Page 80 of Moon Kissed

I smirked at the heavy door slam in the distance. “Wow. That was easy. Sleep-deprivation really has made me stupider. I should’ve done that a week ago.”

It had occurred to me while in the middle of considering all of my violent options that Edric didn’t want to mate with me as much as I didn’t want to mate with him. If I was running from Paxton to ensure I didn’t give in to temptation, then Edric would run from me.

“And you proved me right, dickhead.”

Ducking back inside, I reboarded my window with the nails and hammer Paxton left behind, then got cozy on my bed with a stolen book.

Edric and his winds didn’t bother me again for the rest of the night.

THE NEXT DAY, I BOUNCEDon the balls of my toes, doing my dance with the practice dummy.

I was feeling good that morning. I had gotten a good night’s sleep, and since the Tweedles had to stay posted outside of my room, I got that sleep without their eyes crawling all over me through the night. The best part was I woke up that morning to scrambled eggs with ham and cheese resting on my nightstand, and the smell of Paxton in the air.

He’d gotten up early just to make sure I got something to eat, which had the added benefit of taking away my reason to go into the mess hall. Now the staff didn’t get the satisfaction of refusing to feed me, and the blessed students didn’t get to insult me to my face while the presence of the Tweedles stopped me from punching them in their mouths.

It’s a shame I couldn’t have anything to do with Paxton other than his food delivery. It’s been a while since anyone tookcare of me.I kicked the dummy harder than I needed to.Exactly one year.

“You almost had it, Nia, but this time, you need to open your hips, pivot on the balls of your feet, and strike with your instep. Not your toes,” I said. “Because that’s how you break them.”

Nia winced from the floor. Grimacing, she rubbed her foot, looking at the practice dummy like she’d pay to never have him as her opponent again. “How did you learn all of this stuff? You know moves I’ve never heard of.”

Nia was back on speaking terms with me, at least for this class. Our martial arts instructor, Allard, took one sniff of the omega and benched her, saying that she didn’t need to learn martial arts, and he wasn’t going to waste his time teaching her.

While I took one look athim, and said I knew more about fighting and self-defense than he ever would, and he’d be smart to sit back and learn something. He’s ignored me ever since, which left me and Nia to our own devices.

The entire class was out on the field, practicing with dummies or on mats. My fates were paired up with each other. Nyx against Orion, and Edric against Badr. Unfortunately for Edric, he was getting his ass kicked because his gaze kept drifting to me and my ass in my athletic pants.

“I’m the mother wolf,” I replied to Nia, shifting the dummy so my back was to Edric. The man looked like a warrior with those glistening muscles and tight, ripped pants. He was distracting me too. “Vampires have been trying to kill me since birth. The first thing my parents did after I learned to walk was break out the video camera, and then sent me to training.

“You think this is hard? Imagine how hard your instructors ride you when you’ve got to learn how to kill people who are already dead.”

She whistled. “Wow. Intense. I always thought being the mother wolf made you the luckiest wolf alive, but I guess... some days it didn’t feel that way.”

I tensed, falling out of my stance. “It didn’t feel that way the first time vampires kidnapped my mother to force my father to trade me for her. And it fuck sure didn’t feel that way when they killed her the second time to prove they were serious.”

“Oh my gods,” Nia breathed, clapping her hand over her mouth. “I didn’t... I didn’t know that’s how it happened.”

“The alpha council didn’t want people to know. Couldn’t have Wolf Nation knowing a major threat got that close to me—twice—and nearly ended the entire werewolf race. You might stop thinking they’re infallible.” I punched the dummy harder than I needed to—snapping it back and bouncing it off the floor.

“I’m sorry, Daze.”

I looked away. “Yeah,” I whispered. “Me too.”

Shaking myself, I drew back from that well of grief inside of me, and reined in my tongue. I knew better than to talk about Mom. I got a little too honest when I did, and no one here was ready for the truth, or what would happen when I told it.

“Okay, your turn.” I stepped to the side, motioning for Nia to take my place. “I know your toes have healed, so you’ve got no excuse. I want a perfect roundhouse kick three times, then five times, then ten times, then three times again. No more than thirty seconds rest between sets.”

“Fucking hell, Daze. Has anyone ever told you you missed your calling as a drill sergeant?”

“Anybody ever told you flapping your gums is a weak stall game? You want to get out of these sets for real, woman up and break something else. Otherwise, get to it.”

She mumbled a string of filthy words under her breath, but Nia got up and settled into her position. Despite her moaning and groaning, Nia did everything I said and listened close tomy instruction. The first step was getting stronger, and she was committed to it.

Nia kicked the dummy square upside the head.

“Okay, good,” I called. “Just remember to use your arm as a counterbalance.”

“Like this?” she asked, swinging her arm out in time with her leg. “Oh, wow. I felt the difference! That’s so much better. Thanks, D—”

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