Canaan Club - 31. Chapter 31

“I just can’t take it!” Rafe screamed into his phone while lying down on his bed, still reeling from the argument with his father a week and a half ago. “I can’t take knowing… that he knows and… you guys are…”

Nearby, Andre, situated in a chair, winced.

On the other side of the line, a growl sounded out before the rough baritone of Beau’s voice grouched. “Don’t you dare call us defenseless, imp! Don’t you dare!”

“Calm down,” Toby, his lighter tone fainter, cooed. “Don’t freak him out.”

“Old man…” Rafe started, but his caretaker cut him off with another angry snarl.

“Imp. Cherub. I need you to listen to me closely.” Beside the blond, his omé friend sat up straight, looking as if he’d been caught daydreaming. “We. Will. Be. Fine. God, I know your father has… tidied up his otherwise sloppy skills since then. Of course, he did. He’d be stupid not to. Don’t you think we accounted for a reunion one day?”

“Considering where I work, I’d be foolish to think we’d be done with him,” Toby added.

It had been a complete coincidence when Rafe had stumbled upon Beau and Toby’s home all those years ago, all beaten and bloody. It was a miracle that the couple who had humiliated and escaped Rhys Gold’s clutches had seen through the shared name and taken him in. Hearing the stories of all the times the two had outsmarted and outmaneuvered his biological father had been its own kind of catharsis – the seemingly powerful man could be defeated.

But that was a long time ago.

And despite his ginormous ego, Rhys Gold does learn from his mistakes.

“But he could have you followed or some shit!” Rafe blurted. “Send a micro-drone to latch onto your back and lead him right to your doorstep!”

“That won’t happen,” Toby responded, chill and practically amused. “He wouldn’t even think of it. I’m the CEO of the company that’s in charge of that stuff. Any kind of breaching on his half will land him in a max prison, and he knows how perceptive and resourceful I can be.”

“Subatomic vision, this one,” Beau muttered somewhere in the background.

Rafe and Andre glanced at each other, the former still worried while the latter was surprisingly looking more assured.

“We’ll probably still call every day,” the omega leaned in to say.

“If it makes you feel better,” replied Toby. “We don’t want you worrying about us too much.”

At this, his lycan mate balked. “Are you kidding? I’m gonna grow gray hairs if I have to hear the imp’s yapping every twenty-four hours.”

“I don’t think you’ve looked in the mirror lately, geezer,” Rafe fired back, but thankfully, his ire and apprehension were pacified momentarily.

“Oh god, my back’s starting to ache!”

“Oh, hush up,” Toby chuckled, which also got a snicker out of the two boys.

“And cherub! Don’t concern yourself with Renkin anymore. Your family back home is all under my big, hairy wings, okay?”

Andre laughed, happy and relieved. “Okay! Thank you, sir!”

They conversed for a bit longer, catching up on the interesting and mundane. Half an hour later, a thought came to the superhuman and spoke.

“I don’t mean to sound all too big for my boots-”

“That is never accidental,” Beau mumbled, then coughed. “Proceed.”

Rafe ignored the jibe and went on. “-but I don’t think I belong in the beginner’s level in Combat. I wanna go higher. Get a bigger challenge out of it.”

God, did he sound arrogant as hell. Hopefully, Beau wouldn’t tease him too badly. However, instead of feeling permitted to make fun of him, the lycan sighed and answered seriously.

“No can do, imp. Don’t let this get to your head, but I agree. I’ve seen you in the heat of battle, and your usage of your power is beyond anything someone of your age can do. Still, no matter how strong you are, they wanna see you on training wheels first. If you make it to the seasoned level, which I’m sure you will, by next year, you’ll even be able to join or form a club.”

“Congrats, by the way,” Toby chimed in, the hissing noise in the back confirming that he was currently cooking. It made Rafe suddenly homesick and hungry for his guardian’s best dishes. “We almost considered betting on it, but we both knew you’d make it anyhow.”

“Well, you made the right choice,” Rafe said, then turned to his roommate with a smirk. “Although, there could be some competition if Dre were to sign himself up.”

Andre grinned back. “Good luck with that.”

“Don’t underestimate the influence of the imp, lil’ cherub!” Beau promptly warned.

-POI-

“He better not come here. Does he honestly believe everyone wouldn’t go psycho on his ass?” Joe muttered after Rafe and Andre relayed their calls. He took special umbrage at his fellow superhuman’s father, familiar with his maliciousness.

“He’s used to being the big, bad boogeyman, so it’s not a totally crazy thought,” Rafe shrugged as he led them to the War Field for their first day of Combat practice. He looked down at the omé with an amused but proud smirk. “On the other hand, I would have paid Toby’s yearly salary to see you spit in your alpha’s face. You sure told him, yeah?"

Andre blushed. In retrospect, it probably wasn’t a good idea to talk back to his alpha like that, but he could not deny that it had felt really good to get the last word. Barely any low-class wolves lived to tell the tale.

“I was more worried about Bylo, Jan, and the others,” he defended. “I guess they gave me inspiration.”

