Zeph’s POV
What is he thinking?
I felt my face heat up, torn between amusement and sheer embarrassment. I hadn’t expected to hear that kind of thought from Vixxen.
She will be pissed if she knows I think like this about her. I have to stop this.
I frowned slightly, a pang of guilt hitting me. As much as his thoughts had caught me off guard, I had invaded them without permission. He had every right to think whatever he wanted, and I had no right to pry.
I sighed, shutting off my mind from his thoughts. This power… it was more complicated than I thought. Sure, it was useful, but it also felt intrusive. I needed to be more careful.
Shaking off the thoughts, I focused on my bath. The warm water helped relax my mind, but a small part of me still lingered about what I had done.
I’ll tell him, I decided. And I’ll apologize.
Once I was dressed, I took a deep breath and stepped out of the room, ready to face Vixxen. I saw him leaning against the wall and hesitated. He looked lost in thought, arms crossed, he didn’t even notice I had stepped out.
“Hey,” I called.
He snapped his head up, blinking at me like he had been caught stealing cookies from a jar. “Uh—hey.”
“Why does it look like you were just caught doing something?” I asked. He avoided my gaze, laughing nervously.
“Oh, no reason,”
I raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? Because you look very guilty right now.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He coughed. “Anyway! Training. Let’s go.”
I grinned. “You’re deflecting.”
“I’m redirecting. There’s a difference.”
We got to the training grounds, where other warrior pack members had started their drills.
Vixxen stretched his arms, rolling his shoulders. “Alright, show me what you’ve got.”
I smirked. “Don’t be too sure of yourself.”
“I know that I will win.”
“We’ll see about that.”
We moved to an open spot on the field, ignoring the curious glances of the other warriors. Dropping into a stance, I focused on Vixxen’s movements, watching for an opening.
He lunged first, aiming for my side, but I twisted away and countered with a sweep of my leg. He jumped back just in time, grinning. “Nice try.”
“You’re not as fast as you think.”
He dashed forward again, this time feinting left before swinging at my right. I barely dodged, feeling the air shift as his fist skimmed past. I retaliated with a kick, but he caught my ankle and smirked.
“Gotcha.”
I smirked back. “Do you?”
Before he could move, I turned my body in the air, using my speed to knock his legs out from under him. He hit the ground with a noise, and I landed easily on my feet.
The warriors around us let out amused chuckles.
Vixxen groaned. “Okay, that was kind of impressive.”
I extended a hand to help him up. “Admit it. You underestimated me.”
He took my hand, pulling himself up. “Fine, fine. You got lucky.”
I rolled my eyes. “Actually, I—”
“Mind if I cut in?”
I turned to see Terran standing a few feet away, arms crossed, watching us. I didn’t understand his expression.
Vixxen dusted himself off. “Oh great, here comes the big boss.”
Terran ignored him and looked straight at me. “I came to check on your progress.”
His eyes flicked at Vixxen. “Looks like you’re getting good practice.”
I crossed my arms. “You want to spar?”
He gave a small nod. “If you’re up for it.”
Vixxen sighed dramatically. “Welp, that’s my cue to get out of the way before I get dragged into something.” He took a few steps back, gesturing at me. “Have fun.”
I smirked at him before turning to Terran. “What about your alpha duties?”
“They can wait.”
I rolled my shoulders, stretching slightly before settling into a ready stance. Terran stood across from me, waiting for me to take the first step.
“Whenever you’re ready,”
I didn’t waste time. I launched forward, aiming a strike at his ribs, but he sidestepped effortlessly.
Fine. I tried again, this time faking a left hook before sweeping low with my leg. But he jumped over it like it was nothing, landing lightly on his feet.
He is pretty fast, not surprised since he is the Alpha. I attacked again, throwing many fast punches and kicks, but no matter how fast I moved, Terran easily avoided them, didn’t look a bit tired. It was like I was fighting with the air. I made me realize how far I haven’t reached to calling myself strong.
“You have no idea how strong Vixxen actually is,” he commented as he sidestepped another one of my attacks. “He’s been going easy on you.”
I paused for half a second. “You’re joking.”
“Not at all.”
I stole a quick glance at Vixxen, who was watching with an amused expression, arms crossed. He gave me a lazy shrug as if to say, Oops, guess I’ve been holding back.
Oh, I was going to deal with him later.
I charged again, this time aiming for Terran’s shoulder. He finally blocked, catching my wrist mid-strike. I twisted, using my momentum to flip over his arm and land behind him, kicking at his leg.
He stumbled slightly. Finally.
But before I could do anything, he moved so fast and caught me by surprise. In a blur of movement, he grabbed my waist, turned, and pulled me down on the ground with him.
The world flipped.
The next thing I knew, we were on the ground—except I wasn’t just on the ground. I was on him.
And our lips—
Oh, hell no.
I was shocked when I realized what had just happened. Terran’s lips were on mine.
For a second, everything stopped.