The White Wolf Chapter 95: They Need More Training

The air was crisp with a faint chill from the morning. Caspian ran the kingdom’s border inspecting for any weak spots or at least ones that weren’t planned.

There had always been planned weak spots in their defense, in order to tunnel any opponents into a pre-planned location, making it easier to defeat them.

The recent attack was nowhere near any of the spots, so Caspian ordered the border’s defenses to be redone and made the new weak spots look like accidental oversights.

Every morning he had started doing this since the attack hoping to run off the extra steam that corsed through his veins. This failure showed the entire world he was unable to protect his people. It gave him fuel as he pushed his body to capacity. His lungs inhaled and exhaled trying to keep up. It was as if he was running from his thoughts. But his thoughts always came back, so he kept running.

Past the trees, past the streams, and past the rocks, he marked his territory and made sure it was secure with his own two eyes.

Looking at the ground he pressed his paw to the soft moss-covered floor. The ground was wet and would retain any prints left on it. Noting that he tried to relax as he had not come across any tracks.

Sticking his head up he surveyed his surroundings and pretended to not notice the guards Gabe sent after him trying to remain unnoticed. He would need to look into their training as he sensed their presence right away.

Acting as if he did not know he was being followed, he ran through the trees with the wind in his fur. The smell of the woods in his nose as he inhaled the air.

The formations he ran in made no sense. Leaving trails crisscrossed and every day around the border as if a stampede had come through. In case of being followed and the patrol trying to follow him, he made it impossible to keep up.

Once he was satisfied with his morning inspection, he returned to the palace for part two of his new routine. Training. Or at least more of it.

He had been locked in his office for far too long as he tried to put out fires and fix problems. This caused him to neglect his training. Without being able to fight, others would challenge him for his position. Many waited for any opportunity to try and grab the throne for themselves. He could slip even a little.

Shifting back into his man form, he retrieved a pair of shorts from behind a tree and made his way to the training area where Enzo waited for him.

In these times, Caspian preferred to train with Enzo. They could work without ever having to say a word in blissful silence. In this world, he was hardly ever alone making silence a luxury to him.

At his approach, the king said “You need to send them back to training school, far too easy to sense them.”

“Who?” Enzo fiegned confusion.

“Like you didn’t know Gabe has me tailed.” His eyes narrowed on his gamma.

A guilty laugh came out of Enzo and he put his hands up in surrender.

Once they had stretched their muscles, they began practicing their combat training.

A string of curses, snarls, and grunts could be heard as they went back and forth giving and taking hits.

Getting lost in his own thoughts, Caspian’s punches came faster and harder. He was so focused he didn’t hear Enzo’s sharp inhale as he landed a blow on his stomach. Only when the gamma stagger back did he blink and realize he may have overdone it.

“Are you ok?” He would not dare insult his gamma by sounding concerned so he kept his voice steady.

Catching his breath, Enzo held up his hand asking for a minute. “I will be. You looked like you weren’t here, where did you go?”

“Just into the abyss of my mind.”

Enzo knew better than to press the issue. “Well, find a path and get out. You had me worried there. You may have cracked my rib.”

“You sure you’re all right?” Caspian was worried, being the king meant he was strong and sometimes too strong.

“Nothing that won’t heal in a little bit but let’s move on to something else.” The shrug of Enzo’s shoulders did little to alleviate the guilt Caspian was feeling.

Agreeing, they settled into some light exercises to help alleviate pain from their tired muscles.

After training, their bodies were sore and bruised but would be healed soon enough.

After a quick shower, Caspian walked through the doors of his study to find Gabe waiting for him. The beta did not bother looking up from the papers in front of him as the king entered the room.

His hair was still wet as he made his way to his desk only carrying his phone and stopping to retrieve a cup of coffee from a cart that had been prepared in anticipation of his arrival.

“You know, I believe it’s protocol to stand when the king enters the room.”

“You would rather I finish this so you don’t have to.” Gabe said dryly.

“Good point. Carry on.” He brought his cup to his lips as he began working on his never-ending pile of duties. He rolled the sleeves up on his shirt till they sat at his elbows. Rubbing his temple he wished to be anywhere but confined in the walls of his study.

They each worked in silence going over reports. Breakfast was brought to the king.

"How is my brother?" Caspian said as he stabbed at his breakfast and took a bite before he set it aside.

"Not as fruitful as we would like."

“Another dead end?” Caspian asked sitting back in the chair behind his desk in his study.

Gabe gave his report to the king as he read from Luca had sent him the piece of parchment in his hand. “It says at this time there is a lack in sufficient evidence to draw a conclusion of involvement in activities that could be off ill intention towards the kingdom.”

Sending his brother and his brother-in-law to investigate seemed to be coming up empty.

Their report from Gemstone Pack found nothing useful then they moved on to other packs.

“And where should we send the duo next?”

Caspian pursed his lips and thought about it for a second. “Diamond Ridge.”

“Oh, they’ll love you for that. Might as well told them to go party.” Gabe rolled his eyes and let out a breath as it would be him who would deal with any mischief they got themselves into.

There was a knock at the door. It was faint so it would indicate it was a servant. Gabe crossed the room and opened the door. Voices were low as he spoke before accepting a piece of paper and shutting the door.

“What is it?” Caspian who was not entirely interested asked as he wrote on the piece of paper in front of him.

Gabe’s eyebrows scrunched together as he looked at his hands. “A letter has arrived.”

Caspian raised an eyebrow as he looked at Beta. “I assume it’s addressed to me, are you going to tell me who it’s from?”

“Well, you and the Queen but it is from the eastern kingdom.” Gabe clarified.

Stretching out his arm he said, “Hand it to me.”

“What does it say?” But the king ignored the beta as he continued to read.

“Send for Alexia.”