Page 18 of Lord of the Lone Wolf
Kitsuki ignored the commentary, but his dragon’s interest had physical manifestations he couldn’t suppress. His senses sharpened beyond normal limits. He could hear Maseo’s quickened heartbeat, smell the clean sweat dampening his skin, and see the minute adjustments in muscle tension that telegraphed his next move.
“Your stance is too wide,” Kitsuki called out, feinting left before striking from the right. “In actual battle, that would cost you your balance.”
Maseo narrowed his stance and used the axe’s momentum to deflect Kitsuki’s sword before counterattacking with a powerful overhead swing that would have cleaved him in two had it connected. “Better?”
The half-smile accompanying the question sent a flash of heat through Kitsuki’s body. His dragon rumbled with approval.
He learns quickly. Adapts. Challenges us. Perfect for our trinity.
Despite Kizoshi’s conviction that Kitsuki would form the fabled trinity bond, he refused to accept it as truth.
You cannot deny what we both feel, his dragon countered.Auslin feels the same, though he doesn’t understand it yet.
Kitsuki pushed his distraction aside. “Much better. But can you maintain it under pressure?”
Without waiting for a response, Kitsuki increased his speed, pushing Maseo harder. The training hall filled with the sounds of steel clashing against steel, the heavy breathing of two warriors pushing their limits, and the occasional grunt of effort when a powerful blow connected.
Jaega had stepped back to observe, but Kitsuki barely noticed his uncle’s withdrawal. His entire focus had narrowed to Maseo’s movements, the determination in his eyes, and the skill with which he wielded a challenging weapon. There was something mesmerizing about how he handled the battle-axe,not with brute force but with a dancer’s precision and a warrior’s confidence.
Imagine all his strength and grace at our command, his dragon purred.In battle, and elsewhere.
The thought sent a powerful rush of desire through Kitsuki, causing him to miss a parry. Maseo’s axe handle caught him across the chest, sending him staggering backward.
Instead of pressing his advantage, Maseo paused, concern flashing across his features. “Are you?—”
Kitsuki didn’t let him finish, launching back into the fight with renewed intensity. “Never hesitate in battle,” he growled, his dragon’s voice overlapping his own. “Your enemy won’t show you the same courtesy.”
Maseo recovered, bringing the axe up to block Kitsuki’s overhead strike. “I’ll remember that,” he replied, a hint of challenge in his tone that made Kitsuki’s blood sing. “Though I’d prefer not to think of you as my enemy.”
The exchange felt like more than combat. It was a dance, a negotiation, a testing of the connection between them. Each blow was a question, and each parry an answer. The give-and-take of their movements mirrored a more intimate exchange. Advance and retreat, pressure and release, dominance and submission in a balanced rhythm.
He would submit so beautifully, his dragon whispered, sending startling images through Kitsuki’s mind.But not without making us earn it first. He would challenge us, making the eventual surrender all the sweeter.
Kitsuki’s control slipped further as the fight continued, his movements becoming more aggressive, more possessive. He maneuvered Maseo around the training hall, herding him like prey, testing his responses to different pressure. Each time Maseo adapted, overcame, or countered his strategies, Kitsuki’s dragon growled with increasing approval.
“You’re holding back,” Maseo accused during a brief pause as they circled each other. A flush had spread across his cheekbones, his eyes bright with exertion and something darker that made Kitsuki’s mouth dry.
“And you are not showing me everything you can do,” Kitsuki countered, his dragon’s influence making his voice drop to a predatory purr. “Stop hiding your true capabilities. I want to see all of you.”
Maseo transformed his fighting style. Gone was the careful, technically perfect soldier, replaced by something wilder and more instinctive. He spun the axe in an aggressive pattern that even Kitsuki, with centuries of combat experience, had difficulty tracking. The weapon became an extension of Maseo’s body, its deadly arc keeping Kitsuki at bay while showcasing a fluid grace that was hypnotic to watch.
“Is this what you wanted to see?” Maseo asked, his voice carrying a hint of something that made Kitsuki’s dragon rumble with approval.
Yes, his dragon answered, clawing at Kitsuki’s restraint.We want him.
“It is a start,” Kitsuki replied.
What followed was the most exhilarating combat Kitsuki had experienced in centuries. Maseo fought with everything hehad, using the battle-axe with a creativity and skill that defied conventional training. He compensated for the weapon’s limitations with sheer audacity, executing maneuvers that should have been impossible for someone of his build using such a heavy implement.
His mastery was an intoxicating demonstration of capability that felt like seduction. Maseo executed an impressive sequence, spinning the axe behind his back before bringing it forward in a powerful strike that Kitsuki barely blocked. The king couldn’t suppress a sound of appreciation that was far too close to a moan.
Kitsuki responded in kind, his dragon’s influence lending him speed and strength beyond what he typically employed in training. He showed off complex sword techniques he reserved for serious combat. Part of him knew he should rein it in and maintain the professional distance befitting a king and his subject, but the primal part of him refused to be contained.
Their movements grew more synchronized with each passing minute, as if they were learning each other’s bodies through combat rather than touch. When Maseo anticipated one of Kitsuki’s attacks and countered with perfect timing, their gazes met over their crossed weapons, and the recognition that flashed between them was almost painfully intimate.
We need to feel him yield to us, his dragon insisted.We must test his submission. See if he will surrender to our strength.
The opportunity arose when Maseo attempted an ambitious attack, swinging the axe in a horizontal arc that would have been deadly if Kitsuki hadn’t had the benefit of shifter speed. The move left him overextended, his balance compromised by the weapon’s momentum.
