The Hunted Wolf – Chapter 36

“Have you ever thrown a punch before?” Reyland asked, moving on in the conversation to prevent more awkwardness.

“A few times. Mark has been working with me on my skills, but he has been teaching me more self-defense skills,” I explained.

Reyland nodded. “You have a good mate there. He’s a good alpha, too. Why don’t you show me how you punch, and we’ll go from there. If people are targeting you, I want to make sure you know how to attack them. Self-defense is great and all, but sometimes the best defense.”

was past everything that happened when I was sixteen, but standing here in the presence of someone I once looked up to made all of my feelings start to bubble up.

y hand out. It felt like I was swinging at a brick, and my hand stung.

just wasn’t expecting it to hurt so much.”

The most important thing is you are doing more damage than you are taking. Here, let’s try it again and focus on fixing your form. When throwing a good punch, you want to make sure you have a wide stance. One foot should be a li

ended up correcting me, shifting my feet a little, and adjusting my hands.

ry hitting me again.”

ing this time, keeping everything he said in mind. I moved my entire body as I swung. This time the impact with Reyland

y on your feet though.” Reyland had a sly smirk on his face, and nostalgia overwhelmed

be caught off guard. The one thing I knew when I was younger was that he loved me. There were times when I questioned whether that was true of my mother.

changed. “Are you hurt?”

I can have a different warrior work

than expected.

ce.

just think

d that will always be my biggest regret.”

d from that.”

r so slightly. “I completely understand. I will wait as long as you need. I’m just glad you are willing to at least give me a chance.

f me, I saw him as two different people at the same time. To the younger me, he was my father, my dad, the man I looked up to as a kid. To the current me, he was Reyland, the alpha of Pack Lyna who was here to help make sure I could have a future, hopefully one that included him.

oing to work on next?” I

s lips.

–

past their limits. I couldn’t remember another time when my body was this exhausted. My feet ached with every step I took, and my bones creaked with even the slightest movement. The stairs were the worst and took much longer to get up than normal.

d me he was not the same person as before.

ch faster, so my body should feel better by the morning.

me back, but he hadn’t been sleeping much the past few days. His body must have taken over and shut down once he sat down.

nk in his neck. I hoped we would get to spend some time together tomorrow.

that took up Mark’s entire evening. They were concerned it was someone scouting out the place, so they wanted to set up extra precautions. Mark checked in on occasion, but he wasn’t able to get away to see me, like he wanted.

to finally relax, and I could feel my eyelids growing heavy.

oo empty without our mate, Sh

okay for one night.

into his lap? Shadow asked.

o move.

m up, I was confident I wouldn’t be able to move now that I was lying down.

s making it hard to breathe.

rds me. She leaped into the air, and I caught her in my arms. Her heart was pounding.

clear in her voice.

ering my mind without my permission, and I was grateful for it at this moment.

enter.”

up, and he was putting pressure on me. He was desperate to make a connecti

arms, and a sense of relief washed over the two of us.

would do everything I could to make sure it ended my way.

–

en my body had expunged everything it could, I rinsed my mouth and checked the time. It was only two in the morning, much too late to be awake. I headed back to my bed, checking on Mark on the way. He

rong. I instantly went to Mark, trying to shake him awake. He was in a deep sleep, and my attempts to wake him were unsuccessful. Unsure of what to do, I grabbed a robe and wrapped it around me. I wanted to find someone to go with me to figure out what was wrong.

as tight and the patrols were always in position. I doubted the warrior just left like that. The sinking feeling in my stomach became even greater.

erate to find someone. I had no luck, and then I heard a noise in the backyard. I knew there was a patrol stationed outside

about to try to face it on my own. I decided to go back upstairs and do whatever I needed to wake Mark up.

o see Jori standing behind me. Before I could scream, he put a hand over my hand and pressed me against the wall.

as he whispered, “Don’t do anything I’ll make you regret.”