𝔅𝔬𝔫𝔡: ℌ𝔢𝔞𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔚𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔡𝔰

Chapter Seventeen: Lineage

Amber

Recovering from my first transformation took a few more days than it should have. Alexis stayed with me to monitor my health while I did, and I admit I gave her as much of a hard time like I gave Viva.

She understood though, I hated being coddled in a way that I can’t do it myself. She left yesterday and I got ready to return to the  gym. In the back of my mind I didn’t really want to go there now that I know. And why he showed up at my doorstep that night, it felt weird.

I tied my hair into a bun and sighed, asking Tora for some advice but she only told me to face the trouble and don’t run. “That doesn’t mean you should tell him!” she shouted. “I’m not stupid,” I growled, grabbing my gym bag. “I’m not saying you are,” she replied. I looked at the door behind me and made my way to the gym. I threw my hoodie over my head as I walked.

—--

When I got there, he was inside waiting for me. I sighed, skipping the normal greetings and went to change. When I came out he was right where I left him. “Come on Monroe, your entry was great but it could’ve been better. Let's start with some warm ups,” he announced. 

He threw the roll of tape to me and I wrapped my hands, before getting the gloves. “You won’t need those today,” he said. So I dropped them and went to the punching bags. “Twenty forward and backward bends, let's go,” he ordered. This continued with seven other stretches and then it was on to the drills. Footwork, flexibility, stamina, punching tips, kicking, and repeats of what he first taught me.

After all of that I got a break and sat down to drink some water. Even after all of that exhausting work out all I could think of was what Alexis told me. Looking at him it’s hard to believe he’s from a family of known hunters. And he always wears sleeved shirts, I’ve seen the crest, never heard of them even.

My leg began shaking as I dwelled on it more, I have some meaning unanswered questions.  My concentration was broken when someone sat beside me. That someone was him. I assumed my break was over so I got up.

“Wait,” he reached for my arm and sat me back down. “We need to talk,” he said. I stared at his hand still on my bicep and he let go. “Sorry, last week I was out of line. It won’t happen again, I apologize for that.”

“I understand,” I replied. I waited for him to continue, my heart was beating anxiously hoping that he doesn’t mention anything that I already know. He fidgeted with his fists as he hesitated to say anything, then he did.

“When we first met, you reminded me of someone. I shook it off at first but then after sometime the resemblance to her became more and more apparent.” I knew where this was going, but I remained neutral about it. It’s best for me to remain clueless about everything. 

“Really? Who…” His lips pressed as he played with his hair. “She was a good friend of mine… Her name was Lucrezia and she was a hell of a fighter.” He smiled as if reminiscing in the memory.

“There was this one time while we were training and our coach was getting on our asses for slacking on our reps. So in pure spite she did more than we were actually told to do in the wrong way, that only drove the old man crazier,” he chuckled. He then recounted another tail that was funny. But he was getting off track, so I tugged his tail a bit.

“How’d she die?” I asked this knowing very well how. He swallowed before answering. “It was an accident,” he muttered vaguely. “What type of accident?” I pushed further. “A car accident,” he mumbled. My eyes narrowed, he lied, as I expected. I want the truth, and nothing but the truth, but that’ll only risk me getting killed.