Chapter 21

The first weekend of my time at Alpha Academy was uneventful, shockingly.

It was a lot of studying with Loren in the library and sparring with her in the gym. By Sunday evening, I’d managed to take Loren down twice, each with increasing force. Loren was quick to remind me that she sucked at sparring, and Kairos was an expert. I didn’t care though. I couldn’t have done that a week ago.

Maybe my wolf was truly waking up.

Monday was the same as usual at Basics. Coach making me run sprints and laps to try and speed up my pace. He told me I’d be rerunning the Run at the end of the week. If I passed, I was off of supplementary and I could spar train with everyone else.

I made it my mission to pass the Run.

So, Monday night when I got a note from Valentin, I knew what I had to work on Tuesday morning. Sure, things were going to be slightly awkward after my Friday outburst, but I did think Valentin genuinely wanted to help.

I was about to walk in the gym from the locker room when I heard hushed voices. I slid behind the door and focused hard on trying to figure out what the voices were saying.

“Chose me, Valentin!”

“I would if I could, love, but the Queen has bared me from taking a mate until she determines who the Princesses fated mate is.”

“I’m tired of waiting.”

It was clearly Bella shouting at Valentin. I pressed closer to the door, trying to hear their hushed voices.

“Bella, please,” Valentin pleaded. “Keep your voice down.”

“Don’t tell me to keep my voice down when you’re acting like this!” Bella hissed. There was a pause then she spoke again. “You’re dishonoring my parents.”

“Bella,” Valentin’s tone was a warning. “I have been very forthcoming about my deal with the Queen. You’re lucky I even considered your parent’s offer after the shit they put the crown through. The dishonored their own name.”

There was another moment of silence. Then, the sharp clicking of heels against the gym floor. Bella stomped her way toward my door. I shrunk smaller behind the door. Bella approached the door and I heard it be wrenched open. Then, the clicking of her heels stopped.

I slowly turned to look at the open door. Bella glared down at me. Her gold eyes were blown wide with anger. As I slowly stood up, Bella turned over her shoulder to where I know Valentin was standing in the gym.

“Tell your pet,” She spat. “To keep her fucking mouth shut—” she turned back to me. “—and we won’t have a problem.”

With that, the door banged closed behind her as she stormed off into the locker room. Her long black ponytail whipped around at her waist. Slowly, I pushed into the gym. Valentin was pacing on the sparring mats.

He was in a similar training get-up to the ones he wore the week prior. However, his hair was down and curling around his ears. He was yanking on it as I finally approached the sparing mats.

“Sorry,” he said gently. “She seems to know my schedule and exactly when to corner me.”

I hummed. “I’ll say.”

I thought about pushing, asking him what the hell he and Bella were arguing about. After seeing him, hair all mused with stress and the dark bags under his eyes, I decided against it. I took a deep breath before a launched into my request.

“Coach said I’m rerunning the Run at the end of the week,” I said, softly. “My endurance has definitely increased. I just would like to run through it start to finish once before I have to redo it. Just to give me confidence.”

Valentin turned towards me. He nodded stiffly before pulling his hair off his shoulders and securing it in a band. “Let’s start with that,” he said. “I’ll be your pacer for the fifteen laps in the allotted time. If you beat or match me, consider it as a win.”

I nodded in reply. Then, Valentin took us off on the warmup lap. I kept up with his pace for the warmup then we stood and did the preliminary stretches before I started. The whole time, I couldn’t stop staring at Valentin. The way he’d pulled his hair up that morning accentuated his jaw bone and his high cheek bones. It made him look even better than he usually did. A warmth bloomed deep within my gut that I’d never felt before. I tried coughing it out but it was still there and spreading.

Several times, I almost felt like Valentin could sense the warm in me. I caught him staring at me a few time before jerking his head back and rattling off the next stretch. Finally, we both lined up on the start line. We took off, I was pushing my legs to keep up with Valentin.

After the tenth lap, Valentin pulled off to keep timing me. I lost track of the laps but managed to cross the line just as he yelled “Time!” My throat felt raw. Valentin handed me a water which I chugged down.

“How many?” I managed to get out.

Valentin smiled down at me. “Eighteen.”

“In fourty-five minutes?” I gasped. Valentin nodded, smile still on his skin. I fell back on the track in exhaustion and excitement. I punched at the air and squealed. Valentin chuckled next to me and brought me out of my winner’s party.

I turned my head to look at him. We made eye contact and it felt like every other thing in the gym simply melted away. It was him and I in a vacuum of time and energy. His eyes, so white-gold they glowed, were stunning. They were just as handsome as his lips and as prominent as his bright white teeth.

Suddenly, he cleared his throat and we were back on Earth. I sat up from my spot on the track and dusted off my knees. “I think I can do twenty by Friday,” I said softly.

“No doubt,” Valentin replied. His voice had gone slightly hoarse. He cleared his throat again. “Just keep up with the drills Coach had you running. Get another good run in tomorrow morning and we’ll shoot for twenty on Thursday.”

I nodded and pushed myself up on to my feet. “Sparring?” I asked.

“Sparring,” Valentin nodded.

We made our way over to the mats. I dropped my water on the outside of the area then took my fighting stance in the middle. Valentin mirrored me and then we were off.

I tried to focus on his strikes and the way he’d taught me to defend against them. But every time I blocked a punch or a kick, a bolt of electricity burned through me. I knew it was the fated mate reaction but I tried to shove away any feeling I felt towards it.

It was clear that Valentin had no intention of acting on it.

Valentin circled me and tried to attack me from behind. I side stepped then brought the bottom of my foot to the middle of his chest. I kicked hard and Valentin flew backwards. I immediately panicked.

“Oh my god, oh my god!” I shrieked. “I’m so sorry did I—”

Before I could even finish my apology, I was on my back. Valentin had used his free leg to swipe my feet out from under me. I scrambled back but I was too slow. Valentin climbed on top of me and pinned my hips down. He took both of my hands in one of his then used his other hand to wrap around my neck and hold my head down.

I was frozen. My chest was heaving up and down and up and down. Valentin’s was moving in time with mine. The gentle thrum I’d heard before came back.

Lub dub, lub dub, lub dub.

I stared up at Valentin. He was so close, I could make out the freckles of gold in his white eyes. Electricity burned up and down my body in waves. It made my knees feel shaky. I arched my back off the floor and up into Valnetin’s chest, chasing the feeling surging through me.

My lips parted slightly as more of us touched. Valentin’s lips did the same. His eyes fluttered shut slightly, a pained grunt coming out. He dropped his head to lay in the middle of my chest. His grip strengthened on my wrists and neck. I extended my neck and Valentin pressed his face into the space between my shoulder and the floor.

I let a whimper escape. Valentin stilled, he was trying so damned hard to fight it. But it was inevitable. We were inevitable.

“How was that?” I whispered against the shell of his ear.

Then, all of his hands were off me. He was standing above me, calm, cool and collected. He smoothed out the front of his shirt and turned around. He brought a hand to his lips, all while I was still on the floor. I sat up.

“Valentin?”

“It was barely adequate,” he bit out. It was harsh and rough. Not the normal way he addressed me. He turned around to lock eyes with me. “Get up and go again.”