Chapter 74: Chapter 74

~NATALIA~

My muscles quivered as I flared my nostrils. The door to my chambers flung open; I stopped right in my tracks when I realized who the intruder was.

Rolling my eyes, I pulled off the red leather top I wore, loosened my belt, and unzipped the trousers. I slid the robe over my body and stepped into the bathroom to have a shower.

"Are you seriously going to ignore my presence?" Talie nagged at me. I entered the tub… the cold water cascaded over my skin. I rarely bathe with warm water. After a long day at the training ground, I prefer to have cold water trail down my skin.

It is quite relieving, even with my teeth chattering. I could even pair it with ice cubes in the water, but Talie would be mad if I asked for it anyway.

The door to the bathroom was yanked open; she stomped her feet rudely as she sat on the edge of the tub. "Are you really going mute on me?" She scoffed. Fake hurt accompanied the scoff; I pressed my lips tightly as I closed my eyes to completely ignore her.

Jokes on me, apparently — no one can ever ignore Natalie. Not even me. She would go through any length to make sure she had your attention.

That talkative one splashed warm water on my face. A huff elicited from my lips; my irritation flickered towards her, but she shrugged it off like it was nothing.

"Did you know O'Lean's back?" She threw the question at me without caution. I closed my eyes once again; there was a tightness in the way I closed them.

So much for not wanting to think about him!

"I don't care about his presence or that of his pretty visitor!" The sarcasm rolled off my tongue, laced with spite — especially with the word pretty.

Talie smacked her lips before clapping her hands together. "Aha! So that was why you were moody."

"As if that would affect me! I was only annoyed because of how sore my fingers were at the training ground," I lied. Worry crossed my sister's face, forcing her to speak out of the mindlink we had been using.

She grabbed my hands to check them. "They are indeed sore!" she said. Watching her speak with her mouth caused my mood to shift; we had done so well speaking through the mindlink, but the pitying look from that young girl had almost made me drown in it.

I hate that I was born this way!

I hate that my voice can only be heard when it needs to destroy something or someone.

Realizing what she'd done, Natalie switched back to using the bond. "You need to stop practicing all the time. You need rest," she said.

I swallowed before sending a smile her way. "It has nothing to do with practicing. I will get rest, I promise."

"Good! I do not want to worry about you." A chuckle escaped my lips as I splashed water on her. Natalie tilted her head back laughing before doing the same.

We shifted our conversation from O'Lean to other things — stuff we'd missed out on in our lives — and it made me wonder how long I was going to miss out on the fun.

"How about we hang out? Just you and me?" I proposed. My words must have taken her aback because her eyes widened and her lips parted slightly.

"You don't want to?" I said hurriedly, but she shook her head.

"No, I am just surprised. Do you know how much I've missed hanging out with you alone? I'm in! We should spend time together soon," she agreed.

"Of course we should!"

\[The next day…\]

I was confused seeing most of the sentinels gathered around a spot in the training room. Giving in to my curiosity, I walked in that direction to see what was going on.

"This new girl is so good with swords," one of the men in the crowd said. I was amused, wondering who could be leaving these men so amazed.

I was always eager to welcome women into the training grounds; I felt proud and happy having one more woman in the vicinity of a male-dominated workplace.

"Delta O'Lean really knows what kind of women he likes — fierce and strong," another said, causing me to freeze. At that instant, as if on cue, the men moved aside, revealing the young lady — drenched in sweat — performing sword craft with ease.

The sight alone was enough to incur my wrath. The rate at which jealousy surged within me was terrifying; I had no idea how deep-rooted it was.

I watched in rage, calculating every move she made. She had no idea I was around; each step was effortless.

She balanced herself swiftly and smoothly. Her hair, pulled up in a bun, loosened when she swirled.

I swallowed, shaken on the inside. "She is too good!" another man spoke in a hushed tone.

"Well, if she trained harder she could beat Commander Natalia in a duel." Those words sparked inside my head.

Beat me?

Tch.

As if she could come close to me.

"Shush, Hakeem! How dare you say something so disparaging about our commander? Who can match against her apart from the Alpha and Beta Josie?" One of my men reprimanded the loose-tongued man.

I snorted.

They think my practice is for fun! They have no idea what training I have gone through — and this girl… she's nothing compared to me.

"Are you all going to watch her practice all day? Don't you have something to do?" I snapped at everyone in the room through the link.

Everyone started dispersing; my aura had already caused a shift in the room. Alia dropped the sword; she looked eager to speak to me. However, I ignored her and turned my attention elsewhere, intending to practice alone.

I would never let her get under my skin. That was something I intended to keep — there was a lot I needed to deal with.

"Umm… Commander, it's nice to meet you again!" she greeted me. I could hear her perfectly, so why was she trying to accompany her words with hand gestures?

"I know you can't speak back, but I heard you were good in combat, so I came here to learn from you," she said. It took great restraint not to push her away.

I pressed my fingers to my temple as I listened to her prattle. My patience was waning; she needed to be out of my sight as soon as possible.

Something caught my attention — her wrist had a tiny bracelet on it.

"Do you want this bracelet? Do you like it? I wish I could give it to you, but Biggie gave it to me as a gift," she explained.

I shot her a cold smirk.

O'Lean's Biggie now?

My lips twitched as I huffed and walked away, not giving her the chance to come near me. She was such a pretender… I was sure she had only come here to shove it down my throat that O'Lean was hers.

I wished I could stick my fingers down her throat and remove her tongue. Huffing, I looked back just in time to see O'Lean holding the young girl's hand — and he did it with pure affection, like she was a fragile princess.