Their Hidden Princess (Zora) novel Chapter 33

**Where Sleeping Rivers Dream We Follow Trails Toward Tomorrow by Evan Milesa Cade**

**Chapter 33**

**Zora**

In the days that followed the awakening of my wolf, I felt as if I were a fawn taking its first tentative steps into the world. Every sensation was amplified, more vivid than I had ever experienced. My feet, encased in thick running shoes, could feel the roughness of every rock and pebble beneath them, as if they were whispering secrets to me. The scents in the air were overwhelming; I nearly retched when I caught a whiff of myself after a particularly intense training session.

And then there was my new companion.

Or rather, the old friend who had decided to make her presence known more frequently than I would have liked. The wolf within me was a constant, nagging voice in my head, always ready with a comment or a critique, and it was enough to push me to the brink of madness.

Take, for instance, my renewed training sessions with Valentin. He was coming at me with a ferocity that surpassed anything I had faced before my transformation. One day in particular, he launched me to the ground with such force that I gasped, struggling to fill my lungs with air.

Get up! Getupgetupgetup! My wolf chanted insistently in my mind.

“Jesus, can you let me catch my breath for just a moment?” I thought back, feeling her tail swishing impatiently in the recesses of my consciousness. I had learned that this was her way of expressing frustration.

“Jesus will not answer your prayers, so quit lying around and GET. UP!” she barked.

With a heavy sigh, I huffed and blew the sweat-drenched strands of hair from my face. I had attempted to braid my hair that morning, but the relentless punches Valentin was throwing caused wisps to escape and cling to my cheeks. Pushing myself onto my elbows, I shot a glare in Valentin’s direction.

“We’ve been at this for hours,” I groaned. “It’s Saturday! Can’t I at least have one hour of freedom on a day when there are no classes?”

“No,” he replied matter-of-factly, adopting the striking stance he had taught me as he circled around me like a predator assessing its prey. “Your wolf is still weak. We need to build up your strength and speed. It’s essential for your body to adapt to her powers.”

I grunted in response, forcing myself to rise to my feet. “You both are exhausting,” I muttered under my breath.

“I heard that,” she chimed, her tone playful.

“Good,” I scoffed back. “You were supposed to.”

Another swish of her tail echoed in my mind. “You know, we’d be much stronger with a mate,” she teased, her words laced with mischief.

I took my sparring stance, mirroring Valentin’s movements as he circled me. My arms ached from overuse, but I held them high, determined not to show weakness. I launched two punches at him, which he easily blocked.

“Too bad we got rejected,” I shot back at my wolf, trying to focus on the fight. I blocked a high kick from Valentin and retaliated, managing to clip him under the jaw. He grunted in surprise.

“Good,” he acknowledged, before launching another attack.

My wolf’s tail continued to swish in delight. “There are certainly other people besides the Knight who can make us feel all tingly inside,” she remarked, her voice teasing.

I balked at her comment just as Valentin seized the opportunity to deliver a swift punch to my ribs. It was a blow that would have incapacitated me a week ago, but with my wolf’s newfound strength, my bones held firm, and I found myself hurtling across the sparring mats like a boulder.

“This is the worst flirting I’ve ever seen,” my wolf chimed in, amusement evident in her tone as Valentin chuckled at my antics. I rolled my eyes again, making my way back to the locker room.

“It’s not flirting,” I insisted, though deep down, I couldn’t help but agree. But she didn’t need to know that, and of course, she picked up on my secret and began snickering in the back of my mind.

Once in the locker room, I stripped off my clothes, reveling in the solitude of a Saturday afternoon. Most students were outside, lounging on the campus lawn, enjoying drinks and basking in the sun like normal wolves who had earned a break.

But I was not a normal wolf, and the notion of a break seemed to elude me.

I turned the shower on to the hottest setting, letting the scalding water cascade over my body, soothing my aching muscles. This was my fourth training session with Valentin this week, not including the Basics class I attended every other day. I realized I hadn’t truly given my body a moment to rest since before Mateball.

I scrubbed my body vigorously with soap before tackling my tangled mass of hair. I carefully unraveled it from its braid, wetting it thoroughly before lathering it with soap. When I finally finished, I turned off the water, enveloped in clouds of steam. I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply, savoring the comforting silence.

That tranquility was shattered by the unmistakable sound of wheels rattling on the tile floor of the locker room.

My eyes snapped open, and I dashed for my towel, barely managing to wrap it around myself just as someone rounded the corner into the shower area. We both halted abruptly, and as I recognized the figure, my expression morphed into a scowl.

“What the hell are you doing in here?” I demanded, my voice edged with irritation.

Maximus crossed his arms over his chest, a smirk playing on his lips. “I could ask you the same damn question.”