Chapter 25 ~Trial by combat~
Fiona's POV
Xander sniffed the air, pacing around, his face scrunched in concentration.
He can sniff Beckett. Rhia echoed in my mind.
I knew this.
But the revelations that had only just come to light filled me with numbness.
“Who was here?” He faced me, his brows knotted in mystery.
The words that hooked my throat had softened up. I cleared my throat. “Xander, I need to tell you something. I can't shift; I can't shift into my wolf.”
A look passed across his face, but aside from that, he looked pretty unperturbed by what I just told him. “You did well for your first Silvereign full moon hunt.”
I sunk into the ground, sitting by the bonfire. “I did nothing.”
“You stayed.” He said, sitting beside me. “That's more than most wolves do on their first night.”
I shook my head and smiled. I just realized how much I'd missed Xander's company, his reassurances.
I looked at him through the sides of my eyes, the way his moist, taut skin glistered under the bonfire light, his tussled hair. He looked heavenly, like he wasn't one of us.
He spoke after such a long time. “You know what I said to you that day we had a fight over Nova, I didn't mean it.”
I knew. I know. “I don't want to see you around Nova.” I blurted.
A smirk was plastered on his lips as I turned to look at him.
“Yes, ma'am.”
“Or any female, for that matter.”
He nodded and faced me. “You know I like this side of you,”
I looked into his eyes as he leaned in to plant a kiss on my needy lips.
His left hand was pressed against my lower back.
I kissed him back, matching the fervency, the wet, sloppy sounds our locked lips made filled the quiet of the woods, the moon illuminating us.
A cough from the back had us breaking away quickly.
It was Calvin, his eyes colored with second hand embarrassment. “Alpha, I came looking for you because you left the hunt abruptly."
“Asshole.” Xander cursed, but a small smile played around his lips. My cheeks colored red, and I buried my face in Xander's shoulder.
The pack was returning from the hunt, shifting to their human forms mid air.
You could feel the excitement oozing off them, firelights spread across the clearing.
The music started and soft drums, ancient rhythm and humming voices rose under the full moon.
I stared at Xander; he looked down at me.
He kissed my forehead, and I giggled.
The pack danced and laughed around the bonfire behind us.
I could feel the early morning cold go through my spine as I stood in front of the training grounds.
I felt sleepy, but I was determined to finish today's training with a flourish.
The omega girl who'd been stealing soft, curious glances at me walked up to me and bowed respectfully. “Luna, you're here so early.”
“Yeah, I need to go through some training.” I looked at her kind, innocent face. She was barely sixteen. “What's your name?”
“Mirabelle, Luna.” She smiled sweetly. “I'm in charge of cleaning the training grounds and cooking the warrior's meals… alongside my brother, Bibo.”
I turned to see her brother. He was a cute six-year-old hiding in the back and peeping from behind a wall.
I waved at him. “Hey.”
He giggled, jumped up, and ran inside.
Mirabelle laughed. “He's quite shy.”
“He's very cute.”
She nodded. “If you need anything, Luna, we're in that cottage.” She pointed to a small house near the training grounds.
I nodded.
The sun had almost risen in the skies- and I spent most of this time going through some basics alone- before they finally started arriving.
Some warriors arrived first. They greeted, their eyes never leaving me.
They were probably wondering what I was doing here. Some watched with curiosity, others with judgement.
Elders Cyrus and Julius arrived next. They stood side by side next to the grounds, whispering to themselves like vultures waiting for something to die.
I swallowed.
I wasn't expecting so many people here, but I knew this was their way of gauging me. It was, after all, my first official training as Luna.
Loki soon arrived alongside Vivienne.
“We came to watch, Luna. Don't worry, you won't even notice we're here.” Vivienne said, snickering.
Who would come next? Edgar?
They'd insisted I learnt everything; combat, diplomacy, pack history, and the responsibilities of leading beside the Alpha.
The commander was a tall female with pixie cut hair.
“Hi, Luna. I'm Larsson, and the alpha assigned me to be your trainer.” She greeted curtly. “We'll start with the basics. Hand to hand combat, no shifting and definitely no weapons.”
I nodded, mentally preparing myself. I could see that clearly some people didn't want me here and were looking for reasons to call me unfit.
Larsson moved forward, her muscles flexing as she moved. “Ready yourself.”
Her fist came fast with a whoosh past my ears. I staggered, surprising myself that I could duck in time.
Some warriors whispered. Larsson didn't look impressed, or maybe just neutral.
Larsson's next move came just as quickly, only this time I wasn't able to move out of the way in time. I landed on the floor with a loud thud from the impact of her blow.
Elder Cyrus tsked. “Very Sloppy. Unfit for a Luna.”
Elder Julius agreed. “We warned Alpha Xander that an outsider would weaken the pack. Just see.”
Heat crawled up my cheeks, partly from humiliation, mostly from anger.
I stood up, not looking at anyone.
“Again. Ready yourself.” Larsson gave a small, encouraging nod.
For the next hour, I locked in, discovering the only way I could do this was by blocking outside noise. ’Cause that’s all it is—just noise.
I was blocked. Landed a couple of blows. Fell. I stood up again.
But in all, I never gave up, not even when my palms split or when the aches came in torrents.
The combat ended with my hair all sweaty and plastered on my face. I was panting from exhaustion.
Larsson barely looked like she'd moved a muscle. “Not bad. I look forward to training with you more, Luna.
Next came leadership training, then learning about pack protocols, ceremonial rights and pack lineage.
The elders corrected, interrupted, and twisted my words. But, I could feel my confidence growing layer by layer.
I wasn’t perfect… yet, but my effort was what mattered most.
By the time evening came, I was bruised and exhausted.
I decided to go back into my room, but by the hallway I heard some whisperings of my name.
I stopped by the closed doorway.
“...Fiona, she didn't even give up.” I could make out Vivienne's voice.
Loki’s laugh followed a few minutes later, sharp and mocking. “Not yet. But don't worry, we'll make sure she does.”
His comment came as a stab to my chest. The cruelty had me almost reeling backwards.
But I'd been through worse at Ashridge, and I would overcome this too.