Chapter 42

Harper’s POV

Logan jumps out of the way, and Lucas wastes no time. He lunges at me, moving like a bolt of lightning.

One minute, he’s in front of me, and the next, he’s behind me. I spin around, trying my best to keep my feet beneath me and to keep my eyes on Lucas. He bounces, moving left then right, but he never touches me.

It’s like he’s giving me time to realize how unfair this fight is, as if I didn’t already know. But that doesn’t mean I’ll give up. I can’t. I have to show everyone here that I’m not the pathetic girl they all think I am.

I know what they whisper behind my backs. I know how they see me as a girl who can’t do anything because I don’t have a wolf.

Not anymore, though. I’m going to prove that I can do anything they can do.

“Stay focused,” Lucas growls, and almost too late, I jump back. He’s right in front of me, glaring down into my eyes. “Never lose your focus during a fight. That’s how you get killed.”

Nodding, I lift my hands again and center my focus solely on Lucas. I turn, keeping my eyes on him as he moves to the left, and when he comes close again, I throw my first punch.

It connects, but he doesn’t flinch. He doesn’t even blink.

Pain spears my side as a solid punch lands in my ribs. I hadn’t seen it coming, but I’ll be feeling it for days, I realize, as I stumble to the side. Lucas is powerful and that punch hurt, but that hit didn’t feel as hard as it could have been. Realistically, I should’ve been on the ground from a single hit.

“Are you going easy on me?” I hiss, glaring at Lucas.

He growls, “Why would I go easy on you?”

I clench my jaw. Yeah, why would he go easy? This was his idea, and he told me to give it my all.

Before I can think too much about it, he begins circling me again. The warriors cheer for their Alpha, and I do my best to block out their voices as I dodge and block two more punches he sends my way.

Then, my feet fly out from under me, and I slam into the ground. My arm crunches beneath me, and I cry out. Pain splinters in my shoulder, and everyone freezes. Lucas’s blue eyes grow wide with concern as he moves toward me, but I push my healing magic into my arm.

“Are you—”

I throw my foot out, nailing him in the inner thigh just below the knee. Lucas grunts and drops to one knee, giving me time to roll, jump to my feet, and throw another punch. My fist connects with his jaw, and because he’s distracted by my injury, I move behind him and kick his other leg out from under him.

Lucas falls forward, but he’s fast and catches himself, chuckling, “Nice trick. Pretending to be hurt is cheating.”

“No trick,” I mutter, rubbing my arm. “It broke.”

His eyes flicker gold for a second before they return to blue, “We should stop—”

I run at him, throwing punch after punch. One of them lands while others are easily blocked. I can tell that my movements are still sloppy, but I don’t care. I won’t give up and let him win without a fight.

Jumping back, I land and slide about a foot back before lifting my arms to guard. My breath saws raggedly in and out of my chest, and I have to swipe the back of my hand across my forehead to stop the sweat from entering my eyes.

I’ve only landed two good punches and one kick and missed many more.

Lucas begins to circle me again, and I turn. I don’t take my eyes off his strong form, making sure to note any small movements he makes. If I can just pin him to the ground, I could win. However, I can feel my body approaching my limit. I’m not sure how much longer I’ll last before my body gives out.

He watches me for a moment, not attacking. I’m not sure what he’s up to, but at least I have a moment to catch my breath before he lunges again. He doesn’t move quite as fast this time, and I duck, throwing a punch to his stomach.

A grunt comes from above me, followed by an elbow coming down on my back.

“Ah,” I groan, stumbling back.

Again, Lucas’s eyes turn bright gold as I rub the back of my shoulder. It aches, but not enough to be seriously hurt. Just a bruise, then. If I get injured worse, like before, I don’t think I’ll be able to heal. I’ll have to be more careful and not leave myself open for attack.

“Keep your arms up at all times,” Lucas says, making me look up at him. “Keep them close so your opponent can’t get to your face as easily.”

I nod, tightening my arms up while also wondering why he’s telling me this. He’s supposed to be my opponent.

“Don’t bend over like you did before, it leaves your neck open to attack, which could be deadly if hit the right way,” he adds.

Again, I nod, still unsure why he’s teaching me in the middle of a fight.

Then, he’s gone. Before I can move, hands land on my hips turning them to where my right leg is in front and my left is in the back.

“Keep your feet planted and your dominant leg in front,” Lucas whispers.

Electricity zips through me at his touch, and I almost lean back into him. Except, I don’t. I jump away from him and spin around, keeping my arms up like he said. He smiles and darts toward me, kicking my leg out from under me again, and sending me tumbling to the ground.

This time, I land on my back. The air gets knocked out of me, but I move before I can think about it, jumping up and facing Lucas.

I gasp for air, the weakness in my body and the lack of endurance becoming a hinderance now.

“Ready to give up?” Lucas asks.

“Never.”

We continue to fight, and he continues to throw out random pointers when I stumble or hesitate. I try my best to follow his instructions, but my body becomes weaker with every second that passes.

I sway on my feet and blink against the stars that swirl in my vision.

I’m not built for this, and I haven’t had enough training to endure such a complicated and long fight. However, instead of using my weakness to his advantage, Lucas sweeps in and wraps an arm around my waist.

Not wanting to lose, I give it my all. With each hit I land on Lucas, I begin to notice a change in him. He no longer baits me or teases me with his movements; instead, he points out my faults and takes hits when I follow his instructions.

My fist collides with Lucas’s ribs, and the men around us cheer. Their support sends a boost of energy through me, but it doesn’t last long because I’m lagging. I’ve used all my energy and gone past my limit.

The next time I move forward, I stumble and fall right into Lucas’s fist. Pain explodes in my face and gasps sound around me.

“Harper.”

“I’m okay. I can… I can k-keep going,” I tell Lucas, forcing my body to listen and straighten up. My arms shake violently as I lift them, and I know they can all see how weak I am. “I can do th-this.”

My words sound pained even to my ears, and I look up at Lucas, who watches me with concern.

“I was wrong, little healer. Your mate was right. You’re stronger than you look, but I think it’s time to call this fight.”

“Wh—” I teeter, swaying on my feet as my vision flickers. I try to move forward, but my legs give out.

My full weight slams into a hot, solid wall just before we hit the ground. A slight groan sounds from whoever caught me, but I’m too tired to care.

Arms wrap around me, lifting me from the ground, and a familiar warmth surrounds me. The same comfort I felt after being carried from the forest several days ago fills me, and I curl into the man’s body, sighing relief.

“Let’s get you some water and something to eat,” he says. “You did good. That’s the longest you’ve lasted since you started training…”

The man keeps talking, but due to my weakness, I only hear bits and pieces of what he’s saying.

“…going to work on endur… that’s a good way to protect your fa… and eating more protein would be…”

The warmth, the sound of the man’s voice, and the exhaustion soon become too much, and I fall further into the darkness.