The Border Trilogy (Book #1) Enemies to lovers, Forbidden love

Part 9

I closed my eyes and waited for death. I was so sure it was coming. But opened them when his hand left my throat. I bent down a little and tried to catch my breath. Between him choking me and my heart flipping out, all my breath left my body, and I had to breathe it all in. Darien was standing in front of me both his hands down by his sides, he was just looking at me. 

"Wh...what... was that!" I said in between breathes.

"You have to be ready at times like that. If it was a vampire that was set out to kill you, he wouldn't have stopped." 

"You scared me half to death!" I added.

"You can't just close your eyes the way you did and let it happen," he ignored me and kept going, "You have to defend yourself. You have to be strong!" he scolded me.

"Alright, I get it, but I thought we were gonna train, I didn't realize you were going to attack me right away!" I countered.

"Arguing isn't going to help, now pick up a stake,"

I walked over to the pile of stakes resting by a tree and picked one up.

"Too small. This is also important, the kind of stake you choose."

"Okay," I set it down and picked up another one.

"Too thick,"

I breathed out loudly, and picked another one.

"Too-"

"Okay! Then why don't you tell me which one to take!" I leaned up and turned around to face him.

"Because I am not your friend here! I am your enemy, so when I attack you, I'm not going to assist you in choosing which stake is best to kill me with, I'm going to grab mine, and kill you on the spot!"

"Fine!"

He wants to go right now, I can take him. I grabbed a thin stake, it must've been about 8 inches long, and 1.5 inches in diameter. I ran at him and prepared to fake stake him. But as soon as I was close enough, he ran around me, wrapped his around around my neck, kicked the back of my leg bringing me to my knees, and put the point of the stake at my throat. 

"Lesson number one, never attack, or fight, with anger. Skill, defeats anger. You will never win." he whispered into my ear.

He let go of me and I fell to the ground. He walked around me to stand in front me of. I stood up, still holding the stake in my hand.

"Now get up." he said.

"What is your problem!"

"I don't have one."

"Clearly, you do. Just yesterday you were fine with me trying to get me to escape- helping me even, and today, you're acting like an ass."

"Let's get one thing straight, I am not your friend here, I'm a protector, one that's been assigned to train you-"

"You offered!"

"Because I knew no one else would've! And if one was forced to train you, they would accidentally kill you." He made quotation marks with his hands when he said 'accidentally' making sure I understand that it would be no accident.

Whoa. He's right.

"So excuse me, if I don't seem excited about having to train a trespasser and a potential enemy to my tribe. The only reason I wanted you to escape, was becauase I didn't want to have to deal with knowing I was the reason you would've died. Don't think it was for any other reason!"

Ouch. That hurt. 

"Well don't you think it's hard enough for me! I'm an outsider here, a trespasser, a potential enemy, as you just so politely described me. Do you have any idea what thats like, how hard that is. How hard it is to be away from my family! To be around people the hate me!" I yelled.