“And…”

The young wolf rolled his eyes, but his hand not-so-subtly brushed his mouth to hide a grin. “Yeah, yeah. You’re not getting all the credit.”

As they passed by the main union building, Andre recalled what went down before they were pulled away from their celebration. “Any word from Lindsay?”

At that, surprisingly, it was Daeran who perked up. “Oh! Yeah. I, uh, caught up with her near the east buildings. Said she was doing okay.”

Joe nodded. “That’s good. For a second, I thought she was cutting us off for helping Zoel’s drunk ass.”

“She’s definitely not happy about that but said she wasn’t going to judge. If it were her, she would have just left him there, but she understands why you guys didn’t.”

“At least one person agrees with me,” Rafe side-eyed Andre, who simply ignored him.

“I’m just glad she’s in good spirits. Do we have time to go find her?”

At that instant, the blond’s eyes caught on to a figure heading for them and snorted. “No need.”

“Looking for someone, boys?”

The four stopped and laid their attention at the blue-haired second-year, who, despite seeming frazzled a week and a half ago and no word of her well-being being exchanged since, appeared to be up and as bubbly as ever. Her outfit, a gray knit sweater and jeans, was out-of-the-package fresh, and not an azure strand of hair was out of place.

“You’re looking prettier than your usually pretty self,” Joe whistled approvingly. “Everything going okay now?”

Lindsay flipped her hair back as she joined them. “Yep. Sorry I’ve been MIA for the past week and a half. Just needed to sort some shit out. Nothing to worry about.”

Rafe eyed her closely and seriously. “And they’re sorted? We need all of our cheerleaders up and at ‘em if we’re gonna get through this.”

“Yes, sir!” she saluted. “My face paint, pom-poms, and vocal cords are ready for use.”

When they arrived, others were already starting to trickle in, the majority being second, third, and fourth-years. There was a growing spectator crowd as well, and Lindsay went off to secure a spot, having notified that Rudy and the others were going to show up and watch as well.

Out of the corner of his eye, Rafe noticed Andre’s nose twitching and followed his gaze to find one of the coaches, signified by the black, Ironward-emblemed polo shirt stretched across his tall, muscular frame. The olive-skinned noirette scanned the area of students with stern, jade eyes.

“At ease, soldiers,” his deep voice boomed over the individual chatter, “and gather at those bleachers before we get started in ten minutes. If you’re just here to observe, find your seat elsewhere. This won’t be long before the show starts.”

While Joe and Daeran slunk off to mingle, Andre was still sniffing in the guy’s direction, seeming pensive, and Rafe was about to ask him what was up when the coach immediately turned to them, his expression knowing as if he knew the omé had been staring the entire time.

“Smell something you like, pup?”

Andre flinched, blushed, and looked down. “Sorry. Just realized you’re a wolf like me.”

The coach eyed the young wolf, humming curiously, then barked out a laugh before closing the distance. “Keen little nose you got there. You got that right. Xhad Hemming of the Argon Tribe and proud beta. You?”

“Andre Watson of Graybite, sir. And an omega. You said ‘Hemming, right?”

“Yeah. A pretty famous last name, but I’m not one to brag,” the older wolf swept his jet-black hair back, grinning self-assuredly.

Andre pursed his lips. “You wouldn’t happen to be related to Axel Hemmings, would you? Of Graybite?”

Hearing that name, Coach Hemming’s shoulders drooped, his confident smirk dropping into an annoyed frown. “Oh. Him. Christ, I should have known I would eventually run into someone who had the unfortunate experience of meeting my half-brother. I apologize for any shit he’d pulled since I left that tribe.”

Andre chuckled. “It’s okay. Nowadays, I’ve heard he can only pull any kind of crap with one hand.”

“No shit?” the beta chortled. “Tell me all about it after this, pup. God, I can’t wait to rub salt into that wound.”

As he and Andre exchanged stories of their time in Graybite, Rafe spotted another coach in the same polo and snuck off. He was an odd-looking person, with bright pink hair parted by a short, white horn protruding from his forehead. Black eyes flitted from one person to the other as he made short work of his introduction, greeting each person in five seconds or less.

“Name’s Sigil. Assistant coach. Unicorn shifter. Neither male nor female. Get it right. Thank you,” they spoke fast as they quickly shook Rafe’s hand.

“I’ve seen you around. You work for the Abellon Club, right?”

Coach Sigil chuckled and shook his head. “Kid. The Abellon Club works for me. I’m their coach. The true master. Taught them everything I know.”

The four soon were able to regather when a couple of minutes remained, but before they went to sit, Joe’s eyes widened in shock.

“Dudes,” he nodded behind them.

And all attention went to golden-red-haired woman sashaying their way in the same polo.

Hecuba Collins.

Rafe bristled instantly. “You. What are you doing here?”

Hecuba lifted her hands placatingly. “Easy there, tiger. We haven’t started yet. I’ll let you get your shot in later.”

“I asked what you’re doing here, b-”

Andre was quick to cover his fuming friend’s mouth.

She was unfazed, though. “Don’t you realize it? I’m one of the assistant coaches.”

