Beastly novel Chapter 58

My eyes followed his feet as they bounced closer to me, with the coordination of a predator. It didn't help that I had to be conscious of the staff he carried that would hit me down painfully if I wasn't careful. It had already done so about 4 times and the aches it left were reminders for me to be vigilant and perform well. I raised my own staff, sweat dripping down my forehead as I evaded his advances, searching for an opening. When I thought I saw one, I lifted my staff and charged forward, victory bells ringing in my head.

That is until he sidestepped me and knocked me down from behind the second I was passed him. A groan left my lips as my face plummeted to the ground, the metallic taste of blood filling my mouth slightly. That was the hardest hit I'd taken today, but today was slightly better than the other injuries I had been sustaining ever since I began my training sessions three weeks ago. It didn't hurt to move as I turned over to find Marcus looking down at me with a sweet smile and an outstretched hand.

"Your defence would have been better if you were quicker. Your attack would have been better if you hadn't already thought you were going to win and your feet-"

"I know." I said, taking his hand and sitting up, "They need more coordination."

"Exactly." Marcus replied in approval, glad that I was now catching on

"I don't know how to. It's hard." It was. As a ballet dancer, I had learned how to be light on my feet and twist my body in ways normal people couldn't. My flexibility and twinkle toes were an asset. Here, it seemed to weigh me down as I needed to be grounded and be able to steel my presence when going up against an opponent.

Like I had realized before, this training was completely different from the one Ben had given me. It seemed like I was fighting for my life and as far as Marcus was concerned, I probably was. It was rather exasperating how challenging I found this, especially since I was putting my all into it. For the past 3 weeks, Marcus and I had trained day after day. He had been teaching me techniques that I never knew existed and from what he had put me through, I would now go around telling people I was in the army. I had more or less earned that right at this point.

Some days were not easy, and I broke down, but Marcus always took time to calmly explain the importance of learning how to control my powers. My physical body, despite being a werewolf, was not something that could take the force of the energy I had stored. The little I had been giving out always made me pass out and ultimately put Keira to sleep. I had come to understand that having these powers and having a wolf was not common for someone like me. Marcus had already told me not to classify them as mere powers but as a part of me, that was made to be mine.

Kind of hard to do when I wasn't aware it was ever going to exist in the first place.

If Keira was the same, then there would be the constant clash between them and a total overrule of Keira whenever my powers were used, no matter how small. It had physically hurt me the day I learnt that if a solution wasn't found, Keira would be put to sleep in my body forever. Since I was stubborn, Keira had been brought into our training but there was no guarantee yet that even if she did train hard to be able to withstand the force and co-exist with it in my body, that she still wouldn't be put to sleep. We were now fighting together on this like we always did with everything.

I had to find control. I knew how to get it, but it kept slipping away the harder I tried.

With a heavy sigh, I stood up and walked to where my bag was, taking out my hand towel and proceeding to sit down on the closest bench.

"You look worried." Marcus stated, sitting down beside me and passing me a bottle of water "Is it because of this?"

"I guess I'm just frustrated with myself. It's either I do this or risk losing a lot. That's a lot of pressure." I answered

"You don't think you may be trying too hard to do it this way? The best way to learn something is by finding the most comfortable method for you."

"I'm too light on my feet. Whether I like it or not, if I don't work on my balance and speed, I'll be a goner when you come at me. You're heartless."

"Oh, that's not true. You know I have the softest spot for my only baby sister."

I grinned at him, although my hand rose to smack his arm "Tell that to my aching back muscles, Marcus."

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to be too hard on you, I just have to be so you won't suffer later on."

"Sounds like something Maria would say before pulling my ear."

"Well luckily for you, I won't pull your ears. See, I can be nice."

I chuckled slightly and silence enveloped us as we stared straight forward, in our own thoughts. Only a few minutes passed before I heard his voice again.

"Next week, I want you to start using your powers properly." My eyes widened and I turned to him in astonishment

"What? I'm not ready for that!" I argued. He just saw how worried I was about my physical state and he still wanted us to move forward?

"Your balance and speed have little impact on your physical resistance and endurance. I'm confident you'll be able to even everything out eventually, but we can still move forward."

"But-"

"No buts. I'm telling you this as your trainer and not as your brother, so just be prepared." Whining and crying didn't work on him when he had decided on something. He wasn't like Xander. If it was Xander, all I had to do was sniffle for him to at least make a compromise

"Fine."

He smiled and stood up, patting my hair like I was a damn puppy and causing me to scowl in the process.

"We'll stop here for today."

"Really?"

"Yes. You should go home and take a hot bath to help relax your muscles."

Although the sound of that was appealing to me, I found it rather suspicious that we were ending so early. He never let me get off early.

"Are you going somewhere? Have plans?"

He didn't look at me and instead, gathered his things as he said "Yes."

"Where?" He had the audacity to shoot me a look that screamed 'what do you mean' "Excuse me. You have no friends, as far as I know, and most people don't know you're even here."

"True." he confessed, a laugh escaping his lips "I'm a secret, but where I'm going is also a secret."

"Even to me?" Now that was super suspicious "I can guess only one thing and if I'm wrong, then you can drill me without me complaining for a full day."

Walking to him, I watched his eyebrow raise as I stopped in front of him. Hopefully, I looked serious enough for him to take me seriously.

"Alexander is making you do something for him, isn't he?"

"Obviously." he snorted

"Is it something dangerous? Why did you even agree to it in the first place?"

"Don't worry princess, I promise I won't be the one getting hurt." For a moment, something foreign passed through his eyes but it was gone before I could decipher what it was "I promise I won't get hurt and I promise to tell you all about it when next I see you. Try not to hound Xander about it and don't overthink."

He turned and gave me one last smile over his shoulder.

"Instead, I want you to focus on learning how to infuse your ballet routines into your fight patterns and stances. Love you." He disappeared before I could reply. I had already gotten used to it. His movements were not something I could track and I knew someday, I'd be able to.

Deciding to not dwell on it any longer, I wore my coat and shoes, zipping up properly and picked up my bag. My hair was in the tightest bun I could put it in as it did nothing but inconvenience me whenever I was training. Taking my time, I walked out of the training facility, enjoying the cold air hitting my flushed face. A sigh left my lips, as my eyes lifted and locked on a figure that bounced up and down next to men twice their size. My feet were frozen in place as the person turned and I locked eyes with a pair of honey doe eyes.

'Is that..'

"Astelle?"