Freeing Starr

After running into the cardinal beta, Griffin and asking him for directions, I found Leon in his office, intensely going through a few papers. As soon as the door opened, he looked up in confusion.

"Peach?"

I closed the door behind me and proceeded to lean on it awkwardly, "hi."

Walking all the way down here, I was alight with determination. My chin was raised, fists clenched and legs stomping. It was as if I was marching into a fight with all that energy. However, now that I was here, that energy quickly disbursed and I found myself at a loss of what to say as I stood there staring at the man I wanted to be close to.

He tilted his head curiously, "hi, I thought you were with my mother doing preparations?"

I nodded, "we're done for the day."

He nodded, eyeing the way I was glued to his office door in amusement, "oh ok. Did you want something?"

I pursed my lips in thought, trying to figure out how to approach the topic at hand and coming up blank. I couldn't possibly start with 'do you want to touch me?', now could I? Should I just look into his eyes and see what they say? But it was always the same with him. His wolf was always the depiction of calm no matter how hard I looked. There was no other expression that gave away to his desires or struggle. I wasn't even sure how exactly I was supposed to gauge someone's emotions from the image depicted in their eyes.

He must have seen the troubled look on my face and got up from his seat worriedly, "you alright?"

Was I alright?

"You promised to train me," I had no idea why those were the words that slipped out of my mouth.

Leon paused then slowly nodded, "I did."

"You haven't come to see me in days."

He furrowed his brows in confusion and leaned against his desk with his arms crossed, "you want to start your training? I thought you'd prefer to have waited until after our ceremony."

I shook my head, "I don't mind starting now. The quicker I get stronger, the faster I'll be able to help you."

"You don't need to rush yourself, Peach."

"... I know but I'd feel so much better being active. I want to help you."

A thoughtful look blanketed his face, "when do you want to start?"

I brightened at that, "whenever you're ready!"

"Now?"

"N-now?" I stuttered in surprise. I was expecting him to set a later date, but I didn't mind doing it now as long as I got to spend time with him.

He leaned off the desk and approached me, a spark of mischief flicking in his eyes, "why not? You're free and I need a break. This is the perfect time."

I nodded my head absentmindedly as my body hugged the door even closer, as if trying to step away from him when truly what I really wanted was to get closer.

He came to stand in front of me and I craned my neck to look up into his face. I scorched every little detail into my mind as I tried to gauge his real feelings and if there was any lust buried in there.

I tentatively lifted a hand to place on his chest and gulped as my heart beat increased nervously. I felt his body stiffen slightly before he relaxed.

He raised an eyebrow at me, "Don't think that this will be easy just because we're mates. You should know that I'm not going to go easy on you even if you're playing cute."

Playing cute?

So he thought I was cute?

I beamed up at him with a smile, "I don't want you to. I'm serious about learning."

He nodded in approval, "good because I'm serious when teaching."

My breath hitched in my throat when he bent slightly and my eyes immediately strayed to his lips in anticipation.

Click.

The door was clicked open and I gasped in surprise as he reached around me to push the door open, stepping away and gesturing for me to take a step out.

"Let's go then. I have a private training room on my floor."

Disappointment circled inside me as I stepped out and allowed him to lead us away from the office. Why didn't he kiss me? It was the perfect opportunity to.

We walked up a few flight of stairs before we arrived at his training room. It was spacey. One side was decorated with a few gym equipment while there was an open space on the other side with a large rubber carpet spread out on the floor.

He walked over to a bunch of lockers and opened one, pulling out a pair of leggings and a T-shirt. He threw them at me and instructed, "I had these prepared for you a few days ago, I hope they fit. I'll step out until you're changed."

An idea immediately came to mind and my heart raced as I clutched the clothes to my chest. Maybe I could... test it?

"You don't have to..." I timidly murmured so softly I was surprised even I could hear it.

Leon's eyes snapped to mine in surprise and I felt a shudder rock my body. I built up all the courage I had and lifted my shirt up and over my head, tossing it on the floor.

I watched as his eyes darkened considerably as he turned his back on me and continued rummaging through the locker.

Satisfaction flared in me as a smile tilted my lips. That was the reaction I was hoping for. Unfortunately, he didn't look for long.

I quickly changed into the clothes he provided then stood and watched as he slipped out of his shirt with his back still turned to me.

I eyed the way his muscles flexed with every movement he made and couldn't help but admire him as a male. He was strong, overwhelmingly so and yet I didn't feel an ounce of fear, only admiration.

After slipping into a pair of shorts, he finally turned around, his face back to its usual calmness with a hint of seriousness in his eyes.

I got rid of any inappropriate thoughts and focused on the task at hand as well. I wanted him to know that I was taking all of this seriously. That he could rely on me as his mate.

We stepped onto the mat and faced each other seriously.

"What will we be doing?" I asked.

