Chapter 106 Awakening pt 2
Duncan
Possibly because we'd been blessed by the Goddess, or possibly because we were blessed wolves, our marks were not typical. It hadn't crossed my mind when we were getting dressed, but seeing our moms' reactions to them brought it to the forefront. Seren's workout gear showed hers almost fully, while my t-shirt covered a sizeable chunk of mine.
"Congratulations, you two!" Mom was bouncing on her feet. "I'm so excited! Seren, I'm so happy you're my bonus daughter!" She wrapped her arms around Seren, who had a look of complete bewilderment on her face.
Queen Gwen hugged my mate as soon as Mom let her go, whispering quietly into her ear. Then she moved to me, giving me a squeeze before stepping back and taking Seren's hand in hers, lifting her arm up to look at her mark more closely.
A shimmering silver filigree started at Seren's wrist, intricate and feminine, wrapping around her elemental symbols as it climbed her arm. There was a clear gap in the design where I assumed her new power would imprint once she manifested it. The delicate lines wrapped over her shoulder, along her collarbone, and up the side of her neck. The space where I sank my teeth last night now held a detailed crescent moon with a crown above it.
The masculine version of her mark graced my skin. Heavier lines with a more tribal bent, they surrounded my power signs—along with a new one. The new power manifested as three eyes in a pyramid shape, the bottom two eyes closed with the top third eye open. I pulled the neck of my shirt to the side so that they could see the matching moon, which I knew from my exam this morning also carried a crown, though I was unsure why I would be marked as royal.
Queen Gwen smiled when she saw it. "The Goddess has accepted you as a royal's mate. You're now a prince, Duncan. And any children you and Seren have will be considered full-blooded royals."
My mouth worked, opening and closing as I tried to come up with some kind of response. "Hmph." The women burst into laughter as we moved to our seats.
They let me have my silence as I processed. Mom turned to Queen Gwen. "We need to have her dress altered to remove the strap on the left side. Her mark should be in full view, with no impediments for the ceremony." Gwen nodded in agreement. "That mark makes it clear they have the Goddess's full support. I've never seen one so magnificent."
"About that," Seren spoke up, then glanced at me. When I nodded, she continued. "We had another visit last night."
Tristan and Lucian joined us on the back training field. This was a smaller field, but more private. I wanted to keep Seren out of general training until after the Luna Ceremony. Knowing that we already had a concern about Lenore, I was doing everything I could to reduce the chances of an attack disguised as a learning experience.
"First, we need to assess where you're at already. Have you had any training at all, even as a pup?" I asked my mate.
She shook her head. "We were forbidden. I think Alpha James was afraid that the omegas would fight back if we had any kind of training."
'You have me, sweet girl. Trust me and your instincts,' Kara's warm, melodic voice whispered through my head. Now I knew what Seren felt when she heard Conn this morning.
"Kara's right, little mate. Sometimes the key to winning a fight is simply to be in tune with your wolf and trust them to lead you." Tristan and Lucian nodded in agreement. "Now, let's go through the steps."
We spent an hour going through basic self-defense movements, leaning heavily on how to get away from an attacker. Her natural grace came through clearly when we moved on to introductory-level taekwondo forms. She picked up each movement quickly, obviously in sync with Kara, as she powered through them. After another hour, I deemed it time for her to put those moves into practice against an opponent.
"Tristan, you're up. Basic sparring, light contact, just give her an idea of what it's like to put those movements to use against a person."
He nodded, coming over to face Seren. They bowed, then began circling. Seren struck out with her foot; Tristan dodged. He was taller, with longer arms, and had reach on his side. He used that to get in a few hits—a tap to her shoulder, a tap to her thigh. Her breathing became labored as she continued, frustration clear in her furrowed brows and narrowed eyes.
'Trust your instincts, Seren. Work with Kara,' I linked her.
With a shake of her arms, she inhaled deeply and re-centered herself. Her movements sped up as she used her wolf talents, and she was able to dodge Tristan's blows. After another minute or so, she finally landed a kick to the back of Tristan's knee. She spun and squealed, "I did it!"