There is a knock on the door, so I open it to find Evangeline standing on the porch, looking depressed but different than at dinner last night. Immediately I urge her to come in, but she asks to walk with me outside. Together, we head off slowly in a random direction. The sun is beginning to fall.
"How's your day been?" I ask, surprised that she came to me in the first place.
"You told my son to talk to me," she says, getting right to the point. "Thank you for caring for him."
I nod, still quite confused. "Yes, I told him to ask about his father's death. I'm sorry if I brought on unwanted questions. It's still fresh and you were clearly in no state to talk about—"
"No, don't apologize. He deserved to know what happened to his father, and I'm sure Eric blamed it all on him."
We continue on until we reach a path going through the trees, our voices quiet. "Yes, that's why I told him to ask you."
"He saved my life, Isabella. Damn him," Evangeline mutters. "I knew he would, one day."
I begin to realize that we are heading towards the training grounds, recognizing the trail. Eric is there with Heath. He must have seen Evangeline this morning then.
"We—We were walking towards the house when everything went wrong. Sebastian could tell somehow. He didn't want to leave me so we hurried together to find Eric, assuming he was at home. W-When we got there, there were people from the Kenn Pack outside—we hid in the trees," she explains. "Sebastian wanted to go and confront them, knowing something was wrong, but I begged him not to. Of course, they were all around us. Behind, beside, in front, we just didn't see them until it was too late. I-I was distracting him, I was the reason we didn't see them. They attacked us."
I stay quiet, giving her a moment to breathe.
"I've never. . . I don't fight people—I haven't in a while. Two children and two decades. . . I wasn't prepared in the slightest. I thought I was going to die, and I was okay with that as long as I knew my children and my mate were okay, but I didn't. It was horrible. Too many started coming and Sebastian couldn't defend himself and me. If I could've. . . If I could've fought, well, he'd probably still be here."
We near the training grounds as my chest grows tight, her story bringing tears to my eyes and letting a few go from hers.
"He yelled at me to run, but I just screamed at him. I couldn't. Then he stopped yelling," she says. "I ran for my children, and my heart felt as if it was being crushed in the palm of the Goddess' hand. I ran into the house, closed all the doors and heard a gun shot. The men outside fled off in that direction. Some time your sister came in, then Olivia. They tried to help me. They held me down. I-I wanted to die," she says. "I can never forgive her for taking my love away."
We come up to the training grounds, Evangeline swiftly wiping the tears from her eyes like traitors, but I stop her before she continues through. "My mother—she lost her mate at a very young age. She may be missing a piece of herself, but she still finds joy in the things she loves. Working for the Luna is the only thing that makes her feel normal again. You just have to find your thing, another purpose now. You have two amazing children who love you and who are there for you, be there for them. That was my mother's mistake, to her, her family died when her mate died. So, let your purpose be them if there is only one," I tell her. Together we look over to Eric as he notices us standing across the field. "We love you, and there are still things to look forward to."
Evangeline smiles at me, her arm linking with mine as we walk towards Eric. "You're a good girl, Isabella. A good Luna."
"With you as my inspiration, I'm sure I have much to improve on. We can work together."
Eric approaches us, not expecting to see his mother at such a public place as the training grounds. "You look well," he tells her. "What are you two doing here?"
"Isabella is going to learn how to fight," Evangeline says, and I look down at her.
"You want to fight?" Eric asks, glancing at me.
"Yes," I improvise, "I want to be able to defend myself. If anything ever happens, I want to be able to help."
Evangeline seems to be very satisfied. "Well, go on. I'll be watching with Heath."
We watch as she walks away before looking to each other. "So, are you going to teach me?"
Eric crosses his arms. "If you like."
"Oh, well if there's someone better then maybe I should—"
"Come on," Eric sighs, "I usually don't train people, you're quite lucky for this opportunity."
I roll my eyes. "Just teach me. What are we doing? Should I shift?"
"No, everyone starts in human form. It's much easier to begin like this. Once you know the basics, then you can shift."
I scan the area quickly. "But everyone is shifted. They're going to know that I'm a wimp."
"They've been training since they were sixteen years old. Now do you want to learn, or not?" He questions.
