Six

"Are we all ready to continue with the next evaluation?" the female instructor asked, completely unshaken by the fifteen minute long interruption, "We are going to work on reaction assessment now. One partner stands still, the other throws an energy pulse. We'll measure reaction and response."

Shay's stomach tightened in dread.

Wolves were trained their entire lives to not react. To control emotions. To suppress flaws. To keep calm even when their instincts screamed. To be stronger than their innate impulses.

And Shay sucked at all of it.

She was good with energy, though. So good, she exceeded her peers' abilities since high school, which made her the strongest wolf in her pack... but also meant she never had anyone on her level to spar with, so she never had the chance to learn how to take strong energy pulses or how to control her reactions to them.

She definitely had never dealt with someone on Ivan’s level.

Shay had seen how strong he was, how he sent Deanna flying the other day and laughed at her before going to help her up, like a gentleman.

Shay exhaled a sound that could only be described as internal screaming. Confused emotions swirled inside of her, but she forced her face not to show it.

Ivan, of course, couldn't care any less about it. He simply tilted his head and started walking to an empty sparring spot. Shay hated to follow him again, but she had no other choice this time.

She and Ivan reached lane three, marked with a white stripe down the middle. Shay stood in position, a few feet away from him, but they had to wait around ten minutes for the first two pairs to go.

Shay was so entranced by Helene going against Anton, she didn't realize Ivan had moved closer until she felt coldness against her shoulder.

"She's good," he murmured all of a sudden, making Shay jump, "But you're better. I've been watching you."

"Have you?" Shay gulped, willing her body to stay still, "I didn't notice."

That was a lie. She noticed every time.

"Really? That’s weird. I notice every time you watch me," Ivan said, his voice dropping. Shay tried not to show any emotion, but of course she fucking failed. Of course she couldn't help herself from turning his way and looking at him. She couldn't stop her eyes from roaming around his handsome face, settling on his lips, "Stop it. Here is not the place for you to look at me like that."

"Shut up. That's just... my eyes," Shay murmured, snapping her eyes back to Helene, only to see her fall to her ass with the force of Anton's energy.

"FUCK!" Helene yelled from the ground, punching it in anger and making Ivan laugh at her. She lifted her eyes to him and started swearing in French, almost as much of a hot-head as Adrian.

"It's fine, Helene. You held your own," Shay said as Helene calmed down enough to get up, "You did a great job."

"Thanks, ma chéri," she put her hands on her hips and gave Shay a little smile, "Good luck."

"Ma chéri," Ivan repeated with a mocking tone just to be annoying, before returning to his starting point, "Get ready to lose, American Idol."

"You get ready to lose, asshole," Shay scoffed, but shut up when the instructor reached them.

"Alright," the male instructor started, "Shay, you send the first pulse. Ivan, you take it."

Shay exhaled shakily and tried to focus. She lifted her hand, drawing power from her inner wolf, the way she'd practiced for years. Calling on her energy, allowing it to be set free.

She released a pulse. A clean, quick, strong pulse. But not her best yet.

Ivan didn't flinch when it reached his body. He didn't blink. He just stood there, absorbing the force as if Shay had given him a light breeze.

Shay scowled and her competitive nature started to flare up.

"Again," the instructor said. Shay nodded and this time she didn't hold back. She sent Ivan a way stronger pulse.

He didn't move, but the force of the pulse pushed his body back a little.

Still, it didn't count as a reaction because his body had been perfectly still. Like a marble statue. It was the ground that moved with the pulse, not him.

"You're not reacting at all," Shay complained.

"Of course I'm not. This is what I can do best," Ivan said with a maddening smile and a cocky shrug, "I do not move unless I choose to."

"Last one, Shay," the instructor said, and now she was nervous.

She hadn't had a single issue making this same instructor fly back yesterday, so... was Belov seriously that fucking strong?

Shay tried her hardest this time, but it was still useless. She made the ground under him move again, but Ivan himself remained completely unmoved. And that meant Shay failed.

"Switch," the instructor called, "Ivan, you send this time."

"Okay," he nodded, rolled his shoulders back and gave Shay a pointed look, "I will begin now."

Shay braced herself as Ivan lifted his hand dramatically... but nothing happened for a couple of seconds. Shay blinked, confused. And then, an energy wave shot from his hand and hit her in the chest.

Hard and fast.

Harder than the instructor's energy had felt yesterday. And so fast, she did not expect it.

Shay almost moved. And that made her lash out.

"That's not fair!" Shay growled, trying to hide her embarrassment, "You didn't warn me properly. You did it at the wrong time."

"Uhm... no. I said I will begin, then I began. You were simply not ready, that's your mistake."

"I was ready, but then you did nothing for a couple seconds," Shay snapped, "That's not a warning."

"It is warning enough. You must listen better."

Shay clenched her jaw. He was so aggravating.

"Do it again," she demanded before the instructor could.

Ivan obliged—another pulse, slightly stronger and quick enough that Shay barely saw the movement before it hit her. So she really flinched this time. A small recoil.

It was enough to count as a reaction and for Ivan's lips to curve in a pleased smirk.

"You lose. Sorry," he said with a fake shrug, as the instructor locked in her time of reaction and moved to the next pair without another word.

Shay wanted to yell and kick something, but she was in better control than that. Still, all she could do for the next ten seconds was look down at the ground in shame.

She was so ashamed of herself.

She had failed. Completely.

"It's just practice and assessment, puppy girl. They will not send you back to your farm in Alabama for this," Ivan said in a condescending tone, walking closer to her again, "Stop looking like you want to cry, it's only making it more clear that you're a baby."

"I'm not from Alabama and I’m not a fucking baby," Shay spat out and looked up at him, "You just have a lot more experience than me. I've never had the chance to spar with someone so strong before."

"Hm," Belov smiled, probably loving to be called strong, "Would you like to be on my level?"

Shay rolled her eyes in exasperation at such arrogance, but... was it completely unfounded? No. Ivan was probably the strongest Nereu in here.

So, Shay nodded.

"Then I'll take you there. I'll coach you," Belov decided, then walked away while Shay was still processing that information.