Chapter 21

VANESSA POV One week later

"You have to be able to take a punch," Hilda snarls as I struggle to regain my footing.

"I am aware," I mutter before sinking into the defensive pose she taught me.

She lunges, and I block. She is like lightning, and her punches are like thunder. Her punches come so unexpectedly that I never block the right portion of my body.

She lands another brutal hit to my side, and I stumble. I grit my teeth and remain standing. I watch her feet as she moves to hit me again. I duck and land a rib shot of my own. She flinches but smiles.

"Good," she says while retreating a few feet.

We return to the starting position, and the cycle begins again. After another hour, Hilda calls it a day, and I am very thankful. If I weren't a werewolf, my body would be black and blue.

Hilda and Gunnar both have been relentless. They keep telling me that all the females coming to compete are Alphas and that I have a long way to go. S