The Silver Guardian Bk. 01 Ch. 16

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When Lily and Dante made it to the Training Hall they saw that Ben and his mate Sara along with a group of other Betas, both male and female, were gathered there waiting for them. Everyone welcomed them as they walked up, before Ben explained what they would be doing.

"We're going to start with evaluations today. Dante, since you've never been evaluated, and Lily, since you haven't since you turned 18, we'll evaluate you both. We'll begin with a timed 10-mile run, then weight training in the gym here in the Training Center, and then combat testing.

"Dante, we already tested you one on one when you sparred with me, but I want to see how you can do against a group. You have basically zero experience fighting as a wolf so we won't test your fighting in that form, but since we have reason to believe you're an expert with those guns at your back, we'll add firearm testing for you as well. Then if we have time, we'll discuss and pick out your weapons specialty."

Dante didn't have a problem with any of that, so he agreed and said it worked fine for him.

Ben turned to Lily, "You'll have the same running and weight testing as Dante, but you'll also be tested for one on one combat training as well as group combat. You'll also be tested one on one with your wolf. Since you already have your weapons specialty, dual daggers, you'll be tested with those, so we can craft a training program to improve on wherever you currently are. Any questions or comments?"

Lily replied, "No issues there, but I do want to request one thing. Since my mate is so proficient in firearms, I want to be trained in them as well, and pick out a firearms specialty to master."

Ben nodded, "We can accommodate those easily enough, and get started today if there's time."

They broke up and headed outside the compound where Lily and Dante were told the route. They were told to both run as hard and long as possible, this would set their baseline; he was sure improvement could be made, but for now they needed to show where they each were starting. The timer began and they both took off.

30 minutes later Dante thundered back across the finish line and his time recorded while everyone was floored at how fast he had run.

Ben stated the obvious, "That was almost 45% faster than the world record for a human, so there probably won't be a lot of improvement on your speed, but what we can work on will possibly be increasing your distance. Though we haven't tested you with a longer distance yet, so that's hard to say."

15 minutes later Lily raced across the finish herself. Her time of 45 minutes was excellent, not much over half a minute behind Gebrselassie's 2005 record of 44:24 for humans and her Alpha blood showed in her ability and time.

Ben came up to her, "That was very good Lily; we can improve your speed some and help with endurance, but that's a great baseline!"

Lily smiled. Dante walked up to her and took her in his arms as he kissed her and spoke to her quietly, "You did so great baby, I'm so proud of you! Once again you impress and amaze me: that was terrific!"

Lily scented Dante deeply and she glowed under his praise and was radiating her emotions through the bond to him. "Thank you my love, and you were even more impressive! I've never seen anyone move that fast before, it was amazing! I love you and I'm proud of you too, my mate."

They moved to the gym to evaluate their physical fitness and strength. Ben had Dante and Lily do sets with the maximum weight they could handle for three sets of 10 reps, and then one rep of max weight. They were to do bench presses, curls, squats, and the hip sled. Dante went first and beat every record they had in each category, but given his size and what he was, it really wasn't that great of a surprise. They failed to get accurate reads on his max weight and reps on the hip sled and bench press since the machines couldn't handle any more weight when Dante still had some more strength to give.

Lily went next and did very well for her petite size, ending up in the top 25% of the females in the Pack, including the Betas and Pack Enforcers and security.

Dante's muscles and body were as pumped as Lily had ever seen them, and he looked like a walking warrior god to her; she couldn't take it and slipped up against him, smelling his rich scent and the pheromones pouring out of him. She licked his neck at the mating bite, sending sparks through him, before kissing him deeply and grinding her body and mound against him.

Ben coughed to get their attention. Lily jumped and turned, looking sheepishly at the group of Betas as most had raised eyebrows, while Dante looked at them a little shyly.

Lily cleared her throat, "Sorry, I couldn't quite help myself for a minute there. Seeing my mate like this and how impressive he is, got me a little worked up."

The ladies chuckled, squirming a bit themselves, while the men grinned at her.

Ben managed to appear businesslike, "We're going to test Dante's firearm skills and then break for lunch. After lunch we'll return for combat testing for you both."

While guns weren't in heavy use among lycans in general or within the O'Connor Pack, they were used frequently enough that there was a pistol range at the compound. They headed there and Ben set up some paper targets 25 yards out.

