The Gold Queen (Prequel)

***Emiliano’s POV***

The drive to the Reyes Hacienda seems endless, my excitement difficult to contain as I think about all the incredible things I would be doing as a new soldier. It still felt surreal that my father agreed to let Valentina and I stay with Teo and the Royal family.

As we pull up to the drive way, I see Teo waiting for us at the door, a huge grin on his face.

I’m the first to rush out to greet him, nearly knocking him over with the force of my hug. Her highness is not present. She had gone with her father to inform the packs of the Luna Mayor situation. I was a little disappointed. I liked the Princess.

We race up to the our new rooms which were directly across from Teo’s and he helps Vale and I get settled in. Mom looks likes she’s about to burst into tears as she says good bye to us but I remind her we would only be living 2 hours away from Madero and that she could visit every weekend if she wanted.

After our parents leave, Mateo gives us the grand tour of the house before we make our way to the training grounds. As we walk, Mateo fills us in on the way things work in the Royal Army.

“All right, first thing’s first,” he says over his shoulder. “At the grounds, we use titles. Since you’re new recruits, you are privates and you are to refer to me as Captain Altamirano and only as Captain Altamirano.” His voice is very stern so he must mean business. “You call me Teo and I will make you run laps, understand?”

“Look who’s taking himself seriously now,” Valentina chuckles, earning her a glare from Teo.

“Number two, ” he continues, rolling his eyes at her. “I am your Captain and you will do as I say. No back talking, no complaining, no loud mouthing. I’m talking specifically to you, Vale,” he says, pointing at her accusingly.

“Whatever,” she shrugs.

“Number three. We wear uniforms on Friday’s as a symbol of Unity. You’ll be getting those soon.”

Valentina and I exchange looks of excitement. We were really in the army!

“And last thing,” he says, stopping in his tracks. “Stay out of the General’s business.”

“Why would we bother him?” I ask.

“You’ll see what I mean,” he mutters.

Before I can question him, we arrive at the training grounds. I’m a bit overwhelmed to see so many wolves of all ages, ranks, and sizes all in one place. Men and women are covered in bruises, b***d, sweat and dirt as they spar, race, lift weights, and rush through obstacle courses. Teo leads us to the farthest end of the grounds where a group of young privates are gathered, all paying close attention to the demands of their commanding officer.

“Captain Estrada,” Teo greets him and the soldier responds back with a salute. “How are my soldiers doing?”

“Just fine, Captain,” the man replies, turning his attention to us. “Are these them?” He asks, pointing at us. Teo nods and the Captian smiles at us, extending his hand out in a greeting. “Incredible! It’s an honor to meet you two! We’ve heard so much about you guys. It’s nice to have two more silver wolves joining us. We could really use your help.”

Valentina and I stare at the man and he bursts into laughter. “Oh man, where are my manners. I’m Captain Estrada. I work with the age group above yours.”

We exchange greetings before the Captain runs off to handle his own crew of soldiers.

“Attention!” Teo snaps and his soldiers fall into formation.

This is so cool!

“These are Private V. Altamirano and Private E. Altamirano, the newest recruits. I expect you to treat them as you would any other wolves.”

“Sir, yes sir!” They reply much to Mateo’s satisfaction.

“Private Macias,” Mateo calls out and a young boy steps forward.

“Yes sir?”

Mateo nudges Valentina forward. “She will be your new sparring partner.”

Valentina’s face flushes as she looks at the young wolf who salutes our brother.

“Looks like someone has a crush on her new sparring partner,” I tease her via mind-link, making her blush deepen as she sends me a death glare.

“Shut up!” She snaps, elbowing me in the stomach.

I burst into laughter and Mateo clears his throat in warning.

“I’m Danny,” the private introduces himself. “We can work over here, if you like.”

Valentina stares at him, her mouth hanging slightly open and I burst into laughter. She was totally crushing on her new partner. The two head over to a sparring circle and I wait patiently for my assignment.

“Private Diaz,” my brother calls out again and a girl with light brown hair rushes to the front.

“Yes sir,” she giggles, a slight blush on her cheeks as she looks at my brother in admiration.

Oh brother… I roll my eyes.

Teo points to me, “Meet your new partner.”

The girl nods and grabs my hand. “Come on, we can spar over here,” she says as she drags me to an available circle.

There’s an ongoing match in the circle beside ours, a few high ranking officers watching closely. My eyes grow to the size of saucers when I realize the match is between a young man, maybe 18 years of age and a much younger girl half his size.

“I’m Rocky, by the way,” Rocky smiles as she gets into a fighting stance. “So, you’re the captain’s little brother?” Private Diaz asks.

I give her a nod as I force my attention back to my partner and get into my own stance.

“So what’s your gift?” She asks, titling her a head a little in curiosity.

“I’m a healer,” I shrug, my ears perking up as the fighting next door intensifies.

I turn my head in time to watch the girl swipe her foot across the floor, knocking her opponent on the ground and climbing on top of him.

Woah, my wolf, Estevan, whistles.

