Rejected At The Altar, Claimed By The Lycan King

07

Zara’s POV

The training ground looked like a place where people were judged.

The ground was hard and smooth from hundreds of years of warriors training there with tall stone walls surrounded the area, covered with climbing ivy that did little to make the place feel less frightening.

Racks of weapons stood along the edges swords, daggers, staffs, and many others I didn’t even know the names of.

Straw training dummies stood in neat rows covered with marks from years of fighting.

Right in the middle stood Sage Volkov.

She looked just as scary as she had the night before.

She was tall and lean with dark hair tied into a tight bun not a single strand was out of place. Her gray eyes studied me like a hunter watching its prey.

I wore the clothes Helena; my personal assigned maid, had left for me black leggings, a fitted tunic and soft leather boots that reached my knees.

They were simple comfortable, and much better than the heavy dresses I’d been wearing since coming here.

“You’re late,” Sage said.

I looked at the sky and the sun had only just risen.

“I’m exactly on time.”

“In my book early is on time, on time is late and late is unacceptable.”

I wanted to argue but I stopped myself cause something told me she wouldn’t care.

“Understood,” I said instead.

One of her eyebrows lifted for a second before her face became cold again.

“Good at least you can follow orders. That’s better than I expected.”

“Should I be offended?”

“Should you?” She slowly walked around me “I’ve been told you’re the Moon Blood heir the strongest being alive and the reincarnation of Queen Athena.” She stopped in front of me. “But I don’t see a queen all I see a frightened girl pretending to be one.”

Ouch!

“Trust me, I also find it hard to believe”

Her gaze hardened, definitely wasn’t expecting me to say that, but it’s the truth.

“I know your mate rejected you. I know you were beaten and thrown away and you spent your whole life believing you were worthless.” She looked straight into my eyes. “And deep down you still believe it.”

I clenched my fists.

“You don’t—”

“I also know,” she cut in, “that you killed a trained assassin without trying. You have enough power to destroy this palace and you don’t know how to control it.”

I couldn’t answer.

She stepped closer making me notice the small scar on her jaw.

“Power doesn’t care about your feelings, little queen,” she said. “It doesn’t care if you’re scared angry, or sad. It comes out whenever it wants. If you can’t control it will not only destroy people but you too.”

I swallowed.

“That’s why I’m here I want to learn.”

“Good.”

She stepped back. “Then let’s begin.”

Without warning she swept my legs out from under me making me crash to the ground and the air rushed out of my lungs.

Dust filled the air as pain shot through my back.

“First lesson,” Sage said as she looked down at me. “Always expect an attack.”

I glared at her.

“That’s not fair. You didn’t even warn me.”

She laughed once but there was no humor in it.

“You think your enemies will fight fair? You think the Alphas hunting you will warn you before they attack?” She shook her head. “Fair gets people killed If you want to survive stop thinking like prey and start thinking like a predator.”

I stood up rubbing my sore back. “I understand, can we move on?”

Her eyes shined. “Oh we’re only getting started.”

Three hours later I was sure I’d died and gone to some special kind of hell.

My whole body hurt, every muscle and joint ached. Bruises were forming all over my arms, legs and pretty much everywhere else Sage had managed to hit me.

Which was everywhere.

“The goal isn’t to hurt you,” she’d said after knocking me down for the fifth time. “The goal is to teach you how to get back up.”

Well I’d gotten back up about forty-seven times.

“This is ridiculous,” I gasped bending over as I tried to catch my breath. “You’re not teaching me anything. You’re just beating me up.”

“I’m teaching you endurance.” Sage walked around me with calm smooth steps. “I’m teaching you how to take a hit, stay on your feet and keep fighting even when you’re in pain.”

“I know what you’re trying to do and I’m not giving up!”

“Good.”

She moved so fast I didn’t even see her. A second later, I was flat on my back again, the air rushing from my lungs.

“Then get up.”

I pushed myself to my feet my arms shaking.

“Again.”

This time I charged at her hoping to knock her down she simply stepped aside making me stumble right past her.

“Too obvious,” she said. “I saw that move coming.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?” I snapped turning to face her. “You’re too fast that I can’t even see you move.”

“You don’t need to see me.” She says stepping closer. “You need to feel me.”

I frowned. “What?”

“Close your eyes.”

I hesitated.

“Now.”

