Reluctant Lessons

Chapter 15

Reluctant Lessons

Jade regretted agreeing to this.

She regretted it before dawn.

She regretted it while pulling on her training clothes.

And she especially regretted it as she walked toward the Silverwood training grounds and spotted Devin waiting for her.

Arms crossed.

Looking entirely too awake.

"You’re late."

Jade looked toward the horizon.

"The sun isn't even up."

"Which means you're late."

She stopped in front of him.

"I've spent years training alone."

"And now you're training with me."

"Unfortunately."

A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.

For some reason, it annoyed her more than if he'd argued.

"Let's begin."

Jade immediately groaned.

"This is going to be miserable."

"It probably will."

"You're enjoying this."

"Immensely."

Definitely miserable.

---

The first hour was awful.

Not because Devin wasn't a good instructor.

The problem was that he was.

Annoyingly so.

Every time Jade did something, he found a correction.

"Your stance."

"My stance is fine."

"It isn't."

"My stance beat Sabrina."

"That says more about Sabrina than your stance."

Jade shot him a glare.

Devin remained completely unfazed.

Infuriating.

A few minutes later he demonstrated a defensive maneuver.

Jade watched carefully.

Then stepped forward.

"That won't work."

His eyebrow rose.

"What?"

She repeated the movement.

Then showed exactly how an opponent could exploit it.

The maneuver failed immediately.

Devin blinked.

Jade smiled.

Small victory.

"Interesting."

"That's one word for it."

He adjusted the technique.

"Try again."

Jade did.

The revised version worked much better.

"Fine," she admitted.

"That was better."

"Thank you."

"I hated saying that."

His grin returned.

"I know."

---

Over the next hour, the lesson slowly evolved into something unexpected.

An argument.

A constant argument.

But not an unpleasant one.

More like two stubborn wolves trying to prove each other wrong.

Devin taught formal warrior techniques.

Jade pointed out practical weaknesses.

He corrected her form.

She challenged his assumptions.

Somewhere in the middle of it, they stopped treating the session like a punishment.

And started enjoying it.

Slightly.

Very slightly.

"Again."

Jade lunged.

Devin redirected the attack.

She adjusted immediately.

Using one of the moves she'd developed on her own.

This time she caught him off guard.

His balance shifted.

Not enough to win.

Enough to surprise him.

The look on his face was incredibly satisfying.

"I can't tell if you're impressed or annoyed."

"Both."

"Fair."

The answer made her chuckle.

To her surprise, Devin laughed too.

The sound was different than she'd expected.

Lighter.

Less serious.

For just a moment he seemed less like the Alpha heir.

And more like a normal twenty-year-old wolf.

The realization caught her off guard.

---

Unbeknownst to them, two wolves watched from a distance.

Alpha Rowan leaned against a fence post.

Beside him stood Beta Garrett Hayes.

The older men observed the sparring session in silence.

Garrett spoke first.

"She's good."

Rowan nodded.

"Very."

They watched Jade counter another attack.

"Natural talent?" Garrett asked.

Rowan shook his head.

"No."

Garrett raised an eyebrow.

"No?"

The Alpha's gaze remained on the training field.

"Natural talent fades without work."

Jade blocked another strike.

Adjusted.

Adapted.

Countered.

"That's years of discipline."

A brief silence followed.

Then Garrett nodded slowly.

"She would've made an excellent Beta trainee."

Rowan's expression darkened.

The implication lingered between them.

If things had happened differently...

If her father hadn't fallen...

If she hadn't spent years being punished for someone else's mistakes...

Then Jade's life would have looked very different.

Neither wolf said it aloud.

They didn't need to.

---

Not everyone watching felt impressed.

Across the training grounds, Sabrina stood beside two friends.

Her expression grew more irritated with every passing minute.

She'd expected the training arrangement to fail.

Instead, Devin and Jade seemed completely absorbed in what they were doing.

Worse...

They appeared to be enjoying it.

The realization tightened something unpleasant in her chest.

One of her friends leaned closer.

"Why is he spending so much time with her?"

Sabrina's jaw tightened.

"I don't know."

But she intended to find out.

---

The lesson finally ended shortly before noon.

Jade collapsed onto a nearby bench.

Exhausted.

Sweaty.

Completely unwilling to admit she'd enjoyed any of it.

Devin handed her a bottle of water.

She accepted it.

Reluctantly.

"You're better than I expected."

She nearly choked.

"Excuse me?"

His expression remained innocent.

Which meant he knew exactly what he'd said.

"You have a habit of sounding insulting when you mean something nice."

"I've been told that."

"Frequently?"

"By nearly everyone."

Jade laughed.

Before Devin could respond, a familiar scent drifted across the training grounds.

Blackthorn.

A patrol had arrived.

Silverwood and Blackthorn had begun exchanging patrol reports every few days since the border investigation started.

Several wolves crossed the clearing carrying messages and supply packs.

One of them broke away from the group.

A young Blackthorn warrior.

"Jade Sullivan?"

She frowned.

"Yes?"

The wolf held out a folded piece of paper.

"I was asked to deliver this."

Immediately suspicious, Jade took it.

The warrior looked entirely too amused.

Then he walked away.

Jade unfolded the paper.

The moment she recognized the handwriting, she smiled.

Still alive.

Try not to let Devin win too often.

— Ryker

Warmth spread through her chest before she could stop it.

Across from her, Devin noticed.

"What is it?"

Jade folded the note.

Nothing in the world would convince her to hand it over.

"Nothing."

Suspicion immediately appeared on his face.

Unfortunately.

"So why are you smiling?"

Her smile widened.

Just a little.

Despite herself.

And for the rest of the afternoon, every time she caught herself thinking about Blackthorn's irritating, charming Alpha heir, she found herself smiling all over again.