“Well, that was a bit dramatic,” Galen commented after the room had cleared, leaving only himself and Caleb.

“Did you expect anything less?” Caleb replied, leaning back over his chair to stretch his spine.

“Not really,” Galen answered. “Though, you probably could have gone easier on that Clara girl.”

“Why?” Caleb asked.

“It wasn’t exactly her fault,” Galen said as he gathered the leftover documents around the table.

“That reminds me, see to it that her commander is given extra patrols for a month and a rotation on latrines,” Caleb said.

“Latrines?” Galen looked at him questioningly. Caleb only nodded in reply.

“But that rotation is four ranks below his own….”

“He sent her to this meeting as a joke. He wasted my time and her efforts. He is lucky I am letting him keep his rank.” Caleb growled.

“Understood.”

“One more thing,” Caleb said, “make sure Clara is enrolled in the Strategic Planning program.”

“That starts soon, maybe a month or so. It’s probably already full,” Galen replied.

“Do I need to explain what ‘make sure’ means?” Caleb asked with raised eyebrows at his friend.

“Of course not, Alpha,” Galen replied with sarcastic vigor. He smiled to himself; it had been a long time since Caleb had shown interest in someone’s career.

Getting her into a specific program meant he saw something he wanted to cultivate in her. She had a future only Caleb could see.

Galen knew from this day forward; Caleb would make sure she had everything she needed to reach that future.

“Shut up,” Caleb replied to the look of contentment on Galen’s face._.

“I didn’t say anything.” Galen defended.

“Didn’t have to,” replied Caleb, getting up from his chair when Galen finished tidying the room. “You know you don’t need to do that, right? Someone is standing outside this room waiting to come in and clean up when we finish these meetings.”

Galen furrowed his brows and opened the door. He looked to the left and then to the right. There stood a young man with a garbage can and various cleaning supplies smiling at them as they left the room.

Caleb chuckled.

“For more than two years, you have seen me tidy up that room after every meeting, and you waited until now to tell me about this?” Galen asked as they walked down the hallway.

“You are the Beta of this entire pack; how do you not know that already?” Caleb laughed.

“Whatever.” Galen rolled his eyes.

They continued walking in relative silence for about five minutes before they reached Caleb’s office. Once they stepped inside, Caleb immediately went to his desk and opened the laptop. Galen shut the door and turned to ask the questions he didn’t ask during the meeting.

“How did you get Alpha Wyatt to agree to the berserker training?” Galen asked with a glint in his eye that showed his excitement about the subject.

“It was his suggestion,” Caleb replied.

“Really?”

It was odd to hear this. Galen couldn’t help but wonder what could have motivated Alpha Wyatt to make such an offer.

“As I said, we both knew there would need to be something more between our people for this to work. So he reached out after the first alpha meeting.”

Caleb paused, typing a quick response to an email before looking up at Galen and finishing his story.

“He said that the only thing he wanted in return was for me to have a one-on-one exchange of training with the berserker he sends.”

“Why you?” Galen asked, quickly adding, “I know you’re the best, but with the animosity….”

Caleb smiled coldly.

“He said that while we may have our differences, he knows I am honor-bound to fulfill my end of the deal.”

“I see,” Galen replied. It was true. Caleb was strongly driven by his sense of honor. It was a core part of every wolf of Summer and the reason for the feud with Winter.

Caleb turned his attention back to the screen before him. Galen decided to push his luck a little further.

“So, who is Winter sending?” he asked as nonchalantly as he could.

Caleb looked up at him with a raised brow.

“You don’t know?” Galen inquired.

“Not her,” Caleb stated, returning to the email he had previously been reading.

“How do you know?”

“I just do.”

“So, you do know who’s coming?”

“No,” Caleb replied with irritation. “I just know it won’t be her.”

“Did you ask about her?” Galen questioned.

“Of course not.”

“Then how do you know?”

“Galen!” Caleb shouted.

“Caleb!” Galen shouted back. Eliciting a low snarl from Caleb, telling him that he had pushed it too far. He quickly added, “Sorry.”

Caleb huffed and then once more returned to his email.

“I just meant that if you didn’t ask and don’t know who is—”

“She’s getting married!” Caleb interrupted angrily.

Galen was surprised but recovered quickly. “I know, but—”

“No! She is getting married the night the representatives are scheduled to arrive. Which means I know she won’t be here because she will be in Winter marrying someone else!” Caleb hollered as he picked up the laptop and threw it across the room, shattering it against the wall.