"I want to see right hand, left hand, both hands, and quick draw to get a sense of your ability."

Dante stepped up to the firing line. Each Spartan had an 8+1 round capacity, so he could send 9 rounds downrange at a burst. At this short range, Dante had trained himself to rely on his senses and hand-eye coordination, not needing the sights.

He raised his right arm and in a matter of moments all 9 shots had been fired, resulting in a perfect silver-dollar-sized hole in the middle of the paper silhouette's head.

The entire group was stunned into silence. The burst had been so rapid it had sounded like a continuous roar, and they'd had a hard time distinguishing between each individual shot. Each shot was also nearly dead center.

Dante set his first Spartan down and raised his second one in his left hand. The exact same result occurred, but this time the hole was dead center through the heart.

Dante calmly reloaded both guns and re-holstered them.

He moved to the next firing lane where another target had been set up. He breathed deep and calmed his mind, focusing on his senses and reflexes, then nodded to Ben that he was ready.

"Three, two, one, Draw," said Ben.

Dante instantly drew both guns and fired off all 18 shots in less than 2.5 seconds, leaving perfect holes in the heart and head. Dante again reloaded before holstering his weapons and turning to face the group.

Each one of his small audience stood staring, with their jaw hanging open.

Lily broke the silence. "That was the single most incredible display of shooting I have ever seen, stud! By Luna that was sexy!!"

She ran up to him and jumped into his arms, kissing him deeply. Dante returned the kiss with passion before setting her back down.

Ben walked up. "That was damned impressive! I will definitely get you to start training all the Pack Enforcers and Betas as soon as we're able to get enough of your time to do so. You'll also be training your mate, if you had any doubts, in firearms as well. We need to use this and learn this for our Pack strength and protection!"

They broke for lunch and they all headed for the dining hall. As they ate, they swarmed Odin and Victoria and enthusiastically brought them up to speed on the results of the testing so far, who were both thrilled. Lunch wrapped up quickly, and they headed back to the Training Center before gathering again in the Training Hall.

It was decided that Lily would be tested first and then Dante, since he had already done some of this previously. Lily would start with unarmed one on one, armed one on one, and then wolf one on one.

Lily was paired with Sara for unarmed one on one. The fight was a good one overall; Lily showed herself respectably and while she wasn't able to pin Sara or land a decisive blow, she did keep herself from being pinned and only allowed a single major blow to land on her stomach.

For armed single combat, she was paired with a different female Beta, who was a Level 3 and pit her two-handed sword specialty against Lily's double daggers. This time however, within two minutes Lily had landed a decisive blow that would have ended an actual combat, and the fight was halted.

For wolf single combat Sara was selected again. Both women's clothing fell away as they shimmered and shifted to their wolves. Sara was stronger and more skilled, but Lily was extremely fast and agile, and she planned ahead very well. There was no decisive winner, but the contest had demonstrated Lily's strengths and weaknesses. Both wolves picked up their clothing in their mouths and trotted off to a nearby locker room to shift back, dress and return.

When they returned, Ben summarized his findings. "Lily, overall you placed quite well among the other female wolves in the Pack, rating in the top 25% in most cases. You're strong in armed single combat, although we can still improve you in that by a good margin. As a wolf we'll have you focus on speed and agility as well as other tactics where you already excel, but I'll particularly have you concentrate on improving your strength and skill, much of which comes from experience. You're weakest in unarmed single combat, so that is where you'll spend the largest portion of your time and energy."

Lily could see that Ben's was a good plan, which would help elevate her fighting skills quite a bit, which she would need in her position of Madame Alpha Heir, and also in being an effective support to such an impressive warrior as her Dante. After hearing her evaluation, she went to Dante and snuggled against him.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head, "You did a great job, sweetie, I'm very proud of you and I know you'll become an amazing fighter by the time you're done. I'll work with you and teach you anytime you want, in any skill set you wish except wolfing, where you can teach me a thing or two. I'll support you fully on this, babe!"

Lily smiled and nodded her head, "I know you will love, I don't want to hold you back, is all."

Dante kissed her head reassuringly, "You don't hold me back at all, you give me strength, and encourage me to believe in myself and our Pack!"

