AVA
The next two days were a blur of border concerns and all manner of other crap. On the third morning,
I made a point of doing something normal. I got up at 5am to run with Alex and Kieran.
Of course now I had a security escort, but they stayed far enough back that I could attempt to pretend
they weren’t there. Not that it’s really possible to ignore the presence of Lycans.
Alex beat us to the training ground; I hadn’t actually told him that I was planning to join him for this
run.
Kieran was standing in the middle of the training grounds when we got there, clearly having just
shifted. He jumped and spun around at the sound of paws approaching him, his unease pouring off
him at the sight of the Lycans behind me.
Then he saw Artemis… and yipped happily.
“Ava!” Alex shouted excitedly through the mind link. “I’ve missed running with you.” He suddenly
stopped, before correcting himself. “My Queen.”
I laughed. “Alex, you’re like a second adoptive father to me. In informal situations, and especially
when you’re mindlinking just me, you don’t need to use my title.”
Artemis took that moment to sprint straight into Kieran’s side, knocking him over, the pair of them
rolling in the leaves.
“I’ve missed you, Artemis,” Kieran’s voice came through the mindlink.
“You too, Kieran,” Artemis replied. “Shall we spar after this?” I could feel her smirk.
Kieran stopped running, turning to face Artemis. “Won’t your guard stop me?” Alex pushed Kieran
back to talk through the link.
“Nope,” I replied. “Jeremiah might get twitchy, but he knows not to interrupt if I’m sparring for
training.”
“Let’s do it.” Kieran yipped as Alex spoke.
We ran back to the training grounds, shifting back and pulling on clothes from one of the stashes.
“Out of curiosity, Ava,” Alex shouted across the field to me. “Have you ever sparred with Jeremiah?”
Jeremiah and the rest of my guard had shifted back and were standing on the edges of the training
ground, having also thrown shorts on.
Jeremiah snorted at Alex’s comment. “Beta Alexander, I couldn’t make myself spar with the Queen
anyway, but I also know I’d never hear the end of it when she knocked me on my backside.”
I gave Jeremiah a grin. “I’m up for it if you are, Jeremiah!”
‘Jeremiah might not want to, but I will, Ava!” Jacob’s voice suddenly appeared behind us, a prideful
grin on his face. “What do you think, Ava? Up for sparring with both Alex and I?”
“Obviously,” I laughed.
“Perhaps if you take us down too easily, Jeremiah will jump in.”
“I won’t be doing that, Alpha Jacob.”
“I’ll do it though, my Queen!” One of the other members of my guard exclaimed.
I met Jeremiah’s eyes, one eyebrow raised. He was in charge here, it was up to him.
“On your head be it, Lewis,” Jeremiah laughed.
Lewis just smirked. “I’ve always wanted to spar with you, my Queen.”
“Well, then. Let me show Jacob and Alex their asses, then I’ll show you yours.”
I stood right in the middle of the field, Alex a few metres away on my left and Jacob on my right.
I let them move first; the pair of them attempted to catch me off guard by sprinting towards me at the
same time. I jumped backwards, before rolling to the left, jumping over Alex’s leg.
Jacob spun to charge towards me, but one well-placed kick to Alex’s lower back had him face first in
the mud, in the perfect position for Jacob to trip over him.
Alex groaned when Jacob’s full weight landed on his back. Jacob rolled off him, but before he could
stand back up, I was behind them both, one foot on the back of Alex’s neck, my hands on Jacob’s,
turning it to the side. In a real battle situation, I’d have been able to break both of their necks.
They both tapped out at that point, laughing.
“Okay, Ava, that was impressive,” Alex chuckled.
I helped them both up, before turning to face Lewis. “You still game?”
His expression was cocky. He was considerably bigger than both Alex and Jacob, but in human form,
that meant he’s slower. His cockiness told me he didn’t really know that.
Perhaps I needed to insist on some Lycan vs wolf training in human form… Wolves are quicker and
lighter, which can give a massive advantage over someone relying on strength and weight to win.
He nodded, walking towards me, his gait incredibly cocky and sure of himself. I took a moment to
study his build. He was tall, and broad. He was easily a foot taller than me, and probably twice my
weight, all of that being in muscle.
I’d never properly sparred with a Lycan in human form before, so this one was going to be fun.
I was so focused on studying Lewis’ build that I didn’t even notice the group we’d attracted around
us. Now it wasn’t quite so early, more and more people were out training, and, of course, they’d
surrounded us.
Once he was ready and it was clear I wasn’t going to make the first move, he charged straight at me,
fists raised.
I ducked under his flying arm, spinning behind him, but not making my move yet. I needed to see
how he moved.
We circled each other, both frequently feigning moves to see how the other reacted. When he went for
my legs, I jumped, my hands on his shoulders giving me the height I needed to go straight over him.
Once I was in the air, an elbow to the throat and then to the nose distracted him enough for me to use
my weight on his back to pin him to the ground. I twisted his arm behind his back just to the point of
dislocation – he healed quicker than Alex or Jacob would.
He twisted to try to escape my grip, but in doing so, he dislocated his shoulder, growling at the pain.
“Give, Lewis,” I growled, voice low.
He swung his leg up, attempting to knock me off his back. The hit connected, but it didn’t work. I
adjusted my hold so I straddled his thighs, now pinning both of his arms behind his back.
“Give, Lewis,” Artemis growled.
His Lycan pushed to the surface, forcing the human into submission.
When he did, I got up, helping him up. “Nicely done, my Queen,” he smiled.
I smiled back. “Sorry about your shoulder, Lewis.”
“All is fair on the sparring mat, my Queen.” He smiled, but his smile turned to a wince and he swore
under his breath in a way that would make a sailor blush when Jeremiah reset his shoulder.
“Excuse my language, my Queen,” he rubbed his shoulder.
“It’s fine, Lewis,” I replied as I chucked him a bottle of water. “All is fair in training. Plus, resetting a
dislocated shoulder really does hurt like a bitch anyway.”
The crowd around us cheered, and the rest of my guard clapped Lewis on the back. Fortunately, they
paid attention and went for the shoulder that I didn’t dislocate.
“Alex, Jacob,” I called out. “Shall we go get breakfast?”
“Let’s do it,” they smiled. The three of us made light work of shifting, then the two of them trotted
towards me and bowed. As soon as I gave a small bow in return, we sprinted back to the packhouse,
my guards hot on our heels.