Chapter 28 Riley walked out to the training ground, the crisp fall air refreshing across her face. She watched the groups of warriors training as she walked. Some were sparring one on one while others watched. Other groups were sparring in teams of two or three and some more advanced warriors were sparring two to one. She looked around, trying to determine where the civilians would train when the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She turned to find Kent watching her from across the grounds, close to the training academy. He was wearing a pair of athletic shorts and a green t-shirt. He smiled when she looked at him and she couldn't help but smile back. Our mate looks amazing, Rose gushed as they headed towards him. He does, but don't tell him that, Riley chided. He might get ideas. I might like those ideas, Rose replied, adding in some graphic suggestions. Goddess, what am I going to do with you? Riley stopped in front of Kent, tipping her head back to look up into his face. She wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch him, but she fisted her hands at her side to resist the urge. "Are you feeling alright?" he asked, looking down at her. "I'm fine." She dug her fingernails into the palm of her hands. He nodded. "The civilians train over here." He motioned to a portion of the training grounds beside the academy. They walked over and he explained the process of dividing them into groups based on age and ability. He went over the tiers they had created to move the civilians through training. "You mentioned before that students start training in school, right?" Kent nodded. "Yes, we start training at eleven and identify warriors by sixteen." "So those that aren't identified to be warriors, do they have to follow any type of mandatory training after school?" He shook his head. "It never felt necessary before. Prior attacks were so small and manageable. We have never had fights or wars with neighboring packs because of how far away we are from everyone. Some of our civilians have asked that these training sessions remain a regular thing. We're open to that, but we haven't decided if they will be optional or mandatory." "I'd suggest it be mandatory until a certain age, unless there is a medical condition that interferes." "Yeah," he said, rubbing his chin, "Patrick had the same thought." Riley looked at Kent for a moment. Did you talk to Patrick about yesterday?" He looked at her for a long moment. "Yeah, but now isn't the time to talk about that." He put his hand on the small of her back, guiding her towards a group of civilians that were training. They walked around together, discussing the system and ways to fine tune it. Riley was impressed by how well they had managed things overall and most of her suggestions were minor. At some point, Max came over to join them as well, listening intently to Riley's ideas. 1/2 Chapter 28 "I think that will work," Kent said, after a long discussion. "I have a meeting with my trainers after lunch so I will bring up the suggested changes to them and see how we can start implementing them." He turned to Riley. "Penny said she would have the reports emailed over to you in an hour, but that was a while ago, so I imagine those are ready for your review." He then turned to Max. "And we can train until lunch time if have nothing else going on." "I'm ready," Max said. He turned to Riley. "Why don't you train with us? If you're as good as Leo says, I think I would enjoy the challenge. Plus I still want to see you take this chump out." He pointed a thumb at Kent. "I don't think that's a good..." Kent started but trailed off when Riley narrowed her eyes at him. "I mean, f**k it. Do whatever you want." He shrugged, rolling his eyes. "Passive-aggressive much?" she muttered. He held his hands up. "I'm not telling you what to do. You do whatever you want. But I won't go easy on you regardless." "Am I missing something?" Max said, glancing between the two of them. "Yes." Riley and Kent answered in unison. Max nodded, looking nonplussed. "Glad we're on the same page." Riley sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I've been a little sick. Nothing serious, but Kent doesn't want me exerting myself until I'm better." Max looked at her for a moment. "Well, not to agree with the mean bastard, but he's probably right." Riley shook her head. "Whatever. I'm going to read those reports." She turned to leave. "That sounds like a great choice," Kent called mockingly after her. "f**k you," she snapped, looking over her shoulder. "Is that an offer?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows at her. Her face turned red as Max howled in laughter. Comments Get Bonus (Ad) >