He can’t, I said. Unless he was getting information from someone else outside Alpha Academy. No one here knew who I was.
“Okay, damn – you kids and your chatting!” Coach shouted. “Do you even want to spar?”
There was some shouts, whoops and hollers around the group. Personally, I wished to crawl in a hole and die. Sparring?
“Smith!” Coach’s voice brought me out of my daydream. Loren shook me gently. I realized my face was set in a grimace, so I gave her a soft smile.
“Anddddd….” Couch peered down at his clipboard. “Wolfham.”
Great.
Just great.
Now Maximus was about to kick my ass and gloat about it for all of eternity. I looked across the sparring mat to find him waiting for me. He wiggled his fingers tauntingly and I felt my grimace return. I stomped over to the mat and took my defensive stance in front of him.
“Let’s get this over with,” I sighed.
Maximus grinned like a cat. “Gladly.”
He threw the first punch and I managed to block it with my forearm. It stung like hell and caused me to hiss in pain. As I was adjusting, he leg swept out and I was on my ass. I groaned and rolled back onto my feet. It felt like a mental bar had been taken to my ankle.
I looked at him as I retook my stance. His nose was wrinkled.
“You reek of human,” he hissed. “Have you ever even been around a wolf before?”
“Yes,” I threw back quickly as I threw the first punch this time. “Well, no.” I corrected myself. I was worried about giving myself away.
“Yes or no?” Maximus said leisurely. He threw a double cross that landed into my forearm twice. I grunted as I accepting the force.
“No,” I grit out as I threw another punch. He blocked the first at his ribs then used it to counter and landed one in my gut. I was back on my ass again. I huffed and blew a stray piece of hair out of my face. “I grew up with humans,” I managed to get out as I tried to hook my foot around the back of his calve and bring him down.
He barely moved.
I cried out in frustration before rolling over and getting back on my feet. He came at me harder this time. But his words sounded just as lazy as they were before.
“Raised by humans?” he questioned. He threw a hook. I barely blocked it. I was getting sloppy. “No wonder you don’t have any respect for the Higher packs—” Another hook, just barely missing my cheek. “—Though what wolf would abandon their daughter?—” Another punch, landing in my arm and causing my to cry out.
“—Clearly you were a massive disappointment—”
Punch. Punch. Block. Miss. I staggered back.
“—I mean what wolf is wolfless at your big age?—”
A kick to my thigh. My knee hit the ground.
“—Just face it, you’re nothing. Not even your parents wanted you.”
Another punch. This time, making contact with my cheek.
The rage ignited within me. I felt a fire wash over my with a tenacity that I had never felt before. I cried out as I threw my arm back towards Maximus. I swiped my nails across his bicep and he staggered back.
Slowly I watched as a trickle of blood pooled in a line then dripped down his inner arm. Maximus looked shocked. He ran his pointer finger over the cut, smudging the blood. He hummed and looked off in the distance.
I turned to see everyone looking at us in shock. No one had expected me to hurt Maximus. I slowly stood up and looked Maximus in the eye.
“I will prove to you that I belong here,” I said slowly. “And when I do, I expect that fucking apology.”
With that, I turned and walked off the sparring mat and into the locker room.
I showered quickly before everyone else came in. The blonde girl who had spoken with me earlier ran into me on the way out. She grabbed my hand and yanked me out of the locker room.
“I can’t believe you did that!” she whisper yelled. “No one’s ever made Maximus bleed. Let alone a wolfless!”
“Yeah,” I half laughed. “Me either. Something just came over me.”
“I’m Loren, by the way,” she said. She gave me a soft smile. “It seems like you need a friend.”
“I do,” I mumbled. I was so out of my element. I could feel eyes on me and I had no idea why. On that thought, my stomach grumbled loudly. I paused and looked at Loren.
“Um, do we get lunch?”
