Training

Dragana POV

After initial shock, I gathered my wits. I did not know what the future held, but I knew somebody who might. Aisha said that, as a white wolf, she had a gift of foresight. Perhaps she could help, I thought to myself. And at the end of the day, who better to know than Solomon??? His power knew no bounds to my knowledge, and based on everything I read about him, I knew that he, too, had a gift of foresight. I was still not sure how that worked, as I knew that our choices make or shape the future and that the future itself is not written in stone. Yet, I wanted some direction on this. However, for now, I need to train.



Stepping into the polygon, I had to admire the beauty of Beta Art’s wolf. He was gorgeous! Massive, clear-gold eyed, and even in his ferocious wolf form, there was something comforting about him. “I am not going to go easy on you”, he snickered through the mind link. Stepping into the polygon, it started snowing. Oh great, just great, I thought to myself. How will I battle the wolf, in the snow, with no magic? “I do not want to say I told you so, but I so told you so! You should have shifted!”, Vasilla was laughing, clearly enjoying this a little too much. I knew she was right, but here we are.



Art charged me, at first cautiously, until I got my bearing. For the most part, I was trying to evade his attacks, but the snow and forming ice on the ground made my movements slower and uncoordinated. I fell down a few times, and even though Art was saying he was not going to take it easy on me, I knew he let me slide – quite literally. “You need to be centered. You cannot spread your stance like that. Stand firm. When I am coming at you from the left, hit me with your right leg. Ideally, try to tackle me by jumping on my back. Your smaller size in this case could be an advantage”, he was instructing me.



He was right. My stance was all over the place and I was not paying attention to the footwork. I adjusted my feet based on his suggestions. I felt more stable, but now was the time to try to hit him. He charged me again, this time with more force. Coming to my right flank, I saw the opening and initially tried the left low leg kick. He was expecting that. However, at the last minute, I flipped and turned around and hit him with my right and finally landed a blow. This continued for a few minutes with varying degrees of success. “You need to tackle me; you need to learn how to take charge. Do not let my wolf form and size intimidate you!” he continued.



I did as I was told, but all this time I was on the defensive. I wanted to push forward and learn how to attack him, how to push through, imagining the real-life threats. I was getting tired and cold, my hair was starting to form icicles on it, and I was shivering, my lips getting blue and my whole body ached. Snowstorms within the polygon only intensified. However, we were not done yet, and I was running out of stamina and out of ideas as to how to try to best him. “Play dead”, Aisha chimed in. “What do you mean?? I do not understand?” “It is in wolf’s nature. We are curious creatures. He will not be able to resist the urge to come and inspect you, to hover over you. Lay down, pretend you are injured. When he comes over, kick him in the stomach. It will distract him enough for you to swoop over and jump him”, she said. It sounded like a good idea, but I was not a very good actress, not sure how to pull this off.



“Are you sure, Aisha???” “Absolutely! You can do it. Come on, show this brute his place!”, she chuckled. So, I did as she said. She was right. The very moment I slumped down, Art became alarmed and curious at the same time. Rushing over, his huge imposing figure was directly above me, luckily his belly in linear line over my knees. This was my chance, so I took it! Kicked him with full force, completely catching him off guard. He yelped and looked at me all shocked, giving me the exact opening. I needed to roll to the side from under him and jump on his back. He finally realized this was a ruse and tried to shake me off. I held on to him for dear life, trying to place his bulky head in a choke hold, only for him to roll over. We tussled for a few moments only for him to end up on top of me. “Nice move Princess. You are becoming a cunning little vixen!”, he laughed. “Come on, let’s get you out of here, this is enough for today.” Not a moment too soon, as I was freezing.



Stepping out of the polygon, he shifted back. Before I knew what he was doing, he tripped me playfully, but caught me, so I did not fall directly on the ground. We fell together, his body breaking the fall, his arms around me in a protective hug. He was completely naked, yet somehow having the warmth of his formidable body on top of me, pressing me gently felt like the best thing in the world. For the moment, time stopped. His breathing became faster, his eyes flickering gold, his face inches away from mine.

“Did I hurt you?”, he asked, moving my hair from my face gently, his hot breath on me. For the second, I was simply staring at him, watching his handsome face, enveloped in his body heat, mesmerized. Before I could answer, I found myself wrapping my arms around him, pulling him closer. Next thing I knew, his lips crashed on mine with urgency and passion.