Chapter 8

LYRA

The girls were wrong. 

I didn't make it two days; we're on day seven, and by some miracle, I am still here. And I am now ranked ninth. 

My number one critique is still “disobedience”, for not shifting, but screw it. No way I’m doing that. Mother would hate me for it. Dad would turn in his grave.  And these warriors would probably kill me for it.

Zane definitely would.

Plus, being ninth on the ranking list improves my chances of staying. I just need to keep my ranking. And ace the elimination. Which shouldn’t be too much of a problem, right?

I fight a smile as we line up for morning roll call.

Who would’ve thought I’d actually want to stay? A week ago, I would have laughed if anyone told me I’d actually want to keep training for seven hours a day, living in a barracks, and eating meals alone.

Okay, no, scratch the last one. Eating lunch alone sucks. Even though we get breakfast when we come back from our run, it’s usually a sandwich or something on our way to the training hall. Wouldn’t want to train on a full stomach or some shit like that. And I have dinner with Talia while the others eat in the dining hall. 

Is it messed up? Probably.

Do I need her moral support? Absolutely 

So until someone calls me out on it, I’ll enjoy my girl time with her. 

Luckily, there haven’t been any other fiascos that drove me to wine. 

But I have to admit it, working toward something matters. Having a purpose. A goal. A real reason to keep my beast on a tighter leash… which, surprisingly, is easier here than anywhere else.

Having to earn my place. To fight for it. To move freely without someone hovering over my shoulder. And most importantly, not being handed anything just because I’m the Alpha’s sister.

It’s more than satisfying.

It’s empowering.

The biggest reason I have moved up in ranks is that I have actually made a ‘friend’. Okay, perhaps not in the traditional way, but going up to Nessa and asking her what the fuck is her problem, has earned me the spot as her training buddy. Just unfortunately not her lunch buddy, but small victories, right?

“You’re way cooler than you realise, sis.” 

That was her response. I didn’t question more, and she didn’t say more. But since then, we run together, side by side, every morning before other training sessions. And she hasn’t asked me why I don’t shift. 

We do our other training together too… we’re now spotting each other during weight training. Which, okay, is really embarrassing. 

The woman benches more than I weigh for fuck sakes.

And having to restack the weights as we take turns with our sets takes up a lot of our time, but hey. 

She’s not complaining, and I sure as hell won’t. 

Unfortunately, since she started training with me, she lost her number one spot in the ranks. Which, yeah, I feel really shitty about. But she keeps reassuring me that she prefers it this way. 

I still think she’s bullshitting me, and I still can’t figure out why. 

The only information Talia could dig up is that Nessa comes from a pack in Scotland, her father is a head trainer - surprise, surprise - and her mother passed away a while ago. 

I haven’t asked Nessa about it, or why she’s giving up so much to help me, and even though I really want to, I don’t want to push away the only friend I’ve made. I have a feeling that running a background check on her when she’s given me my privacy, won’t exactly go over well. 

New friend aside, the training has been soul-crushingly boring. Seven days of waking up, running, and doing drills.

Thank the goddess, there has been no marching bullshit yet, but we have been hit with PT galore. The weapon drills were actually surprisingly fun. Even if I am a terrible shot. Give me arrows, guns, knives to throw… nope, definitely not my forte.

I've only seen Zane in passing, which I should be fucking happy about. But every afternoon, when Maria 'sneaks' off towards the Alpha’s home, I can’t help that tinge of something in my chest. It’s impossible to identify the reason for it. And I refuse to believe it’s anger. Or hurt. Or gods forbid,  jealousy. 

Hell no.

I try pushing the thought out of my mind as I run faster. I am so excited to get this run over with today; my feet barely touch the ground. Fuck whoever sees.

Today, finally, all my patience pays off. It was announced this morning that this week will be close combat training. 

And we will be sparring every day after our run.

