Chapter 188

Michael POV

"Michael," Cedric grumbles behind me as we walk towards the training arena. "What are you talking about? I'm not part of this pack. You're brother here is single," he says as he catches up to me. He jerks his thumb over his shoulder towards Peter. "You know, the big Alpha behind me, your brother."

"I know," I laugh. "Those women had their shot. Peter needs to find his mate, not some hook up from a woman who is looking for the next best thing."

Cedric snarls next to me. "I'm not hooking up with anyone. That's why I'm here, remember? I need to keep my head in one place, learning to be better, faster, stronger. I need to get that acceptance letter to try out for the King's Royal Army."

"If you say so," I shrug. "Let's hit the sparring match first, so I can see what you may or may not need to learn from me. After that, we can do some hand to hand weapons training if you aren't too tired."

"Are you trying to change the subject?" he asks.

"Yes. Yes, I am. Because you want to train, so that's what we are talking about. The other stuff, that's just me busting your balls," I say with a grin.

"So what you said wasn't true?" he asks.

"Oh no, it's very true. Just ask Peter. Right now, though, we focus on training. You don't have a lot of time here to learn from me, if there is even anything for me to teach you. Is that what you're going to wear?" I ask, noticing he's wearing black denim jeans and a button-up shirt.

"No, I have gym gear," he says. "I left it in a locker this morning when I came down to check out the weights."

"Good. We can train in human form for a few days, but at some point, we will have to shift and see how your wolf matches up against mine," I turn back and say over my shoulder. "What do you think, Pete? You want to train too?"

"Yeah, why not. You're taking over the warriors, so I may as well brush up some. Besides, you had all that fancy training. It benefits us all," he says. "I'm going to run home and change. I will meet you at the sparring mats." He's gone before I can answer. Cedric and I continue towards the locker room in silence. When we reach the door, we both go inside, find our respective lockers, and change into shorts. Neither of us bothers to put on a shirt or shoes. This is going to be hand-to-hand combat for starters.

When Cedric reaches the sparring mat, I'm on the floor stretching out. His dark skin glistens in the overhead lights, and a thick scar across his lower abdomen catches my eye. I nod towards it. "What's that from?"

Cedric looks down and then back at me. "Hunters," he answers. That's all he gives me, so I don't press. I stand and motion for him to square off. "I'm just going to come at you, you block me if you can, and if you're able to get on the offensive, do it. Don't hold back. I need to see what you can do. The only rule right now is that we don't shift. No kill shots. Understand?" I ask.

"I got it," he replies.

Cedric is a big man, muscled in ways that only hard work can get you, despite our genetics. He cracks his neck and readies his arms up in a protective gesture as I come toward him. I rush him, but right at the moment that I know he thinks I will swing, I slide, my legs coming down to the mat to sweep his. He pulls his forearms up and then to late, realizes what I've done. He doesn't have time to react; his back hits the mat hard, and a rush of air leaves his lungs. He's quick, though; he recovers as quickly as I do and rolls to his feet. We are square off again, and this time I do hit him. First a right jab comes up to hit his stomach, and he steps to the side, so my fist grazes his flank. I watch his movements and see that he's going to step, so my left comes up at the same time and clocks him in the side of the head. "Fuck," he grumbles and shakes his head, taking a step back.

I choose this moment to do a cyclone kick, knocking him over, and he falls on his hands and knees. I'm on his back before he even realizes I've moved, my forearm around his neck in a choke hold. I squeeze harder, and he tries to stand, but I'm too heavy. He drops his leg down, throwing me off balance, and we roll to the side. I still have my arm around his neck, but now I'm on my back and his weight is on top of me. He's trying to break free, but is not having much luck. I can feel him starting to fade, so I give him some advice. "Place your feet flat on the mat and use your legs to push up. You will feel my arm loosen automatically if you do it fast enough. This gives you a moment to try and use your legs as leverage to push off and get my arm from around your neck." Cedric does precisely what I tell him. I do not intentionally let go, but let him figure it out on his own. A moment later, he's free of me and panting on the mat to catch his breath. I stand, looking down at him, nodding. "Good. That was your first lesson." Peter has joined us and stands off to the side of the mat, clapping.

"That's a pretty good move," Peter says. "I haven't seen that before. They teach you that in some fancy martial arts training?"

"They teach you that in the death pit," I reply.

"The what?" Peter says.

"Death Pit," Cedric says. "It's where they send the ones they think are their finest fighters, because if you aren't the best, you're going to die in that pit."

"You fight to the death?" Peter asks, stupefied. "On purpose?"

"Very few actually die," I reply. "Most of us have an understanding beforehand, you can tap out or be killed. There are only a select few assholes who won't agree to a tap out."

"What about you, brother?" Peter asks. "Did you kill someone?"

"I did. Had no choice. That move right there, that's what saved my life."

"See," Cedric says. "This is the kind of stuff I need you to teach me. You are the only one who can."

"Who told you that?" I say.

"The King," he answers. "He said you were the best he'd ever seen." I didn't even know the King knew who I was, but I did know he was there the day of the death pit trials. Rumor had it that the werewolf I killed was a General in the King's Army. Usually, if you kill one of the ranking members of the King's Army, he requests that you fill the void. No such request had been made, but I had a feeling that if he told Cedric about it and Cedric was now in front of me, this was the King's way of collecting the debt. If training Cedric prevents the King from ever demanding I serve on his guard, then that is precisely what I will do.