“You’re not weak.” The words come automatically now, and I feel the truth of them in my chest. “You’ve always been strong, stronger than you or anyone gives you credit for. And right now, you’re not being lazy. You’re recovering from magical trauma.”
She finally meets my eyes, her gaze unreadable. “Want to train with me?”
The offer catches me off guard. It’s not one I ever expected to receive. “Really? Are you sure?”
“Dana always says the best way to learn is by doing. And it’ll take my mind off things.” A small smile plays at her lips. “Unless you’re scared I’ll hurt you?”
My wolf perks up at the challenge in her voice. “Never. Although I should probably change first. I’m not exactly dressed for sparring.”
When I return in workout clothes, she’s finished warming up. The morning sun catches her ash blonde hair, turning it to gold. She has a soft, peaceful expression on her face as she turns her head toward the sky. For a moment I’m struck breathless by her beauty, by how lucky I am that she’s even giving me this chance. I know that I won’t take it for granted. Not anymore.
“We’ll start with basic holds,” she says, all business. “The key is using your opponent’s strength against them. You want to find ways to get leverage and momentum on your side, no matter your size or strength.”
She demonstrates a simple move, explaining each step. I try to focus on her words rather than how close she is, how her hands feel positioning my arms. Each touch seems to ignite some part of the bond, reassuring me that it isn’t quite gone, but also making focusing… difficult.
“Like this?” I attempt to copy her stance.
“Almost. But your balance is off.” Without warning, she hooks her foot behind my ankle and twists. I hit the ground with a thud that knocks the wind out of me.
Looking up at her standing over me, triumph in her mismatched eyes, I fall in love all over again.
“That wasn’t fair,” I protest, but I’m grinning. “You didn’t warn me you were going to do it.”
“Fights aren’t fair and they don’t come with advanced warning.” She offers me a hand up, her palm cool and calloused in mine. “Especially when you’re smaller than your opponent. Dana taught me to always be on guard—and trust me when I say I’ve been glad for that lesson, even if I’ve cursed her name when I’m putting salve on my bruises. Again?”
We spend the next hour training. She’s a surprisingly good teacher, patient but firm. Each time she takes me down, my wolf growls—not with anger, but with pride in our mate’s strength.
“Where did you learn all this?” I ask during a water break. “No one in the pack knows these moves.”
“Dana taught me.” Aurora’s voice softens when she mentions her friend. “After… after that day, when she found me on the road, she decided I needed to learn to defend myself.”
Shame burns through me. “Tell me about her? About your life in the outskirts?”
For a moment I think she won’t answer. Then she starts to talk, hesitantly at first, then with growing animation.
“Dana was the only one who saw me—really saw me. Not as the orphan from Pack Onyx or the shifter who couldn’t shift, but as me. Just Aurora.” She demonstrates another hold as she talks. “She gave me a home when I needed one. Taught me to fight. Never once made me feel less than her for our differences.”
Unlike me, I think bitterly. “She sounds amazing. Like a trusted friend.”
“She is.” Aurora’s eyes narrow. “She also hates you with the fire of a thousand suns.”
Shame courses through me, but I bite back the urge to defend myself. “I deserve that.”
“Yes, you do.” Her voice is firm and assertive. “Let’s go again.”
This time when she moves to take me down, I’m ready. I counter her grip, using my greater strength to pin her—only to find myself flat on my back again, her knee pressed to my throat.
“Never underestimate your opponent,” she says sweetly. “You never know who might have hidden skills in their back pocket.”
My wolf rumbles with appreciation. Having her above me like this, strong and confident, does things to me that are entirely inappropriate for training.
She must see something in my eyes because she quickly backs off, a flush rising to her cheeks. “You should use the move I showed you earlier to get out from under me if I take you down next time. Shall we go again?”
We go several more rounds, and I start to see how she fights—using speed and leverage to overcome bigger opponents. She knows how to keep from broadcasting her next move, and more than once she fakes me out by feinting in the opposite direction of where she takes me down. It’s fascinating to watch her move, to see how she’s adapted without her wolf. Most shifters would simply shift to take down an opponent, but Aurora doesn’t have to, which gives her an advantage against the fae when it comes to using cold iron weapons.
“I’ll need to apologize to Dana,” I say during another break, drinking big gulps of cool water out of the water bottle she hands me. “Not just for how I treated you, but for looking down on her too. She protected you when I should have been the one doing it.”
Surprise flickers across Aurora’s face. “Dana is stubborn, and she holds quite a grudge. She won’t make it easy.”
