Alpha Tristan ✓ [Republishing]

Triantaefta [ 37 ]

Tristan was right on my heels.

The snow crunched underneath my shoes as I ran up the hill. It was slightly steep but I was running on pure adrenaline so I managed to keep my fast pace. The fact he wasn't in wolf form made it all a little less scary. I knew he would catch me within seconds if he shifted.

I made the mistake of glancing back at him, and the very brief moment slowed me down enough that he collided into me, wrapping his arms around my body as he shielded me from the fall. A yelp of surprise tore from my throat and I felt his chest rumble with his deep laugh.

"That's the second time, Tristan! How are you so fast?" I kneeled over him and quickly stood up so the snow wouldn't soak my clothes.

The white snowflakes stood out against his midnight black hair, and he was a sight to behold as his azure eyes gleamed with his smile. He stood up and swept me off my feet. "If you didn't look back, I wouldn't have caught you."

I wrapped an arm around his shoulders and examined his face. He didn't even break a sweat and we were running for five minutes. Once I caught my breath, I cracked a smile. "How were my breathing and heartbeat?

He slowly smiled. "Much much better. You controlled it well. Use the control you have over your body when you fight. If you can control yourself, you won't give anything away." Placing me back on my feet, he took a step back and a challenge sparked in his eyes. "How about you take me on? For real."

My eyes narrowed suspiciously and my smile widened. "And you won't go easy on me?"

A glance was thrown my way as he walked towards more even ground and pulled his jacket off. "Within reason. This will test if you've picked things up as well as I think you have."

The excitement surged within me and I followed after him, tugging my coat from my body as I set it down on the snow. He stood in front of me and I swung first, making sure to not put too much pressure. He narrowly dodged it and gripped onto my arm, quickly twisting me around and wrapping an arm around my neck. He applied some pressure, and I almost froze up before I remembered what he had taught me about that chokehold.

Taking a forceful step forward, I pivoted with my other foot until I was facing him again and pushed away with my hands on his chest. I bounced lightly on my feet and smirked before we walked around in a circle. We studied each other closely and I steadied my breath as he stared at me with a pure concentration in his eyes.

Deciding to think smart and not hard, I tried to slip into his mind to see what he was thinking of doing next. I kept my eyes on him so he wouldn't catch me off guard.

He spoke in my mind as he lunged forward. 'You won't be able to slip into your opponent's mind when you fight, Kara.'

I narrowly missed his loosely closed fist, his side of his fingers grazing my cheek as I quickly stepped towards him instead of away. My move managed to catch him off-guard because I gripped onto his shoulders and kicked his legs from under him with all of my strength. He collided into the snow with a low grunt and I blew out an incredulous laugh.