Chapter 182

[Evelyn’s POV]

I glanced at the mat on the floor but didn’t move an inch.

I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Alexander, wherever it is that you’re planning, I’m not sure—”

“Will you please just trust me?” he prompted.

I clenched my jaw and, against my better judgment, moved over to the mat. I crossed my arms over my chest and gave him a pointed look.

“My reasoning for wanting you to give this whole thing another chance is because I believe you may have gotten the wrong impression before,” he explained. “When training, I want you to imagine that your opponent has the power to make your worst nightmares come to life and the only way you can stop that from happening is if you take them down.”

“What is it that you fear, Evelyn?” Erik asks.

I felt the tops of my cheeks start to heat up under their waiting gazes.

“Well, I...I fear losing the things that mean the most in my life. The people I love, for instance. My brother, Wendy, Nina, the pack...You.”

Alexander lightly nodded his head. “What else?” he pushed.

“I love my work. The greenhouse and the library. Those places make me feel safe and calm. Whenever I had a problem, I would try to either seek out a solution or just a moment to clear my head.”

“That’s good,” Thomas commented. “We want you to use all of these things you listed and keep them as your focal points throughout today’s training.”

Just like yesterday, Thomas took his position on the mat across from me.

“Get into your stance you learned,” Alexander said. I squared my shoulders and angled my feet apart while tucking my fists close to my chest. “Good. Now, when you look at Thomas, I want you to look beyond the man that’s in front of you. In this exercise, you are to imagine him as that same opponent I mentioned earlier.”

“Remember all things you hold dear to your heart, Evelyn,” Erik instructed. “This opponent has the power to make all that disappear. It’s up to you to stop him.”

The twinge I kept feeling in my chest was not assuring in the least. “You are putting a lot on my sense of imagination,” I hissed.

A long moment of silence passed before Alexander spoke. I noticed the way his voice lowered a couple of octaves. “Well, it wouldn’t necessarily be considered ‘imagination’ if I were to give Thomas the order to destroy the greenhouse and burn down the library.”

My mouth fell open. It felt like a sharp claw was tearing its way through my stomach and up my throat.

“You wouldn’t do that,” I gasped.

Surely, he wasn’t being serious. But Alexander’s expression remained impassive as he shrugged his shoulders and turned to glance at Thomas.

“If you allow Thomas to leave this tent, he’s going to head straight to the greenhouse and demolish it piece by piece,” Alexander said sternly. “Understand?”

Instead of taking his own stance, Thomas stood up straight and gradually began making his way toward the exit. What the hell?!

Thomas showed no signs of actually stopping. My heart lurched in my rib cage.

No. No. No. NO!!

I had to do something! With every step he took, all my plants, projects, and work were at risk. My first move was to keep him from moving any closer to the exit, but Thomas pressed on like a friggin’ tank. My own feet were being dragged against the ground as he pressed forward.

“Goddamnit,” I snarled.

My right hand curled into a tight fist and reached my arm back as far as I could.

Sorry, Thomas. But I’m not letting you destroy my work.

I swung my arm with all the condensed pressure behind it and knocked him square in the jaw. Thomas staggered backward. While he seemed diverted for the moment, I took my chance to strike back again. This time, I had lifted my one knee and swung myself on a swift angle to where the flat part of my foot met the center of his chest.

That move sent Thomas back a few feet. He hadn’t been able to watch where we were headed and ended up tripping over one of the benches. While my initial instinct was to stop and help him up, there was no telling if this little exercise was over or not.

Instead of helping him up, I actually reached down and snagged one of his ankles and, with all my strength, dragged me across the room. I heard the faint chuckles of Erik and Alexander as they watched this entire scene unfold.

I’m sure it looked utterly ridiculous. Thomas was more than twice the size of me and there I was trying to haul him back to the training mat. He struggled to gain some kind of traction to keep me from succeeding but failed.

However, Thomas did manage to get a hold of one of the wooden training sticks. My stomach flipped as soon as he tried to take a swing at my shoulder. I blocked the hit with the side of my forearm. It hurt, but my body was willing to absorb the pain for as long as I could.

Again and again, he tried to take a swing on either one of my arms and I was able to block each one. Erik and Alexander’s notes of approval slipped to the back of my mind.

Somehow, I got him back to the mat. I let his leg fall to the ground while I lowered myself down. I pressed one of my knees to his chest and grabbed at the collar of his shirt.

“If you so much as think to come within ten feet of my greenhouse right now, I will drag you through this entire campground by your literal toes,” I told him. “Am I clear?”

Thomas stared up at me through wide eyes. “Yep.”

I gradually stood up and gave myself a few deepening breaths. I was feeling a whirlwind of emotions. Yet, oddly enough, rage wasn’t one of them.

I was suddenly pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of Erik clapping his hands together. He wore the broadest smile I have ever seen since I met him.

“That was absolutely incredible,” he said. “Do you see, Evelyn? That is what we mean when we say defensive training. You defended yourself.”

“Thomas’s strikes were minimal compared to my own,” I noted sheepishly.

Alexander shook his head. “That doesn’t matter. What matters is that you did what was necessary to protect what you care about. Tell us, what did you feel at the beginning of this?”

“Shock. Disbelief. Fear.”

They all nodded their heads.

“And what you felt in return, it wasn’t anger was it?” Erik inquired.

I shook my head. “It was...Determination.”

“Defiance,” Thomas remarked. “Whenever you face off against someone like that, it’s imperative that you keep these feelings in mind. Even if their motives may not be exactly what we used as an example here, they are still considered the enemy.”

“I still feel a little bad for punching you,” I said meekly.

Thomas smiled. “Don’t. It doesn’t hurt as badly as you believe. If anything, it took me by surprise. And I sure as hell wasn’t expecting you to drag me across the floor,” he laughed.

I joined in on the laughter. “Well, you guys did say whatever was necessary.”

Erik nodded his head. “I think you did really well today.”

The buzzing feeling of pride buzzed within my chest. “Thank you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go shower and find something to take care of the bruises I’m bound to have. But before I do that...”

I walked over to Alexander and sent the palm of my hand across his cheek. The slap hadn’t been hard enough to sting but certainly got the point across.

“I understand what you did for the sake of the lesson. But if you ever threaten to destroy my greenhouse or burn a single book in that library, I will never let you touch me again,” I hummed while reaching up to press a chaste kiss to his lips.

Alexander’s gaze turned heated as a sultry smile curved his mouth. “Noted.”