Lose Everything, Gain More

Chapter 13 Gaining skills

Hi everyone,

Thank you all so much for the reads, votes and comments! It encourages me to write faster and spend all my free time on this story.

I wanted to show a little bit more of the pack so there is not much Fleur-Daniel action going on but I hope you like it! Let me know!

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For now, love and blackliquorice<3!

Chapter Thirteen: Gaining Skills

Dear Emma,

You have no idea what it’s like here. It’s like living in a different world, as if the world I used to live in was a lie. I am a werewolf; I have found the best pack in the world, and I found my mate. Did I mention I messed up big time? But this time, I will not run away. I will stay to make things right. I miss you lots.

Love, Fleur

Frustrated, I scrunched the paper and threw it in the trash. I wasn’t able to send her that, and if I did, she would think I had gone insane. I tapped the back of my pencil on a new sheet of paper. My right leg was shaking; I was unable to sit still. I had called in sick at school today because there was no way I wanted to see Daniel, but I was still grounded and unable to leave my room.

I looked out of the window, seeing nothing but a nice shade of green, hinting the sun was up high. I sighed. I could use a long run; I had ran on territory grounds a few times, and I loved it. The woods were full of life and took my mind off of things.

A knock on the door made me jump.

“Come in!” I yelled.

The door opened, and I saw Jake peed around the room. He grinned when he saw me sitting behind my desk, fully dressed. I felt my blood rise up and concentrate in my cheeks.

“Don’t worry,” he said, “the Alpha won’t ground you an extra day for missing class. Besides, he asked me to get you for your fighting lessons.”

My mouth dropped open. “Like, now?” I asked him. Jake nodded. “But how did Alpha Matt know I was pretending?”

“Werewolves never get sick.” He shrugged.

Oh, shit! I pulled my nose up, wrinkling it as my face flushed. Jake started laughing.

“Okay, fine,” I said, “let’s go.”

“Shift!” ordered Alpha Matt. Why had he taken the time to teach me himself? I was curious. It made me nervous, but I shifted. I had learned not to piss off the Alpha right away.

I felt the fur coming out of my neck and covering my body. The tank and shorts I was wearing were shredded to pieces. Alpha Matt shifted into his massive, brown wolf.

Okay. let me see what you’ve got, Alpha Matt mind-linked. I want you to go for an obvious kill.

Did you say kill? I stuttered.

Flower, I want you to learn how to fight, and, yes, that involved killing. There are times we have to fight with other packs or with some rogues. When they come into our territory, we will kill them. I think you have the potential of becoming one of our best fighters, but you need to practice. Let your wolf take over.

I sighed and moved back. I tried to let my wolf rise to the surface and ordered her to aim for the throat. I started to run, pushing my paws off the ground. I snapped at the neck of my Alpha, but he pushed me away easily with his paws.

Okay. Your speed is good, but you need to come in more from the side. Try again.

I walked back to my starting point and tried again. This time, I slightly curved so I would end up a little bit to the side of Alpha Matt. I jumped and pushed him over to the side. I knew he was going easy on me, but it felt really good to have achieved something.

Good, he said in my head, but you need to let your wolf do the work. She will use her speed to come at my throat even faster.

I went back to my starting point again and attacked. I relaxed and my wolf rose fully to the surface. I discovered she did all the work, the running, the aiming. She was so much faster than me. I had thought I had a fast victory, but this time Alpha Matt actually fought back. I felt my body hit the ground as he threw me off. It felt like a sting. I rose to my feet and went for his left flank. He hadn’t expected me to come again, and I pushed him on his side. I tried to get at his neck, but he blocked my attack by rolling over and getting back at me.

Flower, watch out for a move like that. See what I’m doing here? I stopped fighting. He rolled over and found a nice, open spot to aim for my neck. Never leave your throat unprotected like this. It will get you killed. I felt a shiver travel down my spine. Alpha Matt had said it as a matter of fact, without emotion. Try again, he said, and I walked back. When I turned around, I had expected to see Alpha Matt, but found Jake in his place. His beautiful grey wolf waited.

I want you to try to take Jake out. I’ll tell you when to stop. I knew he had given Jake specific instructions because I saw him nod. It scared me, but excited me at the same time. I could feel how strong my wolf was and how ready she was to fight. This feeling caught me off guard and made me doubt myself. Since when did I feel good about fighting? Since when did I like to kill? I only thought about it for a split second since the answer was so obvious. I had left a part of me behind when I had decided to run away; my wolf had filled the empty space in my core.

I looked at the big wolf in front of me and went straight for an attack. I could hear the blood thumping in my ear, and I was aware of everything around me. I didn’t go for an obvious kill this time, but ran to the side so I could go for Jake’s right flank. He blocked my attack, but I could tell he was surprised by how strong my wolf was. I used his surprise to rise quickly and made an aim straight for his throat. He stopped me again, just in time. I was able to stay on my feet and faced him. We circled around each other as neither of us made a move. Suddenly, Jake rushed forward and used his paw to push my head to the side, bearing at my throat. As soon as I realized what was happening, I let myself fall to the ground and rolled over. I could hear his jaw shut, and I felt a stinging pain in my ear. Did he just bite my ear? I was too distracted to comprehend what happened next. In a split second, Jake had pushed me over and had his jaw set for a kill.

Stop! Alpha Matt ordered and Jake immediately took a step back. I was breathless and felt the stinging pain in my ear get worse.

Did you just bite my ear off? I was getting angry; this was supposed to be a practice!

He chuckled. Don’t worry, the wound will be closed by the time we shift back.

Alpha Matt walked towards us. Flower, that was remarkable. You put up a pretty good fight. I had told Jake to hold back and you did fine. You have to get a lot better to survive the battlefield, though. I want you to practice with Jake today. I have to check on some things.

Yes, Alpha, I said as he turned around and ran off.

And, so, I did.