Page 21 of Rising Luna
Lupe growled. "Let him breathe, Pierce. This is to knock out or tap out. Not kill. If he doesn't get air to his lungs, he dies." She threw meonto the ground and glared at me. "You don't know what it's like to have your mates die. Your wolf won't recover from it."
"What makes you think I would have killed him?" I growled back.
"Look at him!"
I looked, and Silas looked like he could breathe just fine. He clutched his chest and took a few deep breaths before he rolled onto his feet. "I'm fine," he told Lupe.
"You were not when she sat on you."
"I am now. Let's go."
My wolf felt proud of Silas for not making this a big deal and wanted to go again. More than anything, I wanted to punch him in the face. If he knew how I felt, why would he want to continue? Unless he wanted me to get my anger about him out.
Well, let's give him what he wants.
I didn't wait for Lupe to tell us to start. Why would I when, in a normal fight, there wasn't a person telling us to start? Silas expected this, though, and stepped aside when I charged. I adjusted course by dropping to the ground and sweeping a leg at his knees. Silas went down again but snapped back up with a flip. Realizing I couldn't keep him on the ground because he should expect it with two moves to get him there in a row, I moved close enough to throw punches.
Silas didn't engage.
I threw multiple combinations and Silas evaded them all. When I changed direction, so did he so I couldn't land a punch. I had to keep my focus, though. If he sees this getting to me, he could get the edge on me, and that's the last thing I want to happen. At least he hadn't seen my fighting style before, so he couldn't anticipate my movements.
Only it felt like he could, anyway.
Any punch I threw, he evaded. Any kick I managed, he grabbed on my leg and threw me back so I would stumble. Fury blazed in my veins as I realized Silas was a much better fighter than me. If I wanted to land anything on him, I needed to adjust my strategy. That's when I had an incredible idea.
I paused before looking at Lupe with a grin. "If this is a merging mentorship, that means he needs to learn about what Shadowborns can do, correct?"
Lupe's gaze morphed into something haunting for a split second before schooling her expression to glee. The haunting look made my blood run cold. Maybe it wouldn't be the best option to show off how powerful I was to Silas. Before I could change my mind, Silas's hand went to my shoulder. I grabbed it and threw my body into his, yanking him over and onto the ground. Silas grunted and then groaned from the fall. When he looked up at me, I thought he'd be mad that I got one over on him. HIs eyes were wide and mouth agape, but it became a smile.
"Nice move."
"Thanks."
"I'd love to see what a Shadowborn can do. I have read a bit from the library and I have asked Wilcox about a few things." He said, getting to his feet.
He's learning about Shadowborns on his own? That's promising.
Is it just to impress us or is he learning?
We should find out.
"Then let's go." I told him before walking across the mats to get into position again.
Silas brushed off his clothes before walking to the middle of the mat. I already knew how I would play this, especially since I had to start the fight once again because Silas wouldn't. I ran at him, leaping into the air and outstretching my leg to land into Silas's chest. He didn't move. Silas watched me falling into the air, setting up what I wanted. Calling on my wolf, I love she expected what I wanted, she pushed her astral power into my human form. I went through Silas, and, before he could turn around, I spun around, dropping my astral power, and kicked Silas in the back. He flew forward and caught himself from falling. He spun around and put distance between us.
"Wow. I didn't expect that at all. That's what you guys can do?"
I didn't answer. This felt like him trying to distract me, and I couldn't have that. When I advanced on him, I could tell he was watching my movement just to see what else I would throw in there. When he moved away from a punch, I twisted around to kick. He moved again, and I jumped through him and kicked him in the back. This became my new norm. My style changed because he couldn't figure out when I would go astral. I'd wait until I noticed he could expect what I would throw and go astral to punch or kick him. A few times I went through him, then doubled back to confuse the shit out of him. When my right hook split his cheek open, that's when I felt myself get more amped.
But what I also noticed was Silas wasn't trying to hit me. He watched me and evaded my advances when he could. With my added power in the fight, he couldn't keep track of me. However, he didn't throw a defensive punch either. I thought perhaps my movements bewildered him, and he was amazed by my abilities. Silas could appreciate Shadowborn power now that he could see it in action.
It's not that, though. It's something else.
There had to be a reason he wouldn't even defend himself in this fight. Even if he wanted to watch me and see what I could do, Silas should be trying to defend himself. If he wasn't, something else rolled around his head about hitting me, so I stopped moving.
Silas looked at me with interest as I stood before him. I ran my tongue over my teeth and balled my fists at my sides. It was stupid to leave myself open like this during a sparring match, but if Silas would not hit me, then there was no risk. If he wouldn't take this opportunity right now, it meant he didn't plan to spar with me.
And that pissed me off.
