Mauro’s p.o.v. Captain Miles didn’t say much more after his announcement last night, other than to freshen up for dinner. Everyone acted as if they hadn’t seen the looks Meadow got from a handful of Squad members, but I know that today is going to be an eye-opener to those Squad members. “Good morning. I will explain our training for today, after which we will do some light combat training and then head back for breakfast. You will leave the Pack-house after breakfast with your assigned team. I don’t care where you go, but here are the rules. You stay within the borders. You keep away from other teams. You will be monitored and every reaction to my instructions will be registered.” Meadow says. Makay and Myka will be watching the feed from our cameras and will receive the exact instructions that the team gets. If the team doesn’t follow Meadow’s instructions, Myka will write it down and Makay will keep track of the teams that can follow instructions and orders. “How many notepads did you grab, Myka?” I ask as we walk off the training grounds. “Enough to write everything down. Your Dad is keeping us company to make sure we don’t miss anything. At first, I didn’t like it that Meadow benched us, but she is right. If anyone disrespects her, we will not be able to stop ourselves from reacting.” Myka says. Each team walks out of the Pack-house after breakfast and I follow Magnus as he guides Milcah to the small training field. We don’t intend to move around, as we know what this exercise is for and we decide to study the map of Seven Cloud territory again. We need to identify every alteration to the territory and comparing both maps might give us the answers. “Lunch.” We hear Alpha Lincoln call out through the mind-link. The hours passed quickly as we went over the maps with a fine-tooth comb, and we have barely scratched the surface. Meadow gives the teams the same instructions after lunch as this morning and we head back to the field to continue with our search. Let’s hope that some teams manage to pass this test and we can get some help with this tedious task. Teams walk past us while we work, but none of them asks us why we aren’t walking around. “My eyes are getting tired from staring. How much longer do we need to do this?” Magnus asks and Milcah smacks him on the back of his head. “Until we are done, Magnus. This can save lives during the mission and if I hear you complain one more time, I am calling Mom.” Milcah answers him. Magnus is rubbing the back of his head as he slowly sits up and it looks as if he wants to ask her something. “Yes, I mean both of them.” Milcah states and I see his eyes widen before he sighs, accepting the harsh reality. His Mate knows precisely how to threaten him. Magnus grabs the next papers to examine, and for the next few hours, we work quietly. “Let's get back to the Pack-house to freshen up before dinner.” Milcah says as she gets up and stretches her hands above her head. I don’t bother getting up first; I stretch as I am still lying on the ground and Gossom is doing the same in my head. Teams are still walking around, and some suddenly turn right or left when they approach us. Meadow seems to be enjoying herself as she sends them in different directions, only for them to return to the same path, but this time behind us. “Tomorrow morning, we will discuss today’s activities. Your performance will be addressed and then we will work with those who need improvement, as we don’t have much time left.” Meadow says at the start of dinner. A few Squad members are mumbling, but no one is responding to it. They will find out in the morning that Captain Miles hadn’t been joking. When I wake in the morning, I am surprised that my nightmare didn’t wake me. It has reared its ugly head ever since we were told about Alpha Devlin’s plan for Marley and this is the first night I was able to sleep without waking up in a sweat. Instead of having breakfast in the dining room, we have breakfast in the ballroom. It is noisy and chaotic to say the least, but what else can you expect with over thirteen hundred Shifters in one room? Captain Miles walks to the front of the ballroom and everyone’s attention gets drawn toward him. “Before we started yesterday’s exercise, I made it clear that we were to follow Meadow’s instructions and orders. It will mean the difference between success and failure if you all follow those guidelines.” Captain Miles says as Makay hands him a file. “Teams Yellow, Purple, Orange and White. You all followed my guidelines and have been excused from further training. You will assist Team Red in identifying every alteration to Seven Cloud's territory.” Captain Miles says before opening the file. “Teams Pink and Black. You all came close to following instructions; it went better after lunch and therefore, you are included in this morning’s training. If you improve, you will be excused from the afternoon training. Teams Blue, Green and Brown. You all disregarded the instructions you got from Meadow and some of you have been disrespectful toward her. Today, Captain Rob and I will also watch your team’s behavior. Follow instructions or face the consequences.” Captain Miles states. I see Maryan writing down a few things, while the mumblings around us are getting louder. “Meadow can’t lead us. She is a girl and should focus on pleasing her Mate, if she ever finds one who is dumb enough to accept her.” I hear someone say. I look over at Meadow, but she is just leaning back in her chair with a smirk on her face. My brain is a little slow in registering that Magnus is no longer sitting at the table, but the ruckus pulls my attention to a pretty amazing scene.Magnus has the Idiot by the throat, his feet barely touching the floor and some Elite Warriors are holding back Makay and Myka. She doesn’t need to respond to the idiot because her Mates and our future Alpha are already handling him. She knows we'll always support her, even if she doesn’t ask us for help.