Beastly novel Chapter 58

My eyes followed his feet as they bounced closer to me, with the coordination of a predator. It didn't help that I had to be conscious of the staff he carried that would hit me down painfully if I wasn't careful. It had already done so about 4 times and the aches it left were reminders for me to be vigilant and perform well. I raised my own staff, sweat dripping down my forehead as I evaded his advances, searching for an opening. When I thought I saw one, I lifted my staff and charged forward, victory bells ringing in my head.

That is until he sidestepped me and knocked me down from behind the second I was passed him. A groan left my lips as my face plummeted to the ground, the metallic taste of blood filling my mouth slightly. That was the hardest hit I'd taken today, but today was slightly better than the other injuries I had been sustaining ever since I began my training sessions three weeks ago. It didn't hurt to move as I turned over to find Marcus looking down at me with a sweet smile and an outstretched hand.

"Your defence would have been better if you were quicker. Your attack would have been better if you hadn't already thought you were going to win and your feet-"

"I know." I said, taking his hand and sitting up, "They need more coordination."

"Exactly." Marcus replied in approval, glad that I was now catching on

"I don't know how to. It's hard." It was. As a ballet dancer, I had learned how to be light on my feet and twist my body in ways normal people couldn't. My flexibility and twinkle toes were an asset. Here, it seemed to weigh me down as I needed to be grounded and be able to steel my presence when going up against an opponent.

Like I had realized before, this training was completely different from the one Ben had given me. It seemed like I was fighting for my life and as far as Marcus was concerned, I probably was. It was rather exasperating how challenging I found this, especially since I was putting my all into it. For the past 3 weeks, Marcus and I had trained day after day. He had been teaching me techniques that I never knew existed and from what he had put me through, I would now go around telling people I was in the army. I had more or less earned that right at this point.

Some days were not easy, and I broke down, but Marcus always took time to calmly explain the importance of learning how to control my powers. My physical body, despite being a werewolf, was not something that could take the force of the energy I had stored. The little I had been giving out always made me pass out and ultimately put Keira to sleep. I had come to understand that having these powers and having a wolf was not common for someone like me. Marcus had already told me not to classify them as mere powers but as a part of me, that was made to be mine.

Kind of hard to do when I wasn't aware it was ever going to exist in the first place.

If Keira was the same, then there would be the constant clash between them and a total overrule of Keira whenever my powers were used, no matter how small. It had physically hurt me the day I learnt that if a solution wasn't found, Keira would be put to sleep in my body forever. Since I was stubborn, Keira had been brought into our training but there was no guarantee yet that even if she did train hard to be able to withstand the force and co-exist with it in my body, that she still wouldn't be put to sleep. We were now fighting together on this like we always did with everything.

I had to find control. I knew how to get it, but it kept slipping away the harder I tried.

With a heavy sigh, I stood up and walked to where my bag was, taking out my hand towel and proceeding to sit down on the closest bench.

"You look worried." Marcus stated, sitting down beside me and passing me a bottle of water "Is it because of this?"

"I guess I'm just frustrated with myself. It's either I do this or risk losing a lot. That's a lot of pressure." I answered

"You don't think you may be trying too hard to do it this way? The best way to learn something is by finding the most comfortable method for you."

"I'm too light on my feet. Whether I like it or not, if I don't work on my balance and speed, I'll be a goner when you come at me. You're heartless."

"Oh, that's not true. You know I have the softest spot for my only baby sister."

I grinned at him, although my hand rose to smack his arm "Tell that to my aching back muscles, Marcus."

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to be too hard on you, I just have to be so you won't suffer later on."

"Sounds like something Maria would say before pulling my ear."

"Well luckily for you, I won't pull your ears. See, I can be nice."

I chuckled slightly and silence enveloped us as we stared straight forward, in our own thoughts. Only a few minutes passed before I heard his voice again.

"Next week, I want you to start using your powers properly." My eyes widened and I turned to him in astonishment

"What? I'm not ready for that!" I argued. He just saw how worried I was about my physical state and he still wanted us to move forward?