Don't forget to read the Easter Special that was posted before this chapter. Also, Chapter 50 was just uploaded on Patreon with a bomb drop as one key turning point so please for those who read on both, do NOT spoil what has been revealed!
Yes, I did have a bit of extra time, so updates everywhere!
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Grandpa Sebby moves quickly before I can sense his movements, he's to the side of me. Dante steps back and away quite a few yards. My stance changing as I shift my weight back the second Grandpa Sebby lunges at my side, his fist and arm passing a fraction of a hair in front of my face. He's abruptly thrown off guard when I shift forward and glide beneath his extended arm.
He attempts to grab me, yet I remain low and all but drop to the grass, swiping his feet out beneath him. Grandpa Sebby swipes outward with his legs as he falls, hitting the ground with him when his legs trap my ankles, yet we are quick to separate instead of fighting to remain the attacker with the advantage.
"That says something about the two of you," Dante muses with his opinion, Grandpa Sebby and I keeping low as we watch each other's movements.
My parents taught me not to charge in unless I'm aware of my opponent...
...this might be Grandpa Sebby, but he's not the one I know...so I have absolutely no idea if his tactics were different when he was younger. Playing it safe is the only option I can fall back on.
Grandpa Sebby dashes forward, nearly striking me in the face. Though, I lift my arms and deflect his fist, barely able to keep up when his leg grazes my side. I'm quicker though, pulling backward and rolling to the ground. He doesn't let up, his assault becoming quicker as he throws punches and kicks almost faster than I can withdraw. Evading his movements, I garner quite a bit of distance when I push off the ground and land near one of the trees bordering the tree line.
"Evading the entire time will end in your death," Dante remarks, my gaze briefly leaving Grandpa Sebby to glare at him.
I notice now that at some point, Marc had left the safety of the patio and is now standing alongside Dante. The air leaves my lungs and my head ricochets off the tree trunk behind me. I fall forward, yet I never hit the ground, Grandpa Sebby punching me once in my abdomen and then quickly jabbing me in the sternum. I gasp for air, my vision crossing for a brief second when he suddenly grabs the front of my hoodie and slams my back against the tree.
Grandpa Sebby's eyes search mine as he retorts, "There's nothing wrong with evading as a tactic and form of offense as a defense...however..." his voice trails off as I choke on blood pooling in my lungs, "...losing focus and sidetracking from your opponent is very, very wrong."
"Do you want to know what else is wrong?" My eyes focus on Grandpa Sebby, the body healing internally in a matter of seconds.
My father's words flood my mind...
...when all else fails...get angry and control what can't be contained...chaos.
I fling my head forward as quick and as hard as I can, crashing into Grandpa Sebby's and forcing his grip to come loose. He staggers a step back as I glower, "Assuming that my defense is my only offense."
I kick outward, my boot connecting with his right-side ribs. Bones snap easily heard from Marc and felt that his mate is in pain. He takes a step forward, but Dante reaches out and grabs the top of his shoulder, warning him as Grandpa Sebby does not give up that easily. When he regains his balance in the next second, he strikes at me, though I'm quicker and move out of the way.
While Grandpa Sebby's fist nearly breaks the tree trunk, I appear behind him. Reaching outward, I grasp his shoulder, yet he reaches over his shoulder and snatches my wrist. He whirls around, spinning me in the process before he has my arm pinned behind my back. He attempts to drag it up higher, my teeth clenching together as I throw myself forward quickly, tossing Grandpa Sebby over my head.
I fall with him, though this time when we hit the ground, he is the only one to attempt to separate. Taking him off guard, I manage to slam him back down onto his chest, wrestling him down while grasping his arms behind his back. I don't let up for a second, my grip intensifying with each time he struggles, his attempts escalating until I hear a snarl from the back of his throat.
Grandpa Sebby finally scowls, "Done!"
I immediately loosen my grip, relinquishing him altogether while slowly rising to my feet. As Grandpa Sebby rolls onto his back and slowly lifting, his eyes catch mine, glancing to the hand I extend to him. He smiles and grasps my hand, aiding him to his feet.
Marc snickers beneath his breath, "She beat you."
"I'm sorry, all I'm hearing is that you want to spar with her next," Grandpa Sebby gives Marc a sideways glance.
Marc waves his arms and retorts, "Nah, I'm good. I know when I'm outclassed."
Grandpa Sebby walks toward Marc, the two of them moving toward the patio stone railing. They both lean against it, Grandpa Sebby lowering his lips close to Marc's ear and speaking softly enough that I cannot hear...yet my attention is drawn away at the same time to Dante. He walks toward me, my gaze meeting him when he comes to a halt a few feet away.
"You think you're clever, don't you?" Dante asks, recalling a similar confrontation between him and Rose once before.
"No," I shrug my shoulders, replying, "I know I am."
Dante arches a brow, his muscles tensing when he states, "We'll see about that."