Ben walked up and caught Dante's attention. Lily stepped back, realizing she had barely enough time to watch Dante's group evaluation before she had to leave and get cleaned up to go and meet the designer.

Ben explained to Dante, "Here's how this last test will work. You may pick any number of opponents to face as a group, most choose 3 or maybe 4. You will fight unarmed, and your goal is to disable as many opponents as you can as quickly as you can, while allowing the minimum amount of damage to yourself. Good?"

Dante nodded his understanding and agreement. He considered for a few moments then decided, "I'd like 10 opponents. Any combination of Pack members will be fine."

Everyone raised their eyebrows before Ben hesitantly asked, "Umm Dante, are you sure? We need to see the contest last longer than a minute and not be a general beatdown on you."

Dante grinned a crooked grin while Lily looked concerned. "Yes, 10 will be fine, and I'll do my best to give a good showing."

Dante stepped into the middle of the largest challenge circle, surrounded by 10 Betas and Enforcers. He closed his eyes and centered himself, throwing out his senses and sharpening them to a razor's edge and letting his mask fall into place. He opened his emotionless eyes that at this moment looked more like steel than silver, and waited.

Ben signaled the start, and bedlam ensued. The 10 wolves, having years of experience in coordinating their fighting, had begun their attack in various groupings and from different directions to catch Dante off guard and force him into committing to certain defensive actions and moving in directions of their choice. But before the first assailant could even approach him Dante was moving like a spirit and flowing around and among them, driving his elbow into the bottom of a chin thereby putting the first one down in a single strike and moving seamlessly towards his next chosen opponent. He engaged the second with a lightning-quick series of strikes that dropped him, before he flowed to the next and instantly struck down another. It was a beautiful dance of simulated death that looked more like a phantom was gliding through their ranks than a man or a wolf. Within thirty seconds it was over, as every single Beta and enforcer was either on the ground or knocked unconscious. Everyone watching was shaking their head in disbelief. Lily was in absolute shock and awe!

She had seen Dante practicing before, but had never witnessed him fighting an actual person. It was a beautiful but macabre dance, that had made him appear unstoppable as if Death Himself had passed through the group, executing judgment.

Lily sent to Dante through the bond, You are so fucking sexy baby, and you've made me soak my panties with your display! Both my wolf and I are impressed with our lethal mate, and so fucking turned on after watching that! I'm going to need you bad bad bad tonight Dante, think you can handle it?

Dante felt a wave of lust coming through the bond as well as a burning need, leaving them both hot and aching. He sent back to her, You are mine and mine alone my mate, and I will show you tonight. I will claim you and accept nothing less than your complete surrender to me; so rest up baby, you're going to need it!

Ben had approached Dante before clapping him on the back, "I really don't think there is anything anyone here can teach you about unarmed combat or firearms. In fact, I'll have you working alongside me to help train our Betas and Enforcers in both of those skill sets. You are also now officially our top Enforcer and as you requested, our leading edge for Pack defense. Congratulations!"

Dante smiled and played humble about what he had done, confident in his expertise but not wanting to strut, and looking forward to training some of the Pack.

Lily had to leave and get cleaned up and meet with the designer, so she kissed Dante and walked out of the Training Hall, with Dante and a few others watching the sway of her ass as she left. His pants had grown tight, watching her ass move as she walked away.

The final hour of the day was spent on choosing a weapons specialty. Since he wielded dual pistols he was ambidextrous, so he decided to use that to his advantage and selected dual swords. Since he was fast and focused on striking power and speed, he settled on a pair of katanas, the traditional slightly curved Samurai sword. They were different and very unique as only a few in the Pack used them, but he thought that of all the blade styles he knew, this would fit his fighting style and strength better than any other.

Ben nodded and explained he would have to order custom katanas made, because of Dante's extraordinary size and build. Ben would place the order tonight, and since they would be made in Japan by a smith that had been in existence for decades, it would take around 6 weeks or so for forging and shipping. In the meantime, Dante would use blunt-edged practice swords to begin his training. Ben started refreshing himself on the steps and theory of fighting with two swords, and started to plan a program for Dante to begin mastering them.

With that, it was time to clean up and for Dante to meet with the architect, so he headed back to the suite to shower and change.

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