Page 37 of Alpha's Choice
“We can send you on another circuit.” I looked over at Danny, raising my hands when he grumbled. Danny enjoyed his bachelor life. “Just something to think about.”
We got back to work. Sebastian had sent me the information on the Council warriors coming to help our patrols. My mother was sorting out housing for them, and we were reworking the patrol schedule and routes to best cover the area.
“Did Sebastian tell you anything about the autopsy results?” Danny asked.
I shook my head. “They’re still working on the bloodwork. He’ll inform me when all results are in.”
“I can’t see a single attacker taking Neil down that quick.” Frustration coated Danny’s words. “He was well-trained. And I’m not just saying that because I trained him.”
“Maybe he was poisoned with wolfsbane?” Matthew sat forward in his chair. “It could have weakened him enough for a strong wolf to take him down.”
“Wolfsbane takes time to work.” Danny’s argument made sense. “And if the attacker was hunting human females, why wolfsbane?”
“Let’s hope the autopsy provides some answers.” I pointed to a stretch along the western border on the map. “This is closest to town. I want to make sure it’s well-covered. I want nothing slipping through.”
I made a mental note to remind Emma not to wander around alone. Pack territory would be safe because of our increased patrols, but whatever was out there was hunting human females, and I didn’t want my human female to become a target.
* * *
Emma
Wariness filled me as I watched Danny square up in front of me. He motioned for me to hit him. I hadn’t done any sparring yet, but he wanted to see me fight to gauge my instincts.
He sent an easy-going grin my way. “Don’t worry. I won’t hit you hard back. Tobias would kill me.”
I shifted and threw out a soft jab. He blocked it with ease and reached out to tap me. “Don’t forget to watch out for the counter.”
I threw a few more hesitant punches, all of which he blocked before he stopped me. “Are you scared to hit me?”
“I’ve never hit anyone before.” I wasn’t sure if I should be ashamed of that or not. “The thought of connecting makes me a little squeamish.”
“You need to get over that.” He tucked his hands in his pockets. “I won’t block this time.”
“Seriously?”
“You don’t want to be in a situation where you need to defend yourself and still be hesitant to throw that punch. Get used to it.”
I adjusted my stance and took a deep breath. I threw a weak jab, wincing at the feel of his skin on my fist.
“Again.”
Another weak punch.
“Again.”
He made me hit him several more times until I no longer winced when my fist connected.
“Better.” He sounded satisfied. “Now, back to sparring.”
I didn’t land anything on him while sparring, but I blocked a few of the gentle taps he countered with. After several minutes, he motioned for me to stop. I was sweating. He was not.
“Your instincts aren’t bad,” he said, walking over to the pile of equipment. “But you need a lot more confidence.”
He led me through a few more exercises with the pads, where he had me throwing combinations of kicks and punches. I loosened up, having fun with the part of training that was more familiar.
“Good.” He put the pads down. “Your technique is solid. This week we’ll focus on the combinations you already know and add counters. We won’t be using the pads, though.”
He patted me on the back when he saw my face fall. “We’ll be doing this until you hit and kick me as hard as you can. So don’t hold back.”
