SWNOVELS Chapter 29
Chapter 29
At training, Lucianne had just finished demonstrating a technique to dodge the opponent's punch from the side without losing balance. When she and Toby were moving on to the next pair of fighters. Someone yelled out, “My Queen.”
“Oh, wow.” Toby said in surprise when he saw two Lycans approaching them. Both young. One dark-haired and one light-haired.
Lucianne turned to face them as they bowed and their heads lifted when Lucianne’s head was lifted after bowing in return. “Good morning, ministers. Toby, this is Sir Weaver, the Minister of Environment. And this is his mate, Lord Yarrington, the Minister of Education. Ministers, this is one of my closest brothers on the battlefield, Gamma Tobias Tristan.” *Pleasure.” The Ministers took turns thrusting out their hands to shake Toby's who managed t o stutter a surprise "L-Likewise.”
“What can I do for you both?” Lucianne asked the ministers.
They looked at each other before the light-haired Lycan, Sir Weaver, spoke, “My Queen, we were wondering if you have any time in your schedule to watch us fight? The Lycan warriors have been showing us the same moves every year, and we feel like we've hit a plateau. (This novel will be daily updtaed at www.noveljar.com)And, t o be fair, those guys never fought in a real battle before. So, we were hoping to get some pointers from you since you have fought, and won, on a battleground. And maybe you could teach us some new techniques?” Toby held back a smile and muttered, “Oh, wow.”
Lucianne smiled, “We will be happy to help but uh...” she looked around and was mentally counting the number of pairs that she and Toby would have to watch before she could slot the ministers in, “Give us an hour?”
“That'll be great! Thank you, my Queen.” They bowed and left.
“Oh, wow.” Toby said for the third time.
Lucianne narrowed her eyes, “Really, Toby?”
His cheeky smile appeared as they strolled towards Wainwright and Lyssa, “I apologize for not living up to the Queen's expectations.” Lucianne smacked him mercilessly on his arm and he chuckled. Wainwright and Lyssa were both improving. Their sparring lasted longer but Lyssa came out victorious again.
“Lucy,” Wainwright started, “It really isn't easy to show no mercy to a woman fighter. I mean, I love my daughter and I see someone else's daughter when my opponent is a female.”
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“Then the solution is simple, Alpha Wainwright.” Lucy said, “Imagine that the woman you are fighting wants to harm your daughter.(This novel will be daily updtaed at www.noveljar.com)” The Alpha's eyes turned dark for a moment before he
nodded in understanding and said, “That would work very well. Painful, but it works.”
Lucianne then offered an alternative, “A less painful method would be to imagine protecting your daughter from your opponent. But in my experience, it still makes one hesitate.”
“I agree.” Wainwright said with a smile.
“LUCY! LOOK OUT!" Juan's voice came from a short distance away. Zeke dashed from his mat near where they were, and pulled Lucy and Toby out of the way. Lyssa and Wainwright managed to take a few steps back from a Lycan which was punched from a few mats away and onto the mat where Lovelace and Wainwright were sparring.
“What the hell!” Zeke spat in the Lycan’s direction.
TITIS
The Lycan which lay on the mat was partially-shifted, its light brown fur on his arms and face showing but not to its full length and thickness. There was a growl, and his opponent, also partially-shifted with dark brown fur, ran through the crowd and pounced on the lying Lycan before extending its sharp claws.
Lucianne recognised the scent of the Lycan who was attacking, and she yelled, “SEBASTIAN CUMMINGS, STOP!”
The attacking Lycan halted in its position. His claws hanging in the air. (This novel will be daily updtaed at www.noveljar.com)Juan, Zelena and a few others were quickly by Lucianne’s side. Xandar and Christian were running as fast as they could towards them. The cousins’ adrenaline for sparring was put to a sudden halt when they heard Juan scream Lucianne’s name.
Lucianne took a step towards the partially-shifted Lycans, her voice still strong as she demanded, “RETRACT YOUR CLAWS, NOW!" Slowly, Sebastian retracted his claws.
Lucianne then ordered in a slow, stern voice, “Get off your opponent, and take five steps back.” And Sebastian did just that.
Xandar reached where they were when Lucianne was approaching the Lycan lying on the ground. He pulled her by her hand and asked in panic, “Baby, what happened? Are you hurt?” He started lifting her arms to look for wounds and bruises
“Xandar, I'm fine. Zeke pulled me out of the way.” Lucianne said, and took back her arms to continue walking towards the mat. She gave Sebastian a hard look and said slowly and clearly, “Shift back. Now.” He bowed and obeyed, shifting back.