“But you’re-” Daeran started, but the teleporter finished for him.

“A student? Yeah, but being an assistant coach is still a job at the end of the day, which you’re allowed to earn at my age. So, I took it, and here I am.”

The explanation was simple and logical, which infuriated the blond superhuman even more. And it was like she knew it, too, because that smarmy smirk spread even wider.

“Is there something else I can help you with?” she asked innocently.

“You wanna explain why you suddenly saddled us with a package of smuggled rare plants that one time?” Rafe sneered. “Now we have to deal with a crazy bastard wolf trying to make our lives hell because of that stunt you pulled! Take some responsibility or I’ll beat it out of you here and now!”

And he would do it, but a hand on his arm stopped him from taking a step forward.

“Rafe...” Andre whimpered.

Rafe, the one part of him that didn’t want to ruin the day for his friends, let himself be pulled back.

“Let’s just go and sit, bro,’ Joe patted him on the back, getting him moving. “They’re about to start.”

They sauntered away, but not before catching one final vexatious grin on Hecuba’s face, triumphant in burrowing under the blond’s skin. Rafe nearly swatted his friends away to fly at her.

Andre leaned in and whispered, “Chill out, okay? I’m gonna go talk to Coach Hemmings and ask if there’s a water boy gig available or something like that.”

That snuffed out most of his increasing anger, head snapping to the omé with wide eyes. “You serious?”

“Yeah. I’m still keeping an eye on and learning, alright? I might as well get these legs moving while I watch.”

“Good. You do that.”

A half smile pulled at the corner of Rafe’s mouth as he watched Andre skip off to Coach Hemming. If Andre wasn’t going to fight, then he could work the field with rejuvenation and still be a part of the team. That and the young wolf can watch the battles a lot more closely.

Rafe, Joe, and Daeran sat in the front row of their designated bleachers. As the socializing wound down, more people, participants and spectators alike, began to trickle in. Rudy, Sam, and the other humans finally showed up and waved at them in passing. Landon, the first-year vampire Rafe raced against, rolled up as well, zipping into the row behind them. A few more coaches arrived along with them.

Bringing up the group were Frodd and, strangely, Draup. No other barbarian in sight. The smaller one looked up and nodded at his chief, who gave him a hard, pointed look before making his way over to the other end of the field.

“Howsagoin, mates!?” Frodd greeted brightly as he sat himself beside Daeran. “Ready for training?”

“More than ever,” Rafe answered. “What’s with the company if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Oh, Draup? He’s just here t’ check me on me first day. Gotta show him what it takes, ya know? It’s a rite of passage back in Sinopé.”

Joe blinked in surprise. “Is that where you’re from? Damn, that’s a long while from here.”

Rafe recalled it was somewhere in Europe. Yeah, that was quite the distance.

“Well, we barbarians don’t muck about much with the rest of the ‘civilized’ humans,” Frodd shrugged. “Outcasts an’ all that.”

The blond superhuman shook his head, glaring at their redheaded friend’s leader. “If I were you, I’d feel like a fly was constantly buzzing near my ear. No offense but your leader sounds like a control freak.”

“Draup? Nah. Not at all. He’s just bein’ a good chief an’ looking out for me is all. I’m not exactly in the top ring of the group, so he’s just worried.”

“Oh, lord,” Rafe mumbled.

That kind of sentiment hit a little close to home, having seen it in a particular, little wolf strolling his way over at the moment.

“Hey, Frodd!” Andre greeted as he took the remaining space on the bench beside Rafe.

“Andre, my boy! You joinin’, too?”

“In a way. Consider me a part of the team as your water boy. And at the right time, too. Coach Hemming’s said they were about to waste a bunch of paper printing out a pile of applications for the job. Coach Sigil’s gonna show me the ropes in the shed while you guys learn more karate moves.”

Soon enough, everyone was sorted out, and the coaches, seven of them in total, reintroduced themselves to everyone present. However, Rafe was nothing but glowers for Hecuba as she welcomed the masses.

“Like you probably heard a thousand times already,” Coach Hemming took over, “we need you at your best. Every day. Not a percentage less. It might sound like overkill because… well, it is. If you die, then at least we know you put in the maximum effort to the cause.”

There were rounds of laughter, but the dry look on the older wolf’s face put his jesting into the question.

“Three groups. Me, Coach Hemmings, and Coach Hecuba. We’ll call out your names. Sit still and wait. Thank you,” Coach Sigil spoke in short sentences.

By some divine intervention, the four – Rafe, Joe, Daeran, and Frodd – ended up in the same group.

“What are the odds, bros?” Joe laughed.

Rafe scratched his chin and scoffed. “Kind of wanted to be separated. I still need a rematch from a couple of you.”

“Before we head into the whole blood, sweat, tears, and possible death portion of this practice, we’re gonna let you guys say your final prayers, and the medium…” Coach Hemming paused in an attempt to sound dramatic, “will be the art of meditation.”

“Our objection for today?” Hecuba’s smirk suddenly turned sinister. “Is to find the ‘perfect weapon’ for each of you.”