Sorry for the long absence, but I had a reason . . . on July 22, after a year and four months of hard work, I will be receiving my RMA degree as well as my phlebotomy certification ( x . Also, I know this chapter isn't the best, but I wanted to show the Jamie is starting to get stronger.
Jaime's POV
I crouched on the ground, panting for breath as I anticipated his next move and I could feel myself becoming slightly frustrated as he just stood there smirking at me. Closing my eyes, I forced myself to calm down, knowing that if I let him get to me he would easily bring me down again.
"Come on, Luna, are you just going to kneel there all day or are you going to make a move?"
Narrowing my eyes, I glared up at the man smirking down at me as he waited for me to react to his taunt. Suddenly his face grew serious and he nodded to himself as if he had come up with something.
"This pack thinks they can get away with hurting those who are weak and unable to fight back. They think that anything the Alpha says is law and I'm . . . I'm tired of being helpless, Jaime. I want to fight back, but I know that I can't do it alone, . . . I want to escape from this place, but I need your help and in order for you to do that, I need you to become stronger no matter how tired you feel or how much it hurts."
I thought you hated me."
"I never . . . I never hated you, even when your sire gave me to Quinn as a reward and even when he held me down and raped me in front of my mother and sister in a fit of rage and I found out I was pregnant with his pup . . . I hate Quinn and I hate the man who gave me to him, but I could never bring myself to hate you because I knew that you were suffering more than I was and you had no one who would stand up to protect you . I would have been even more of a monster than the two of them if I hated an innocent for something they couldn't control."
"Is that why you decided to leave? Because you hated Quinn and my ma . . . sire?"
"The day your aunt died, Quinn came home bragging about what they did to you, how the pack doctor drugged you and left you unable to move so he could beat and rape you in order to break you for your "mate." When I learned what they had done, I decided then and there to leave this place and to take you with me, but Quinn must have realized my thoughts, because he threatened my family forcing my hand until I had no choice but to accept his mark and give my body; my life to him."
I rose from my crouched position, shaking my head in disbelief as the full weight of his words hit me.
"You're . . . You're pregnant?! We can't fight in your condition!"
"Would you rather have Quinn training you?"
"No I . . . I just don't want you to get hurt."
"With all due respect, you're not at a level where you can beat me, besides I know my limits Jamie. If I feel like I'm being pushed too far or that my pup is in danger I'll call it quits. What's important now is you learning how to protect yourself."
I sighed and nodded, knowing I wouldn't be able to talk Dylan out of anything he set his mind to. Closing my eyes, I thought about my options; I may have gotten stronger, but I also knew that I was nowhere near as good as Dylan and even if on the off chance I could have taken him down; Quinn would rip my head off if I actually left so much as a scratch on his mate. Dylan must have seen the look on my face because he let out an irritated groan.
"If I didn't think I could handle getting a little banged up I wouldn't have agreed to train you, Jamie. You need to stop being afraid all of the time, do you want them to take Desmond from you?"
"O-Of course not. I will do anything to keep him with me, you know that."
"I know that you're willing to take your own life out of desperation, but that's not the same as fighting. I want you to be able to stand your ground instead of running away. I want you to show everyone who thinks you're weak that they can't push you around anymore."
I felt myself getting irritated and glared at Dylan who just stared back at me calmly.
"Look, we both know that you're only training me because you want my help to escape, you don't really care what happens to me. If you could get away on your own, you would have just abandoned me and made a run for it by now."
" Is that what you've believed this whole time? That I'm so selfish that I would teach you how to protect yourself so I could use you as some kind of tool for my own freedom? If that's what I wanted, I would have admitted it to you from the beginning. I don't need you to protect me Jamie, I know how to defend the both of us if we decided to run right now, but I don't need to put the extra stress on myself or bring any risk to my pup by doing something stupid. I'm not going to force you to do anything, if you don't want to do this, speak up and we can stop right now. "
My irrigation evaporated at his words and I swallowed nervously, avoiding his gaze.
"I'm sorry, Dylan, I trust you."
Instead of acknowledging my words, Dylan shifted into an attacking position.
"If you can bring me down, I'll let you practice on the training targets for today."
Nodding, I got into a defense position, searching out any weaknesses, but finding no openings.
"Stop hesitating, Jamie, a real enemy won't just stand there and let you figure things out, you have to make a move or you'll end up dead."
Jerked from my thoughts, I forced my claws through my skin before rushed forward, but of course Dylan dodged me effortlessly. Turning on the balls of my feet, I twisted towards him, aiming for his back and he just stood there as if he didn't know I was there. At the last minute, he grabbed my arm with one hand and lifted me over his shoulder, slamming me into the ground.
"Never let your guard down, Jamie, even when your enemy seems to lower theirs. You should always expect the unexpected."
"Like this?"
Kicking out, I hit Dylan in the leg, moving as soon as it buckled; throwing off his center of gravity and catching him before he could hit the ground. He let out a surprised laugh as I lifted the two of us to out feet.
"You actually did it."
Smiling smugly I made my way to the targets as Dylan sat down to watch me. I kept walking, even though his next words made me want to freeze.
"I wasn't sure, but now I think we might have a chance to actually pull this off."
I felt a warmth filling me, maybe I couldn't win against Dylan yet, maybe I wasn't ready to face an enemy; but for the first time in a long time I had faith that I wasn't as weak and useless as everyone believed I was.
