Chapter 6: He appeared

His eyes narrowed as he stared at me. "Sixty first — and you're already trembling like a wet chicken, your endurance is laughable, Miss Kylie."

The people around us broke into laughter, and I couldn't help but grit my teeth. At this point, I could barely feel my legs again. My knees hurt, and each rise and bend sent a jolt of pain through my joints.

"Mr. Barkov." I watched as Lucy left Cole's embrace, swaying her hips as she approached the trainer.

He glanced at her, and she played with her hair coyly, her eyelashes fluttering slowly and deliberately.

"Why don't you let my daughter and I have a duel instead? Since this seems to be tough for her, I'm sure sparring with me would help. What do you think?"

My eyes widened. No, I wouldn't allow that to happen.

I couldn't shift since my wolf had disappeared, and I wanted nobody to know, lest I become an easy target.

I took a deep breath and quickly said, "No need for that, I will finish what I'm doing."

She tilted her head innocently. "I don't think you can. You looked as if you would fall anytime. So just spar with me, will you? Stop acting so stubborn.”

I glared daggers at her. "Why are you suddenly so concerned about me?"

Only a fool would believe she had any good intentions for stepping up.

Her eyelashes fluttered, her voice low. "What do you mean? I've always been concerned about you. You're my sweet baby girl, after all."

She turned to Barkov. "What do you think about my suggestion, sir?"

Barkov appeared to be deep in thought, and I repeated, voice firm and loud. "I will finish this. I don't need your help."

He snorted with contempt. "With your arms quivering like that? Don't you dare drop the bar.”

I bit my lips as he continued unhurriedly. "Well then, sparring it is." He glanced at me. "But that doesn't mean I'm letting you off. Take the spar as your break instead."

"I will—" My knees suddenly went soft, and I almost wobbled to the ground if Barkov hadn't instantly grabbed the bar and caught me by the shoulder.

Veins popped in his neck as he threw the bar aside. The latter landed with a thud and bounced three times before rolling away. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

Feeling unjust, I bit the inside of my cheek, fists clenched by my side.

Who told him to make me do 200 weighted squats?!

But clearly, he was beyond pissed.

"Everyone, stop." he ordered with a raised palm, stepping back. "Miss Kylie and Mrs. Lucy, please step forward."

A victorious smirk clinging to the corner of her lips, Lucy walked to the center.

"Miss Kylie... You too."

My fists clenched tighter.

How come I couldn't avoid this…?

Damn.

Reluctantly, I stepped forward.

Her hands on her waist, Lucy grinned. "What's wrong, Kylie? Don't you want to duel with me? Don't worry, you're still my daughter after all, I promise to go easy on you."

I inhaled deeply to calm the anger rising in my chest. "You probably are the best mother alive, not even a single hesitation before sleeping with your daughter's man."

She ran her fingers through her hair, a helpless look on her face as she sighed. "You know, I told you I was just helping you, but you clearly don't believe me..." she shook her head with regret. “Never mind. Someday, when you’re more mature, you’ll thank me for stepping in to help you keep a man.”

My face burned, not with shame, but fury. "Oh, then let me thank you. The trash was piling up and I didn’t know where to dump it. Just when I was struggling to dispose of him, you came along and took him off my hands. Thanks, really.”

"KYLIE!" Cole, who had been silent until now finally snapped. My eyes met his raging ones. His face was red from anger, and seeing him furious made me smile.

But my small victory didn't last long when Lucy countered. "We all know you loved him, Kylie."

Her lips twisted into a half smile, a knowing look in her eyes. "Weren't you expecting him to propose last night? Wasn't that the reason why you wore your best dress? Mmmm, so much for calling him a 'trash' when you couldn't wait to be his wife."

'He told her? That he was proposing to me? Only to reject me? Was this their plan all along? To play a cruel game with me?'

‘How come I never even noticed?’

The realization made my heart throbbed with anger.

"I asked you to step up and spar, not to talk about a man." Barkov snapped his fingers. "On the count of three, shift."

"Well, good luck, Ky." Lucy smirked as the trainer counted to three, then she shifted into her wolf form.

She was a magnificent white wolf with shimmering green eyes — another reason why she was highly favoured. White wolves are rare, only found in 1 out of every 100 Omegas.

"Is something wrong, Miss Kylie?" The trainer glanced at me questioningly.

I swallowed. "I—I..."

"No excuses."

"I don't want to shift."

His expression was like someone who was looking at a fool. "Whatever."

With that, he took a step back and barked, "Start!"

As soon as his command landed in the air, Lucy's wolf form charged towards me like a cannon, her fangs bared and claws out. The impact of her speed sent a gust of air rushing past me. I barely managed to sidestep, my feet dragging against the ground as I shifted to the other side.

I dropped to a crouch instinctively, my chest heaving, legs still trembling from the squats. But I couldn’t afford to look weak now, or make them discover something was wrong. Not in front of Barkov, not in front of Cole, and especially not in front of her.

Lucy turned sharply with a growl, her claws striking out as she circled. I raised my arms just in time to block, wincing as her paw swiped across the sleeves of my jacket, ripping the fabric open.

I gritted my teeth and gave a kick, catching her briefly in the side and sending her a few steps back. A flash of shock appeared on her lupine face, then she snarled and came at me again with greater aggression.

This time, I wasn’t fast enough.

Her body collided with mine, and I crashed onto the ground with a dull thud, the air knocked from my lungs. The weight of her wolf form crushed against my ribcage as she pinned me down. Her paw pressed hard on my chest, the pressure enough to make my breath come in painful gasps. I felt another tear—this time across my jacket’s front, exposing the thin shirt underneath. Cold air rushed over my skin.

I tried to twist free, but my limbs were weak, refusing to obey.

Lucy lifted her paw again, this time claws visible, aiming straight for my face.

I raised my hands instinctively, shielding my eyes.

There was a moment of silence while I braced for the sharp sting of pain. But it didn’t come.

Instead, a deep voice rang out. "That’s enough."