Pacing back and forth angrily in my room, I punch my wall, grazing my knuckles. I try to read a book for a while but can’t concentrate. All I have on my mind is vengeance. Finally, I toss the book aside and walk out onto my terrace for fresh air.
I notice all the local male pack members heading towards the training grounds. My father must have mind-linked all the males over eighteen to begin daily training immediately. Why hasn’t he told me he was starting the training today?
With determination on my side, I open the top drawer of my dresser and take out my boxing hand wraps. I put the loop over my thumb, wrapping my wrist and the palm of my hand. Next, I make the crosses across the back, wrapping the material between the fingers. I clench my fist to feel it’s tight and secure, then wrap my other hand the same way.
I jump down from my balcony and jog to the training field.
As I arrive, men ask each other why I’m there. At the same time, other men check me out. I want to knock them all out, but instead, I flip them the bird. After that, everyone splits into different groups to train. Some go inside the gym and weight lift; others race laps, and others do push-ups and pull-ups.
My father glares at me across the field. I know he is angry I’m there, but I don’t care. I go to the sparring group, which happens to be where my brothers are and line up for my turn. The men frown, and I smile daringly at them. Leo and Theo smile and nod in approval that I’m there. I have fought with them a few times, and the only way they can defeat me is in their Lycan forms. I’ve whooped their human forms a few times over the last year.
It's my turn against Mark, a well-known tool in the pack. He flexes his oversized arms before pulling his shirt off and making his pecks bounce up and down. As he continues showing off, trying to swoon me off my feet, I decide to swoon him off his by dropping to the ground and spinning my leg around, knocking him over.
Everyone laughs as Mark becomes red-faced while I nonchalantly look at my nails. Then, finally, mark stands up, cracks his knuckles, and narrows his eyes at me.
‘I was going to go easy on you, but I think I’ll enjoy spanking that sweet little ass of yours instead,’ he says.
My brothers growl and begin to shift into their Lycans to rip his head off. I place my hands on their chests to calm them.
‘You know I can handle this clown on my own,’ I say, giving them a wink. They stop shifting and remain in their human form to let me handle Mark myself.
I bring both of my hands right above my chin. I make tight fists. I throw the first punch hitting his nose. Mark blinks a few times as blood begins to trickle from his nostrils. He wasn’t expecting me to begin already.
He copies my position and holds his clenched fists up like mine, but not so well, as they are below his chin. I’m quick to learn he isn’t used to this fighting style. I notice my father has joined the now-forming crowd and watches me closely. Mark throws a few punches. I duck for the first hit and move my head to the side for the next two. I send a solid kick to his stomach, sending him back. He runs towards me angrily like a bull. I jump to the side as he lunges at me, and I elbow strike the back of his neck. He falls flat on his face. Men begin to cheer and applaud, and others nod and smile.
Mark scowls at me. He is angry he lost the round and storms off, embarrassed a woman beat him. I smile with my hands on my hips until my Dad steps into the sparring area and readies himself in a fighting stance.
Oh, Wands! My father wants me to spar with him. He isn’t just a werewolf or just a Lycan. He is the Alpha, making him even stronger.
‘Fighting you puts me at an unfair advantage,’ I say to him.
He swings a punch. I duck, and he only misses by a millimetre, making me stumble back. I stable my balance and raise my clenched fists above my chin.
‘Yet you think you can take on Vampires? Until you can take me down, you don’t stand a chance,’ he replies.
I flinch. My father is most likely right, but I need to do this. I need justice. I need to seek vengeance for Micah’s death, even if it means me dying.
Growling, I swing my fists towards his face. Out of the five strikes, he dodges four of them. I drop to the ground and swing my leg around to knock him over, but he sees it coming and jumps over my leg. I try to punch him again, but he grabs my wrist and throws me over onto the ground with ease.
He holds his hand out to help me up. I take a grip of his hand, and he pulls me up. ‘You’re a good fighter, a skilled fighter. But it’s not enough to defeat our greatest enemy. Until you can take me down, you won’t be ready. So I expect to see you here each day training and to spar against me,’ he says and walks away.
Theo and Leo race over to me in disbelief, ‘That’s the first time I’ve ever seen you defeated,’ Theo says.
‘Well, there’s a first time for everything, I guess,’ I reply, wiping the grass remnants from my arms.
‘Looks like you will be training with us every day, after all,’ Leo says and gives me a high-five.
‘I might be human, but I’m still the daughter of a Lycan,’ I say, with a look of determination on my face.
I run across the field into the gym and lift weights for half the day. Afterwards, I practice throwing my daggers at the target next to the one where Theo is shooting his arrows. When everyone groups up to do push-ups and sit-ups, I join them and make sure to keep up with them.
I repeat the training every day for five months, followed by the sparring session with three different men and then finally against my father. Every day I become angrier and more hateful towards the vampires. Many more humans have been killed, along with more of our pack warriors. The humans no longer suspect wild wolves after having hunted and killed so many of them over the past months, yet there is an increase in humans being killed. There are reports of some small towns that have no signs of life at all. No bodies have even been found, and no electricity either. They are ghost towns now, and the humans are dumbfounded as to what has happened or how it’s happened. But we know it’s the result of the vampires wiping them out.
Alpha Greg returns once a fortnight with fewer and fewer warriors to inform us they still have not found the location of the vampire’s lair. Furious, I take my anger out on the boxing bags. I think of Micah every single day. From the moment I wake to the moment I sleep and even when I sleep. The nightmares haven’t stopped but have only gotten worse. Amara hears my screams and cries along with half the pack house each night during the nightmares. She is the first to reach me as our rooms are the closest and wakes me up. I spend hours each night sitting by Micah’s grave before I sleep. Alpha Varan has come to visit the grave twice since his burial. He still hates me.
My father is waiting for me to spar with him. After having Alpha Greg return this morning with the same news as usual, I am beyond upset and angry.
I swing my fists, I kick and roll, and for the first time, I land each blow, but I don’t stop. My father strikes and misses. He tries a high kick and a low. I dodge both and roll under his legs ending up behind him and kicking the back of his knee, making him fall over onto the ground. The crowd is silent from complete shock. My father remains lying on the ground for a few moments, stunned and bursts into a cheer.
‘You did it. You actually did it,’ my father says.
Theo and Leo stare, beaming at me proudly. I close my eyes and envision Micah’s face as a gust of wind goes by, making my hair flow in the wind, ‘Micah,’ I whisper.
The red eyes flash through my mind, then Micah’s last moments. I withdraw two old daggers from my boots and walk towards the trees.
‘Lylah, where are you going? We need to celebrate,’ my father says.
I come to a halt, turn and clench the daggers tightly at his words, ‘My mate is dead, and I am yet to seek my vengeance. This is no time for celebrations,’ I say, turning back and walking towards the trees.