Cara’s POV
The loud shouting and smell of sweat filled the training house. It is a big structure where training sessions are held in Brian’s pack.
I glared at Garreth as he moved around me, correcting my stance once again with the evil smirk on his face that I could have given anything to wipe off his face. His cold gaze never left me as he picked up fault upon faults in every few seconds, igniting my anger the more.
Do you want to survive? Do you want to protect yourself?” His voice grated on my nerves. “You need to focus. Resist distractions and stop letting your emotions control you.”
I trembled, not from fear, but from the rage building inside me. The image of Alexander flashed in my mind, his severed hand, the agony on his face, the fear in his eyes, and the hopelessness in the pack members’ faces.
because of this man. A lot of things have gone wrong in my life. Garreth’s words were like a mockery. Who was he to talk about survival and control? He was a butcher, Brian’s loyal dog.
“I don’t need this,” I snapped, stepping back, my chest heaving with barely contained fury.
“That’s not up to you,” Garreth replied, his gaze cold and unwavering. “The master gave the orders.”
Every fiber of my being screamed at me to walk away, to lash out, to fight back. But instead, I stood there, helpless and angry. The worst part was that I hated that he was right. I *needed* this training, as much as I hated him, and as much as I hated myself for needing it.
I repeated the mantra I’d been chanting in my head since morning, “You need this training. You need this to survive.” But it did little to stop my emotions from flaring. His stupid smirk, his harsh commands, they were all driving me crazy. They weren’t something I could just turn off like a switch.
“Fine,” I growled through gritted teeth, forcing myself to take a deep breath. I needed to focus, but my mind was a storm. I pushed away thoughts of Garreth and tried to imagine something else. Anything else. Shirtless hot rogues in the forest, perhaps. Anything to calm me down.
Following his instructions, I tried to remember what he had said and went on a stance
“Good,” Garreth said with a sarcastic tint to his voice. He moved around me again. “But with the way you’re standing now, even a six-year-old could beat you comfortably. ”
“The insult stung, but I swallowed my pride and fixed my stance. Every correction he made felt like a slap to the face, and I could feel the others in the room watching. His every word was a bruise to my pride, but I stayed silent. I had to get through this.
We continued like this for what felt like hours…his hands adjusted my posture, his voice giving clipped commands. My face burned from the humiliation of obeying him like a good soldier. With every word he spoke, my impatience grew, my anger bubbling beneath the surface, waiting to explode.
“You want to survive and learn to control your powers?” Garreth continued, his voice cold. “Then stop whining like a little…”
And that did it.
I snapped.
“What’s your problem?!” I yelled, cutting him off. “You think I want this? Do you think this is about control?” My voice shook with rage as I stepped toward him, unable to hold back anymore. All the pain, all the frustration, came pouring out.
Garreth stopped, his expression unreadable. I wanted to hit him and punch him in the face to make him understand how much I despised him and how he was being a jerk and a bully. How could someone like him, who had caused so much pain, dare to lecture me about control?
Before I knew it, every movement in the training ground seized, as if on pause, it took me a moment to realise that I was literally screaming on top of my voice.
“Enough,” Garreth’s voice cut through my fury like ice. He stepped back, signaling to the others’ training nearby.
“Gather around everyone,” he called together everyone present, I was confused and weary of his next actions because I knew it won’t ever be good
And like trained robots, warriors from every corner of the training ground moved quickly, forming a circle around us.
Everyone filed up, leaving everything they were doing. I could see the glow of respect and expectations in their battered eyes, like they couldn’t wait for a good show.
Garreth called out a young girl standing at the edge of the group. She looked no older than sixteen, her face sharp with the seriousness of a seasoned fighter. She had that cold detachment I recognized from those loyal to Brian, mostly because she is a rogue wolf.
“Lissa, step forward,” Garreth ordered.
The girl obeyed without hesitation, her eyes flicking to me with mild interest.
“What are you doing?” I demanded, the tension in my voice rising.
Garreth didn’t answer right away, his gaze shifting between me and the girl, lissa. Then he spoke, loud enough for everyone around to hear. ” This here with me is Cara, a new recruit and a fresher. She seems to have a problem with how things are done and fails to understand the situation around here. Perhaps a little demonstration will help her understand.”
My heart dropped as I realised what he was doing. He was punishing me, making an example out of me. He was going to make me fight this girl, someone clearly more experienced than I was, and prove his point at my expense.
“Lissa darling here is a month old and had only undergone one hunting, as a helper for the healers, now she will face our new recruit in a welcome to the club challenge”
“You can’t be serious,” I muttered, my breath coming fast.
But Garreth merely nodded to lissa, and the girl stepped forward, her face a mixture of resolve and pity, as if telling me to fight
“Let’s see how you learn to keep your mouth shut and emotions out of you in a real fight,” Garreth said quietly to me, spotting a smile before crossing his arms as if this was just another drill.
My jaw clenched, and my heart pumped blood faster like an overcharged battery. Garreth had set me up by putting me in a fight with a young warrior. He was trying to punish me for snapping at him.
But now I can’t take back my words. What has been done is done, and it is left for me to try to clean up my mess.
The girl Lissa, after her short pity, was already prepared, her eyes lighting up, like a bulb, the prospect of the intending fight bringing out her rogue side.
and before I could react, lissa lunged at me without warning.