas to speak to the previous day had turned out.
The others sent words letting him know they would take their chances with the enemy and were not ready to bow to the Dominio pack. Aaron knew they didn’t even stand a chance against the legion of Sages coming against them. They stood a better chance of coming together and facing the common enemy, but he kept himself quiet in his reaction to the news.
“It’s their loss anyway,” Damor said after coming into the study and learning of the other packs’ responses.
“Their loss, but their numbers, would have given us a greater chance against the enemy. Now we have to make do with what we have,” Aaron exhaled.
“There is nothing we can do about it. We can’t force them; we can only make sure we are ready for the war.” Damor answered.
“You’re afraid.” Zera asked as soon as the door closed after Damor took his leave.
“You’ve asked me that question over a dozen times now.” He said this and turned to the window to stare out at the people on the open field training. “Aren’t you afraid?” he asked.
“I am. But I have to have hope. I have to believe it. You will come up on top, as usual. But when your heart weaves in doubt and fear, mine sinks.”
“The full moon is a few days away. If Lucius drags his attack on, we will have a very uneasy shift, as the estate wouldn’t be enough for those who wish to explore territories. We have not less than six packs presently here, and if Lucius knows this, he will only want to capitalise on that and wait us out until this becomes unbearable. He gave us four days, and that is now two days away. The full moon is five days away.”
Zera came to stand beside him. “You think that’s his plan?”
He sighed. “I don’t know; I just have to ask myself what I would do if I were a coward willing to do anything just to safeguard victory.”
“But we don’t know that.”
“We don’t, and I don’t want to lose to him or anyone. The thought of leaving Zion behind crushes me. I do not want to think about losing, but I am afraid.”
Zera took his hand into hers, and they were cold. “That will never happen, Aaron. We will win this war, and you will have many more years with Zion.”
He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it, muttering, “Thank you.”
That night, Aaron chose to train with the rest of the pack, checking their speed, stamina, and endurance level. Ivan and Damor had been in charge of them so far, and now he wanted to check how far they had come.
When it came down to brutality, Damor didn’t hold back, and the first night Miguel reported a few casualties, but there were almost none the second night.
The second night, unlike the first, Ivan, having fought the sage, knew first-hand their speed, strength, and brutality, so he taught them to keep a heads up for an attack. It wasn’t a war of strength because they would never be as strong as sages, no matter how long or hard they trained. They only needed to last long enough to land the enemy a finishing blow.
He created an illusion that was visible to every one of the pack members, even though no one but them on the field saw their foe.
Out of the hundred training sessions, they had fifty percent wins and fifty percent losses. Those who lost were made to go over and over again until they were able to kill their imaginary foe.
Then they faced Damor the second time, coming in pairs of six, and their performance was much better than the first day, and they put up much of a fight.
“Do you wish to train?” Miguel asked, his eyes narrowing as he stared at Aaron.
“I might be an alpha, but I want to train, and I’ve faced the sages before, and I know they are no joke.” He answered.
“Then why didn’t you train the first two days?” Viktor asked from the back, where he stood, holding on to the two sticks they used to train while pretending they were both the silver and golden daggers.
“I’ve trained with Zera these past two days.” He revealed.
That was the truth. They had trained nonstop in the last two days. And he had only been able to pin her once during those times. He told her not to go easy on him, and she did not.
“Then let me test your limit as I test mine.” Lionel said from the back, stepping forward.
Zera immediately objected to it: “Lionel, you shouldn’t challenge an alpha.”
“I just did. And it seems as if you’re underestimating my abilities.” He frowned at her.
“I am not; I just don’t want you to make any reckless decisions that will leave you in bad shape while we await the war.” She told him, “You are not just as strong yet.”
“I know, and that is why I didn’t challenge you to a fight. Now stop getting in the way,” he said.
Zera had no option but to obey and step out of the way.
Lionel turned to Damor, the only one in the pack holding a silver dagger, and said, “I don’t want to swing this around; do you mind if I use the real thing?”
Aaron shrugged. “Whatever you wish to fight with is fine with me.”
He took the silver dagger from Damor’s hand and stepped towards Aaron. Everyone immediately spread out, giving them room.
The fight took off, and though Zera anticipated the conclusion within the first minute, Lionel persisted, and his strength disproved her initial conclusion.
Sesi drew closer to where Zera stood to get a better view of the scene and couldn’t help voicing her surprise: “He’s changed so much.”
Zera nodded, agreeing with her. “He sure has.”
Aaron swung Lionel over his shoulder just as he was about to hit his head on the ground. Zera saw the outcome. He would hit the ground in a bad way and probably break his neck.
She gasped, her hands running up to cover her mouth and conceal the sound. Aaron’s hand shot forward and caught him. Aaron gave him a hand to help him up and tapped his shoulder in admiration of his prowess.
“Funny how last week you couldn’t even wield a proper dagger. And this week you are able to cut the alpha of the Dominio pack, who also has the strongest bloodline.” Aaron said it with a proud tone of voice.
“To be honest, I didn’t think I had it in me to challenge the strongest Alpha alive. I’m glad I gave it a shot.” He revealed it and stepped back.
“Who wants to go next?” Aaron asked.
Before the end of the night, Aaron had taken on every single person outside except for Zera, Ivan, Sesi, and Manon. He proved to everyone again why he was the strongest Alpha when he took on Alpha Kol, Alpha Jake, and Viktor at once and won. He lacked not a single strength, despite having taken others before them.
“Do you still have the strength to take me on?” Zera asked, and she stepped to where he stood under the oak tree, wiping his face of the lingering sweat.
He turned around and pulled her closer immediately. “I do have the strength, but I don’t think I can take you on.” He closed the space between them with a deep kiss.