My admiration is cut short when I feel a blow land on the side of my face, knocking me on my a*s with a thud. I look up to see Rocky towering over me, a grin stretched across her lips.

“Rule number one of sparring: once you enter the sparring circle, you never take your eyes off your opponent. Ever,” she giggles.

I frown at her as I dust myself off and scramble back to my feet. Focusing on my partner, I launch myself at Rocky, moving with the swiftness Teo taught me back when he was still living with the clan. Rocky, however, is much quicker than I and responds with a kick that sends me flying back on my a*s.

I have a feeling I’m going to get my a*s handed to me a lot today…

As I spar with Rocky, I steal a few glances at the match beside us, mesmerized by the girl’s incredible talent in the ring. She moves with determination and precision, not an ounce of hesitation in her steps as she kicks, swings, and tackles her partner.

“That’s the General’s daughter, Karina,” Rocky whispers when I no longer pay attention to her.

There’s a grave look her face.

“She’s incredible,” I murmur as Karina once again knocks her opponent on his a*s. “Is she our age?” I ask, a little curious at how she had obtained such skill.

Rocky shakes her head. “No, she doesn’t even have her wolf yet.”

No wolf and she’s already training?

My thought is interrupted by deep voice seething in disappointment.

“8 minutes and 39 seconds,” the voice snaps and I look over to see a man I presume to be the general towering over a cowering Karina. “It took you 8 minutes and 39 seconds to take down your opponent, Karina. That’s 39 seconds too long. You should have already subdued him..”

The General berates his daughter, explaining his utter dissatisfaction with her as she hangs her head in shame. When he’s finished, he storms off, a few of his attendants and her opponent leaving her to herself.

I watch as she traces patterns on the dirt with her foot and study her features. She has long brown curls that were pulled back in a tight ponytail, a few tendrils hanging off her forehead in a fringe. Her pale skin is flushed from her fight as she takes several deep breathes to calm herself down. Our eyes meet when she looks up, her green orbs perfectly concealing her true emotions. She sighs, pulling back her shoulders and walking toward the punching bags opposite her circle.

My legs start to move in her direction only to be stopped by Rocky, who places her hand on my shoulder.

“Just leave her be,” she sighs. “Trust me, Karina is not an easy person to deal with.”

“But she was awesome!” I protest. “How can the general not see that?”

Rocky shrugs, returning to the center of the circle. “He’s always been hard on her-“

“Well, if he won’t let her know, I will,” I reply, stomping over to the punching bags despite Rocky’s protests.

Karina pays me no mind as I stand next to her, completely at a loss at how to start this conversation.

“Do you mind?” Karina snaps, never once taking her eyes off of the bag as she delivers an excellent combination.

“I’m Emilliano,” I blurt out, mentally kicking myself for not coming up with a better intro.

“Did I ask?” She mutters, still not looking at me.

Stunned, I stand beside her like an i***t for a few seconds while I wait for my brain to restart.

“Well,” I say, clearing my throat. “I just wanted to say that you’re a really good fighter and your dad is crazy for not seeing it,” I chirp, forcing a smile.

“Look, I don’t need your pity,” Karina snaps, finally turning around to face me. “So just leave me alone.”

I put my hands up in surrender. “I wasn’t trying to-“

“Then what do you want?” she snarls, stepping closer to me.

“Nothing, I-I I just thought you were awesome and that someone should tell you. Even a perfect stranger like me,” I reply, her body stiffening in response to my compliment. “You deserve to be praised for all you hard work. It’s not easy taking out someone twice you size, especially when you don’t have a wolf to guide you.”

She stares at me as if I were speaking gibberish.

“Are you making fun of me?” She asks, raising her fist up to her chest level and winding it back.

“What? No!” I respond quickly, not wanting to cause a misunderstanding. “I mean it. I think you’re great.”

She scans the area suspiciously before turning back to her punching back, muttering a “thank you” under her breath. When I don’t move, she sighs in annoyance. “Okay, you can go now.”

“Right,” I nod, turning on my heel. “See ya around, I guess,” I mumble to myself, completely dejected by her less than enthusiastic response.

Guess we won’t be friends anytime soon, I sigh.

Its alright, Estevan consoles myself. We can try again tomorrow.

***Karina***

“I think you’re great.”

Those words have been replaying in my head all day, a smile almost creeping up on my face. Almost.

“I want to watch T. V!” Penelope whines as I drag her down to the home gym for a quick session before dinner. “Why do we have to train? Mom and Dad aren’t even home. Who’s going to know we didn’t train? “

I sigh as I stop in my tracks in front of the gym door. “He’ll know.”

“But-“

“What was your time today?” I snap.

“11 minutes…”

“Not good enough,” I say, making her wince at the harshness of my voice. Tears well up in her eyes and I sigh once more.

Goddess, I was turning into my father.

“Sorry, Lele. I didn’t meant,” I say, cupping her cheeks and getting down on my knee. “But we have to train. You know the consequences if we don’t.”

She nods her head solemnly and says nothing more as we enter the room.

“I think you’re great…”

Whatever…