192
Lucy
Someone gasped beside me. “No way.”
Lucian hummed. “Impressive.”
“What?”
“Casting a restraint on a shifter to keep them from shifting is a very hard piece of magic,” Lucian said. “He’s… definitely been practicing.”
Duke laughed. “When would he have the time? I swear he barely sleeps.”
He huffed. “The more I think about it, the more irritated I am about it. No one nags him when he doesn’t sleep.”
I watched as the rest of his opponents struggled to keep up, their defenses slowly chipping away under his relentless assault. As the battle raged on, I could almost see the way his magic changed. It changed colors as he used different attacks and strategies. He was focused, his concentration unwavering as he anticipated his opponents' moves and countered with his own.
With a final, well-placed strike, David disarmed the last of his opponents, sending their staff flying through the barrier and clattering to the ground. The others groaned, still struggling to get up after being beaten down. David's chest heaved as he caught his breath, a triumphant smile gracing his lips.
The applause from the watching crowd started, but before it even got started, the instructor darted forward.
I gasped as the man slammed his hand straight through David’s staff, breaking it in half. David stumbled back, barely catching his balance before going on the defensive against the instructor.
Lucian chuckled. “What the hell did David tell him?”
I bit my lip, watching the instructor keep David on the defensive with every punch and kick. He was so fast, faster than David had been. He shifted into a different large cat and caught David in the shoulder, tearing through his shirt. David stumbled aside as the instructor shifted into his human form again in midair, twisted, and landed a kick that sent David skidding aside.
The instructor bounced on his toes. “Come on, David. Show me some teeth.”
David bared his teeth and darted forward.
“You think whoever you’re worried about is going to let you catch your breath?”
I frowned, listening to his words as he slammed his knee into David’s gut. David stumbled and skidded back, falling to the ground and quickly rolling onto his feet. He dodged a bolt of lightning, then another, tumbling and shifting in a whirl of darkness that spread out across the training ground.
“What is that?”
Lucian said nothing, staring into the darkness with glowing eyes. The girls seemed sad not to be able to see anything. Light flashed through the darkness. I felt the heat of a fire, then water splashed somewhere, and slowly, the darkness lifted. David was panting, exhausted, but half his staff rested on the instructor’s shoulder. The other half was in the instructor’s hand, thrust against David’s chest.
The instructor laughed and stepped back. “So there are those teeth! You finally figured it out, hm?”
David dropped to the ground, panting. “I… have no idea how I did that.”
The instructor hauled him to his feet and turned to the rest of his class.
“Get up the rest of you. Three on one again. Go take a seat, David. Get that arm checked.”
David nodded and headed towards the bench, bent over and panting.
Watching him fight had ignited a fire within me, a desire to become stronger and more in tune with my own magic. I wanted to be able to defend myself like that…
I wanted to be able to stand by his side as an equal. The thought shook me with how strong it felt.
We watched a few more fights until their class was over. As we walked away from the training hall, my thoughts were a whirlwind. We gathered our things, preparing to head back to the White Moon Pack Estate in one of the Blood Moon Escort vehicles.
"You know, you could always challenge David to a friendly spar," Duke suggested with a mischievous glint in his eye.
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, right. Like I stand a chance."
“It’ll be good to work out some frustrations. Maybe a little wrestling…”
My face heated as he laughed. “You aren’t funny!”
“I’m hilarious. These competitions must be crazy.” Duke leaned in, his voice conspiratorial. "Maybe he’s planning something.”
My eyebrows shot up. "Like what?”
“Like asking for a favor and dedicating a fight to you.”
I scowled at him. “Shut up.”
David walked towards us with a bandage around his arm.
“Yo!” Duke called. “You need a ride?”
He laughed. “I’ll take one. Are you headed home or to White Moon?”
“White Moon.”
"You were amazing," I said, “I was … totally shocked.”
He smiled. His eyes flashed. “Thanks. Eventually, you’ll be out there doing the same, Miss Officer.”
I smiled and shuffled my feet. Then, I remembered that I forgot my water bottle.
“I got to go back.”
“We’ll wait,” Duke said. “Lucian said he’d ride back with us.”
“I won’t take long!”
I hurried back inside and down the corridor. I got my water bottle from the training grounds, but as I walked away, I was approached by a woman, a witch, by her attire. Her eyes held a strange intensity as she stared at me. The shadows seemed to grow deeper around us, but I could still see people down the hallway.
"Lucy," she said, her voice low and almost eerie, "there's no escaping the fate the Moon Goddess has carved out for you."
I stopped in my tracks, a shiver running down my spine. Was she related to those people that tried to kill me? Was she here to try and kidnap me? I swallowed, clenching my hands.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I replied, my voice a little shaky despite my attempt to sound composed.
She leaned in closer, her eyes locked onto mine, unwavering. "You must fall in line, Lucy. The consequences of defiance are dire. You will destroy everything unless you embrace your destiny."
Her words were chilling, but I was not about to be swayed by cryptic warnings.
"I make my own choices," I retorted, pushing away the unease that was settling in the pit of my stomach. “And just like I told her, I don’t want the destiny she’s carved out for me. Pick someone else.”
I thought of David. “I want to be happy.”
“You will be happy if you just do as you’re told, you little brat.”
I went still. “Why is this so important? If she’s so powerful and it’s so important, why not pick someone else? Why keep hounding me? There are plenty of werewolves who’d love to do what she wants me to do.”
The woman's lips curled into a sardonic smile. "You're a stubborn one, aren't you? But mark my words, Lucy, if you don't heed the call, if you don't surrender to the role the Moon Goddess has chosen for you, people you care about will die."
My heart raced, and I could feel my anger building up. How dare she threaten me like this?
"I don’t care about your threats," I shot back, my voice growing stronger. "If there's a fight coming, I won't back down from it, and no one who cares about me would want me to just give in to be miserable."
The woman's eyes held a mix of frustration and something else – a hint of fear, perhaps?
"You're playing with fire, Lucy. The first massacre will look like a picnic compared to what's to come."
My stomach flipped. What massacre? Was she talking about White Moon’s fall? Had the Moon Goddess been behind it? I wanted to ask her more, but I didn’t want to be around her any longer, either. My patience was wearing thin, and I was done with this cryptic conversation.
"Leave me alone," I snapped, taking a step back.
She laughed. It chilled my blood as it sounded a lot like the Moon Goddess. And just like that, she was gone, vanished as if she had never been there. I was left standing alone. The shadows returned to normal. My heart was pounding, and my mind was racing. Who was she?
Before I could dwell on it any further, I felt a presence behind me. I turned to find Lucian approaching, his brow furrowed in concern. "Lucy, are you alright?"
I let out a sigh, the tension slowly leaving my shoulders. "B-Better now…”
“Something happened?”
I nodded. “A witch, I think. She said most of the same thing, but then she said that the first massacre would look like a picnic, but what did she mean by that?”
He studied me for a moment before placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. "We’ll talk about it… For now, let’s just head out, hm?”
I nodded, grateful for his presence. With his reassurance, the lingering unease from the encounter started to fade. But deep down, I couldn't shake the feeling that wouldn’t be the last warning, and if it was, then we were going to be in bigger trouble than we thought sooner rather than later.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
