Chapter 123 Day Three

Chapter 123 Day Three
Rune POV.

Thirty-four days until Viktor. Thirty-four days of brutal training.

This is day three of intensive training. Every muscle in my body aches. Purple bruises bloom across my ribs. My thighs. My arms. Evidence of yesterday's sparring sessions. My hands are blistered from gripping weapons for hours.

But I'm getting better.

This morning, I blocked an attack that would have broken my nose on day one.

Dawn breaks over the training grounds. Painting everything gold and red. Warriors gather. Some moving stiffly like me. Others with easy grace. All determined.

Logan waits near the weapons rack. Two practice knives gleam in early light.

"Ready?" He asks.

"Always." I take the blade he offers.

My fingers wrap around the hilt automatically now. Three days ago, I held it like it might bite me.

"Close-quarters combat today." Logan announces to nearby warriors. "Knife fighting. When you're too close for swords. Too desperate for planning."

He moves behind me. His chest presses against my back. I feel his heat even through our training leathers.

"Grip needs adjustment." He says. Hands cover mine on the blade.

We both know my grip is fine. We've done this drill a dozen times. But his fingers reposition mine anyway. Thumb here. Fingers wrapped this way. Palm pressure just so.

His breath warms my neck. "Feel the balance?"

"Yes." Though I'm feeling far more than weapon balance.

"Good. Now stance." His hands slide to my hips. "Feet wider."

He uses his boot to nudge my feet apart. His hands press down on my hips. Lower me. Test my core strength.

"Better." His voice is rougher.

Around us, warriors are pairing up for their own drills. But several keep glancing our way.

"They're staring."

"Let them." Logan responds. Hands still on my waist. "They need to see their leaders working together."

"Is that what we're calling this?"

His low laugh vibrates against my back. "Would you prefer I call it foreplay?"

"I'd prefer you actually teach me something." Though my body disagrees.

"I am teaching you." Logan demonstrates a strike sequence with his arms guiding mine. "Teaching you exactly where I'll touch you later. How I'll position you. What I'll do when I finally get you alone."

My breath catches. "Logan."

"Focus, little wolf."

We drill for an hour. By the end, I'm sweating. Sore. Desperately aroused.

Across the grounds, Cassandra and Garrick have drawn their own audience. They're sparring with intensity that makes my sessions with Logan look gentle.

Cassandra lands a brutal hit to Garrick's ribs. He doesn't flinch. Just retaliates by sweeping her legs. She rolls. Comes up attacking. Neither holding back.

The sexual tension radiating from them is palpable.

"They're going to kill each other or fuck each other." Logan observes quietly.

"Probably both."

✦ ✦ ✦✦ ✦ ✦

Day Five. Thirty-two days until Viktor.

Evening session. The sun bleeds red across the western sky. Painting the training grounds in shades of blood and fire.

Pack practices coordinated combat. Fighting in pairs. Learning to move as units instead of individuals.

Logan and I demonstrate for the assembled warriors.

"Watch. When fighting together, you're not two individuals. You're one unit with two bodies."

We move into position. He attacks left while I defend right. I strike high while he goes low. We flow around each other like water. Never colliding. Always complementing. Absolutely synchronized.

The mate bond makes it effortless. I feel where he'll move before he does it. He anticipates my strikes without seeing them.

We demonstrate complex combinations. Feints. Counters. Coordinated attacks.

I spin. He ducks under my blade. He strikes. I'm already opening the defense. Back to back, we defend simultaneously. Face to face, we attack in perfect tandem.

We end tangled together. My back against his chest. His arm across my throat in demonstration hold. Both breathing hard.

"That's partnership." Logan says to the watching pack. Not letting me go. "Using your bond as weapon. Making your connection strength instead of vulnerability."

Through the bond: his desire matching mine. Five days of constant touching. Constant proximity. Constant restraint.

We're both at breaking point.

The pack disperses to practice. Spreading across the grounds in pairs.

Logan's hand is still on my waist. My fingers still gripping his forearm.

"We need to stop."

"We should." Logan agrees.

Neither of us moves.

"Training is officially over."

"So it is."

Then his fingers tighten on my hip. "Now."