Riven’s POV:
“Come on.”
I watched Nyra’s expression change.
A second ago, she had been smiling.
Now her eyes were focused, her shoulders relaxed, and her weight had shifted slightly onto the balls of her feet.
Good.
At least she was taking the spar seriously.
She moved first.
Much faster than I expected from someone who had only recently started training seriously.
Her fist came toward my shoulder.
I stepped aside, caught her wrist, and redirected her momentum.
She stumbled forward.
I released her before she could fall.
Nyra spun around immediately.
“That was cheap.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“It was a spar.”
“You could have let me hit you.”
“That would defeat the purpose.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“Fine.”
She came at me again.
This time, I blocked her strike and stepped backward.
She followed with another punch.
I blocked.
A kick.
I moved.
She tried again.
I caught her leg.
Her eyes widened.For half a second, neither of us moved.Then I released her.
“You’re relying too much on speed.”
“I am fast.”
“I noticed.”
There was something about the way she smiled at that which made my wolf stir.
‘She likes that you noticed.’ I ignored him.
Nyra attacked again.
I stepped aside and lightly tapped her shoulder.
“You’re leaving yourself open.”
She turned.
“Again.”
I nodded.
She came at me.
Again.
And again.
Each time, I stopped her but I could see her learning.
She adjusted her stance.
Changed her angle.
Stopped making the same mistake twice.
That was what interested me most.
Nyra wasn’t the type to get frustrated and quit.
She got frustrated and tried again.
After several minutes, she stepped back, breathing harder.
“How long have you been doing this?”
“Training?”
“Yes.”
“Most of my life.”
“That explains it.”
“What?”
“You’re annoying.”
I laughed.
She stared at me for a moment.
Then she stepped closer.
“Teach me.”
I looked at her.
“No.”
Her eyebrows shot upward.
“No?”
“No.”
“You literally just said-”
“I said you need training. I didn’t say I’d be your teacher.”
“Then why are you still standing here?”
I didn’t answer because the truth was simple.
I wanted to see what she could become and I wanted to spend more time around her. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
I just wasn’t about to tell her that.
Nyra studied me carefully.
Then she smiled.
“Your training is too difficult, isn’t it?”
“No.”
“You don’t think I can handle it.”
“I think you’ll complain.”
“I don’t complain.”
I stared at her.
She stared back.
“You complained about me catching your wrist.”
“That was different.”
“How?”
“Because you surprised me.”
“That is what training is supposed to do.”
She sighed.
“Okay. Then don’t make it easy.”
She wasn’t joking anymore.
She genuinely wanted this.
I nodded once.
“Fine.”
Her face brightened.
“But don’t blame me when you’re exhausted.”
“I won’t.”
“Don’t blame me when you lose.”
“I won’t.”
“Don’t expect me to go easy on you either.”
She smiled.
“I don’t want you to.”
For some reason, those words stayed with me.
I stepped forward,
“Then let’s begin.”
*****************
Nyra’s POV:
I had made a mistake.
A very large mistake.
Riven was good.
No.
Good wasn’t the right word.
He was ridiculously good.
I had been fighting since I discovered how to control my wolf.
I knew I was stronger and faster than most people expected an Omega to be.
I’d survived four rogues alone, thought that meant I knew how to fight.
Apparently, I just knew how to survive.
There was a difference.
Riven showed me that difference in less than ten minutes.
He didn’t simply overpower me, He read me.
Every time I moved, he seemed to know what I was going to do before I did it.
I attacked, he blocked.
I changed direction, he was already there.
I tried to catch him off guard, he caught my wrist.
Again.
I pulled away and glared at him.
“Do you ever let anyone win?”
“Nope.”
“That wasn’t a question.”
“I know.”
I couldn’t help laughing.
He was impossible.
I was beginning to enjoy it though.
I rushed forward again.
This time, I managed to land a light hit against his shoulder.
I froze.
So did he.
I had actually touched him.
A small smile appeared on my face.
“I got you.”
Riven looked at his shoulder then at me.
“Barely.”
“But I did.”
“Yes.”
I grinned.
“I’m getting better.”
The simple compliment caught me off guard.
For some reason, hearing him say it made me happier than it should have.
I looked away.
“Again?”
“Again.”
We continued.
The forest around us disappeared from my attention, there was only movement, footsteps, breathing, the sound of leaves beneath our feet.
Every now and then, our hands brushed when one of us blocked the other, I felt the sparks rush through me.
I couldn’t ignore the fact that Riven was becoming easier to be around.
When we first met, he had been the most intimidating person I’d ever seen.
Now?
He was still intimidating but I was starting to see the person underneath the reputation.
The quiet man who listened more than he spoke.
The man who respected my decisions instead of trying to make them for me.
The man who had agreed to train me without asking me to abandon my mission.
I appreciated that more than I wanted to admit.
Eventually, Riven stepped back.
“Enough for today.”
I immediately shook my head.
“No.”
His eyebrow lifted.
“You’re tired.”
“So?”
“You’re barely standing.”
I looked down.
He was right.
My legs were exhausted.
My arms felt like they were going to fall off.
But I wasn’t ready to stop.
“I can continue.”
“You could.”
He walked closer.
“But you’d be training badly.”
I frowned.
“What does even that mean?”
“It means you’re tired enough that you’re no longer learning. You’re just trying to prove you can keep going.”
I opened my mouth then closed it because, annoyingly, he was right.
Riven held out his hand.
“Come on.”
I looked at his hand then at him.
I hesitated for only a second before taking it.
His fingers closed around mine.
Those same strange sparks passed through me again.
He picked up one of the water bottles nearby and handed it to me.
“Drink.”
I took it.
“Bossy.”
“Alive.”
I smiled.
“What’s next?”
“Tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Then tomorrow we work on your footwork.”
I groaned.
“Already?”
“Yes.”
“You really enjoy torturing people.”
A faint smile crossed his face.
“Maybe.”
I shook my head, laughing as I walked toward my tent.
Behind me, I heard his voice,
“Nyra.”
I turned.
He was standing in the middle of the clearing, watching me.
“Yeah?”
“Good work today.”
I smiled.
“Thanks, Riven.”
Then I walked away.
Neither of us noticed the figure watching the clearing from deep within the trees but someone had been there.
Watching.
Listening and waiting..