1: SPRINTING

LISA’S POV

“Ronan,” I called out, my voice hoarse from all the running, but he didn’t stop. I knew for a fact he could hear me.

“Ronan,” I called out once again, but he just increased his speed, running faster than before.

Training with Ronan wasn’t easy; it only got harder with each passing day. I didn’t know if he forgot the fact that I wasn’t as strong as him, or if he enjoyed tiring me out. I wasn’t as fast, almost because I couldn’t shift due to my weak wolf. Because of that, no one wanted to train with me and the pack members saw me as the perfect prey to pounce on whenever they felt bored.

Ronan, on the other hand, had alpha blood. He was the next in line for his father’s title, the strongest fighter in the pack with impeccable martial arts skills, and his speed was immaculate. Sometimes, I wished I was half as fast as he was. Maybe then, I could stand up for myself against

the bullies.

“Ronan,” I called out his name; there was a few miles' distance between us, but with his sensitive ears, I knew he could hear me clearly.

With each step I took, my breathing felt harder. I knew I should stop, but I always felt the need to push past my limits. I refused to act weak in front of him. In my deluded world, I felt like if I tried hard enough, I might catch up to him.

I parted my lips to tell Ronan to slow down a bit, but before I could mouth the words, I felt my legs give out, and I fell face flat on the floor. “Damn it,” I hissed when I tasted mud on my lips. Of all the places I could fall on, I fell on a pile of mud.

“Damn, Lisa, are you okay?” I heard Ronan ask. In a matter of seconds, he was in front of me.

“I'm perfectly fine,” I frowned at him my tone dripping with sarcasm, wiping the mud from my face. But from how he bit his lip, I knew I only made it worse.

“Are you sure you’re good?” he asked, trying hard to bite back his laughter.

“Don’t you dare,” I threatened. It was only a matter of seconds before a mocking laughter erupted from his chest.

“Help me up,” my frown deepened as I sat up. I arched my hand, but he didn’t even take his hands out of the pockets of his joggers.

“What are you waiting for?” I raised a brow, realizing that getting out of this mud pit alone would be hard. I was exhausted from the running.

“I don't think I want to get my hands dirty-”

“You are already sweaty for crying out loud. Just help me up.”

“Say please,” the smug smile on his face was infuriating. If I wasn’t stuck in the mud, I would’ve slapped that grin off his face.

“No.”

“That mud must be comfy, huh?” One thing I knew about Ronan was if he made that face, he wouldn’t help me up even if I said please. He’d make me beg until my lungs gave out.

I tried standing up; as expected, I fell back to the floor. I unintentionally let out a frustrated growl while Ronan watched me with pure amusement.

With much effort, I pulled myself out of the mud. I never needed his help anyway.

“Look at you being independent,” he clapped.

“Can we go back now?” I ask when I finally helped myself up after my fourth attempt.

“Why?” This guy has to be kidding me. Does he expect me to run another lap all covered in mud?

“Did you just ask me why?”

“Yeah, we still have like thirty more minutes left; we can run three or more laps,” he spoke, staring at his watch - the one I got him four years ago when he won his first tournament.

Seeing the watch on him every day assured me that someone in this pack cared enough to accept a gift from me, and cherish it enough to wear it every day.

The pack saw me as a disease as if my weak wolf was contagious.

“Are you blind, Ronan? I’m covered in freaking mud, and you want me to run three more laps?”

“Well, I’m not covered in mud, so…” he trailed off with a smirk. I couldn’t believe he wanted me to run another lap covered in mud and sweat.

“I could-” he wasn’t able to finish his sentence because I pounced on him, catching him off guard, and he fell into the mud with me on top of him.

The shock on his face was priceless, and it was my turn to laugh.

“So much for the alpha with the most speed in the pack, huh?” I taunted.

I rubbed more mud on his face, “do you still want to run another lap?” I grin even wider. “I think we should run that lap-” a growl erupted from his chest, making me flinch.

“You have five seconds to run,” he said dangerously. I knew he wasn’t joking, and if I didn’t run, I might end up dipping into the mud.

“One,” he began counting, his grey eyes holding my brown ones.

“Two,” I quickly stood up and bolted in the direction of the pack house. If I’m lucky enough; I could make it back in time to the pack house before him.

“Three,” my ears picked up his voice, I increased my speed, running as fast as my legs could carry. Praying he didn’t catch up to me, I focused my vision on the path to the pack house. A smile found its way to my face when the three-story building started coming into view.

“Five,” I heard Ronan's voice, followed by his steps behind me.

But the pack house was just a few steps away. Maybe if I ran faster, I could get to the pack house before him. I have to because if he catches up to me, I can’t even imagine what he’d do to me.

“Too slow,” he whispered in my ear before I felt my body being lifted off the ground.