***

I head directly from the forest to the training hall, and the moment I walk in, I spot Talia already waiting. Her arms are crossed, and her expression is calm. It's the first time I've seen her during a training session, and it's amazing.

I give her a quick hug, and she holds me for a second longer.

“Good luck not breaking anyone,” she whispers in my ear, and I smirk, even as my stomach churns.

Dragging my attention away from her, I sweep my gaze over the rest of the room, which is a fucking feast for the eyes. The male warriors are all huge. Muscled. Deadly. And so goddess-damn sexy I’m tempted to trip over my own feet just for the chance to land in one of their arms.

One in the back especially catches my attention.

Dark brown hair and chocolate eyes.

And… a face that looks weirdly familiar.

Too familiar.

I narrow my eyes.

No. Don’t even go there.

I shake the thought from my head and refocus on the sea of testosterone in front of me.

Finally. A challenge.

Don’t get me wrong, Arcane-Oracle has skilled warriors. But sexy, fresh blood is always welcome.

I take a step forward, already plotting which one I want to spar with first when one of the clearly higher-ranking males steps out and gestures to the side.

“The Alpha ordered you to start with the female ranks.”

I blink.

The females? I glance over to where my fellow cadets look unnecessarily serious. I know they're tough and definitely trained. From the weights I’ve seen them push, the stamina during HIIT training, yes, it’s impressive as hell.

But let’s be honest: If my beast surges forward, I could take any of them blindfolded. In heels. Most of the males, too. And I could do some real fucking damage. Even though the males here are clearly experienced warriors. Definitely no cadets among them.

My jaw tightens. 

I hate this part. The prove yourself part. But if this is the game they want to play, if they want me to beg for a seat at their precious boys’ table… Then let the games begin.

One of the female warriors, the one who does bicep curls before bed, steps closer, and I take a good look at her. 

Tabitha Ramsey is gorgeous. Tall and statuesque with a curtain of thick blonde hair pulled into a sleek ponytail that swings like a weapon behind her. Her brown eyes are sharp, intelligent, and absolutely unimpressed by my existence.

Creamy golden skin stretches over muscles stacked with the kind of power that would put most men to shame.

Okay. Credit where it’s due.

If the men picked her to spar with me, maybe they are giving me a little credit. Or maybe they’re hoping I’ll fail, crack under pressure, get my ass handed to me by, and be sent home in a body bag made of shredded pride.

Either way, I can work with this.

We step into the sparring circle, and the training hall goes quiet except for the faint tick of the wall clock. Some of the warriors step closer, ready to jump in. It seems they have been informed why I’m here… or what I’m capable of. Why the hell would Zane do that?

I push my thoughts aside as we circle each other slowly with our eyes locked, both our bodies loose and ready.

She strikes first, straight at my face, and I hear a crack. 

Fuck.

The tears sting behind my eyes, and the blood drips down my face. Surprisingly, my beast is still relaxed in the back of my mind, even as I grab my nose and lock it back into place. 

It hurts like hell. 

Before I can even clear all the tears behind my eyes, Tabitha strikes again, this time aiming for my stomach. I twist out of the way just in time, but I'm not prepared for her other fist to hit my jaw, though. Shit. 

My hand flies to my jaw. Luckily, it’s still in place.

I hear a few chuckles behind me, and I'm getting slightly pissed now. She aims a kick at my legs, and I hit the floor… hard. More chuckles surround us, and I wait for the beast to answer me, but she’s… watching, not fighting. 

Why?!

I’m still wondering about it while I'm getting back to my feet, but immediately a fist hits me in my stomach, and I bend over. 

Yeah, she put all her power in that strike, and fuck, she's strong. 

Internal bleeding caused? Probably.

Is the beast reacting? Still no. 

I cough up some blood, and apparently, the other warriors are getting bored with seeing my ass get pummeled, because they start getting into their own pairs to spar. 

