Alpha Tristan ✓ [Republishing]

Triantaeksi [ 36 ]

"This is your last training session."

I glanced up at Tristan from where I was sitting on the bench. The smile made its way onto my face and I stood up. "Do you think I'm ready?"

He nodded. "I do."

It had been two months since we destroyed Carew's letter and ever since then, I had been dedicated to learning how to fight. It was a slightly brutal process as Tristan didn't go easy on me and we often trained for hours. It took me three weeks to finally train with the rest of the pack, and I had been able to pick up a few things from everyone I sparred with.

I found that I actually learned things when people weren't afraid to hit me back. With Tristan, it was harder to see what a move would actually feel like since we would never hit each other, training or otherwise. But now, I felt stronger and like I could actually defend myself.

There was something liberating about knowing I could protect myself better but also the pack. I still felt slightly uneasy about the fight, especially because of who my opponent would be.

Mindy.

She was the best female fighter and it made sense to fight her seeing as there were no new pack members to face. A large part of me was happy because I knew I had to make it clear that she couldn't have feelings for Tristan, at least not so obvious to the point it made me uncomfortable.

"Come on, Kara." Tristan pulled his sweater off and set it on the pull-up bar. "We're going over chokeholds again."

I walked over to the mat and kicked off my shoes. He was close behind me when I laid down, bringing his legs on either side of my hips as his hand closed around my neck. As I stared up into his crystal blue eyes, the smirk pulled at my lips and I made no effort to move.

We had the same problem the first time he taught me how to escape chokeholds.

"Focus." He demanded seriously, placing more of his body weight on top of me as he lightly squeezed my neck.

Gritting my teeth, I wrapped my fingers around his wrist in a monkey grip and grabbed his bicep to trap his arm. Locking my foot with his and bringing my other leg up between his, I raised my hips and applied some force to flip him onto his back. He hit the mat with a light thud and made a move to sit up.

Placing my hands on his chest, I pushed him back down and straddled his hips. "My turn."

He smirked slowly. "Are we trying something new?"

I gave him a pointed look. "If I have to focus so do you, Tristan." Shifting my weight carefully, I wrapped my hand around his neck and applied a bit more pressure. "Stop staring and—"

Within seconds, I was pressed tightly against the mat and I felt like the wind had slightly been knocked out of me. Tristan leaned down and chuckled. "What did I say about always being on your guard? You weren't focusing properly there."