Rebirth of the Alpha's Slave Mate (Samantha and Kade) novel Chapter 15

Chapter 15

“I don’t tell you how to run your squad, Melvin. Don’t tell me how to run mine.”

The male–Melvin–simply scoffed. His dark eyes scanned me from head to toe like a prize mare at auction before he turned on his heel. “Well. I suppose that’s why the women’s team always loses against the men’s.”

With that, he left.

I blinked in surprise at his retreating form. “He seems… lovely.”

Amelia snorted. “That’s just Melvin. He came here with Luna Natasha when she married Alpha Samson. He never really tried to make friends with anyone in Nightshade and mostly keeps to himself except for when he has something nasty to say. You don’t need to worry about him.”

“That’s not particularly reassuring,” I admitted.

Amelia chuckled and shook her head. “Come on. Let’s get started on your exercises.”

I followed Amelia over to an empty space in the training yard, where she led me through some basic exercises: planks, crunches, squats, lunges. Even with just my bodyweight, I struggled with the moves. It seemed my new body might have healed, but I was still weak, my muscles having atrophied from years of neglect.

But Amelia was patient and warm, and never judged me.

“Now,” she said after my warm–up and a quick water break, “let’s practice your self–defense. I assume you had some training growing up?”

I shook my head hastily, and Amelia’s eyes widened. “Not even the basics?”

“Not even the basics.” My parents never cared to teach me that sort of thing, and I never thought I would need to use it. Although, looking back, I wished I had. Maybe then I wouldn’t have been so easily abused in Crescent Hollow.

“Well, I’ll teach you a few dodges for now,” Amelia said, taking a step back. “Raise your fists like this and keep them in front of your face. Then, when I take a swing, all you have to do is duck and step to the side… Like this.”

I followed Amelia’s instructions carefully, ducking down and bobbing back up. It seemed simple enough.

But when she actually took a swing at me, I panicked and dropped to a crouch, trembling and raising my hands above my head.

“Please don’t hit me!” I cried out.

Amelia froze. The small crowd that had gathered around us fell silent, and I suddenly realized what I had done. Face flushing, I lowered my shaking hands and muttered, “Sorry. Old habits.”

To my relief, Amelia just smiled. “It’s alright. Trauma like that can take years to recover from. I should have thought about that before I jumped right into the hard stuff, Here.” She extended her hand and I took it, letting her pull me to my feet.

After that, Amelia walked me through the absolute basics–controlling my breathing, remaining calm when she made quick moves around me, and eventually how to dodge slow attacks.

Surprisingly, I picked it up relatively quickly. It was difficult to remain calm given my past, but by the end of our session, I found that I had learned how to dodge and anticipate my opponent’s next moves with ease. “Wow,” Amelia said with an appreciative nod. “You’ve done well for your first day. I’m impressed.”

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TODAY 15

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I beamed under the praise. Even Tyler and Samson, who had been watching from nearby, clapped enthusiastically for me.

“Do you think you might be ready for a trial match?” Amelia asked then. “Just something simple to test your skills.

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The thought didn’t exactly fill me with joy, but I nodded anyway. “I’ll give it a shot.”

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