While waiting for the local anesthetic to wear off, Jeb rushed in. The vanguard warrior glanced at Jan but said nothing to him as he bent over to examine Ethan's injury.
"How did you allow another wolf so close to your neck? Any deeper and with less luck, that could have ended your life. I taught you better," he admonished.
Ethan gave a soft huff, knowing Jeb was only worried about him, not truly angry.
"We'll work more on defense when you get better," his father's former beta concluded, still looking at the stitches.
Zyga and his team returned freshly showered and dressed. Mabel peered at Ethan and his stone-faced guardian from behind her sister's back. Stiles openly stared at Jan. The advanced trainee must have raced through the showers because his hair was dripping wet, dampening the neck of his sweatshirt.
The idiot would catch a cold.
Brent bumped Eri with his elbow and wriggled his eyes at Ethan. The shorter Lycan paused for a moment and then nodded back at Brent. There was some sort of discussion between them, but with a wolf's snout unable to form words and his link to the pack channel broken, he had no way of finding out till later.
Eric filled Zyga in on the doctor's verdict and asked about the team's performance. Eri's eyes quickly zoned in on his idol, sparkling with earnest. Ethan was surprised he had not grabbed Zyga's hand in worship yet.
The older tracker cleared his throat and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "Overall, their mission was a success. They delivered three fatal hits to the opposing team and pushed one out of the boundary. In addition, they retrieved the enemy's flag within the time limits without losing any member. Ethan's injury does not count as a legal hit. Good teamwork and reaction times overall."
Ethan shifted, trying to get a better view to confirm that it was Zyga spewing all that praise. It did not sound like the same wolf who had nearly nagged him to death just this morning.
"There are some areas for improvement, though."
Ah, and here it comes.
"Tracking," Zyga continued, turning to Eri. Ethan's friend straightened up as if addressing a general. "You kept to the trail and found the enemy base in good time. That is great, but you focused too much on the trail and sometimes lost situational awareness. That left you exposed. In enemy territory, the trail is not the only danger out there. Also, work on communicating your intent before executing so that your team can be more proactive than reactive."
Eri nodded eagerly. Ethan almost snorted at his friend's fanatical look.
"Point lead," Zyga turned to Stiles. His pimpled face reluctantly moved its attention from the guest vampire to their watcher. "You need to work better on evaluating your team's skills and coordinating their efforts based on that. Your decision to scout ahead with half your team was an excellent choice, but you chose to leave behind two unstable and a frightened wolf as backup. In almost all scenarios, that choice would result in failure."
Stiles' ears turned red, and he murmured, "Yes, Zyga."
"On vanguard, excellent work Reg. You were alert and adjusted well to changing circumstances. You had good combat skills, but you held back, favoring defense instead of pushing the advantage. In the future, when you get the upper hand, drive through to secure your victory. Holding back drags the fight, giving your enemy time for the backup to arrive."
Reg nodded, barely hiding her proud smile. Ethan would have grinned if he were her. He had never heard so much praise coming out of the old tracker's mouth.
YOU ARE READING
Blooded Mate
Fantasy[[MATURE CONTENT]] Pack, family, mate. Loyalty, respect, honor. These are the words that form the foundation of the wolf society. At six years old, Ethan had to choose between his Alpha title and his survival on the night of his father's death. As a...
