In The Shadows (Re-written)

-SIXTEEN-

My claws buried themselves into Yaga's chest, fingers ripping through flesh and tendons. There was the squelch of blood as my fingers were sucked into the wounds I had made. The female didn't even flinch.

Her hand only came up to grab my wrist and pull my hand from her ribs. She stepped back and glared down at me. "What did I tell you?" Her words were clipped, her irritation evident. She hated having to repeat herself and this was the third time this week I had made this very same mistake.

At least this time I had remembered not to use my venom.

Not caring that my hand was slick with blood and pieces of muscle were still stuck to my fingers, I sighed and lightly pounded my fist on my forehead. "Aim between the fourth and fifth rib when going for the heart."

"So why did you hit me between the third and fourth?" she demanded. "Not only that but you didn't even manage to break through my ribs." Her tone was condescending, not that I had expected her to be grateful to me for sparing her from such a painful injury.

This was life and death training and Yaga was not someone who shied away from pain.

Despite our rough start, Yaga and I had reached an understanding with each other. She wasn't someone to be bested by a hunter just because she was a werewolf. Yaga was amazingly fierce. I would even dare to say she was stronger than some hunters despite lacking the gene herself.

She was one of the oldest warriors of the pack, actually having grown up with my father. She had fought by his side during the end of the lycan wars and had the scars and skills to prove it.

Technically my time with Yaga had passed but she never denied me a quick lesson when I asked her for one.

After coming down from the mountain I had served out the rest of my apprenticeship under Masuma until the full moon. His lessons mostly involved in putting me in stressful situations to see if I really had control of my beast.

No matter how close to death I seemed, no matter how angry he tried to make me, or how scared, my beast never surfaced.

I didn't train every day with Masuma so on the days I did not learn under him I approached Yaga, explaining to her that my beast was under my thumb and I could fully benefit from her teachings now.

At first, she had seemed shocked I had even asked her but in doing so I had gained a modicum of respect from the prickly female.

Still, her respect did not save me from being subjected to a bombardment of disparaging comments. "Even my blind grandmother would have better accuracy than you just demonstrated."

"I couldn't find a clear shot!" I protested.

Yaga was not interested in my excuses. "Then get a clear shot, fire ant, make me expose myself."

That name, 'fire ant' was one I had earned in the last few weeks. It of course referred to my short stature since I was one of the smallest members of our pack, even most of the werewolves a few years younger than me already had a few good inches on me. The nickname also referred to my fighting style. Biting had become one of my go to moves and my venom burned just like the stings from a fire ant. Biting was something that most werewolves didn't do unless it was a last resort. It was a very intimate attack and also thought to be very juvenile. However, I didn't mind using it since I had a venomous bite and it always caught my aggressor off-guard that I even did it in the first place.

"I still wounded you," I reminded Yaga explaining my logic. "You would have been hurt and I could have made the shot then."

"Maybe," she conceded but the female's eyes flashed, and she took a menacing step towards me, making me take several back in return. "Or maybe your hand would have gotten stuck in my ribs." She advanced another step, "and since your claws didn't pierce my heart, I am still very much alive and able to take advantage of your unusable hand." Before I could even blink, she held my hand against her wound to mimic what it would be like if my hand had gotten caught in her ribs. She then maneuvered her body, pulling me with her. Her free hand smacked into my chest where I should have struck her, her claws puncturing into my skin but not making any further move. Without removing her claws from my skin, she stared deep into my wide brown eyes. "So maybe you would have killed me, or maybe you would have given me the perfect advantage to kill you." She let her hand drop. "Either way, getting through the fourth and fifth rib is sudden death ensuring that your opponent cannot kill you." Yaga stepped away from me. "Don't take unnecessary risks, fire ant. It will get you killed."