Chapter 4

Colleen saw Sarah sitting on Patrick's lap, which got some of their classmates excited; some were howling and screaming for some reason. She suddenly felt a fury rise inside her, like she wanted to rip Sarah's body apart, pull out all her guts, and peel her alive. She caught a glimpse of Patrick's stare, which suddenly made her a bit calmer. "Are you alright?" Melissa's concerned tone shot back Colleen to her senses. Colleen just nodded as a response as she shifted her gaze towards Melissa. "She's a bitch," murmured Melissa in an irritated tone. Anger and frustration was the only emotion that Colleen felt just a while ago, and looking at Sarah made it even worse. Somehow, everything started to change when she met Patrick's gaze once again. It's an unexplainable feeling that despite having Sarah still visible, it seems as though she doesn't have any problem at all, and like a bubble, her fury disappeared in an instant. She took a deep breath and ignored the scene that's happening inside of their classroom. For the entire class, she tried her best not to divert her eyes back into them again and keep herself calm. Classes are over, and as usual, Colleen and Melissa are walking home together. However, Colleen is acting a bit differently, and Melissa noticed it immediately. Colleen held onto Melissa's wrist as if her life depended on it. "Hey...hey...hey… wait," Melissa screamed midway until they both stopped walking. "What?" Colleen asked. "Why are you walking so fast? Are you in a hurry to poop? Is it coming out now?" Melissa asked her one after the other, not giving any chance for Colleen to react. While Melissa's eyebrow knitted, Colleen laughed instead of getting angry at her remarks. "And now, you're laughing." Melissa chuckled, "Just a while ago, you're pulling me like crazy. You know what, Colleen, I can't understand you sometimes," she added. "Sorry, I'm in a hurry to go back home. It's my first day of training, after all," Colleen muttered as they continued walking. "W...wait." Melissa halted and grabbed Colleen's forearm. "Did I hear it right?" Melissa asked as she looked at her in shock. Collen just nodded as a response. "Yes, you heard it right. It's the first day of my training. I'll train under my mother's supervision for now," she followed up. "But, why? And how did it happen? You'll soon have your mate, and besides, you're a woman, so I don't get it; why do you need to be trained? Colleen figured that they share the same questions in mind. "It's a long story. I'll explain it to you soon, but for now, we have to hurry back home. I don't want to keep my mother waiting, and after all, it's my first day of training." After a couple of minutes, Colleen and Melissa arrived at the entrance of their pack. Colleen noticed her best friend trying to catch her breath. "We walked so fast; why can't I even see any tiredness from you?" Melissa asked in an intrigued manner. Colleen inspected herself. It's true; she's not tired after all the distance they covered. "I don't know,' she responded slowly while shrugging her shoulders. "Come on, let's go," she added. Both of them proceeded and parted ways as soon as they entered. Contrary to what had happened a while ago, Colleen felt like she needed to gasp for air after a long run. Her training already started, and although her mother ran with her a while ago, she was now left alone, continuing and still out of breath. Both of her parents are watching her intently from a distance. Colleen suddenly nudged as she felt her mother's presence, rubbing her back gently. "You did it, good job, pup!" her mother said enthusiastically, "We can go back to the pack for now. Go take a shower, I'll go prepare for dinner," she added. They all went back to the pack, and as for Colleen, she went straight to her bedroom and to her bathroom to take a much-needed shower. She patiently filled the bathtub with warm water and gently submerged herself inside. Colleen never felt so relaxed after such an exhausting day. She never taught that her training would be as intense as this. Colleen started the training confidently. She started jogging for some time alongside her mother with an increasing speed. At first, she thought she could handle everything, but it turns out that even if she's already giving her all, it's only just a warm-up session. Colleen ended up running alone for a very long time, with her parents checking her run-time and recording her data for future references. It only proves that she's in for very long and tedious training. Something inside Colleen also tells her that both her parents are preparing for an all-out war, although she doesn't know when it will happen. For this battle to be won, Colleen knows that she needs to train thoroughly, and she has to be well-prepared because she doesn't know what the enemy has in store for them. Colleen thought about her schedule. She knows that it will be even more complicated as time passes by. "Today, I started after school, and maybe tomorrow, or in the next coming days, I'll do it early in the morning, or maybe even late at night. No one knows," she muttered and afterward let out a deep breath. Colleen was concerned about everything because she only has a month of preparations before she becomes 18. "I'll be lucky if my mate had Alpha blood. If not, I'll carry all the burden of our pack." Colleen's words echoed silently inside the bathroom. Once again, she took a deep breath and proceeded to rub her body meticulously with her favorite body gel. Out of nowhere, an image of Patrick flashed into her mind. The way he's staring at her when she felt many emotions a while ago. Colleen awkwardly felt like a puppy, being controlled by her master. Colleen proceeded to rinse her body wash despite frowning over the thoughts she just had.