Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Lila
The moment I stepped into the training grounds, I felt it: eyes, whispers… that crawling, stinging sensation that spread across my skin like a rash couldn’t scratch.
“She must be sleeping with him. Why else would the king train her?”
“Did you see the way he touched her
yesterday? Shameless.”
“I bet she planned it. Slapped how t
The voices weren’t even hushed. They
get his attention.”
letting me know that I didn’t belong. That I wasn’t one of them.
And they were right. Except I wasn’t trying to belong, I was just trying to get through this so my mother would survive.
Vanessa stepped into my path like a snake slithering from tall grass.
“You must be so proud,” she said sweetly.
everyone gets to be the King’s little pet project.”
I kept walking. I wasn’t in the mood for another round of verbal sparring with Vanessa. But she wasn’t done.
“Tell me, Elena,” she called after me, “do you earn his attention in the sparring ring, or between the sheets?”
I stopped.
Not because I was angry, though I was, but because if I turned around now, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stop myself from doing something that would get me disqualified from this entire competition.
Like punch her in the throat, tempting as that was.
I glanced over my shoulder, giving her the smallest smile I could muster. “If you had earned any of his attention, you might know the answer.”
Her expression twitched just enough to satisfy me. I didn’t need to throw punches when words landed just as hard.
I headed to the far end of the field, already preparing myself for another ass kicking, just in case.
But there was no way Damon would actually show up today. He had made his point yesterday; established dominance, publicly humiliated me, and riled up my wolf.
That was plenty for one week.
I scanned the training field out of habit more than hope–and then I saw him.
Damon stood at the center of the ring, arms crossed over his chest, leather training gear clinging to him like a second skin. His hair was damp from an earlier workout, and there was a sheen of sweat on his throat.
A small crowd had already gathered, pretending not to watch.
I stopped short, pulse skipping. I had prepared myself for his absence, not his presence. Definitely not for that look in his eyes–the shar Hominant stare that made my stomach do flips.
He was waiting for me.
I swallowed and forced my legs to move, one step at a time. I hated how aware I was of every part of myself when he looked at me like he saw right through my skin.
1/3
Chapter 23
Didn’t expect you to show, I muttered as I approached.
His lips quirked, barely. “Disappointed?”
“Relieved,” I lied.
“Liat.”
I didn’t answer. Just took my stance.
We circled each other slowly, the noise around us fading just like the rest of the world. The crowd could gawk all they wanted. Thad bigger problems.
Like keeping Ruby from reacting every time Damon got too close.
Our sparring began very differently from yesterday. Today we were testing, gauging each other’s movements. And today, Damon wasn’t holding back at
all.
Each strike came fast and sharp, like a warning. A reminder that he could break me if he wanted to.
I dodged a sweeping kick and countered with a jab to his side. He blocked it with ease, smirking as he twisted his body out of reach.
$6
I growled under my breath. The asshole was showing off.
“Focus,” he said calmly.
“I am focused,” I snapped, lunging toward him.
I shouldn’t have. My weight shifted too far forward, my ankle rolled and, before I could catch myself, I was falling forward…right into him.
My hands collided with his chest, and then his arms were around me, catching me before I hit the ground.
Every muscle in his body was solid under my palms, his arms like steel bands around my waist. I could feel the press of his chest against mine, could hear the shift in his breathing–sharper now, not so composed.
And his scent – Goddess, his scent – wrapped around me like a trap. It made Ruby stir in the back of my mind, stretching lazily like a creature waking from slumber.
Mate, Ruby whispered. Like a secret or a prayer.
I froze. Damon hadn’t let go.
In fact, his grip tightened. Just slightly. Just enough for me to feel every point of contact between us: his arm at my waist, his chest rising and falling with mine, his hand curling against my back as if holding me was instinct.
His eyes met mine, sharp and unyielding. Searching.
Testing me. Or maybe himself. And for one dangerous second, I didn’t pull away, I just… existed in
his arms.
I hated how good it felt. That was what made me shove off of him.
The contact broke abruptly, my hands pushing against his chest like I was scorched. My breath came too fast, and I hated the flush
I took a step back, then another. Damon said nothing. But his eyes tracked every movement, every breath I took like he was cataloguing it.
ng up my neck.
I didn’t want to know what he was thinking. I didn’t want to admit that a part of me wanted him to say something. To acknowledge the tension. The connection. The electric thread between us that had no business existing.
“Nice catch,” I muttered, folding my arms/over my chest.
Chapter 23
He didn’t reply. Not with words. But that look told me he felt it too. And that shook me out of the moment more than anything-
I turned away first, needing to put distance between us before I did something stupid like let Ruby have her way
The crowd had scattered, pretending not to watch us while absolutely still hanging on every moment. I could practically feel Vanessa’s glare dicas the side of my head.
As I grabbed my water flask and wiped the sweat from my face, my hands trembled slightly, I clenched them into fists.
My arms were already aching. My chest rose and fell with uneven breaths and a dull throbbing started at the base of my skull. I’d trained before pushed through pain before, this was nothing new. But exhaustion was blooming too fast.
I felt the weight sinking into my muscles like wet sand. And Ruby was quiet.
There wasn’t much left in my tank, but there was no way I would collapse here in front of everyone. Doing it in a mostly empty garden that first day was one thing, butt wasn’t going to show weakness. Rule number one.
1
I rolled my shoulders, trying to loosen the tightness gathering
across my back. Tried to act like I wasn’t already struggling, I couldn’t afford it.
Not when I was wearing Elena’s name.
www
The sound of approaching footsteps made me tense and Damon’s shadow fell over me. “Again,” he said.
Just that. One word.
I didn’t look up. Just nodded once, forcing my body to move back toward the center of the ring even though every muscle in my body begged me to stop.
Come on, Ruby, I pleaded silently. I need you.
But she was too tired to answer.