Galen let out a deep sigh.

“I really wish you’d stop doing that,” he groaned quietly.

***

It had been agreed that the night of the full moon was the most auspicious time to begin the swap. The Goddess would surely bless their actions and help them succeed in the coming weeks.

The exchange was divided into two rounds; the first was to be hosted by Summer and Spring. They would receive representatives from the other packs and host them for two weeks. At that point, Autumn and Winter would take over the hosting duties.

For Alpha Caleb, this meant that he would be working closely with the berserker from Winter for the next month. They would train together first in defense. Then travel together to Winter, where the berserker would take the lead in training.

In the days leading to the full moon, the wolves of Summer had prepared a feast to honor the moon and welcome the representatives. Though they did not like the idea of the exchange, a wolf of Summer, once committed, was honor-bound to do their best.

They had gathered to send their two representatives to Spring in the morning. Though the original plan had been only for one to go, Caleb had decided it would be a good opportunity for Clara to learn from the wolves of Spring.

Now it was late in the afternoon; the scouts had reported the arrival of the representatives within the hour.

Caleb and Galen stood waiting to receive their guests.

The first to arrive was a dark green jeep. The representative of Spring stepped out. A woman dressed in a long blue dress, her make-up was glamorous, and her hair was done up in a bouffant style that reminded Caleb of the old movies his mother watched.

She took a puff from the vape pen in her hand, releasing the vapors into the air before she approached him.

“Alpha Caleb, a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Placing her hand to her heart tenderly, she bowed gracefully, smiling as she did so.

“And you are?” Caleb replied, uninterested.

“Offended by how little you care to know me.” She smiled.

He tilted his head, considering her for a moment.

“So, they sent a spy to learn defense tactics?”

“I’m no spy!” she giggled, raising two fingers to the air and winking. “Scout’s honor!”

“A scout then,” Caleb replied, holding back the urge to roll his eyes.

“Bingo, baby.” She laughed. “I may not be all rough and tumble like the rest of you boys and girls, but I am trained to spot danger a mile away. So adding knowledge of defense tactics to my repertoire seems a good way to earn my keep.”

“But will you be able to handle the physical demands of the training? It isn’t just theory and border patrol.” Galen asked.

“I can definitely handle any physical demands you’d like to throw my way, sugar.” she purred as she looked Galen up and down.

“You did not give us your name,” Caleb stated.

She smiled once more before finally answering, “Alice.”

“Welcome to Summer, Alice,” he said, sounding more or less bored. He motioned for a woman standing nearby. “Please show Alice to her quarters.”

“Brushed off just like that.” Alice laughed before turning to the woman assigned to lead her away. She smiled down at her before adding, “Oh, you’re gonna be fun, I can tell.”

Alice chuckled to herself before disappearing around a corner.

Two cars pulled up; the first was a red sports car that revved its engine for no apparent reason before parking. The second was a grey SUV. Caleb knew immediately which pack each vehicle belonged to.

Of course, the Autumn pack member was first to exit their vehicle, the red sports car. A man stepped out; he was on his phone, laughing and talking. He held his hand up to the wolf approaching him for his bags.

Caleb looked a little closer at this man. He seemed familiar.

Brown, short hair that was cut just above the ears. Tall and slender, with a weak chin and a pointy nose.

He laughed. It was an obnoxious sound.

Finally, he put away his phone. He turned to the wolf that had approached him. She reached for his bag, and he lifted her chin to look at him. Caleb couldn’t hear what he said, but it was disgusting from the expression on her face.

He recognized him then.

A growl rose from his belly into his throat.

“Caleb?” Galen asked with concern.

“It’s the idiot from the party. The one that put his filthy hands on her,” Caleb snarled under his breath.

Galen’s eyes widened as he looked over to the man. Caleb was right.

“I got this. You greet Winter.” Galen whispered as he walked past Caleb and intercepted the idiot already on his way.

Caleb turned away from them. He was already on edge. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath.

Miles and miles away, he knew his mate was preparing to marry another wolf. So this idiot arriving as a reminder of her in any way was not welcome.

He heard the car door closing. He took another deep breath and opened his eyes, preparing to greet his berserker. But instead finding the one person that could unravel him.

“Ashleigh?” he whispered out loud.