Don't Hold Your Breath

Chapter Thirteen

<-----------VOTE!

An hour later, I breezed downstairs in a solid black V-neck, grey denim shorts, and my favorite combat boots. My signature black sword was strapped to my back. Most of the time, I fight in my wolf form, but hand to hand is great for a quick kill, and less chaotic. The deadly sword was made of silver, of course (making it a danger to myself as well as my enemies), mixed with some black iron to add its midnight color. The sword, I had been told, had a tragic past. When I was first accepted into the pack, I remember going to the armory. Among the shiny knives and arrows and spears was hidden a solid black box. I had carefully opened it, and inside was the sword I had now. 

"That sword has been in here as far back as the elders can remember," Ethan had said, eyeing it curiously. "It's different from every other weapon we have. It's said to connect with the holder, but only if the bond is real. So far, no one has taken the weapon," he'd explained. I had picked it up carefully, and it felt natural. It wasn't heavy for me, or too thick. It felt like it belonged in my hand. Since then, I'd felt uncomfortable holding any other sword, knife or spear. 

I walked out to the open field that was our backyard. In the distance I could see the looming guest house. A line of Blue Star pack members were filing out of the house, joking around. Even from here I could see Brenda’s ridiculously skimpy outfit. 20 extra push ups for her, I noted mentally. I wasn’t going to go easy on my former pack. 

I strode over to Ethan and Chase, who were standing expectantly on the edge of the spray painted square designated for fighting, waiting. Ethan swung his arm around my shoulder protectively. In his other hand he held his favorite weapon, a gleaming silver sword in an iron sheath. Chase stood on his other side, his spiky blond hair sticking up all over and his grey eyes hard. Straddled on his back was his bow and quiver, loaded with silver tipped arrows. 

“Gonna kick their asses, Alyssa?” Chase smirked, still eyeing the approaching group of Blue Stars. I grinned in return. “Of course, Chase. They’re gonna be so sore, they’ll be begging to stop,” I said. The thought of Jason and Brenda in pain like that made my smile widen.  

“That’s my girl,” Ethan smiled proudly, ruffling my hair. I rolled my eyes at him playfully and smiled cheekily. He returned my grin, then turned to face the small crowd that had just gathered in front of us. We ignored the poisionous glares from Jason and surveyed the crowd. 

“I’d say welcome to training, but that would mean that we want you hear, and we don’t. So I’m not gonna lie to you. These are going to be the hardest hours of training you’ll go through. Our pack doesn’t mess around, and we take our training very seriously. If you can’t deal with that, then leave now. This is your last chance to leave until it’s over, and that’s in two hours,” I said loudly. The Blue Stars looked at each other with different looks, varying from “Seriously?” to “This won’t be that bad” to offended looks. I ignored their responses and waited to see if anyone would leave. Brenda, of course, pulled anxiously on the sleeve of Jason’s grey tshirt, whining about leaving and going to do something “more fun.” I jabbed Ethan when I heard that and made a gagging gesture, which made him smirk. 

No one walked away though. I crossed my arms and raised my eyebrows at them. “That’s what I thought. Now, drop and give me fifty pushups. If just one of you fails or stops or gives me a bad one, we start all over until we can do it right. Got it?” I yelled. The crowd nodded in understanding then stood there, waiting. 

“Well start!” I said, as if it was obvious. Everyone quickly dropped to the ground. It was silent as they did their pushups, except for the sound of Brenda complaining about how this was not good for her Juicy sweats. Ethan, Chase, and I walked in and out of the rows of Blue Stars, watching every single move they made. As soon as they were done, they stood up. I nodded slightly, unimpressed.