I woke early, just as the morning sun was rising over the horizon. I gave myself a few moments to take in the sky, watching in awe as the vibrant streaks of gold and cerise melted into each other. Finally I made my way to my closet and picked out some clothes which I deemed appropriate to fight in.
I dressed in all dark clothing, black skin tights leggings and a form fitting black shirt. Then I tied my long golden hair up into a high ponytail. I didn't know what the day had planned out for me, but I stared back at my reflection in determination. I was not that scared little nymph sneaking out of the city anymore. I had survived the vampires, I had grown both mentally and physically.
I sighed deeply before going down to grab something to eat. To my surprise Isaac was in the kitchen when I came in, flipping pancakes on the pan. Surprisingly it seemed to going well. I grinned, seeing the apron tied around his waist. 'Kiss the chef,' he motioned towards it playfully. "What do you think?"
"I think you look stupid." I laughed as he winked again, before flipping the pancake. "I wanted to make you breakfast for your first time training."
I smiled softly. He genuinely seemed to think this would be good for me. Either he was really naive or he was simply blinded by her. Given I only knew a little about their history, I didn't know what previous affect she'd had on him. I only knew that I wouldn't give him up.
He slid over a plate to me and I took it gratefully tasting the fluffy goodness and letting out a happy sigh. "This is heaven."
"Well eat your fill, you'll need it for today." I heard a light laugh come into the room and I turned, seeing dark red hair. Gloria stood in the doorway, watching us with a hint of a smile. I was taken off guard, not expecting her to be nice. But what did I expect? Her to come in raving with Isaac in the room?
She offered me a half smile. "Go easy on her Gloria, although she is faster than any wolf from what I've seen. My little mate can outrun even my fastest warrior." He said, leaning to poke my nose.
She hummed. "Speed can only get you so far if you don't know how to fight." She walked past us, out the door. "I'll be at the training grounds when you're ready."
I turned to Isaac, raising an eyebrow. "Don't worry, it'll just be you two and she is genuinely one of my pack's greatest warriors. You're in good hands."
I grimaced slightly and he took this as a sign for nerves, ruffling my hair and offering me a full smile that tugged on my heart strings. At the very least I would hopefully learn some combat skills.
-:-
The first thing that caught my eye when I reached the training grounds was that it most definitely was not just me and her. There were wolves fighting in the corner, and I immediately picked up on how experienced they were as they moved with speed and grace, their movements swift and smooth.
Gloria stood in the middle and I walked in just in time to see her flip a wolf over her shoulder. She stood stiffly, throwing him a cold glare.
"Could you make your movements any easier to read?"
He huffed, moving to attack and she simply sidestepped him and caught his shoulder, grabbing it and pulling back so that a sickening snap resonated through the air. I grimaced as her eyes met mine, dark and observing. It made a shiver run down my spine but I stood my ground, matching her stare.
"Finally decide to come?" She asked in a very obviously confessing tone and I ignored her words, continuing to walk towards her slowly. From what I had gathered, only a select few knew of my true nature. Which means nobody in the room was aware of the speed and of natural Instincts I possessed.
"I'm here." I said flatly and motioned towards the room. "Not just us two?"
Her eyes darkened. "Well you can't expect any battle to work in your favor and be one on one in a relaxed atmosphere. If you're to be Luna, you have to be aware of what it's like to fight properly."
I shrugged. "As you wish."
I understood now, she simply wanted an audience.
Her eyes narrowed and she gritted her teeth. Turning she motioned towards one of the fighting warriors from earlier to step forward, I immediately became worried as I knew he was undoubtably more experienced than I was.
"You'll be battling Leo."
He stepped forward, looming above me at over 6ft, with messy black curls that fell over his eyes. I looked back at her in apprehension.
"She has no previous training and you're putting her against one of the most skilled warriors? Wasn't the point of this to train our Luna?" He asked, his words coming out forced and angry and she narrowed her eyes.
"Do you want to be reminded of what happens when you go against my word?" And asked, no. She spat her words angrily, her eyes holding a promise I couldn't decipher. I was confused though, by his form he could easily handle himself and he didn't seem like he type to be so easily controlled. So why did he grit his teeth angrily and take a defensive stance? Why was he listening to her? Did she have such an affect on everyone they all fell in line and turned a blind eye to everything she did that wasn't right.
"What are you doing? Attack!" Gloria snapped and Leo closed his eyes in aggravation, before he made a weak attempt to try and hit my side but I easily sidestepped and stood back.
"Of for the love of god, I'll do it." She said, pushing him out of the way and moving in his place.