"Hand to hand combat. You're on the offensive and I'm defending. Try and fight me."

I cringed. Fight him? I've never fought a day in my life. Even when I killed Nadia, that was me overcome with rage and using my wolf instincts to survive. I've only ever done sensory and stamina training with Zion. He didn't care too much about human combat as fighting in our wolf forms were more preferred.

I awkwardly bent my legs and placed my balled fists in front of me.

Leon eyed my form with a frown, "have you never fought before?"

I shook my head with a grimace, "no, I never had a reason to. Even if I did, I'd just shift into my wolf and let my instincts take over."

"Following your instincts can only get you so far. You have to also train and put in the work in order to hone those instincts and use them more effectively. Look at it this way. A dominant beta who trains regularly can overpower a dominant alpha who doesn't train and simply relies on their 'dominant blood'."

I nodded and listened attentively, "so I can't rely on pure instinct is what you're saying?"

"Exactly. Also, you can't always depend on your wolf form to fight. What if you're in an enclosed area that makes it hard for you to shift? You're going to be helpless and might die due to your over reliance on your wolf. We're werewolves, not wolves. We're half human, half wolf and if we only focus on the wolf side then our human side will become a weakness to us. There's only one way to fix that."

"You train both," I muttered.

He nodded and approached me, "exactly. Let's start from the basics since you've never fought before."

I nodded and watched as he disappeared behind me.

"Stand straight and place your feet shoulder length apart," he instructed.

I followed his instructions perfectly.

"Good now place one of your legs slightly in front of the other... a little further out... yes that's it. Now raise the heel of your back foot slightly off the ground. This makes it easier for you to pivot. Great, now bring your fists up."

I brought my fists up as instructed and stiffened in surprise when he came up close behind me and reached his hand around to grab my fists and pull them down just a bit above my chin.

"Don't put your hands so high, it'd obstruct your vision when in a fight. You want to be able to see and protect your face at the same time. Got it?" His breath fanned my ear as he spoke, tickling my insides.

I nodded quickly and tried to maintain my composure and not let my mind stray too far but it was hard to focus when he was this close to me. I could literally feel his body lightly pressed against me and wished that I could turn around and kiss him but this wasn't the time for that.

I had to focus.

"Bend your knees a bit," he said, lingering a little longer than normal before he pulled away. I wanted to look back and gaze at the expression he wore at the moment but refrained from doing so.

Focus.

I bent my knees slightly and maintained that form as best as I could.

Leon came back to stand in front of me and nodded his approval, "great, now swing your fist and punch me as hard as you can."

He raised his open palms and gazed at me expectantly.

I swung my fist and punched his palm that felt as hard as a freaking rock. Leon didn’t even flinch.

“Again. Maintain your form.”

I realized I had widened my stance without noticing and fixed it, throwing out another punch that had no effect on him.

“Again,” he instructed.

I threw punch after punch while maintaining my form and every time I punched him, I felt my strength increasing as I adjusted to my position and started getting used to it. That was what we did for the entire time we spent training. I simply threw punches at his hands while he just stood there and took them like they were nothing.

If I was being honest, it was kinda hot.

When he finally decided to end the session, I sat down on the floor in exhaustion. My muscles ached from performing the same movements over and over again but at the same time, I felt this sense of accomplishment and exhilaration that I’d never felt before. It wasn’t a bad feeling.

I watched as he took a water bottle and threw it at me, “here, drink that.”

“Thanks,” I muttered, catching the bottle and quickly taking a large gulp of the water. I eyed him as I watched him walk over to the weights that were stacked in the corner.

Recalling why I had even come all the way over here in the first place, I finally got the courage and asked, “you want to touch me, don’t you?”

There was a slight pause before he glanced back at me with an exasperated expression, “what did my mother tell you?”

I giggled at the look on his face and asked, “why’d you assume your mother said anything?”

He crossed his arms and shot me a pointed look, “you wouldn’t ask me that if you weren’t influenced by my scheming mother. What did she say?”

I replied defensively, “she was just worried about us. We’re spending too much time apart and as an Alpha, it’s better to have your mate close.”

“I’m glad that you’re concerned about our bond, peach but I’m just trying to take things slow. You’ve been through a lo-”

“I can handle it.”

“I know you can but baby steps, alright? There’s no need to rush our relationship. We have a lifetime together.”

I pursed my lips. Was I the only one feeling the need to touch and hold him? I nodded to show that I understood and got up, “I’m gonna go take a shower before dinner starts,” I muttered.

He turned back to his weights and picked one up, “I’ll meet you downstairs in a bit.”

I glanced back at him hesitantly as I prepared to leave then voiced my thoughts, “you know you can touch me whenever you want, right? If something’s bothering you… or you need comfort… I’ll be here.”

A smile tilted his lips as he glanced over at me, “I know.”

I returned the smile then left the room to go wash off all this sweat.