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18| Crescent Moon

Sunday| November 20th, 2016| Katerina| 2:00 PM

It was two in the afternoon. Normally, I'd be lazing around in my room or hanging out with the guys. Instead, I was out in the middle of nowhere with Cato and the rest of my guards learning how to fight, hunt, and track. The three fundamentals of being a werewolf according to Cato.

My training had started not long after I had returned home. I was reluctant to start since I wanted to make sure that Eliana was okay at every hour of the day. After learning about what her parents did, I didn't want to leave her alone, not even for a second. When she told me about how things went down between her and Sariah, I was pissed and hurt. Neither of those feelings were really directed towards her. They were more so towards Sariah since she took advantage of Eliana while she was vulnerable. It hurt when she told me that she still had feelings for Sariah. I knew she felt conflicted about the feelings she had for Sariah and me. We hadn't had that talk yet, but I planned on doing it soon. I would never pressure her into doing anything she didn't want to. Regardless of the decision she made in the end, I would respect it even if it hurt me.

Even though she told me she'd be fine and that I didn't have to worry about her well-being while I was training, it didn't alleviate my protective instincts over her. I knew she was still hurting, and I wanted to take her pain away. She needed me. My instincts were screaming at me to stay by her side. Cato understood what was happening. He told me as horrible as it was to do so, I had to ignore what my instincts were telling me. I couldn't make Eliana my priority and I hated that. I had a duty to my kingdom, to my people, and I couldn't fulfill that if I didn't have the proper knowledge or skills of being a werewolf.

It had been two weeks since I returned to River Valley. I was planning to go back to Greystone to see my parents and show them how much I've improved since I'd been away. I was eager to see them again. I missed them dearly. I wrote letters to them every day and had one of the guards deliver it back home. They sent me letters back as well to keep me updated on what was going on back home.

Pain thundered across my cheek. Blood filled my mouth as I staggered backward. I spat a glob of blood out of my mouth and glared at Cato. "That was a cheap shot."

"You left yourself wide open. You need to focus, Katerina," he instructed sternly.

"Yeah, yeah." I held my fists up in front of me. "You won't hit me this time."

He smirked.

He charged at me, and he was a lot faster than I anticipated. I threw a right hook as soon as I thought he was in range of me.

He swiftly maneuvered to the left while he grabbed my arm with both hands and flipped me onto the ground before I could even blink.

I grunted from the impact but recovered quickly and followed up with a leg sweep.

Cato was quick to dodge once again and grabbed hold of my outstretched leg and used my momentum and swung me through the air.

My back collided with a tree, knocking the air from my lungs. I landed on the ground and coughed up another glob of blood.

I groaned again. "Can we call it a day? I think you broke my spine."

He helped me to my feet. "I barely touched you. No need to be dramatic, princess."

I wanted to slap that stupid smirk off his face. Condescending asshole.

"I think we'll end today's lesson. Josiah, assist the princess with her injuries," he ordered.

"Right away, sir," Josiah replied.

Josiah was one of the guards my father had personally handpicked. Not only was he a skilled fighter but he was also an exceptional medic.