Katana

Katana stood amongst the many strong males. Imagine a line that moves in an almost straight line until it reaches Katana. The line dips. She was a lot shorter than any of them. She tugged on her father’s loose grey t-shirt and pulled up her father’s sweats.

Everyone gets a chance to fight one on one with the General to see their strength. They had to meet at barracks C to compete. As the line grew closer and closer to the doorway of barracks C, Katana felt sick. She wanted to puke.

A soft tap on her shoulder had her whipping around to see who it was. It was a strong muscular man who had brunette colored hair. He smiled when she met his eyes.

“Katana.” He whispered her name so that she can only hear. Her back stiffened and her eyes widened. He waved both his hands in the air to stop her from freaking out.

“Who are you?” She whispered back.

He chuckled. “My name is Troy. Your father sent me – well, the Alpha sent me. After your father approached the Alpha with your absence, they felt it was only safe to send me along to help you through this safely. If the General realizes you are a girl, everyone will be in danger.”

She swallowed hard. She didn’t realize just how heavy her secret was. The threat that could be brought onto her pack if her secret comes out made her feel even sicker. Troy seemed to have noticed and gently pushed her to move forward as the line kept moving.

“I am here to help you. Now, can you fight?” He asked.

“No.” She squeaked.

“Sh!t.” He murmurs and then his eyes lit up a little. “Just avoid his attacks for now. If you are able to move fast he won’t be able to land a hit. Your agility should be able to move you forward. Whatever you do, do not act suspicious.”

Katana nodded and glanced at the door. Just one more person ahead of her and then it was her turn. She could hear the grunts and growls coming from inside the barracks. Her heart was beating so fast in her chest; she can hear it pounding in her ears. She wiped her sweaty palms on her sweats when she heard her name being called.

Troy pushed her inside and she threw him a glare. He nodded and put two thumbs up. She shakily walked in and immediately a scent hit her nostrils. It was an aroma that she had never smelled before. It shook her and stirred her wolf.

As she slowly approached the doorway that led to the middle of the room where the General was, the scent grew stronger and stronger. Her heart might as well have jumped out of her chest judging by how fast it was beating. She turned the corner and lifted her eyes to meet the General.

Katana felt like the world shifted from underneath her. He was a tall and burly man - a few years older than Katana by the looks of it. His jet black hair was shortly cut, as it should be for a werewolf who works in the army. His stance radiated power and obedience and his amber colored eyes glinted under the barrack’s dim lighting.

He seemed to be looking her over from top to bottom. The look of shock on his face when he saw her was quickly masked with irritation. For a moment, Katana forgot she was a boy.

“Get over here.” He growled dangerously.

Katana kicked her butt into gear and skittered over to stand in front of him. She found her mate intimidating, so her eyes remained plastered onto his feet that had black combat boots on.

“My name is Kieran but you can call me General. You will be tested on strength, agility, and tactics.” He said firmly. He paused, as if to give her time to think thoroughly about what he just said, before he barked. “Look up at me.”

Her eyes immediately looked up. For a moment, they just stared at each other. She didn’t know what he was thinking in his head and she really badly wanted to know. She was a boy. He must be surprised to see that his mate was a boy, but really in fact was a girl. She wanted to groan out loud with frustration. This was not what she wanted.

“Are you ready?” He asked and tore his gaze from her.

“Yes.” She nodded. He nodded and took a step back. He ordered her to push a rock that weighed a ton across the room. Now, for a human being this was impossible, but for a werewolf, if the werewolf was in good shape, this would be easy. Unfortunately, Katana never paid heed to strength. It will be difficult, but because of her werewolf ability, she could do more than a human.

Walking to the rock she placed her hand firmly on the cool ridged surface. She could feel her mate’s eyes on her.

One.

Two.

Three.

She pushed with all her strength and was able to make the rock go halfway across the room before she slumped to the ground and flat on her face.

“Get up!” Kieran growled. She immediately pushed off from the ground. He walked up to her.

“Agility and tactics.” He snapped and she saw his fist coming out from the corner of her eyes. She squealed and ducked under his arm and ran behind him. He turned around and looked at her in confusion. She cleared her throat and scratched at her head.

“I wasn’t ready.” She said.

She saw him rolling his eyes and putting his arms out again. He threw punch after punch at her and she was able to dodge a few, but he landed a lot of hits on her side and head. His last punch had her falling to the ground. Growling with anger, he was not happy with her.

“Stand up!” He shouted. It took a little bit more time. She was exhausted at this point.

“You tested below average.” He walked up to her and gripped her shirt, lifting her almost up into the air. Grabbing at his fist to stop him, tingles ran through their bodies. He stopped talking to look at where they were touching. She swallowed hard.

“I’m sorry. I promise to work harder if you keep me here.” She pleaded.

His eyes moved from their hands to her and she saw some emotions she couldn’t decipher cross his eyes before he pushed her away from him. A little too harshly for Katana, for she went flying to the ground and her father’s sweats came off, revealing her butt for him to see and her pink underwear.

She quickly stood up and pulled up her pants. Feeling extremely embarrassed she uttered an excuse. “I lost some weight before coming here. Some of my clothes don’t fit that well.”

Kieran turned away from her and waved her away. “You may leave.”

“But... do I pass?” She asked.

He didn’t answer her, but disappeared. She lowered her head and walked out of the barracks in shame. Troy met her on the way out as he grabbed her arm.

“How did it go?”

“Like sh!t.” She mumbled in defeat and then headed to her barrack.