The Eternal Avenger: Book Two

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Boundaries

(Natasha's POV):

As we left the camp area and moved towards the open field, the Widows began to spread out in an instinctual flanking maneuver. Claray stood in the middle as the circle slowly closed around her. Wanda, Yelena, Lerato and I headed towards the porch so we could get a higher vantage point for what was, undoubtedly, going to be a great fight. We agreed before starting that Claray would start the day without feeding, and we would reevaluate after that initial fighting period. Claray stood in the center of the Widow circle, her posture fully relaxed, but I could see her fiddling with her hands. Her eyes were on everything, and I could tell that she was highly attuned to any sound or movement. One of the widows from her rear left charged first. Claray spun out of the way, ducking down at the last moment, grabbing the widow's wrist and flinging her off to the side and out of the direct line of combat. Two more rushed her from the other direction and held her briefly before they went flying in opposite directions. I could see the red begin flashing in her eyes. Even though she was clearly coming out on top – at least for now – she was at least exerting effort. As another widow went high, Claray ducked, coming up underneath her with a thud as she flipped the girl over her shoulders. I saw a couple of the widows grab their sticks. "Heads up!" I called to Claray, who only stole a second to glance at me before lowering herself into a crouch and facing the widows who were now at least minimally armed. She grabbed the first baton right out of the widow's hand, delivering a wicked kick to the stomach that sent the woman flying. I had to give them credit – the Widows were collectively starting to get the idea and work together to take down a bigger threat. It didn't come naturally to them, but they were evolving. Working together had made them into a kind of team.

"Whoa." I felt Yelena tense beside me, and even Wanda seemed a little on-edge as a cluster of five widows attacked simultaneously. I got to my feet in a hurry as they pulled her to her knees and began landing blows.

"Don't." Claray's voice echoed in my head, and when I glanced at Wanda, I suspected that she heard it too. Nonetheless, I didn't sit back down, and when I looked back over at Wanda, I could see red magic dancing between her fingers. Lerato began whining beside us as she watched the fight progress. I clenched my fist hard by my side, ready to step in the second she gave us the word. "I've got it." Claray's face was hidden from view, but the sound of repeated blows landing on her was a difficult sound to hear. Only a few moments later, however, the widows all went flying back in unison as Claray rose back up to her feet. She was bleeding from several places on her face, but didn't seem too worse for wear. The group paused as Claray held up a single hand, signaling a break. She made her way over to the porch, dabbing at her mouth with a clean towel. I frowned when I began to get a good look at her.

" принцесса, are you okay?" I cupped her face lightly, but she nodded and smiled reassuringly.

"They're really good," she panted, taking a seat in front of my feet, leaning back against my legs. I trailed my fingers absent mindedly through her hair as she caught her breath. We all looked up as one of the widows approached the porch.

"You feed now?" Claray looked up at me. I shrugged.

"Up to you, babe." Claray sat up straight and reached for Wanda's hand. "Wait, what are you doing?" Claray and Wanda turned to me at the same moment.

"Feeding?" She looked confused. I looked between her and Wanda again.

"You're feeding from her?" My surprise was now replaced with something else. Wanda glanced at Claray sideways, giving her the opportunity to answer instead. Smart witch.

"I just thought that..." I raised my eyebrow and Claray stopped talking. Smart hybrid.

"You just thought that what?" I sat up straight now. I was messing around, but the look of panic on both of their faces was worth it. The three of us immediately snapped our attention to Yelena when she began speaking. Not so smart little sister.

"Fuck it, I'll do it." She stood, offering her arm to Claray. The simultaneous, instant reaction was never clearer.

"Not a chance in hell."

"No way."

"Not happening." Yelena looked between the three of us, clearly confused. I turned my attention back to Wanda.

"You were saying?" Wanda visibly gulped.

"Aren't you both stronger on human blood?" I caught the careful way she worded her question – the way that was the least likely to piss me off. I frowned, thinking. Then I caught Claray trying to stifle a smirk, and I smacked her on the shoulder.

"You don't get to gloat just because she has a point." Claray grinned up at me, and I couldn't stay fake-angry at her when she looked so damn cute. Like a little kid. I looked towards Yelena, smirking at the surprise lesson she was about to receive. "You may want to hold onto Wanda, Yelena." The blond scowled at me.

"Why, what's going to happen to Wanda?" She asked. When no one answered, she took her place behind Wanda, gently grasping the witch's shoulders. Wanda held out her wrist and Claray took it gently.

"Are you sure you don't mind, Wands?" The witch's nose crinkled and she smiled.

"I can handle it."

"That's all you'll be handling," I grumbled just to remind them that I was there. Before Wanda could respond, however, Claray had punctured her wrist and was feeding slowly. Wanda sank back into Yelena's grip as her eyes rolled back slightly. Yelena glanced down at her, confused, before looking up at me.

"What's happening now?" I smirked.

"Get Wanda to tell you about it sometime," I snarked at her. She rolled her eyes, but didn't push any further. I glanced around, seeing a group of the widows watching curiously. I smiled at them, attempting to reassure them that everything was still okay. After what seemed like far longer than was strictly necessary, Claray finally let go of Wanda's wrist. She wiped off her lip as she looked at me. I smiled at her, squeezing her hand and reassuring her that I wasn't about to go all ex-assassin on her or on the witch beside us. Claray rose to her feet, moving back out into the field. We all looked up as the cabin door opened, Melina and Alexei walking out onto the porch to observe as well. Maybe it was out of bias, but Claray immediately looked stronger. Where she was focused before, she seemed hyper fixated on the smallest details around her. Wanda caught me looking at her, and by the smirk that crossed her face, I'm imagining that my thoughts were loud. It wasn't my fault that seeing Claray feed made me hungry.

"I dare you to ask sometime," Wanda's voice echoed in my head, and I caught myself blushing slightly. I visualized a steel safe around my brain, attempting to fend off any attempts to read my current thoughts. That wasn't going to help anything. I watched closely as Claray began sparring again, all eyes fixated on the sight of a single vampire against a group of trained Black Widows. A conversation to the side caught my attention.

"Wait, where are you going?" I turned towards the conversation.

"We're all going to take a hike in the morning and do some training," Yelena patiently explained again.

"All of you?" I caught an evil smirk appear on Wanda's face.

"Yeah, I'm going, too." Yelena looked at her in surprise.

"You are?" Wanda nodded.

"It will be fun," Alexei chimed in behind us. I turned my attention back to the hybrid, still holding her own against a growing number of simultaneous assailants.

"Sounds like it."