After Scar left, Lacey spent the rest of the afternoon working with the Pack Warriors on strategy, coordinating them, teaching them to work together. Just before the sun started fading from the sky, Julien came out and stood to the side, watching the warriors practice. After a while, he said, "Lacey, may I have a word?"Lacey looked up and nodded. "Yes, of course." Then she turned to the pack. "Okay. That's enough for today. Let's call it a day, but we'll start again first thing in the morning.""Yes, Alpha Queen." Some headed toward the forest to hunt, while others headed toward the castle. However, there was a camaraderie that wasn't there before."Good practice," Raye said to Lacey, and then nodded. "See you tomorrow." Then he nodded toward Julien. "Alpha."Julien nodded, giving him a slight smile as he passed.When they were alone, Lacey phased and dressed in her workout clothes. Then she zipped up her bag and headed over to Julien. Lacey leaned over and gave him a peck on the lips

The next morning, Lacey woke early, wanting to get to the practice ring. Raye wanted to meet with her early, so she thought it was best to find out what he wanted.Lacey thought about her conversation with Julien and was glad that he had agreed to train the Pack Warriors. He was the best one for the job and had more experience than everyone else in the pack. And with experience came knowledge and years of strategy. Also, coordinating the warriors to work together as a team would be their best shot at defeating another Wildclaw attack, which was inevitable.The Wildclaws were rogue warriors without a pack. Each of them had been thrown out of their own packs or assimilated from other packs after theirs was decimated, so they formed their own pack. But it was known that they were nomadic and needed property of their own. So, instead of earning the money and building a base legitimately, it was easier to overtake an established one. Over the past several months, they had launched one unsuc

Lacey dressed in a floor length blue dress that made her feel like Cinderella going to the ball. It was strapless and fitted in the bodice and flared out at the skirt and sparkled. She left her hair down but put in hot rollers and let it fall into soft waves and curls over her shoulders. Then she slipped on white shimmery shoes and was ready. In a way, it seemed strange to be dressing up like this just for dinner. In the past, she would have thrown on a dress and called it good enough. But here, a certain amount of decorum was expected. As she looked in the mirror, it was as if she was playing dress up... nearly every night. When she walked into the living room, Julien was waiting and got to his feet, dressed in a black suit and white shirt with cufflinks, but left the collar open, opting not to wear a tie. Her wolf growled her approval."You look exquisite." He crossed the room and took her hands, then gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. careful not to muss her lipstick. "You look p

After Scar left the gym, Lacey was so upset that she couldn't concentrate on working out, and it was time for training now anyway. So, Lacey packed up her things and headed out to the practice ring, just as they were taking the field. Julien looked over at her and a crease formed between his eyes, obviously knowing that she was upset about something. Lacey could see that his superior intuition was one of the reasons why he was Alpha.In an effort to reassure him, Lacey forced a smile as she set down her equipment bag and headed to the center of the practice ring. "Okay young warriors."Scar smirked. "Well, it's about time you got here."Lacey's eyes flared gold. "I was detained... and I don't answer to you."Koi, Willow, and the other young warriors approached. "Ready?""Aye!" they answered in unison and then followed Lacey to the south field along the border. Once they were in position, she said, "Okay, everyone! Let's run some drills!"They had been working out for a while in their

Julien came back a few minutes later, as promised. "The Lobster Bisque is on its way." Then he raised an eyebrow. "Anything else, My Queen?""Umm... I rather like the sound of that," Lacey teased. "My Queen...." He kissed her lips. "My Queen...." His voice was low, sexy, sending a thrill throughout her whole body straight to her sex. "My Queen," he whispered, his hands gently caressing her face. Then his lips descended upon hers, gently at first, but then with a fierceness unmatched by man.Lacey laughed against his lips. He pulled back abruptly. "What's so funny?" One corner of his lips curled into a sexy smile. "I was trying to be sexy.""And you were succeeding," Lacey replied. "In fact, you're sexy without even trying. I just can't believe you're waiting until now, when I'm in the infirmary, to do this."Julien smirked, looking smug, enjoying the effect he was having on her a bit too much. "Sleep."Lacey nodded, her eyelids suddenly heavy. "You'll still be here when I wake up?"