I couldn’t help myself, I laughed out loud.“I’ve already proven two times I’m better than you.”“Three times a charm.”“No!” I rolled my eyes then jetted.I wanted my mind to simply stop reeling. There was too much to think about. Besides, it wasn’t that easy for me either. Even though I wanted to go back to my pack feeling like I belonged somewhere felt good. I had Ryan and Caleigh by my side. And I would have never traded them for anything. But I knew I wasn’t ready.I decided to keep running from the training grounds to the lake and back. And I did, seven times in a row. I barely broke a sweat but I wanted to stop. I wanted to ask Ryan to help me with swordsmanship. But by the time I got back to the training grounds, he was there and Caleigh was with him. They exchanged a look then Ryan spoke first.“We’re sorry. You were right. We both know that. But things are getting complicated. I think” he breathed a sad sigh “I reached my limits. I will not get any stronger at this stage. Un

Right after lunch we got back to the training grounds. Ryan’s bad feeling seemed to be contagious though. Giving Otis a piece of my mind felt good at first. But then I couldn’t shake the feeling he would come after us soon enough. I wished he would go on another quest. We kept training. I was just getting better at swordsmanship. Ryan started to struggle with hitting me. Even though my attacks needed improvement, my evasion skills were getting even better.Caleigh made some arrows in the meantime. She seemed to be deep in thought. I think she also felt something was not right. Nobody had spoken their mind as straightforward to Otis is I did. Maybe it was a stupid idea. I knew if he found out about his brother and me, we were done for. But being careful was getting hard. All I wanted was to be with Ryan. I wanted to be in his muscular arms and let him kiss me wherever he wanted. I blushed at the thought, letting him hit me on my thigh.“Pay attention!” he called me out “What are you th

I breathed a sigh, took a deep breath then looked at my friends.“I will need to break another chain tomorrow.”“But you said you’re physically not ready.” Ryan’s eyes widened.“I know,” I nodded “That’s why I will do it after a very tough training. There’s no other choice. Time is running out. Otis is breathing down on our necks. And I’m not talking only about that he’s… well…”“Basically obsessed with you.” the huntress said.I saw as she tried her best to hide a smile. I knew it wasn’t easy. It was partially funny because he kept embarrassing himself but he seemingly didn’t care. He just wanted a strong mate for himself, no matter the price. No matter how many times I told him off, he didn’t care and refused to give up on me. But if he would have known I was in love with his brother, things could have turned to worse.“And maybe you should make him believe he stands a chance.” Ryan looked at me.“Out of the question.”“Well, according to him, you’re with Caleigh now. So sooner or l

The huntress looked at me and sent me a warm smile.“So how far did you get?” she asked.“Not far.” I blushed “I’m afraid someone will notice.” I sighed.“Believe me, Ryan is careful with this. He wouldn’t risk losing you.”“I know, I just don’t want to take any unnecessary risks, you know? If we leave the pack before I unleash my full power, the journey is going to be even more dangerous.”“I know you’re right. But he loves you.”“I know.” I smiled “I wouldn’t sneak out for nothing. But even though it feels so good and so right, I can’t shake off the feeling of something bad is about to happen.”“I understand what you’re talking about.” she said grimly “It’s like it’s way to quiet right before a huge thunderstorm. And I don’t like it either.”“I wish we could have met under different circumstances.”“I wouldn’t leave this place without you.”She remained silent for some minutes and I was waiting for her further response. I knew she was grateful I turned up out of the blue several day

I grumbled as Caleigh shook me in the following morning. My mind was still reckless and couldn’t sleep much. Besides the already existing problems I couldn’t stop thinking about Ryan’s body.“I told you.” the huntress told me “Come on or I’m going to leave you behind!”“Okay, okay.” I moaned but got out of my bed.I followed Caleigh to the forest and I did my best not to fall back into sleep. I started to doubt that I could have broken another chain. We remained silent. The huntress was sure there were some deer nearby. It was undoubtedly her favorite type of meat. I saw as her muscles became tense and in the same moment I smelled the animal’s scent. It was near. She motioned that we would switch places. I was reluctant but she wanted me to hunt the deer down.I kept listening to the noises and waited for it to appear. Once it was within eyesight I breathed a silent sigh and picked an arrow. I kept my eye on the target but I became nervous all of a sudden. Even though I aimed at the h