**Shorter than usual, but the boys don't seem to want to talk to me lately. Hopefully they break that bad habit as well. Enjoy!**

¤Sang¤

I take a sharp right out of the living room with James right beside me. We bypass the stairs that lead to our living quarters and continue down the wide hallway. I feel the boys at my back, their curiosity high as we pass the rest of the closed doors on this floor. We hook a left at the end of the hallway, but the guys stop in front of the large stained glass window that acts as a wall.

I stop as well, smiling at the piece that I insisted we have once we started construction. It's a custom work, depicting a clearing in the woods, a small child in a blanket at its center. There are small lights in the trees, blue, pink, yellow; they represent the fairies that once were. There are hundreds of them in the trees, casting out the darkness of the woods and shining brightly onto the baby, watching over her.

"I think that's the first real smile I've seen you have," Owen's voice breaks through my revier.

My smile becomes strained as I look from the window into his steel grey eyes.

"Yes, well, this piece means a lot to me. We should keep going, we're wasting daylight."

Without waiting for a response, I turn and continue back down the hallway. Making the next right, we come into the hallway leading to the glass enclosed workout room with access to the back courtyard. I open the door and let them into the room, laughing to myself as their eyes widen at Sasha flying overhead.

"Sasha," I coo to her. "I told you we were having company."

She flies down to me, landing on my extended forearm, her red and orange feathers tickling my arm as her beak nuzzles my cheek.

"Is that...a phoenix?"

I smile at the awestruck look on Owen's face. He seems so unflappable, it feels good to take him down a couple notches.

"Yes, she is. Sasha, meet our new team."

Sasha squawks once before taking off from my arm and circling around the guys heads. She makes two full cycles before swooping down to land on Luke's shoulder. She nuzzles his head much the same way she did mine before taking off again to fly out of the open door.

"Hey." Luke laughs. "Does that mean she likes me?"

"Damn bird," James grumbles.

"Guess that means he doesn't like you."

James glares at Nathan before walking over to the blue mat in the center of the room.

"Hope you guys are ready for an ass whooping. Training starts now."

¤Nathan¤

"Omph."

My breath leaves me completely as my back hits the mat. Again.

"Nathan," James groaned again, his bayou accent the thickest I've ever heard it. "You're still leaving your left flank exposed! If this were a real battle, you'd be dead ten times over!"

My wolf charges the confines of my mental cage, snarling at me to release him. A growl rips through me as it takes everything I am to hold him back.

"Oh, what's this?" James questions cockily. "Little wolfie wanna come out and play? Can't be any worse that the shit you call sparring!"

"James, enough," Sang says quietly.

I shut my eyes as I try to breathe through my wolfs anger, pushing him back, but he's fighting me at every turn. Another growl tries to brust free, but gets cut off as a soft hand touches my shoulder. My eyes spring open and my dark blue eyes meet Sang's grass green gaze.

"You need to have better control over your wolf Nathan," she says softly. "You're not always going to be in a position where you can shift during a fight. I'd hate to see you get killed just because you were being stupid and hot headed."

Her gaze hardens as she removes her hand from my skin and stands, leaving behind the calm that settled over me at her touch.

"What did you just do to me?" I ask, my voice awestruck.

"I calmed you down," she answers. "It's one of my gifts. Next time I'll just let you change and see what fun James can have with your wolf."

"Freaky isn't it?" North mutters.

"You knew she could do that?" I growl at him, sitting up from the floor.

His eyes flare as his wolf pushes to the surface, asserting his dominance. I grit my teeth as I'm forced to submit, my eyes lowering as my head tilts to the side.

"Enough!" Sang shouts. "As just proven, wolves aren't the most dominant being in this room. Nathan, get your ass off the mat. You're done for now. North, you're in."

I grunt audibly as I push myself off the floor and move over to the side of the room where the rest of the guys who've been beaten by James stand watching the rest of the fights. North grunts as he rips off his shirt and prowls to the center of the mat to face off against James. Sang calls to start, and they begin circling each other. North's able to block some of James' hits, but just like the rest of us, soon he's on his back looking up at the ceiling.

"This is unbelievable," Sang groans. "We've seriously got our work cut out for us with you lot."

"That's enough for today," says James as he helps North up from the mat, a surly look on his face. "Wolves, I want you back here tomorrow, 10am sharp. Hopefully you'll be easier to break of these bad habits."