Chapter 12

Raven

I collapsed again the moment I crossed the finish line. My legs literally gave out from under me; I physically couldn’t keep going.

Eric and Neil walked up to me, Eric’s eyes wide as saucers. “You did it,” Eric said, almost as if he didn’t believe it. “You really did it.”

My body trembled as I pushed myself to my knees and wiped the sweat from my brow. “Guess I’m not so pathetic after all.”

The two men exchanged looks, but said nothing.

“What?” I asked, shoving a strand of sweat-damp hair out of my eyes. “Something the matter?”

Eric opened his mouth as if to say something, but then shut it again and walked away. Neil just sighed and said, “You still have a long way to go.”

…

Neil showed up in my room at the same time the very next morning.

It didn’t matter that my body was so sore I could hardly move. Whether I liked it or not, Neil dragged me out of bed and ordered me to dress for another day of training.

“Eric is busy today, so I will be conducting your training,” he said as I laced up my boots.

Great, I thought. Neil may have motivated me to finish running yesterday, but something told me that he wouldn’t take it easy on me.

Once my boots were laced, I stood on sore legs and turned to him. “Alright. I’m ready. But can we do something other than run today?” I winced and adjusted my stance, feeling the blisters all over my feet. “Please?”

Neil nodded once. And then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a ribbon. “Turn around.”

My eyebrows went up, but I obeyed and turned.

“Your hair was flying all over the place yesterday,” he said simply as he began to twist my strands into a braid. “It’s better to keep it out of your face.”

As he worked on my hair, I felt my cheeks heat to an uncomfortable degree. I could feel his fingers brushing the back of my neck, then my shoulder blades, then my lower back as he worked his way down.

Clearing my throat, I murmured, “You’re not going to make me cut my hair like you tried to make me cut my nails?”

I’d always had long hair; it was one of my main selling points as a model. It was long and thick and silky, with a natural gentle wave. I never cut it—not to take length off, at least. And I rarely put it up back home unless it was styled for a photoshoot.

To my surprise, Neil replied, “No. I’m not.”

I couldn’t help but feel a little relieved at that.

Afterwards, we made our way out to the athletic field again. Neil explained that he trained this early so that the field was empty—not just to keep my failures hidden from prying eyes, but because he always preferred to train when it was quiet.

After some stretching, which was necessary for my tired muscles, Neil began to teach me to spar.

Well… the very, very basics, at least.

“This is essentially what we teach children,” Neil grunted as he slowly showed me how to block using my forearms. “Toddlers, even.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “You know, we teach Werewolf toddlers how to read picture books and play with blocks, not fight.”

“Are you saying our children don’t know how to read and play?”

I went to say something rude, but then stopped myself. “No,” I finally said, looking away. “I—”

Suddenly, the field turned into a blur as I felt something connect with my shoulder, sending me reeling backwards. The next thing I knew, my back was colliding with the ground, knocking the wind from my lungs, and Neil was on one knee in front of me with his hand pressed into the center of my chest.

“O-Ow…” I groaned, gasping for air. “What the hell…?”

“You weren’t paying attention.” Neil pressed me into the dirt a little harder. “I could have killed you.”

I swallowed hard and looked down at his hand; indeed, the heel of his palm was pressed squarely into the center of my sternum. I may not have known much about fighting, but I did know that one good blow to the chest is enough to collapse someone’s lung.

“Next time,” Neil said, taking my hand, “don’t take your eyes away from your opponent. Understood?”

With that, he hauled me to my feet with more force than necessary. Taken off guard—and probably half his weight, if even that—I went hurtling into him on the way up, causing him to stumble back a little as I slammed into his chest.

“I…”

Whatever I was about to say got caught in my throat at that moment. Maybe it was the sweat on his brow or the wind rustling through his dark hair, but his scent suddenly overwhelmed my senses like a tidal wave.

“Mate,” I felt my wolf growl inside of me, same as she had when we’d kissed the other night. “I need my mate…”

In those moments, the world narrowed down to the two of us. I felt compelled by my wolf, more compelled than I ever had before, to move closer to Neil.

And I did.

He didn’t pull back as I placed my hand on his chest. In fact, as my fingers trailed up the leathers covering his torso and across the buttery soft skin of his throat, he only growled softly and tilted his head to give me better access.

I could have kissed him then. And I almost did, too—because when I suddenly returned to my senses, I realized that my lips were mere inches from that neck.

But then the world came rushing back, and I instantly stumbled backwards, my face reddening. Neil’s eyes widened too and he quickly turned away, and it took me all of a moment to realize that he was hiding an erection.

“I-I’m sorry,” I stammered, “my wolf—”

But then it hit me, and a slow smile curled my lip. Don’t take your eyes away from your opponent…

While his back was turned, I grinned and shoved him.

“Got you—”

But rather than stumbling, he whirled around and caught my wrist mid-air, fangs bared.

“Ow!” I yelped as pain shot through my hand. Blood began to bead beneath the surface of my nail immediately. It was split over halfway down and hurt like hell.

Neil stared at the wound for a moment, stunned. I winced and moved to yank my hand away, although he didn’t release me. “You broke my nail!”

“You broke your own nail.” Neil sighed and slipped that tiny knife out from his pocket again. “Are you going to let me cut them this time, or are you going to keep letting your vanity get in the way of our plan?”

My eyes widened, but I knew he was right; the proof was right here in front of us. My nails made me stand out, and I’d already broken one in a matter of a day. They’d all be broken and bleeding within a week if I didn’t cut them.

“Fine,” I growled, looking away. “Cut them.”

I didn’t need to tell him twice. He cut all of my nails with ease, taking special care not to harm the broken one. I didn’t look the entire time, too heartbroken to watch the massacre. When he was finished, he finally released me and took a step back.

“Go find the others and tell them to get you a bandage for that,” he said. “We’ll train again tomorrow. It’s time for breakfast anyway.”

I stared down at my new short nails, grimacing at the sight, but nodded. Neil turned and strode off, his shoulders stiff from our almost-kiss.

…

I slipped into the forest behind the castle, stomach growling. Stew again… Lycans loved eating the same thing every day, didn’t they?

Back home, I paid for one of those fancy subscription services where they send you meal kits. Cooking new things was one of my favorite things to do, and so I always looked forward to preparing something unique every day.

But here, everyone seemed content eating that fattening stew.

Not me.

I’d asked them if I could cook for myself, make something different, but the guards had refused—saying that noblewomen shouldn’t be in the kitchen, and that if I asked the cooks to prepare me something else, they’d wonder why a Lycan was turning down perfectly good stew.

So, needing some time alone and something halfway decent to eat, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

Finding a pond in the woods was the easy part; actually catching something, however, was not so easy when you didn’t have a fishing pole. But I’d gone fishing with my dad as a kid, and recalled him teaching me how to catch fish with my bare hands, which is surprisingly easier than it sounds.

Before I knew it, I was surfacing from beneath the water with two wriggling fish in my hands. It was hard to keep the grin from my face as I tossed them onto the grass and hauled myself out of the water, already imagining how divine these were going to taste with some greens and—

“No… Noooo!”

My head snapped up at the sound of the scream, the smile instantly fading from my face.

Someone was in trouble.