I slowly closed my eyes. I heard the wind moving through the ivy the birds singing somewhere above us and the soft sound of Sage’s boots on the ground.

“Good,” she said from somewhere on my left.

“What do you hear?”

“Your voice. The wind… and the birds.”

“My breathing. Can you hear it?”

I focused harder.

Yes.

I could hear her breathing slow, calm and steady.

“Good,” she said. “Now feel the air around you, the energy. Your wolf is still inside you even if she hasn’t awakened. She can sense things your human side can’t.”

I tried.

I really tried but all I felt was pain in my muscles and frustration inside my chest.

“I can’t,” I admitted quietly. “I don’t feel anything.”

Sage sighed. “Open your eyes.”

I did.

She was standing right in front of me I could see tiny silver flecks in her gray eyes.

“Your problem,” she said, “is that you’re trying too hard and power doesn’t work that way. You can’t force it, you just have to let it flow.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

She looked at me for a long moment then she asked “Tell me about your mate.”

I froze.

“What?”

“Your former mate. Alpha Kael.”

Her voice stayed calm. “Tell me what happened.”

I crossed my arms. “Why does that matter?”

“Because anger is a powerful fuel and you have a lot of it buried inside you." She gestured for me to continue. "So tell me what did he do?"

I stared at her for a long moment. Then slowly the words began to spill out.

"He... he rejected me at the altar in front of everyone." My voice was flat but I could feel the familiar burn of shame and fury rising in my chest. "He told me I wasn't good enough. That I was weak, worthless and he chose my stepsister instead”

She shrugged with her tone shifting back to business. "Now channel that anger and pain… then use it."

I frowned. "How?"

She pointed at one of the training dummies. “Hit it.”

I looked at the dummy then back at Sage. "That's... that's kind of weird isn't it?"

"Fighting is weird, power is weird… everything about your life is weird." She shrugged. "Welcome to the new normal."

I hesitated then walked over to the dummy.

I raised my fist then lowered it.

"I can't," I said my voice small. "I don't... I don't know how."

Sage appeared beside me. "You've been holding it in your whole life haven't you? The anger, hurt and resentment."

I nodded.

"Let it out."

"But—"

"Now."

I looked at the dummy again trying to picture it as Kael.

His smug face as he rejected me, Selena's smirk as she stole my future, my father's cold disappointment and my stepmother's cruel sneer.

Something inside me snapped.

I punched the dummy making pain shot up my arm, sharp and immediate.

I'd hit it wrong my fist connecting at a bad angle but I didn't stop I hit it again and again and again.

"You useless omega."

Again.

"I can't marry a woman who can't even shift."

Again.

"Remove her Luna robe."

Again.

"Leave this pack."

Again.

"You were never meant to be Luna."

Again.

My vision blurred with tears as my throat burned.

The dummy was tearing apart under my assault, straw flying everywhere and my knuckles were raw and bleeding but I still couldn't stop.

Silver light exploded from my chest.

It flooded the training ground, so bright I had to shield my eyes.

The dummy disintegrated instantly reduced to ash and dust.

The shockwave sent Sage stumbling backward her arms raised to protect her face and then as quickly as it had appeared the light vanished.

I collapsed to my knees gasping for breath with my hands shaking and my whole body was trembling.

Sage approached slowly her gray eyes wide with something I couldn't quite read.

"Well," she said her voice uncharacteristically soft. "That's a start."

I looked up at her my vision blurry. "I did it."

"You let go." She knelt in front of me her gaze steady. "You stopped trying to control it and just... let it happen."

I stared down at my hands with my knuckles covered in blood but the wounds were already closing, healing faster than any normal wound should.

"Your power," Sage said, "it's tied to your emotions. When you hold everything in it stays dormant but when you let yourself feel, really feel it comes out."

"So I have to be angry to use it?" I asked, confused.

"You have to be honest." She stood offering me a hand.

I took her hand and let her pull me to my feet.

"That's... actually really terrifying," I admitted.

"Power always is."

"Does it get easier?"

Sage paused considering the question. "No," she said finally. "But you get stronger and that makes the fear more bearable."

I nodded not entirely convinced.

"Rest today," Sage said brushing the dust from her leathers. "We'll start again tomorrow."

"More getting hit?"

"More letting go." She almost smiled. "Try not to disintegrate any more dummies. The quartermaster gets cranky when I ask for replacements."

And then she was gone striding out of the training grounds with the same confident grace she'd entered with.