Chapter 77:

Alley POV:

Waking up early has never been my thing, but we have to start training. Last night at dinner we decided that we will let people pick their workout partners. I already promised I would train Cassandra in the morning and my mother would train her after lunch. She is extremely eager to learn stuff, she told us girls last night that Jeremy tends to go overboard with protection but she never really thought much about it until they were attacked by a few rogues. She had no idea how to defend herself and it scared her and I could understand. Being a human and mated to a wolf is hard, humans are fragile and can be easily killed since they don't heal the same way that we do. She is right, she needs to know how to defend herself no matter what. We were all stretching before we broke off into pairs, I could tell that Cassandra was nervous her eyes were constantly moving, keeping everyone within eyesight. Jeremy on the other hand had his eyes on her. "Are you ready?" I asked her, offering a small smile. "As ready as I'll ever be I guess." Cassandra replied.
"You'll be fine, no worries. What do you think is the weakest point of your body?" I asked hoping she wouldn't take it the wrong way. "My arms are really weak, I can run fast though." She replied, wiggling her arms around. I bit my bottom lip to keep from laughing, she's got a sense of humor. "Okay well let's start with push ups. Let's say three sets of ten." I said, she quickly got in position, "place your hands the same width as your shoulders." I said as she adjusted her arms, I placed my hand on her back, "Lower just a little bit." When she was in the correct position I got on my own in front of her, "Ready?" I asked and she nodded her head. "Deep breath in when you go down, exhale when you push up." I said, I lowered myself and she followed what I did. We continued until our sets were done, she did better than I thought she would. "Stretch your arms out a little bit so they don't tense up." I said as I stretched out my own. Last thing I need is to get a cramp, "I think I'm good now. What's next?" Cassandra asked. Everyone else was busy sparing but I needed to see how hard she could hit.
''I need to see how hard you can hit so let's take a few minutes on the punching bags and then we will spare and I'll show you some stuff." I said standing to my feet extending my hand out to help her up. Once she was on her feet I passed her some gloves and showed her how to properly put them on, once they were on I placed her in front of the bag while I stood behind it firmly holding it. "Don't punch too hard at first, let yourself get use to it." I said, I kept my eye on her form because I didn't want her to hurt herself. She bounced from one foot to the other swinging her arms around to loosen up. She started with small punches that barely moved the bag, she gradually started to hit harder. Her form was actually really good, she didn't favor one side over the other so if she had a weak spot it was hard to figure out. She started hitting the bag as hard as she could and I have to admit she can hit. "I feel like I'm not even moving the bag." She said flustered. "You are moving the bag, the ones we have are heavier because of our strength, you're stronger than you think Cassandra. Never doubt yourself." I replied.
She peaked around the bag at me with a puzzled look. "I didn't know that these were heavier. I guess I should have thought." She replied, chuckling. "Why don't you go get some water and I'll set up some mats for us to spare." I said because she was sweaty and breathing hard. She nodded her head and walked back to her bag that she brought with her while I went to pick up some mats and set them down beside each other. I decided to stretch my limbs and see how everyone else was doing. I looked around to see most of the women teamed up with men and were doing a good job at keeping the same pace as them. They all look in great shape, "I'm ready." I heard Cassandra say breaking me from my thoughts. "Do you just want to start or learn techniques?" I asked. "Can we just start and you correct me along the way?" She asked, she looked pale because she was so nervous, "Of course we can and then after I can tell you what to look for when you're in a fight." I replied, getting into my stance. Feet were shoulder length apart and slightly bent, Cassandra mimicked what I did which is fine since she is learning.
We started circling each other and I watched as she eyed me up and down waiting for me to make a move. Her breathing was even with each circle we got closer to each other until we were close enough for her to make her first move, she lunged forward wrapping her arm around my neck pulling my head down, "Never go for the neck." I said as I elbowed her in the stomach, she sucked in a large breath and hunched over. "Always aim lower, protect your mid section." I said giving her a minute to regain her composure. I heard a growl behind me and I knew it was Jeremy. Cassandra held her hand up to him, "I'm fine, I have to learn." She told him with determination. She took her stance and came straight at me throwing a right hook, I grabbed her arm, spun her around and twisted her arm behind her back, "Take note of where the person's head is, you could easily throw your head back and do some damage." I said tilting my head to the side. "So what am I supposed to do?" She asked, "Use your elbow, drive it straight into whoever's gut as hard as you can. Go ahead I'll be fine." As soon as the words left my mouth she threw her left elbow in to my lower stomach. I stumbled backwards and she quickly spun around.