"So, is this what you call training?" I asked humorlessly and her eyes turned cold.
"A Luna should know how to fight."
I grinned. "I wouldn't worry about that." Although I may not be as experienced as she was, I still had a certain amount of ability. She moved quickly and suddenly a rush of pain exploded in my lower abdomen. I staggered back in shock, not expecting her to move quite that fast. She moved again, aiming for a sharp right hook but I reacted in time and dodged, stumbling to the right. She offered me a dry smile. I was loosing badly and I knew it. This wasn't training. I saw the apprehensive eyes of the wolves around us widen. She was trying to prove a point.
That I was weak, that I couldn't lead.
She moved again, faster this time and her fist connected with my right cheek, sending me to the cold floor. I felt the tender skin and the almost forming bruise as her shoe came Into contact with my hand as I lifted it to shield my face. I could hear the whispers but nobody moved to stop her. Why. What kind of control did she have over them?
But I had one thing she did not. The eyes of a nymph are very sharp and the more she made an attempt to beat me down, the more familiar I became with her attacks. Unbeknownst to her I was memorizing her fighting style, noticing every time she threw her fist into my face or moved a certain way, I formed a pattern.
"So, this was your plan huh? To threaten and make a show of Me. The poor human who you believe is below you." I said lowly, standing to my feet.
"You're not good for him, you can't even protect yourself." She sneered and made a move to attack and this time I moved three times quicker than her, sidestepping her attack with ease. I didn't have the attack skill, but I had the speed. My face was inches from hers in seconds, and she could hear my words along with the entire room thanks to werewolf hearing.
"Surprise." My breath fanned across her face for half a second, my voice just above a whisper. She jumped back and I moved again, ducking under her arm and standing behind her.
"If you think I'm pathetic how does that make you look? Do you derive joy from beating down those weaker than you?" I said calmly, again sidestepping her attempt at attacking me. My judgement wasn't clouded this time, I was thinking rationally and clearly which allowed me to see all of her attacks in slow motion.
"Isn't that just tyranny? Is that not a form of weakness? The worst kind of weakness is when it rots you from the inside."
My eyes were completely locked on hers so that I didn't notice the crowd captivated by my words, holding onto every line I spoke in awe. To then I was the strange human girl with unbelievable speed who had completely outwitted her. Her eyes lit with rage and I knew I had won.
Success relies on a calm demeanor. If you give yourself to chaotic thought, it will be your downfall.
Like how I had lost to Darcy so easily, sure he was a vampire and by standards even faster than I was, but I had flown into a fit of fear and panic, driven by mania. Now however, I was calm and rationale.
She however, was not.
"I'm going to tear your f*cking throat out." She growled and again I sidestepped her roundhouse kick and she advanced quickly, as I backed into the crowd she followed me and ended up hitting the wall. Plaster flew everywhere and I raised an eyebrow almost condescendingly, which seemed to rile her up even more.
She let out a heavy growl and her from started to shake. A bubble of fear ran through me as I realized she was on the verge of shifting. Her dark eyes met mine, grinning a sickening, knowing smile. I wasn't last a second against her in wolf form. She knew it. The whole room knew it.
I gasped, falling back just as a booming voice resonated through the room.
"STOP." My head snapped up to see Isaac in the corner, his eyes full of rage and disbelief as he surveyed the scene in front of him. His chest rose and fell as his eyes locked with Gloria's, flashing gold as he tried to keep his wolf under control. Leo stood by his side, seemingly equally as shocked.
Isaac gritted his teeth, his rage filling the room was a tension thick enough to cut through.
"What is this? Explain."
Silence.
"Is this what you call training Gloria? Because it looked to me like you were relentlessly beating my mate before she managed to memorize your fighting pattern and then you were going to what? Shift and kill her. You're suppose to be a warrior. You're suppose to protect."
"I am protecting!" She cried desperately. "I'm protecting you."
I watched her in disbelief as my eyes fell on the stunned wolves in the room. The question was still hovering around in my mind. Why did they just stand there? Seemingly having the same question, Isaac's eyes fell on the rest of the room, before Leo stood out from behind him, seemingly almost small compared to the intimidating level of power radiating from Isaac.
"There's something you need to know, Alpha."
-:-
Well Gloria, u r fuuuuuucked now. Sorry for delay in updates , I had a sick day today so I took the time to write another chapter. I am sick though I'm supposed to be going to to tøp with my brother tomorrow so.. we'll see how that goes 🤭 pray I make a miraculous recovery overnight?