My Mate's Touch

Chapter 19 - Luca

The next few days after going to thank alpha Felix were brutal. I was sweating in the hot sun and watching the warriors train was making me even more exhausted. Some of them were even in their wolf forms, and I wondered how they weren't writhing on the ground of heat stroke.

Aspen made me train with her and the other warriors again today, and I could barely keep up. The thought that she was holding back on me made me internally shiver. Aspen taught me how to strengthen my blocks today, and how to try and anticipate how she was going to attack next.

"You always want to be one step ahead of your opponent," She said. "If you lack strength, you can at least know what they're going to do next so you can better prepare yourself for what's to come."

I dodged her punch and she swung again swiftly with her other hand, catching me off guard. I made a lousy attempt to block my face and even though I was successful, the force of the punch knocked me back a bit, making me falter.

"That was pretty good, Luca," Aspen said, wiping the sweat from her brow with her forearm. "Your reaction was a little slow and you stumbled back at the end there, but you still maintained your stance."

I smiled at the compliment, but I hoped we'd stop practicing soon. I could walk and run for miles, but when it came to combat, I had the stamina of a sloth. I took deep breaths and tried to regain my composure. As I got back into my fighting stance, I heard a soft voice yell at me from a distance.

"You can do it, Luca!"

To Xander's chagrin, Aspen and I had brought Elias with us. I was jealous of him; since he was human, he got to sit on the sidelines all day. Couldn't I do that and practice from observation? I knew that if I asked Aspen, she'd probably make us train even harder.

"Thanks, Elias!" I yelled back at him, returning his grin.

Before Aspen could try to make me resume our practice fighting again, I tested my luck. "Hey, Aspen, Elias is probably bored just watching everyone. We should break for some water and sit on the bench with him for a minute."

I eyed her hesitantly, hoping she wouldn't question my true intention of taking a breather. Her face was scrunched slightly in thought but her expression dissipated after a moment. "Yeah, ok, that sounds good." Thank God.

We walked over to the bench where Elias sat, and after getting our bottles of water Aspen and I sat on either side of him.

"You guys were amazing!" Elias exclaimed. "You looked so strong and intense."

"Thanks! I'm a pretty good teacher, if I do say so myself," Aspen said, looking over at me as I rolled my eyes.

We drank our water and Elias stared at the training warriors with a captivated expression. After a moment, Aspen twisted the cap back on her water bottle and began to speak.

"Hey, Luca, didn't you say you've never shifted before?"

I almost spat out the water I was drinking, but instead it went down the wrong pipe and caused me to choke profusely for a short moment, Elias patting my back to help the process end faster.

"I-I... No, I haven't yet," I muttered quietly.

I hadn't really thought about shifting much. I subconsciously avoided the subject, figuring it was just a perk of being a werewolf and that it was really only necessary for the warriors. Obviously, I knew damn well that I was not going to be anywhere near the battlefield, so I never really considered trying to shift. It didn't help that my hometown was so similar to a human society, so shifting wasn't really a big deal there like it is in the Shadowclaw pack.

"We should try it soon," Aspen said definitely. "You need to learn to be comfortable in your wolf form, too. Not just for fighting in battles, but if you're ever in a dangerous situation and you're by yourself, you'll have more agility and endurance as a wolf."

The thought of shifting into a wolf scared me a bit, but I wasn't sure why. Maybe I did need to shift, just to know what it was like and what my wolf would look like. I shook my head before those impulsive thoughts could root any deeper into my brain.

"No, I still don't think I'm ready, Aspen," I said, looking at the ground.

"Well, you'll have to get ready," She said. "You could have shifted for a while now and that's time that you could have spent getting familiar with your wolf."

She sounded like a mother, reprimanding me and giving me advice, but I knew she was right. I was in the Shadowclaw pack for crying out loud; thinking about it, I was probably the weakest link there, not including Elias since he was physically incapable of shifting.

"I'll think about it," I said reluctantly, and then we decided to end training and go back to my apartment for the rest of the day.

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A simple, slightly shorter chapter with the main trio. Will Luca decide to practice shifting soon or chicken out again? If you enjoyed this chapter and like the story so far, please leave a vote and comment your thoughts! I'm always happy to see what you guys think ♡ - D