My Fated Alpha's Cruel Game (Elena and Marcus) novel Chapter 176

Chapter 176: Chapter 176 Impossible Healing

Elena’s POV

The next morning arrived with Corbin’s familiar demanding presence, though he at least permitted me to finish breakfast before dragging me to the shooting range. Every step sent sharp reminders through my body from yesterday’s punishment, but I refused to let him see any weakness. My pride wouldn’t allow him that satisfaction.

At the range, I snatched up a weapon with practiced efficiency. The siren’s shrill call echoed through the facility, and I plunged into the course with determination coursing through my veins.

Something felt wrong immediately. The familiar moving targets that usually challenged my reflexes were nowhere to be found. No werewolf silhouettes emerged from behind barriers, no civilian cutouts appeared for me to protect. The course stretched before me, empty and eerily silent.

A sudden, searing pain exploded through the back of my thigh, sending me crashing to the concrete floor. My vision blurred as agony radiated from the impact point.

Corbin’s boots appeared in my peripheral vision as he approached with calculated slowness. In his hands was some kind of modified weapon I’d never seen before. He yanked a dart from my leg with clinical detachment.

"That burning sensation? That’s exactly what a bullet feels like tearing through muscle. The effects will fade soon enough, but now you understand what real combat means."

"What the hell is this about?" I demanded through gritted teeth.

"Simple. You’re going to hunt me down and take me out."

His words hit me like ice water. We were about to engage in live combat training, predator versus predator.

He confiscated my standard weapon and handed me one of those dart guns instead. Apparently, he didn’t trust me not to put actual ammunition into him given the chance.

I limped back to the starting position, my leg still throbbing from his surprise attack. When the siren wailed again, I moved with deliberate caution through the maze-like course. Every shadow could conceal danger. Every sound demanded my complete attention.

The training area had been sealed off today. No observers in the gallery, no witnesses to whatever twisted game Corbin wanted to play. Just the two of us locked in this concrete arena.

He proved himself a formidable opponent. Time after time, darts found their mark before I even spotted him. Hours dragged by with me sprawled on the floor, pain coursing through different parts of my body as he systematically hunted me down.

His refusal to let me leave until I succeeded only fueled my growing rage. Each failure added another layer of fury to the fire building inside me.

I reset once more after the latest dart’s sting faded from my shoulder blade. This time, something shifted. My anger had crystallized into laser focus.

Footsteps. Barely audible, but unmistakably real. They came from somewhere close but not in my immediate vicinity.

That was impossible. The course’s acoustics were specifically designed to muffle such sounds. I’d never been able to hear footsteps before in all my years of training here.

I froze, processing this new information. Then Corbin rounded the corner ahead of me, moving with his usual predatory confidence.

The dart gun bucked in my hands before I’d even consciously decided to fire. The projectile caught him center mass, and he dropped to his knees with a grunt of surprise.

Rather than gloat, I simply dropped the weapon at his feet and walked past him without a word. I needed air and space away from his twisted training methods.

Outside, I collapsed against the building’s exterior wall and tugged off my boots to assess the damage from yesterday’s torture. Bracing myself for the sight of raw, bleeding flesh, I peeled away my socks.