Chapter 6 Readying for Combat
Lyra
Jorin and I have fallen into a rhythm. For the first few weeks that I’m with him, everything is about survival. He’s taught me how to track the small game that travels through the forest near our cabin, how to cover my tracks so as not to catch the attention of rogues, and how to make do with very little. Every night, I thank the Moon Goddess for bringing him to me. If he hadn’t found me chained to that tree when he did, I’d probably be dead.
The spring days are growing warmer, letting us know that summer will be here soon. One morning, after we finish breakfast, Jorin says, “Once we’ve dumped these bones and other bits, I think we should do some sparring. It has been some time since either of us received formal training, and although I have encountered rogues before, I believe we could both benefit from improving our combat abilities.
“That’s a good idea,” I say with a nod. “When we finally get the opportunity to fight Alpha Kaelen and his bastards, I want to be ready. More than ready.”
He chuckles. “I see the glint in your eye. You’re every bit the fighter you used to be, aren’t you?”
I say, “I’ve always been this way,” taking that as a compliment. “I guess it’s just in my blood.”
His smile fades slightly, and a shadow passes across his dark eyes before he nods and says. “Yes, I reckon that’s true. Hopefully, I can teach you a few things. This old man was quite the warrior back in the day.”
“First, you’re not old,” I remind him. “Second, I’m sure you can. I remember seeing you in training sometimes when I was younger and going to the class after yours. You were fierce. I bet being out here has made you even more so.”
“I’d like to think so.” He grins even wider at me. “All right then. Let’s run these scraps over to that clearing near the little brook, and we’ll find a good place to practice.”
He doesn’t have to tell me twice. The two of us shift and head in that direction. Once we’ve discarded the remains of our breakfast, we shift back into our human form and get dressed. While we often practice combat in wolf form, it’s always best to strengthen our human forms first because that also benefits our wolf.
“All right,” Jorin says, taking a stance called ready position. “Show me what you’ve got, young she-wolf,” he challenged.
I let out a chuckle, assess his posture, and then attack, flying in at him from his right. He blocks my kick and swings his fist around. I throw up my arm and keep him from contacting my torso and then bring my arm straight up. Jorin throws his head back, and I narrowly miss hitting him in the face. While we are going at full-speed, both of us are trying not to come full force so that we don’t harm one another if we should make contact, but there’s definitely a chance of us hurting one another. Anyone who hasn’t gotten hurt in a sparring match wasn’t doing their best.
This goes on for several minutes before he finally lands a blow to my side that stings. Seeing me wince, Jorin gives me some space. I take some deep breaths and recover quickly, but he doesn’t let me attack again yet.
“You’re not protecting your strong side,” he tells me. “I could’ve gotten in there a few times, but I eased into it. Whenever you see someone coming at your weak side, don’t forget to keep your guard up on your strong side, too.”
I listen carefully to what he’s saying. No one has ever pointed that out to me before in all the training I’ve ever done. “Can you show me?”
“Sure.” Jorin gets into position and tells me to try to kick him on the left but wheel on his right. I do exactly what he said, and he manages to block me on both sides. “As soon as they think you’ve gone all in on one side, they’ll try to exploit the other. Don’t let them. Did you see how I used my nondominant leg to keep your kick from landing?”
“I did.” It was a technique I’ve never seen before. “Would you mind showing me again?”
For the next hour or so, we walk through the steps, slowly at first, and then we speed up. By the time we’re finished practicing that, Jorin is unable to land any more blows on my strong side.
It’s getting dark by the time we decide to shift and head back home. We need to be safe in our cottage before the sun goes down so that we don’t run into any rogues. My body is sore, but my heart is light. Today’s practice did me some real good. As I run, I think about what it would be like to use the movements I just learned to kick Alpha Kaelen’s ass.
When we get to the cottage, Jorin lets me get cleaned up first. I’m still astonished that the man somehow managed to get running water into the house. I take a shower and let the water flow down my face. It’s not that warm, but I’m overheated from so much exercise anyway.
Not only am I dreaming about fighting Alpha Kaelen, I’m also thinking about Bram. It’s been too long since I got that letter from him, and I haven’t picked up his scent in the woods since then. I hope he’s okay and that no one found out he was trying to help me. I know that Jorin and I can’t defeat the Running River Pack alone. We’re going to need allies, and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have by my side than Bram.
An enormous bowl of stew is waiting for me when I get out of the shower. I thank Jorin for training with me and for all of his help. He blows me off like he always does, but I hope he knows he’s turning me into the sort of warrior who can make a difference. The people of Running River Pack need our help.
They just don’t know it yet.