Chapter 16: Chapter 16

She is a hybrid

A wolf of high breed

For her to rule this terrain

It is vital that she is trained

-PenaciousShewa

“Kayola! Stop that or you will injure yourself!” Wanda warns her feisty twelve-year-old. The cute young girl is trying to get to the ceiling by climbing the wall of the room. Wanda wonders why she is so active.

“Mummy, I want to go up, please,” Kayola pleads. Wanda nods her head in the negative, not knowing what else to say.

“How are my favorite girls in the world doing today?” Milos asks, coming into the room. He has been away for the past two hours for his routine exercise and early morning patrol. He has just gotten back.

“Well, from what you can see, Kayola is fine, but I am not” Wanda complains and Milos laughs out loud, then he goes to sit beside her.

“What’s the problem, baby?” He asks, hugging her with one strong arm.

“Dad, I want to play up there,” she points at the ceiling.

Wanda points her finger at Kayola and says to Milos, “Now you know why I am not fine. She plays like a pup, not like she is far from being one,” Wanda sighs deeply and continues, “sometimes she stalks me and then pounces on me in my sleep, just like she does with you. The only difference is that I do not have that kind of strength, but she never seems to understand”.

Milos looks at his daughter in admiration and cannot help but see himself as a child. He reflects on how playful he was as a kid, and how his father was able to handle it.

“I know what do, Wanda, you don’t worry, okay?” he whispers to his wife and kisses her on her forehead.

He turns to his daughter and calls out, “Kayola!”

“Yes, dad,” she answers quickly and runs into his waiting arms.

“Do you want to go hunting with me?”

“Yes! Yes! Yes! Dad!” she exclaims, jumping up and about the room.

“Very well, then. Let’s go a-hunting!” With this, he scoops her little body in his arms and they proceed to leave the room.

“Bye, mummy,” Kayola bids her mother goodbye, bubbling with excitement.

“Bye baby, but make sure you are back by 11 am, school is for 12 noon, remember?” Wanda reminds her daughter.

“Yes Mummy, bye!”

When they leave, Wanda promptly buries herself under her soft, warm and cozy duvet, and in a matter of seconds, she is fast asleep.

**********************************************

“Dad, this place is so bushy,” Kayola observes. She inspects her environment carefully, taking in all the details.

“Yes, baby girl, this is where I hunt for food.”

“What kind of food dad?”

“Beavers, rodents, elks, you name it”

“Wow, dad, I want to hunt too, can you teach me please?” she asks, looking up at him, blinking innocently.

“Awwww, of course, darling, that’s why I brought you here. We’re going to channel all that energy into better use, okay?”

“Yes, dad”

“First, you must shape-shift into your wolf, and you can do that by calling your wolf,” he instructs.

“How do I call out my wolf?” Kayola asks.

“She’s inside of you, Kayola. Just call her. Let me show you,” He stands at a distance from her and closes his eyes, and in a few seconds, he is transformed into a large wolf. It is very huge, with jet black hair, yellow eyes which signify the glowing orbs of a predator, and long, strong claws. Kayola is surprised but not scared; he is her father after all. She slowly advances towards him and touches him. She actually jumps when he speaks, or actually, when he growls.

“Shape-shift, Kayola,” he instructs again, and Kayola moves back, doing exactly what she saw her father do a few minutes ago. Almost immediately, she changes into a little brown pup, with yellow eyes and tiny claws. She approaches her father and hits him playfully with one of her paws, and he does the same. He bares his teeth at her and she does the same. When he howls, she mimics him, and they both play for a while.

Next, Milos teaches her how to hunt and she learns pretty fast. Although she is not able to catch a beaver, she is able to race after her father and he is impressed by her speed and agility. He gives her a large portion of the kill, and after eating, they transform, heading for the mansion with full bellies.

***********************************

“Alright pups, it is break-time, make sure you are back here in thirty minutes, is that okay? The teacher asks.

“Yes, Miss Tina,” the pupils chorus and they file out happily out of the classroom. School for them starts at 12 noon and ends at 4 pm.

Kayola is pacing about the playground. She is not playing with the other kids, and she is quite restless.

What could be the problem?

Well, it turns out that since her outing with her father the other day, she has been yearning to go back into the woods and hunt, not because she is hungry, but she just likes the way it makes her feel. She cannot sit in class for another ninety minutes after the break; she will die of boredom.

Slowly, she walks to the back gate of the school and scales the fence. Kayola, let me remind you, is a strong and agile child, as no other pup in the pack can achieve this feat. She slips past the unsuspecting guards and in a few minutes, she is successfully out of the school. When knows exactly where her father will be, and she heads for the training ground. She sights him from afar and runs towards him.

“Hello Dad,” she greets, so proud of herself.

“Kayola,” Milos replies, clearly shocked to see his daughter here and at this odd time. “What is the problem? Why are you not in school? Did anything happen?” he questions her, spilling his words in a rush.

“Calm down, Dad, everything is okay. I was just bored in school, so I decided to come train with you.”

“Kayola, that was very wrong of you. You must be responsible, and running from school is not right. Do you understand me?”

“But Dad, school is too boring and restricting. I don’t want to sit for hours at one spot, doing nothing. I want to be free, Dad” she confesses, almost in tears.

“Kayola baby, I understand you quite well; but you must know that for you to be able to rise up to challenges in life, you must cater for every aspect of your life, okay?”

“Okay, dad.” She nods soberly, wiping her nose.

“Now, I’ll take you back to school, and we will discuss this when you get back, okay?”

Kayola nods again and walks behind her father, and soon, they are at the school gate. Milos goes into the school, firmly holding his daughter’s hand. He requests to see her teacher. He reprimands her for letting Kayola out of her sight. The class teacher strongly apologizes for her carelessness, promising that such would never happen again. Milos asks her to especially watch Kayola, and ensure that she does well academically. After all these, he leaves his daughter in the teacher’s care and exits the school building. The guards at the gate bow in reverence, and he instructs them to efficiently watch over all the kids in the school premises, especially Kayola because she’s very feisty. Soon, he leaves the school.

On his way back to the training, Milos wonders exactly what he can do to help Kayola contain her impulsiveness. He thinks long and hard, and the perfect idea creeps up in his mind. He asks his Beta, Gus, to go back to the training field with the guards and continue with the training. He leaves for the mansion. On his way up, he asks for Wanda and he is told that she is in their room with Petra. He enters the room and as he enters, Wanda and Petra are surprised to see him. He usually does not come home until 6 pm.

“Hello, Alpha”

“Hey, baby,”

“Hello ladies, how are you today?” he kisses Wanda lightly on the lips.

“We’re fine, can’t say the same for you,” Wanda teases.

“There’s something I need to discuss with you,” he says, sighing heavily.

Petra stands up and makes to leave, but Milos stops her.

“Sit, Petra, you are family, and this is about Kayola” he announces.

“What about Kayola?” they ask in unison, clearly disturbed.

He goes on to tell them about how Kayola barged in on his training, and how she told him that she wants to be free. He does not forget to tell them that Kayola actually ran away from school.

After an hour of serious deliberation, they agree on what they think is best for Kayola.

One, Milos will ensure that he takes her to the training field every morning between the hours of 6 am and 9 am.

Next, Petra will ensure that the young girl learns administrative duties, so it can help her when she becomes the next Alpha.

Also, Wanda will as always, ensure that Kayola gets sound motherly advice at all times. All these will help Kayola control her feisty behavior.

Satisfied that they have solved the issue, they go to the dining room and have a sumptuous lunch.