The pain in my stomach subsides after a minute or two. During this time, the warrior I'm ‘sparring’ with has started chatting to one of the others. She hasn't even broken a sweat. The only blood on her is from my nose. 

When I finally stand up straight again, she turns to me and smiles sweetly.

“Perhaps it's better if you spar with Sandra?” She bats her eyelashes at me, and her smile turns condescending. “She also hasn't had a lot of training.”

I look at the girl near the back, her cheeks flaming, but then plaster on a fake smile of my own, and shake my head. 

“Let's go one more time.”

Tabitha sighs loudly and rolls her eyes before getting back into her stance. As I get myself ready as well, I finally realise my mistake. 

I've been waiting for my beast to take over, so accustomed to her doing the fighting for me, instead of fighting in my human form.  

Stupid, Ly. I nearly face-palm myself. 

Tabitha aims a hit at my face again, but I move out of the way just in time. She starts throwing quick jabs, all strong and well-placed. I dodge every single one, but I don’t strike back. Not yet. I scan for an opening… Since my beast doesn’t seem to want to come out and play, I need to work according to my human strength. Which means I am greatly outmatched. 

Tabitha is good, keeping her hands high to protect her organs and her face, essentially taking a boxer’s stance. I have no opening, and she's constantly on the offensive. 

Every now and then, I can feel the eyes on me. More murmurs are rising, and from the corner of my eye, I see a few warriors exchange glances.

Great.

I look like a show pony that wandered into a battlefield.

The she-wolf in front of me grits her teeth, clearly getting frustrated. Her strikes grow harder, faster, but I still can't find an opportunity to fight back. 

I glance at the clock again.

Five minutes. Ten. Fifteen.

Goddess, the time is dragging, and I am humiliating myself. 

At the twenty-minute mark, the scowl on Tabitha’s face is ridiculous. Her pride’s clearly starting to sting. And mine is on the floor. At this point, I'm not even angry anymore, just frustrated. 

Some of the warriors are now laughing. Somewhere between the overlapping voices, I hear the words ‘entitled’ and ‘pathetic’.

Fuckers.

Then someone laughs too close, too loud. That single, smug bark of sound snaps a wire inside me.

The sound fractures something in my skull, a buzzing rings in my ears, throwing me off focus.

And she’s there. Obviously, the bitch is nothing if not dramatic. 

My vision improves tenfold, and I know my eyes are glowing. Tabitha raises her brows, looking slightly panicked, but she doesn’t back down. Instead, her attacks become quicker, more frantic, and I'm not moving out of the way anymore. I don't need to. I don't feel any damage being done by her hits. 

All I feel is my canines lengthening, and my claws extending. My beast's anger is bubbling over, and my body is reacting against my will.

In a final attack, Tabitha lifts her leg in a clean arc aimed straight for my ribs, but I grab her foot midair.

My claws dig into her ankle, sinking into her flesh so deep they meet the bone. With a twist of my wrist, I hook her ankle and turn her body, intending to send her face-first into the mat.

Except, a horrible, wet pop hits my ears,

Then another.

The sickening sounds of bones breaking, and a blood-curdling scream, so loud it feels like it’s penetrating my skull. 

It takes everything in my power not to drag her closer and rip out her fucking larynx just to get her to shut up. 

I feel Talia’s tentative hand on my shoulder. Her calming lavender scent hits me like a tether to the sane world.

“Let her go, Ly.” Talia’s voice is hesitant. Of course it is, she had no idea what she was signing up for when she agreed to ‘babysit’ me. 

Fuck Ly, you can’t have another person you love be afraid of you.

Talia’s hand on my shoulder tugs me back a little. 

Let her go, Ly. 

Just let her go. 

My claws tear from Tabitha’s flesh, covered in her blood as she crumples to the floor, writhing in pain. Blood pours from the gashes on her ankle, pooling over her foot and the mat beneath her. Her leg is now bent at an angle that’s definitely not natural. 

Fuck.