Page 142 of Wolf Caged
But I wasn’t going to give up.
I curled my hands into tight fists and drew down a slow breath to steady my heart, to calm my nerves, and sharpen my focus. One blow. I could do this. Just one hit. That was all I had to land. My wolf side growled and bared fangs at him as he shifted his left foot behind him, a move he had done more than once, revealing he favoured his right side. My gaze darted over him, calculating, studying my prey. He would try to come around me again, using his speed to gain the upper hand.
This time, I would be ready for him.
I wasn’t.
I let out a bark of frustration as pain splintered across my lower spine, his blow no harder than Jenavyr’s had been during training, but infinitely more frustrating.
“Stop leaving yourself open,” he purred into my ear, his breath caressing my skin.
I whirled, my right fist flying at where his head should have been.
Should. Have. Been.
Instead, he was behind me again, hands clamping down onto the curve of my waist as he chuckled in my ear.
“Fuck. You,” I snarled and stomped with my left foot, aiming it at his ankle.
Hitting nothing but grass.
He was in front of me before I noticed, his fist stopping just short of slamming into my stomach. The control he had. The skill. It stole my breath and roused my primal instincts, stirringmy wolf side into a frenzy within me as he launched into a barrage of punches I struggled to block. I admired his masculine strength and warrior skill, the way he turned this fight into a deadly dance, even as I grew more and more frustrated.
That frustration got the better of me when I missed blocking one of his punches and it struck my right shoulder, knocking it back, and I followed up with a right hook of my own while he was distracted by what he had done.
And he blocked my forearm with his, knocking it away with more force this time.
I stumbled and fell, hitting the grass hard, humiliated by how easily he could predict my moves and block them, by how weak I was.
That dreadful, cold feeling of self-loathing became a burning whirlwind of anger and rage as he loomed over me and sneered.
“Is that all you have?”
That question rang in my ears, mocking me, flooding me with doubt. Was it all I had? Where was that strength he had seen in me?
Did he think I was weak now?
The thought that he might was like fuel on the fire blazing within me, and a desperate, wild need to prove I wasn’t was the catalyst that sparked something within me to life.
Something fierce.
Something untamed.
Before I knew what I was doing, I was launching from the ground, sailing through the air towards him and shifting as I went. The sound of ripping material accompanied the screaming pain of my bones elongating and shrinking, the kiss of cool air fading under the insulating warmth of the white fur that swept down my body. All of my senses sharpened, the scent of Kaeleron swirling around me as he stood there.
Shocked.
Open.
My paws slammed against his body.
My fangs sank into his shoulder.
My claws raked down his chest.
Blood coated my tongue, the metallic tang of it bringing me to my senses.
Oh gods.
