"You are late."

Baekhyun sighed as he walked towards the stone-faced she-wolf, who had her arms crossed over her chest. "Yeah, by a minute," Baekhyun refuted while looking at the digital clock on the wall.

"I said 7 AM sharp," Yiru said coldly.

"Yes, I know, so I apologize for wasting sixty seconds of your precious time," Baekhyun replied with obvious sarcasm. He sighed again and dropped his bag by the wall. "Well, let's get started. Wouldn't want to waste any more of your time, would we?"

Yiru scowled at his impudence and walked past him, slightly brushing her shoulder against his. "Fine, let's start with the archers. The Cincereo clan still uses primitive weaponry, correct?"

"Partially," Baekhyun answered sharply as they walked toward the targets, where several trainees were practicing their archery skills. He felt slightly offended by the word 'primitive.' It was as if Yiru was insulting the Cinereo's defense team and their ability to use modern weapons. Thus, he brought it upon himself to explain their choices of weaponry more elaborately. "We also use guns, knives, and of course, hand-to-hand combat. Archery is just an addition to keep the traditional styles of Cinereo defense alive."

Yiru nodded curtly. She picked up a bow in her right hand and held it. The cool metal of the bow felt foreign in her hand. Although she practiced with a metal bow back at the Tenebris training center, Yiru was not used to this particular bow, which felt heavier than the Tenebris. Behind her, she heard Baekhyun scoff as she positioned an arrow on the bow. Her head snapped up, and she shot him a questioning glare.

"I didn't know you knew how to use a bow," he explained as he picked up his own bow. "I thought the only type of weapon Tenebris wolves used was guns. A lot of guns."

"Well," Yiru said as she faced a target. "Guns don't always do the job right. Like Cinereo wolves, the Tenebris also like to keep old customs in modern practices." She let go of the bowstring quickly, and the arrow sailed through the air, landing right in the center of the bullseye.

Showoff, Baekhyun thought with a scowl on his face. He slung a quiver around his shoulder and called for the attention of the trainees in the vast training space. The trainees gathered around Baekhyun and Yiru. "Welcome, trainees," Baekhyun started. "Today is your first day of training as a future Cinereo officer. In four weeks time, you all will be ready to defend your clan. Any questions before we begin?"

"Who's she?" one of the trainees said as he pointed at Yiru.

Everyone's attention shifted to Yiru. Yiru was not going to lie; being stared down by two dozen Cinereo wolves was slightly intimidating, but she would never admit that aloud. She breathed in and straightened her shoulders. "I am Yiru, female alpha of the Tenebris clan," she stated proudly.

Murmurs filled the room as the trainees stared at Yiru with expressions that ranged from shock to hatred. What on earth was the Tenebris femal alpha doing at their training center?

"The Cinereo and Tenebris alpha clans have come together for the Peace Project. Yiru and I are in charge of Cinereo Defense. As our project, we will be training the future Cinereo officers, meaning you all, to master several fighting techniques and the usage of different weaponry."

"We will start with archery. Everyone grab a bow and a quiver of arrows and break up in groups of four," Yiru commanded. Some trainees hesitated, unsure of whether to follow the Tenebris wolf's orders.

Baekhyun noticed the trainees' hesitance and directed the trainees to hurry and find their groups. By Baekhyun's order, all of the trainees did as they were told. Yiru observed the trainees' quick reaction to Baekhyun's authority and pursed her lips. For some reason, it bothered her that not everyone listened to her right away. She was not used to being ignored by others. However, deep in her mind she knew this was going to happen; why would anyone listen to a wolf from the rival clan, the female alpha nonetheless?

The trainees began shooting arrows at the targets. Baekhyun and Yiru made their way around the six groups of trainees, absentmindedly avoiding any contact with each other. Ten minutes into the archery training, however, the two of them bumped into each other in the middle of the groups. Baekhyun's eyes quickly glanced at Yiru's face but then shifted to the wall on the other side of the room. Yiru also took a quick look at her ex-mate before maneuvering around him and making her way down the line of groups.

She needed a distraction; she thought it would be easy being around Baekhyun, but every time she came a foot