Chapter 41

Lucas’s POV

If I have to watch Logan touch Harper one more time, I might explode. His hands on her hips, his fingers brushing back her hair, his mouth too close to hers.

Everything Logan does as he helps her move through the motions of the proper way to punch has my blood boiling. His hips move against her ass as their bodies turn with the punch.

Each morning, I have to watch this.

Each morning, I can’t stand to see him touching her. I have permanent holes in my palms from my claws digging into my hands.

Each morning, I watch Harper eat up his compliments and smile at him.

She’s never smiled at me like that… which shouldn’t bother me, but it does. Everything about them being together bothers me. It eats at me all day and throughout the night, like a flesh-eating bacteria that’s running rampant through my body.

Forcing my attention back to my run, I try to keep my eyes off of Harper. She’s not my mate. Sierra is. Harper isn’t my responsibility or concern, but any time she’s close, my eyes find her. It’s like she’s a magnet that pulls me toward her, and there’s nothing and no one else in the world that pulls my attention like her.

“Gather up, everyone!” I shout, and all my warriors move toward the training field.

Harper moves to sit under her tree, panting and looking a bit pale as she wipes the sweat off her forehead. One thing I’ve noticed about Harper is that she grows weak easily, and I’ve also noticed that Logan doesn’t pay much attention to her condition.

There have been several times where I’ve wanted to step in when they’re training to give her a break.

Even now, it takes everything in me not to walk over to her and make sure she’s okay.

“She’s amazing and is learning so quickly,” I hear Logan brag from a few feet away. “She’s already learned several defensive moves and evades every punch I throw at her.”

“You’re going easy on her, though,” another warrior says.

“No, she’s just catches onto the moves so quickly.”

Another warrior laughs and glances at Harper. “Her? She looks like she’s going to pass out at any minute. You’re biased as her mate—”

“You shouldn’t underestimate her just because she’s wolfless,” Logan tells them, and the way he stresses that she doesn’t have a wolf irritates me. No one mentioned that she was wolfless, so he didn’t need to bring it up, either.

Harper being wolfless has nothing to do with her training.

“She should go back to the medical wing and leave the fighting to all of us,” one of the warriors laughs. I clench my jaw and dig my claws into my palms for the millionth time this week. This time, however, it’s not because of Logan.

My own warriors are the ones making me want to tear something apart.

“Then let’s settle this,” I say loudly, making them all turn to look at me. “I will fight Healer Harper and test her skills to see how well Warrior Logan is really training our healer.”

Logan calls for Harper, and I watch from afar as she pushes herself up and walks toward us. There’s a slight limp in her stride, making me want to take my words back.

Is she hurt?

Harper’s POV

I step into the middle of the field with warriors surrounding me. Lucas stands across from me, watching me closely. His eyes are on my legs, and the heavy stare sends a shiver through me.

Lucas’s eyes move up and then back down my body as if he’s assessing me.

My shorts feel too short under his gaze and my top feels too tight as my body heats up again. This time, it’s not from the sun or the workout.

“Is there a problem with my clothes, Alpha?” I ask, narrowing my eyes on him.

“Nothing wrong with your clothes. I just noticed your limping,” he says, nodding at my leg. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I healed myself,” I say softly, feeling my cheeks heat up again. How did he notice that? I was more than ten feet away, and he was talking with the warriors when I was on my way over.

Then again, this isn’t the first time he’s watched me. I’m not sure if Lucas knows, but I’ve seen him watching me. When I don’t see Lucas, I can feel him. Every time he’s close to me, I know he’s there.

There’s a connection between us, and right now, that connection is going crazy. The tension rises, creating what feels like an electric crackle between the two of us, and everyone else disappears.

“Think of this fight as an extension to your training,” Lucas says, lifting his fists. “Fight like you would if this were a real fight. Don’t hold back and don’t let me win.”

I nod and glance at the men surrounding me. Logan is mediating the fight, so he’s standing at the edge of the ring to make sure nothing goes wrong.

“Let’s see if Logan has taught you well.”

Is he trying to bait me?

I glare at Lucas for insinuating that Logan hasn’t been teaching me well. Personally, I think that Logan has been doing a great job with someone who has no prior experience or training. I feel like I’ve caught onto the things he’s shown me, and I might not be far along, but I’m still working hard.

“Let’s do it.”

Mirroring Lucas, I lift my fists to guard my face like Logan taught me. I study Lucas as he does the same, our eyes never leaving each other. Fighting Logan and fighting an Alpha like Lucas will be two very different experiences.

Lucas is much stronger than Logan, and he has more experience than Logan. So, fighting someone as unexperienced as me is below Lucas’s pay grade. Which brings up the question, why does he want to test my skills?

Is he trying to humiliate me?

I narrow my eyes on Lucas, looking him up and down while trying to recall all the times Lucas has angered me. I channel that anger into my focus, hoping it’ll be enough to at least not make a fool of myself.

Mentally, I go over all the weak spots in someone’s body, clocking each of them on Lucas. The temples, the neck, the stomach, the crotch, the nose; I let my eyes jump from place to place. I’ll have to be fast and use all my strength.

“Like what you see?” Lucas asks, smirking. The mischievous glint in his eyes makes me roll my eyes.

He’s shirtless and sweaty, showing off all his muscles. I hate it and love it at the same time and knowing that I shouldn’t be admiring his body doesn’t help me pull my eyes off his form.

“Hardly,” I lie with a scoff.

Logan steps forward, lowering his hand between me and Lucas. He looks at me and then he looks at Lucas, both of us nodding to let him know we’re ready.

When I face forward again, Lucas narrows his eyes on me, and he raises his fists again. I notice the exact moment Lucas locks in because the spark in his blue eyes flares to life.

“Fight!”