Way of the Wolf: Equilibrium

Chapter 22 ~ The Rules

Chapter 22: The Rules
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“You look tired. Did you not sleep well last night?” Jakkon called out, turning to face me with his arms folded across his bare chest. Muscles bulged, his tattoos rippled, and I had to let out a slow breath. Bones ached in memory of the first time Jakkon had shown me what he was made or. If Orin could have me pinned in a mere few minutes, this male was going to eat me alive. Again.

Heading over with Fenna and Orin in tow, I did my best to smile. “I had a late night.”

“I warned Ebbe. . .” .Alpha Jakkon hummed, his eyes trailing over me.
Even just hearing his name had me bristling and the alpha didn’t miss it. A smirk made its way onto his face as he glanced at Fenna and Orin before looking at me once more. “I see.”

Dear gods, I hoped he didn’t. What happened last night didn’t need to make its way like wildfire gossip around the pack. Especially not to Aljana.

Clearing the ring of other wolves, Alpha Jakkon prepared to teach me his first lesson. I stretched as quickly as I could, my eyes following him as he moved around, searching for any sign of weakness as I had the first time we’d fought. But just like last time, there was nothing to find.

“Signy has taken great pride in how much you’ve learned.” Turning to face me, the Alpha shook himself out.

“I’ve taken great pride in learning from her,” I replied.

He grinned. “I wonder if you will say the same of being my student by the time we’re done.”

I chuckled, shifting my footing to dig into the ground beneath me. I could say the same to him, would he come to be proud when our time was up?
The moment Jakkon moved, I was ready. As Signy had taught me, I avoided as many blows as I could, moving only when needed to keep my bearings. The only problem was, Jakkon hit so hard and fast that I was left with little time to do anything more than defend, and there was no warning to what his next move would be. I had to give ground to keep myself from being hurt, my arms taking the brunt of most attacks.
He was taking it easy on me, watching carefully. When I blocked his kick, he pulled up and nodded, giving me time to breathe.

“She’s right, you are fast. And I can feel your wolf now too. What exactly did Ebbe show you last night that had you up so late?” he mused, circling around me.

I wondered if he was trying to hit a sore spot, a sensitive topic that would have me lower my guard or let anger cause me to be rash. To an extent, it worked. My muscles tensed, flashes of just what had occurred last night filling my thoughts, but I shoved them away to focus on here and now. Letting the Alpha wander, I listened to every sound he made, allowing my senses to open up so I could keep track of him even when he was behind me.

A shift of air, and I dropped, grinning as Jakkon lost his balance, his foot missing where my back just was. I kicked out myself, aiming for his knee but he was ready. With that, our fight began again, and this time I couldn’t avoid a few rough blows to my ribs and stomach.

It went on like that for a while. We’d spar for a bit, he’d stop to point out mistakes and then we’d begin again. The crowd watching us took in everything too. Fenna and Orin murmured with their heads close together, probably able to spot my mistakes as well as Jakkon could.
My limbs began to burn with exertion but I enjoyed every second of having the distraction of pain. There was no room to think about last night. Especially when Jakkon started what would be our last fight for the day. This time I threw my all into it, making sure that tomorrow morning, I’d feel the ache of today.

With my wolf close to the surface, I could move quicker and see clearer but Jakkon was still much stronger. It had a small seed of doubt settling into my bones. How could I compete with the raw strength of an Alpha?
Taking a hit to my cheek sent my vision in and out of focus and another swift blow to the gut finished our session. Sprawled out on my back, I wheezed and choked, trying not to panic when my lungs refused to fill with air. Forcing myself to go limp, I ignored the thundering of my heart and slowly, my body began to relax and allow me to gasp in a proper breath.