Chapter 34: A warrior's student

Amina’s POV

Travis had pulled me out of my daydream when he sat next to me. I hadn’t spoken to him since my brief naked stunt a month ago and I had only seen him in passing.

“What?” I asked a little puzzled as to why he’d plant himself next to me.

“You’ve been sitting here for a month, watching people train. It’s creepy. If you want to fight, join them!”

“I can’t…” I hesitated. “I’m human.”

“I said join them, not kill them. Because that you really can’t do." He chuckled at the thought of me trying. "Let your friends teach you a few defensive moves.”

“They’re under strict orders not to train me.”

“From who?” He asked seeming shocked and I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.

“Benji, their Alpha and my mate.” I said staring at him.

“Oh.” He replied, looking away from me. “I’m surprised. You would think that Alpha Benjamin wouldn’t want to leave his Luna defenceless. What a shame.” He let out and earned himself a scoff from me.

I was about to put him in his place when it dawned on me that Travis could have been my only hope to ever learn how to fight against werewolves. I turned my entire body to face him and showed off my biggest smile.

“Travis…” I purred his name as he side-eyed me. “Maybe you could help me with training?” I asked in my softest voice.

“You’re crazy!” He burst out laughing. “Last time that you went against your mate, I was thrown across a dance floor!” He added as he remembered our first encounter.

“Yes, but this time, he doesn’t have to know. We could meet in secret.” I pleaded with him.

“Hell no!” He got up and started walking away from me.

I couldn’t let him go, especially not when I felt that he was the only one who could give me a chance. I didn’t know why, but I knew that Travis cared for me. Even if we didn’t know each other very well, there was something there. I felt it and I knew that he did too. I decided to keep pushing hoping that he would care enough to come through for me.

“What about you?” I asked gaining back the distance that he had put between us. “You would really leave me defenceless against your kind? If a wolf kills me, Travis, you’ll be the first one that I’ll hunt as a ghost.”

“Well, if you’re gonna’ throw ghosts in there…” He chuckled before he paused to consider his final answer. “Fine, I’ll train with you. No one can find out though. I might not be from his pack, but Benjamin can still kick my ass.”

I was so happy to finally have someone who would help me that I jumped straight into his arms to hug him. He was taken aback by my sudden outburst of joy but quickly held me tightly against him.

“Damn, I should’ve held out a bit more. Maybe then you would’ve kissed me.” He winked as he placed me back on my feet.

My entire faced heated up from embarrassment as he walked away from me. Benjamin was right, Travis really was a cocky man but he was also the only one willing to help me and that made him alright in my eyes. We agreed to meet right before dawn the next day to begin my training. Benjamin had left two nights ago to follow new trails so there was nothing standing in my way.

The following morning, I pulled into the gym’s parking lot and noticed quite a few numbers of cars already parked. Werewolves took their training very seriously. I met up with Travis who had been waiting at the far end of the building. I began to worry that someone might see us and report it back to Benjamin but Travis took my hand and led us towards a heavy rusting backdoor. We entered was a long-neglected combat room. The air felt dense with dust and the room had been completely emptied out of any sign of life. The floors were covered with torn up mats and the large weapons' wall was all but ransacked.

“We can’t train here.” I said looking around slightly disgusted.

Travis laughed as he threw his gym bag onto the floor.

“Sure, we can. It’s this or we go out to the new gym and work out in front of everyone.”

“How’d you even find this place?”

“I did some scouting last night. I told you, Mina. Nobody can know about this.”

On that point, he and I agreed. It was bad enough that I kept so much of my past hidden from Benjamin but I couldn’t let him find out, on top of it all, that I was defying his direct orders with his rival, nonetheless. I placed my bag on the floor and tied my curls up, resigning myself to this place.

“Okay! Teach me how to kill you.” I said walking up towards him with my fists up.

“Cute.” He smiled putting his hands on my clenched ones and lowering them. “Like I said, you can’t kill a werewolf. You’re human. You’re weak. You’re slow. You’re an easy prey and a quick kill.”

I was getting offended and I opened my mouth to tell him off but Travis swept my feet from under me and sent my entire body flying backwards.

“That’s what any werewolf looking at you is going to think.” He said leaning over my body laid flat out on the floor. “And that’s where your advantage lays. They’ll underestimate you and hopefully, they’ll do it long enough for you to stand a chance.”

He stood back up and offered me his hand to help me up.

“That’s what I’m going to teach you, Mina. Not how to kill, but how to survive. How to stand on your own until you can get help or run away.”

“I’m okay with that.” I smiled accepting his hand.

We spent every morning of that week with each other inside the isolated and desolated combat room. Travis stayed true to his words and taught me all of the basics of self-defence. He spent hours delivering blow after blow while showing me how to protect myself from them. Our sparring sessions proved to be a lot more demanding and gruelling that I had ever imagined they could be. Any delusions that I ever had about being an athletic woman quickly went out the windows. I was exhausted after each session and my body cried out from pain every night whilst laying in my bed. Travis on the other hand, just like every other werewolf I watched, seemed to be barely feeling any pain.

“Come on, Mina! Focus!” Travis yelled at me as he punched my stomach forcefully. “Block my hits!”

I coughed uncontrollably as I gasped for air.

“Don’t act so weak! It’s pitiful!”

“Watch it!” I tried to warn in a raspy voice, still reeling in from the blow.

“Watch what? How worthless you are?” He kept on badgering me. “Seriously, you’re pathetic!”

His words pulled me into a world of darkness and in an instant, Travis’s face contorted as it transformed into Micheal’s. Travis was no longer the man standing in front of me, spatting out foul words at me. I could only picture Micheal. My fear became all too real when he ran towards me with his right arm up, ready to knock me out. Just before he could strike my face, I put up my left hand to block his attack and slapped him with all of my strength just like I wished I had done for so many years. I shoved him away from me with my hands and landed a punch on his jaw. My fear quickly morphed into unrestrained rage as I leaped on Micheal causing the both of us to fall down. My fingers never left his neck as I tightened my grip around it, wanting to strangle him. He swiftly rolled us around and laid on top of me. His arm pressed against my neck choking me in turn. This time, he wasn’t going to succeed. This time, I wouldn’t allow it. I sunk my teeth deep into his arm until his blood dripped down the back of my throat. Micheal winced and stumbled trying to remove his arm which allowed me to gain the upper hand. I crawled back onto my knees and lunged at him again. I slapped, punched and scratched him ruthlessly until he tossed my body violently to the side.

My head hit the matted floor roughly and it took me second to come back to my senses. That’s when I noticed a bloodied and shirtless Travis crouching between my legs. I didn’t say a word as he grazed the bump forming on my forehead.

“Who was he?” He asked me softly. “The man that hurt you… Who was he?”

The tears dripping out of my eyes were the only answers that I could give him. He settled behind me and pulled my body and my face into his chest. His steady heartbeat and the warmth of his body provided me with some much needed comfort as I slowly overcame my emotions. I couldn’t help but notice that, just like Benjamin, Travis had a powerful calming scent to him. I looked up at the warrior and really saw him for the first time. Many strands of his long dark brown hair were hanging loose on his face. His brown beard hid most of his face but showed off his soft looking pink lips. There were golden flecks all over his hazel eyes that made me think of sunlight. He truly was a good looking man. Travis wiped my tears away with one hand and slowly leaned in towards my face.

Before I could react in any way, the heavy door we used every morning swung open and we were left blinded by the daylight pouring in.

“Mina! What the fuck is this?”