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To my relief, he didn’t ask any more questions about Midgrave or my fighting. I wasn’t sure how many more questions I could dodge, especially under the growing weight of exhaustion.

Wolf already knew too much. He was on my side right now, sure. But so was Lanson at one point. Lord had always warned me against trusting outsiders, against letting anyone else in.

He was the only one I could trust. Lord was the one who saved me, the only one I could share this secret with.

It had to stay that way.

Chapter

Twenty-Four

“Don’t even think about partnering with anyone else,” Wolf growled in my ear.

I managed to sneak out of bed and to the courtyard for training before Wolf had even woken up, somehow thinking I could partner with someone else for sparring today.

Like the damn idiot I was.

Everyone else already had partners. Even Lanson had managed to find a new partner for sparring, a smaller male fae who kept to himself, leaving me utterly alone in the back of the courtyard.

Until Wolf arrived, anyway.

“Hells,” I mumbled. “You’re already drawing way too much attention.”

“We’ve been over this, Huntress. Your plan to stay under the radar is toast. You’re stuck with me, now.”

I rolled my eyes and groaned. I guess it was better than standing alone in the corner, waiting for the mentor to notice me.

And I had already trained with Wolf. I was learning the patterns of his movements, the flows of his punches.

“Fine,” I admitted. “But if you make me bleed, I’ll kill you.”

I turned to face him, only to find him already smirking. “Careful, Huntress,” he purred.

The surrounding groups had already begun warming up, throwing half-assed punches and running through basic combat movements.

My entire body still felt stiff from yesterday’s training, but that would not stop me. With less than two weeks until the final test, I had no time to spare. I had to grow stronger. I had to step up.

I faced Wolf and held up my fists. He did the same, his signature smirk still lingering on his face. With the morning sun rising over the edge of the castle walls, I noticed the way his wings had a subtle tint of gray in the black feathers. His wings somehow managed to stay glistening, the feathers perfectly arranged in the confines of his muscular back.

Yet they never impeded his fighting, either. I caught myself staring, re-adjusting my gaze to his eyes.

He smirked. “You’re staring.”

He didn’t wait for me to make the first move. In a flash, he stepped forward and kicked at my legs, trying to send me off balance.

It almost worked, but I had seen that move before. I jumped over his leg and sent a punch to his ribs.

My fist made contact, but Wolf gripped my arm and spun me to his chest before I could retreat. He pressed my back against his torso and slipped a hand to my throat, squeezing just enough to restrict my air supply.

“If I was a vampyre,” he breathed, dipping his head to my neck, “you’d be mine.”

The way his voice rasped sent goosebumps down my arms. His hand on my neck was hot and infuriating in a way that made me want to submit to him.

Fuck that,I thought to myself.He’s doing that on purpose.

I leaned my head back onto his shoulder, giving him the impression that I wanted more of his breath on my neck, more of his hands on my exposed skin. I even pressed back against him harder, feeling the vibrations of his chest before I raised my elbow and sent it into his ribs.

Hard.