Chapter 14

Alexa had asked me to warm up for a while as she spoke to Damon. I had gone over to the mat and had started stretching. I had never exercised a day in my life, much less fought, but I still tried to do my best. I was clueless, but they did not have to know that.

Alexa seemed nice enough, and I was glad to finally have another female to talk to, but I was not going to let my guard down just like that. She was his sister, after all, and I did not know what exactly was going on in this pack yet.

I heard shouting and looked over at them to see that their conversation had gotten heated. Alexa was raising her voice, but Damon had a cool expression on his face, and he did not look like he was agreeing with her.

After a while, their voices went down, and Damon left the building, leaving me alone with his sister. Then I realized just how weird this situation was, but I was still too scared to question it. Alexa now looked like she was in a bad mood compared to how happy she was when we first came in.

The training was quite easy, and it looked like she was going easy on me because she somehow sensed that it was my first time doing anything physical. Whenever we had a break, I would try to summon my wolf again, hoping that the physical movement would make it wake up, but I still got no response, and I was getting really worried now.

I had heard of people’s wolves dying without them, and then they had to go on to live a sad and miserable life without their second halves. They had to live like common humans except that they knew what they had lost and what they could never get back.

That life sounded like a nightmare, and I pleaded with myself that Eva would wake up again and my hidden wolf instincts would finally help me understand this mate situation.

“So… Olivia, how are you finding our humble pack so far?” Alexa asked, finally breaking the silence.

I hesitated for a moment before answering, trying to choose my words carefully. I didn’t want to say anything that would make me seem weak or clueless, even though that was exactly how I felt.

“It’s… different,” I finally said. “I’m still trying to figure everything out.”

Alexa nodded as if she understood. “That’s fair. It can be overwhelming at first.” Her voice was lighter now, but there was something guarded in her expression. She was studying me, probably trying to figure out what I knew. Or what I didn’t.

I glanced at the door Damon had walked out of, wondering what he and Alexa had been arguing about. Whatever it was, it had clearly frustrated her.

Before I could ask, she clapped her hands together. “Alright, enough talking. Let’s go again.”

I sighed, shaking off my thoughts, and got back into position. I still had no idea what I was doing, but I needed to learn something so she would not think I was wasting her time.

I was going to do everything in my power to make them not suspect me of anything. The rogue pack was intense and horrible, and I still had nightmares about the suffering that I went through there. A training fight would never be as bad as that place.

I took a deep breath and mirrored Alexa’s stance as best as I could. My arms felt awkward, my legs shook, but I refused to look completely helpless.

She studied me for a moment before lunging forward. I barely had time to react before she swiped at my legs, and I lost my balance a little. My heart pounded as I tried to regain my footing.

“For your first time, you may not have trained before, but you’re not completely hopeless.”

I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or an insult, but I decided to take it as a mix of both.

She attacked again, and this time I managed to dodge. But before I could feel any sense of accomplishment, she hooked her foot behind my ankle and sent me falling onto the mat.

“Argh,” I muttered, pushing myself up.

She smirked, but there was something almost approving in her gaze. “You need to be ready for anything. The moment you let your guard down, you lose.”

I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants and exhaled. I had no idea why I was here, training when there were guards everywhere I had been to.

She stepped back, letting me catch my breath. “So… about your wolf. You’re still not hearing her?”

I stiffened. I hadn’t told her that. How did she…

“I can tell,” she said as if reading my thoughts. “The way you move, the way you hesitate. It’s like you’re fighting blind.”

I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her.”

Alexa studied me, her expression unreadable. Then she sighed. “We’ll figure it out. But for now, let’s keep going.”

I nodded, pushing my worries aside. If my wolf wasn’t going to wake up and help me, then I would just have to do this on my own.

I steadied myself and raised my fists again, determined not to let her knock me down so easily this time. She gave me a small nod, then moved in faster than before. I barely dodged her first strike, but she wasn’t giving me time to think.

“Stop hesitating,” she said sharply. “You won’t always have time to second-guess yourself.”

I gritted my teeth and forced myself to react instead of overthinking. When she went for another low sweep, I jumped back just in time. A flicker of satisfaction rose in my chest, but it disappeared the moment she moved to the right and hit her palm against my shoulder.

I fell again, losing my balance.

Alexa offered me a hand. “Better,” she said. “But you still need to trust yourself.”

I hesitated before taking her hand, letting her pull me up. My body ached, and I was getting frustrated, but I would not say anything in case she told her brother and made my life hell.

“I’ll get it,” I said, not loud enough for her to hear.

She smirked. “Good. Let’s go again.”