The Commander of Orion ✔️

Chapter 34

I stood on top of the wooden crate, watching as the warriors in front of me scrambled to find a partner to spar with.

The sun had barely risen above the horizon and I had a feeling these warriors hated me for waking them up so early, but I had no choice.

After I failed to give a good answer to Torren's question, the tribe was slowly beginning to lose confidence in me as their commander. They treated me more like their Luna, which just goes to show how much they didn't take my current role seriously.

I needed to show them I was serious and no matter what happens in the future, I was their commander right now.

"Begin," I announced once everyone found a partner. Hopping off the crate, I walked between each pair, watching as they refined their skills and yelling out tips.

Torren was with me, he was also walking around each pair, scribbling down notes on what each warrior needed to work on.

The two of us pushed them until early afternoon, before dismissing them.

Torren and I watched as our tired warriors packed up, making sure we were the last ones there before making any attempt to leave.

"Come on Torren, let's go have a late breakfast," I ordered, waiting for him to finish his weapon checks.

"I've already had 4 cups of coffee," he replied. "I think I'll go and check on the routes and make sure the wolves are following your orders." I hesitatingly nodded, unsure if I should mention that 4 cups of coffee was not a healthy breakfast.

Leaving him to do whatever he felt like he needed to do, I walked towards the pack house. Today's training went better than expected since no one had challenged my authority or was complaining yet.

When I arrived at the pack house, the common room was slowly being packed up and cleaned. My eyes landed on Irina, Anneli and Jase, who were, surprisingly, sitting on one table together.

I walked over to them, curiosity bouncing in my head.

"Hey," I greeted, eyes darting to all three. The three of them looked up before shooting out of their chairs.

They gathered all around me, mouths all moving, asking question after question, making it hard to really focus on anyone.

"Guys, stop," I ordered, pushing myself out of their circle of torture. "One at a time!"

All three stopped talking immediately before Anneli spoke. "How are you?" She asked, voice soft, loving and filled with concern.

"Edrei, you should've gotten someone to come and get me. I would've been there with you in a heartbeat," Jase added.

"How did this even happen? Last time I saw you, we were eating god knows what. You seemed healthy, your pup seemed healthy..." Irina placed her hand on her stomach. "I don't know what to say."

I pushed down the surge of emotions and plastered on a smile. I made myself a promise, but damn, were they making it hard not to cry.

"We would've come to you sooner but every time we tried to find you, you were either with Alpha Kaelon or in a meeting or just plain busy," Anneli huffed. "You had us all worried."

Irina crosses her arms, agreeing with Anneli's comment. "That's true. You have people here who care about you too."

"I'm really sorry I didn't come to any of you, but trust me, I'm fine now," I replied. "I just want to move on with my life and focus on the things that matter now, like winning this war against Nublius."

Irina pressed her lip in a line. "I wish I could be there with all of you and fight as well."

"Want to swap places?" Jase teased. "I could really use a break from all this training."