She then looked at the Lycan on the mat and said, “You too, your Grace. Shift back.” There were surprised and judgmental looks being thrown at Greg Claw and Sebastian Cummings
from both the werewolf and Lycan communities.
Greg shifted back but remained flat on the mat as he continued panting. (This novel will be daily updtaed at www.noveljar.com)His chest rose and fell. Lucianne squatted next to his head to examine his features. His face and lips were not pale so he had enough air. His eyes looked normal so he wasn't injured there either. Any internal damage to his body caused by a punch of the fist would have been recovered already
since Lycans recover faster from minor injuries compared to werewolves. There was nothing wrong with him. He could have gotten up even before Sebastian pounced on him. Lucianne suddenly regretted stopping Sebastian from plunging his claws into Greg's hypocritical being.
She then stood up emotionlessly and declared, “You can stop pretending now, your Grace. Get up.”
He smirked coyly, "How do you know that I'm not really injured?”
Her eyes burned down at his without a trace of humour, and she warned, “Don’t test me.”
"O-kay.” He stood up with ease.
Xandar started, “Greg, I warned you.” Greg retorted, “Your Highness, that was in the dining hall about an issue of courtesy. This was a fight that went out of control.”
Alfred Cummings and Pierre Whitlaw arrived by their side. And Alfred was stunned when he saw his son’s remorseful face a few steps away from the incident.
Xandar then said, “If you want to train, Greg, you're welcome to join. But stop causing trouble.”
“If you haven't noticed, your Highness, I was the one who got flung all the way from over there.” Greg complained.
Xandar studied Sebastian for a moment before looking back at Greg, “I doubt this was all Cummings's doing.”
Greg then challenged with a smirk, “And what proof do you have of that, cousin?”
Alfred then asked his son, “Seb, what happened? Why did you hit him like that?”
He looked at his father, then at Lucianne longingly for a mere second before he said, “It's private...and personal.” 1
Xandar turned back to his cousin and said sternly, “Well, Greg. That was all the proof we needed. I'm warning you, this is your last chance. Next time, don't think of attending any meetings or collaborations concerning the countries’ affairs. I don't care if you're a Duke.”
Greg gritted his teeth to reign in his anger at how much control Xandar had over him and everything else. From the corner of his eye, Greg noticed Lucianne was walking away from Xandar's side so he yelled out, “I apologize, my Queen. I will do everything I can to ensure that it won't happen again.”
Lucianne stopped in her tracks, turned, and her hardened look was still on when she said, (This novel will be daily updtaed at www.noveljar.com)”l will believe it when I see it, your Grace.”
“And how can I show it to you, my Queen?” Greg asked with a sincere smile that he had never thought of showing before. He was beginning to learn that being flirtatious with her would only piss her off even more, which was another thing that made her...different.
Lucianne snapped matter-of-factly, “Watch your words. Just because you don't feel worthy, it doesn't give you the right to question the worth of others. If you don't know what to say, then train with your mouth SHUT!"
Her words made Greg feel uncomfortable, which was strange. No one had ever made him feel like that before. He bowed and uttered with a guilty smile, “As you wish, my Queen.” Lucianne turned to Sebastian, whose eyes were on the ground, “Sebastian Cummings.” He looked up at her in an instant, and she said, “If your partner offends you, request for a partner swap. Don't shift when you're not supposed to.” “Yes, my Queen.” He uttered guiltily.
“Excuse me, Gamma Lucianne.” Pierre Whitlaw came over to her, “Procedurally speaking, you should've sought mine or Minister Cummings's permission before you decided to resolve the sparring dispute...” Xandar growled, “How dare you speak to her like that?” Whitlaw was one of those from his father's reign, so he was one of the few who were less afraid of Xandar, “Well, your Highness. I'm merely doing your job. You see...”
“I needed to seek your permission?” Lucianne snorted with a murderous glint in her eye. Xandar knew that this minister was going to be dead soon. Christian was already waiting in anticipation a few steps away. So were the other wolves who knew her.
Pierre Whitlaw was still unfamiliar with Lucianne’s ways, so he said, (This novel will be daily updtaed at www.noveljar.com)”Why, yes! What would a minister exist if it weren't for that, then?" A few steps behind Whitlaw, Alfred Cummings was already hiding his face in his hands at what his deputy just did. They were both going to get i t, he just knew