Present Day
Lucas stood with Landon, Hendrix, and Jeremiah outside the training hall as Alpha Marcus handed them each a slip of paper. The new schedules were printed neatly, days already filled with blocks of drills, endurance runs, patrol assignments, and sparring.
“This is shaping you all for the coming months,” Marcus said, his eyes narrowing on each of them. “If you’re going to be running this pack, I expect improvements. No excuses.”
Lucas nodded mutely, feeling the weight settle into his chest. Landon gave only a curt incline of his head, his jaw flexing. Jeremiah shifted, clearly uncomfortable, while Hendrix studied the paper with exaggerated focus.
Once Marcus moved off to bark more orders at other warriors, Hendrix smirked and let his gaze slide over to Landon. “You want me to
