His Prowl

Part 16

Chapter 16

Blake took a deep breath before pulling the door open.  On the other side, Sydney, Isaac, and Kris stood there as if they were waiting for his command.  Letting out a sigh, he pointed towards Kris.  “Tell all your people that we will be meeting by the ring in an hour.”

She nodded before scrambling off.  “Isaac, control your woman.”

Isaac gave him a large smile.  “With pleasure.  Is that all you need?”

“Yeah,” Blake said while walking towards the building’s door.  “Just stay out of trouble, because next time, Amaya and I won’t be there to get you out of it.”

He heard Sydney mumble something under her breath, but decided to ignore it.  To be honest, he didn’t feel like dealing with the lions today.  They were just a constant reminder of what his future would turn out to be.  As he walked outside, he noticed how many people actually lived here.  They all darted in different directions.  Some cleaned while others worked on what looked like foundations for a house.  This was a community, and it reminded him a little too much of Ally.  Blake would never be able to live somewhere like this.  He would never be able to deal with how they treated the weak of their kind.

Shaking his head, he turned his gaze to the ring.  If they were going to practice, he would prefer it be somewhere private.  He had no choice though.  If he wanted to learn how to protect his family, he would deal with the embarrassment of being beat by a woman.

He pulled the rope up and entered.  Amaya, who had been standing with her back towards him, immediately turned and sniffed in his direction.  A large smile spread across her face.  “I’m glad you came.  I was beginning to worry if you would make me wait here forever.”

“I would never make you wait that long,” he joked.

She nodded at him before reaching out and smacking him across the face.  Shocked, he took a step away from her. “What the hell?”

“First lesson, always be alert.”  Her hand snapped out and smacked him again.  He rubbed his jaw in aggravation, but didn’t say a word.  She began to circle him.  Tensing, he waited for her attack, but it never came.  Settling in front of him once more, she tilted her head.  “Are you going to fight back?”

“I don’t want to hit a girl,” he admitted.

Her laugh echoed through the ring.  “Are you serious?  Do you expect all of your opponents to be men?  Some of the best killers are women.”

“I know.  It just feels immoral.”

An exasperated look crossed her face.  “You’re going to have to get over it,” she said with delivering another smack to the face.  Taking a step back, he wasn’t prepared for the next two blows she dealt him.

“Ignore the fact that I’m a woman, Blake.  Imagine if I were here to kill our queen.  Would you hold back just because I was a woman or would you fight to keep our kingdom safe?”

Her hand rose to smack him again, but he grabbed it.  Twirling her around, he pressed against her back.  “I can’t hurt you.”

She stomped on his foot, elbowed him in the stomach, and escaped from his grasp before commenting, “I can hurt you.”

“I know,” he gasped out.

Her heard her let out a tiny sigh.  “Pretend I am someone else.”

“Can I get someone else?  I can spare with a man while you watch.”

A shocked expression crossed her face.  “You don’t know?”

“Know what?”

A tiny laugh escaped her lips.  “I’m blind.  There is no watching for me.  If you want me to teach you, it has to be hands on.”

“Shit,” he mumbled.  “I’m sorry.”

She waved her hand dismissively.  “Not your fault.  I was born this way.  Now, what is your decision?  Have someone else train you, or do you want me to stay?”

“Stay.”

“Good.”

A smile crossed her face as she lunged at him.  Blake automatically tried to jump out of the way, but he wasn’t prepared for how fast she was.  She slammed into his side, pinning him beneath her.  Her body pressed his into the ground, something cold touched his neck, and it was the first time Blake realized she had a knife. 

“What are you going to do?” he whispered.

“Find a way out or I’ll make it hurt.”  The knife dug into his skin, letting him know that she was serious.

Reaching out, he grabbed her hand and twisted it.  Bucking his hips, he caused her to loose balance.  He didn’t let the opportunity pass him by as he flipped them.  Now, it was him holding the knife to her throat.  It was him pinning her to the ground.

“Good,” she whispered, bringing her face closer to his.

Blake’s heart beat wildly.  She wasn’t going to do what he thought she was, was she? Her head slammed into his, answering his question.  As he became dazed, she rolled from underneath him.  He attempted to stand, but the knife digging into his spine made him halt.

“Second lesson, never, under any circumstances, let your guard down.”

“Lesson one and lesson two sounds remarkably alike,” he mumbled while keeping his body still.

He felt the knife slide across his back before it was gone completely.  Jumping to his feet, he looked at her.  She just shrugged a him.  “It’s a very important lesson.”

The knife dangled from her fingers, and Blake kept his eyes on that.  Taking a step towards her, he realized that she would have no idea where he kept his eyes.  As long as he gave off the impression that he was paying attention to her, he could keep his eyes on that knife and find out the best way to get it back.

“You know,” he mumbled, taking a step closer, “you look beautiful.”

“Words I have heard before, but don’t understand.  To me, beauty is not something you can see.”

He rolled his eyes at his mess-up.  Of course, she wouldn’t be that easy to charm.  “Let me fix that statement.  You are beautiful.  Out of all the people here two days ago, you were the only one to step up.  You were the only one who admitted something was unfair about the fight.  That is amazing.  Don’t you understand?” he asked her.  “You’re beautiful, not because of what you look like, but because you have a good heart.”

She sighed, her body relaxed, and Blake took the chance to get the knife.  As he jumped towards her, she twilred out of his way and slammed her fist into his back.  Falling to the ground, he gasped as the pain flew through him.  Leaning next to him, she whispered, “Like I said, ‘Never let your guard down.’”