"Wow, you're a tough teacher," I mutter.
"And you're a difficult student." Eric lets his arms drop, "Now this is only for self-defense. I don't want you fighting anyone when you don't have to."
"Okay."
Eric grabs my wrist with his right hand. "Get free."
I raise an eyebrow before yanking my arm from him, but he is holding on too tight. "Your grip is too tight."
"No, it's not. Don't just pull away, twist your wrist so your thumb lines up with mine then yank back."
I do as told, but I am still trapped. "You're being too rough."
Eric seems amused. "You love it."
Taking advantage of his moment of distraction, I pull my wrist from his grasp. "I'm not your mate right now, I'm your student. I want to be able to defend myself. It'll make your mother happy."
Eric crosses his arms again. "You talked to her."
"Yes. She told me what happened on the way over," I elaborate, "I think she'll be alright. She just has to know that there is still purpose in her life."
"Now," I tell him, "you be the attacker, and I'll be myself."
"Just because you can get out of a wrist hold, doesn't mean you know how to defend yourself."
"I know," I say, "It can be more learn as you go."
Before Eric can respond, I swing my scrunched up hand at his face, knowing he will stop me. It takes a fraction of a second from him to catch my fist. "Alright," he tells me, "I'm the attacker. Run."
I take two steady steps back before turning and breaking out into a full on sprint into the trees. Wishing I could shift, I try to bury myself within the forest, moving in a way that could get me lost. I hear him behind me, somewhere, but I do not see him as I glance back.
He is the attacker, this is what I asked for, and for some reason it makes my heart race with a sort of fear. It is just a game, just practice, but the scenery gives me déjà vu.
I stop and lean up against a tree, waiting to hear a certain sound. I have had to improvise while fighting, so maybe it will be easier than I think.
I stray from the tree and wander to the left, trying to be as stealthy as possible. Something suddenly grabs my arm, bringing it against my back, bringing my wrist to my armpit, folding and lifting slightly. I yelp from the unexpected contact and the uncomfortable position of my arm.
Eric lets go and turns me around. "You never checked behind you, Isabella."
"I thought I was in front of you."
"Didn't run fast enough," he says, "I passed you."
"What did you do to my arm?"
Eric does it again, slowly. "Get their arm behind their back, bend the elbow so their wrist is being forced to the back of their armpit and their elbow is pointing at the opposite hip bone. Then lift up on the arm gently. Not too hard or you could dislocate the shoulder," he explains then let's go. "Basic hold."
"It hurt," I say.
"It's supposed to."
I fall back against the tree. "You're a ruthless teacher."
Eric nears me. "You asked for it."
"Maybe I don't have to fight. Maybe I can just lure in my enemies."
Eric raises an eyebrow. "Oh, really? And how are you going to do that?"
I smile and motion for him to come closer, which he does. "All I have to do is look up with big, innocent eyes, touch your arm, pout, and say: Please don't hurt me, Sir. Then give the arm a little squeeze, let them know you mean it. Then—" swiftly, I bring my knee to his crotch, stopping right before I do any real damage, "hit them where it hurts. Caroline told me that."
Eric clenches his jaw. "I can tell. Let's just be glad that Caroline isn't training anyone."
"It worked on you? I could see it on your face," I say amused, "please don't hurt me, Sir."
"Alright, that's enough."
"Wait, I didn't finish," I murmur before leading his lips to mine.
There is a moment of silence as we kiss as if the world has suddenly stopped spinning. There are no more thoughts of Sebastian, no more worries for Kendra, no depressed Evangeline, no crying Caroline, or attacks, or murderous Alphas, there is simply just us.
I pull away slightly. "Everything will turn out alright, and even if it doesn't, as long as I have you, I'll be alright. Even if the biggest, baddest Alpha comes for us, just remember that everything happens for a reason. We were matched for a reason. I couldn't be more fulfilled with anyone else. I may have cheated death one too many times, but I couldn't love anyone else as much as I love you. I will cheat death for as long as I can just for one more moment," I softly murmur. "So, let's just enjoy this moment, let's just enjoy our every moment together until our last."
Then the world resumes.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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