His preemptive strike doesn't take me off guard, understanding him as an individual will initiate whenever given the opportunity. Dante is unaware of the basis I know of him, keeping that understanding to myself. When I push off the ground low, angling myself so that when I kick outward with both my legs, it impacts beneath his strike and hits square in his abdomen.
He staggers a step back, the air knocked from his lungs. I spiral down to the ground and roll back to my knees, though I'm hardly given a split second before Dante lunges at me. My heart skips a beat, his airborne form landing on the spot I'd rolled to. I'm in the air traveling backward after pushing off the ground, my gaze on Dante when he turns his gaze up at me.
He's quick to follow me into the air, though I pull myself toward the ground, dashing close to the estate. Dante lands on the ground, his gaze following my every move, the unsettling feeling of a brief shimmer reflecting across his irises puts me on edge. He lifts his chin and asks, "If you're just going to run from me, there's really no point to this."
"I'm not running," I reply.
"There's no shame in it..." his voice trails off, walking toward me, "...after all, I did almost kill you once before."
My muscles tense as he says this, recalling the interaction we had at Aohdan's estate. How can it be that he said at another time, we could have been allies...yet he is just as abrasive as I am when the stones fall?
Is he threatened by the true power that I have?
After all, it was his intention to produce a true born hybrid offspring...
I observe the fault in Dante's approach and actions, his tactics very much charging and attempting to rush his opponent into being caught off guard. His speed is his deciding factor and the reaction time of those he faces is the ultimate tip of the scale. He doesn't like the fact that I'm analyzing him, wanting to rush me in a barrage so that I can't counter or learn his movement set.
Dante's eyes are calculating as he briefly scans me, though, in the next second, he charges fast. Dashing across the grass, closing the distance between us, he throws a punch at my face. His arm flies over my head when I crouch low, though my eyes widen when Dante's leg is mere inches from the side of my face. The air leaves my lungs, exhaling sharply when I throw my weight backward and into a flip, my boots making contact with the wall of the estate. Pushing off the structure, I spin over his head...
...though I hit the ground hard a second later.
His hand wraps around my ankle, snatching me out of the air and slamming into the ground. Before he can pin me, I roll onto my back and kick upward with my free leg, catching him square in the chest. His grip loosens from the shock of the counter, pulling my knees to my chest as I manage to free my ankle. It's a moment later that I kick my legs out, separating at the last moment to compress my shins on either side of his neck.
Dante's eyes meet mine for a second before I pull down hard on my side and twist him to the ground. I don't waste any time, holding my grip on his neck while his hands grasp my knees. I glare at him, his irises reflecting a complete golden hue, his teeth clenching as he tries to keep his airway open. I don't let up, not for a second.
Dante manages to snarl out, "There's more to you...I'll figure out what it is."
I keep my mouth shut, hardly giving as he won't call it quits, the two of us nearly spinning around on the grass as I hold him in place.
It's only when he states, "You're a true born, not born dormant...you have NO control over isolating your genes," he pauses, my heart skipping a beat when he presses hard at my knees, "so how were you able to hide from everyone at Aohdan's estate?"
It's just enough give...
....my muscles become slack at that moment. It's enough that Dante quickly rips my shins away from his neck, the air leaving my lungs as he's suddenly above me, pinning me to the ground. I stare up at him, in a daze at the words that he'd spoken, my eyes searching his as he lowers his face close to mine, stating, "You can't hide forever...the truth always surfaces. However you were able to do what you did, it's not natural."
Light and dark; they claw their way to the surface...yet I swallow it whole, pushing them down as I reply, "You're right," I shake my head, "the truth always surfaces." When he gives me a snarky look, I finish, "Though, when there's nothing to hide, the truth itself is staring you blindly in the face, so unwilling to bel-"
"Cut your crap," Dante glowers dangerously, "you're like Cormac in the way you regard others and situations...however, your faults are by far worse than his."
I furrow my brows and retort, "You know nothing about me..." my energy and strength surges to the surface as I allow it to take root in the center of my chest. I throw Dante over my head, his body smashing into the estate wall. As I rise to my feet, breathing out slowly, I glimpse Grandpa Sebby and Marc jogging toward the two of us. Turning around, my gaze lands on Dante, blood trickling down his face as his head is split open on the side, his healing that belongs to a hybrid alone, the only thing that saves his life while I state, "Stop pretending you understand the world and those that reside in it when you don't."
"Y-"
"Dot?" Grandpa Sebby is between us, Dante slowly rising to his feet...though he staggers a bit in the process.
Marc is quick to help Dante stand sturdy, asking, "You alright?"
Dante nods at me, "She is dangerous."
"You hardly know the half of it," I glare at them all, turning away and heading toward the estate...
...though not before seeing a purplish hue cloud the corners of my vision, a tunnel forming around me.
⊰♥⊱To Be Continued⊰♥⊱