A Wolf's Tear

twenty-two - an ultimatum

Dorran brought her deeper into the woods and a field of snow. She remembered this place. Every summer, she would bring the children from the nursery, along with other older wolves here, and spend the day under the bright sun, running around the grass. And when it wasn’t used in daily activities, young couples use it as a rendezvous point for their extramarital dealings.

She shook the snow from her boots, hoping to not slip from the ice that formed on the exposed tree roots. The wolf was still walking, his tall figure had no problem trudging through the snowy path but for her, she was suffering every second of it.

“Do we have to go further?” She asked.

Dorran turns to her, perching his hands on his hips.

“Hmm, I guess this is far enough.” He nods. “Let’s see, how do we start?”

His face fell into an expression filled with contemplation. She gawked at him, suddenly perturbed.

“Are you kidding me? You’re the Beta. Isn’t it supposed to be your job to train wolves?” She grimaced.

He chuckled, turning his gaze to her.

“I was never one to listen and I only became the Beta two weeks ago, so please spare me your impatience.” He replies.

Selena groaned as she started to regret her decisions. She didn’t need to doubt his strength. His muscular physique was proof enough of his capabilities. He scratches his chin and nodded.

“Okay, I think we should start by getting to know each other. What are your limits, Selena and how well do you wield your weapon?”

Frankly, she was certain that her limits were low and she was yet to break them. Her incompetence with fighting, just as Francis said, was painfully hard to watch. She learned all her knowledge for fighting from watching all the wolves in her pack. She adopted numerous fighting styles but how was she to know that they were all wrong?

“I don’t know. But you’ve seen me fight, surely you’ve gauged it already, right?”

“But I haven’t seen you fight with your blade. Show me and maybe I’ll give you some pointers.” He grinned.

“Maybe?” She raised her brows in contempt.

His manner of speaking, keeping her on the precipice of suspense was starting to become quickly taxing.

The wolf only shrugged and Selena ruefully pulled out her dagger. She assumed her fighting stance, her active hand away from her body while her other hand placed neatly against her chest. She took a sharp intake of breath and pulled her strength, pretending that the cold brought by the wind didn’t mind her at all.

She thrusts the blade in her hand and sliced the air in front of her. She could hear the sharp blade swooshing as she made her best to put on an impressive show, determined to not embarrass herself. After a series of slashes and thrusts, Dorran took her blade away.

“It’s okay. I’ve seen enough.” He sighed. “Well, that was…”

The grim and disappointed look on his face was not all comforting.

“I know I’m bad, you can spill.”

“Oh,” he chuckled. “At least you know how to take a pose. You’re not starting completely hopeless.”

“Great,” she says. “Now that I’ve humiliated myself in front of you, can you tell me how we’re supposed to train?”

Dorran looks at her, the bright gleam of intent in his gaze shook her. Selena silently gulped as she stood in place. Slowly, he made his move. Step by step, her fears started to manifest. His tall figure stood in front of her.