The Blind Werewolf Princess (1st book of Werewolf Series)

Chapter 11

"Watch your head," Peter said when we came to an overhanging tree. "We're going to have to squeeze through here. It's a tight squeeze."

I ducked my head and felt the forest around us, closing in. I was surprised that I wasn't panicking because I did not do well with tight spaces, thanks to Georgie.

"Are you ok?" Peter asked when he heard me push my staff through some trees above us.

"Yes," I replied, lowing the staff down. "I wanted to know how far it was from my head."

"You can do that?" he asked, sounding excited. "How?"

"Practice," I replied. Carefully, I maneuvered around a large root, using both my sense and my staff. "I have done a lot of stuff with both practice and patience." I smirked. "Even though, I am only patient with some things."

There was a pause. "Will you be patient with me?"

"Of course," I replied. "I am your teacher, am I not?"

"Yes," he replied. He paused. "What are you going to teach me first?"

"Breathing and the movements," I replied. "I will give you basic instructions to defend yourself."

"Will you go easy on me?" Peter asked, and I shook my head, no. "Why not?"

"Because the men who had taught me how to fight were not easy on me in the beginning," I replied. "It would be unfair."

There was a pause as Peter tried to think of something to say. "Why didn't they adopt you? Were they a couple?"

I paused and thought about the relationship between those two men. "I don't think so. I think they were friends or acquaintances."

"Why didn't they adopt you?"

I shrugged. "I asked them the same thing. They said that it was safer for me to be there than with them."

"But, you got bullied and abused. How was it safer for you to be there than with them? They sound like they cared about you."

"And, they did. They cared about me. I think they knew that it would have been easier for me to survive there than with them."

"How come?"

I shrugged my shoulder. "I don't think they had a place to live," I replied. "I tried to ask them questions, but they normally shut the questions down by making me work harder. In the end, I just stopped asking questions."

"But, it sounds like you had risked your life to get to them. Why did you do it? You could have gotten hurt, couldn't you?"

"I did get hurt for sneaking in or out a couple of times," I replied softly. "But, I had gotten better at sneaking around because of it. As time went on, I stopped getting hurt."

"Why did you do it?"

"Freedom," I replied. "It helped me find the freedom to do stuff. I didn't need help from anyone because I learned what I needed from them. It gave me the freedom to know that I didn't need to rely on anyone else but myself."

Peter paused. "Does that mean you don't want to be my friend?" His voice was soft, and I could detect a bit of sadness in his tone.

"I thought I was your friend, Peter," I said, giving him a soft smile. "What I mean by relying on myself means that I didn't need to rely on the people that were supposed to care for me. I could protect people and help them with anything they needed. I could teach them what I knew and help them become stronger than they were."

Peter didn't say a word, and I could tell that he was deep in thought. He stopped a couple of feet ahead and waited for me to move forward. He watched as I looked around with unseeing eyes, and I couldn't help but wonder what he saw.

Did he see a crippled that needed someone to lead them? Or, did he see a warrior that could take care of her own self even though she was blind? Or, did he see a friend that would protect him until he didn't need me to protect him anymore?

Whatever he saw in me, I just hoped he understood that I was far from just one person. What had happened to me made me the person I was today, a strong female who fought for what was right, no matter the cost.