Unbroken, Betrayed, and Chosen

Chapter 22

We stepped outside; clan wolves were patrolling the streets and most of the injured or dead wolf bodies had been removed from the side of the road. We strode down the driveway, the wolves coming and going gave respectful nods to me and Nesyne as we walked by.

I watched the Amazon wolves move; they were almost completely in sync. Their formation was prefect, all the way to the length of their strides. As one girl watched the left, another watched the right, as one scouted ahead, another trailed behind. Their discipline was unlike anything I'd ever seen, and they achieved it on their own.

"These Midnight Lake wolves must have training grounds somewhere around here," Nesyne looked left and right down the road.

"They do, this way." I had scouted the lands as we drove past on the dinner night. I hated to admit it, but the pack had enough money to buy the nicest training grounds I'd ever seen. Ours was fairly decent, but theirs was huge with everything you need to train a naive pup into a fierce some killer.

We stopped at a large steel gate. I strode right up to the lock and with one powerful kick, it broke and the gates fell open.

The training grounds had been left in decent condition, the sparring mats were clean, the equipment had been wiped down, the different obstacle courses and rope courses were unused and had no visible remarks of natural wear and tear.

"Damn, can we afford something like this?" Kiosoes asked, looking around and settling her eyes on the wolf training pit, a large sandy circle surrounded by a short gate. Nesyne shook her head.

"We don't have this kind of money just lying around, so make use of this. Go and train as you wish. Naeth, Cioua, and Isrou stay here; we're going to show Aris some Amazon skills." Nesyne declared and the girls nodded, the three strikers stayed behind as the others left to make us of the vast ground. Some headed to the ropes claiming it was like practicing on vines and trees. Some headed to fight as wolves, and others went to the sparring mats and practiced in their human forms.

Nesyne lead us to an empty sparring ground and nodded to each of the strikers. They took up position in a triangle around me as I stood still in the middle.

"In the jungle, we hunt larger prey; this makes teamwork is the foundation of our fighting, but I know you've already noticed that. Our fighting style is fast, and efficient, every strike has a meaning. If you make a slash to the ankle to take away mobility; then a punch at the face to paralyze momentarily; and prepare for a final lethal strike such as one to the neck, heart, or stomach, you will never fail." Nesyne walked in a circle, stopping at each of her own girls, demonstrating each attack.

"Fighting an Alpha, even a pathetic one like the Bane boy, will require you to strike hard and fast to avoid collateral damage. I want you to watch me, Isrou, Naeth, and Cioua, will attack one at a time and then all together." Nesyne switched spots with me and I moved to the outer ring, watching intently as the lithe woman swept into the center of the ring and prepared for the attacks. She closed her eyes and after a single deep breath, she tensed and as if on cue, Naeth attacked. She laughed a flying front kick which Nesyne stepped away from and returned with a blow to the striker's exposed side and sent her flying. Isrou crept up and went for a choke hold, but Nesyne grabbed her hands and flipped her over her head, slamming her onto the mat. At the same time Cioua went to tackle her with a low shove, but Nesyne was already waiting and used the girl's momentum to send her hurtling onto the ground. As soon as she hit the dusty mat, Nesyne was at her side, a fist angled at her throat.

I stood at the side of the mat amazed; Nesyne had taken all three attacks and suffered no returning blows, and her fighting skills were undeniably perfected. She stood and motioned for me to take her pace. The strikers were standing and getting back into position to try with me.