Dragon Alpha's Special Mate

21. First Day of Class

Maxson

I run some gel through my hair as I finish getting ready for our first day of classes. When I’m satisfied with how it looks, I walk into the bedroom to see Sophia pulling up her leggings. My eyes study her as she laces up her shoes, her long black hair falling around her face before she shoves it behind her ear in a huff.

She finally stands up, her expression softening when she makes eye contact with me, and I rejoice in the smile she wears. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I’m a little nervous about starting today. We have two classes together, starting with Intro to Fighting Styles. I know I’m much more advanced than an intro fighting class, but if you want to take any other type of combat class, you have to start here, so I made sure Sophia and I were at least in the same time slot so I can keep an eye on her.

“Ready?” She asks me as she practically skips over to me, her arms wrapping me in a warm embrace.

“Ready.” I hug before planting a gentle kiss on her head.

“And remember, I can handle myself in class. You don’t have to worry one bit.”

“I remember.” I tell her, but honestly, if push comes to shove, there’s no way I’m letting anyone truly hurt her. Avian would never let me.

We get down the stairs, and I can already hear Rina laughing. I wonder who she’s talking to. The question is answered quickly when I see Damari sitting at the table and eating with her. I almost forgot he was here with us.

“Haven’t seen you since we got here.” I tell him as I pull out Sophia’s chair for her to sit down before taking the seat next to her.

“Wanted you to get settled in without seeing me everywhere. But Marina made me promise that I’d see you off today, so I am. Are you excited?”

“I guess.”

School’s such a formality. I wish I could just become the Alpha without all this pomp, but at least I’m out of the castle for a little bit, even if it’s just to be alone with Sophia for a few years before taking over as the Alpha. I can’t imagine I’ll learn much here that I don’t already know.

“I’m excited to meet all the new people.” Sophia offers up, and it’s a little surprising. She really doesn’t like people. In high school, she wasn’t what I’d call popular. Even when we started dating more openly, she always stayed with Sapphire during school social events. But who knows, maybe she’s trying to expand her horizons here.

“And I’m excited to meet all these exotic guys. Mystics, wolves, vampires, and fae, the possibilities are endless.”

I roll my eyes at Rina; she’s going to regret not waiting for her mate one day.

“I’m sure your father would love to hear that.” Damari pipes up, and she gives him a noncommittal shrug.

“On that note, it’s time for you to get going.” I look at the clock, hating that Damari’s right and it’s time to actually start going to classes now.

~

The entire class stands in a circle around the long mat in the middle of the gym as our teacher, Tage Birk, introduces himself.

“Welcome to Intro to Fighting Styles. I’m Tage Birk. I don’t care about formality, so you’ll call me Tage. This class is all about the various fighting styles and techniques, primarily focusing on hand-to-hand since we have so many species. It’s the basis for every other fighting class here at Summerville and also sets the tone for those. Now, you may have heard this class is like no other class and that you should expect to get hurt. And that’s very true. We’ll be fighting for real, without any gloves or protective equipment. If you have a problem with it, drop the class. No one is forcing you to be here. Otherwise, we'll actually start the first fight now.”

He pulls a piece of paper out of his pocket and stares down at it, calling the first pair to fight.

“Alright, let’s have Sophia Mellide with Stefeni Shale.”

My stomach drops at the mention of her sparring partner. Stefeni is a beast and has been a fighter her entire life. She’s the great-niece of Clilene, who helped train Grandma Elle. Stefeni is a freakin’ legend.

I watch as both of them come to the center of the mat, and there’s no way I can let this stand. Stefeni towers over her, but I remember Sophia’s words earlier, so I stay silent.

Tage tells them to shake hands, and I watch Stefeni’s massive hands encompass Sophia’s. They both step back as Stefeni rolls her shoulders. I can see Sophia trembling slightly as she takes note of their size differences. But I’m proud of her for not standing down.

“Begin.” Tage tells them, watching intently as Stefeni approaches Sophia, immediately landing a hit across her face—the entire class winces and gripes as Sophia falls back. Stefeni doesn’t approach her as Sophia’s lip starts to bleed.

“That’s enough.” I say, stepping in and walking over to Sophia, leaning over her and looking into her water-filled eyes.

“Ax, you promised.” Sophia tells me, and I shake my hand.

“I don’t care. You can fight someone else.” I can hear Rina’s laugh in the room, but I ignore her completely as I focus on Sophia.

“No!” Sophia tells me, pushing me off of her as she stands up. “I’m going to do this.” I glance at Tage, who seems impressed by Sophia’s resolve. I look back at Stefeni, studying her as she looks back at Sophia.

"Come on, I don't want to hurt you." She jeers, turning her attention back to me. "I honestly feel bad about hurting your mate.” She says. But I watch as Sophia gets back up, blood on her lip, and puts her fists up. “Come on, little girl. Let's not do this."

Sophia runs at Stefeni, who immediately puts her into a headlock, holding her arm around my mate's throat as she starts to choke out.

I step forward again, watching as Birk eyes me. I look at Sophia, whose face is turning red with each passing second. But, before I can react, Sophia lifts her leg, stomping on Stefeni’s foot, causing her to let go. It's more out of shock than actual pain, I’m sure.

Stefeni lifts her fists, shaking her head as she thinks about whether or not to hit my mate again. She pulls her arm back as Sophia gasps for air, and I can't take it. Avian is pushing out of me, pressuring me to go to our mate, and I have to do something. I step in front of Stefeni, shoving her back so hard she skids to the ground. "That's enough. You won't touch her again."

"Ax, I told you not to do this!" Sophia screams at me, but I just turn around to face her, reaching up and touching the blood on her lip.

"You don't need to learn how to fight. I'll always protect you. I'm taking you to the medical wing."

“Get a room.” Rina yells at us, and some of our classmates laugh along with her. Say whatever you want, I don’t care.

Sophia pushes me off her, and I'm shocked as she walks back over to Stefeni, holding her hand out.

"Thanks for not treating me any differently." Stefeni reluctantly takes her hand, though she needs no help standing up. It's more of a gesture, really.

"Alright, well, it appears Maxson’s not going to let his precious little mate get hurt again today, so let’s move on.” The class snickers at me, but I don’t care. I don’t care what any of them think of me. I could feel the pressure from Avian, begging me to help her, and I couldn’t resist.

“Next up, we have, well, that’s funny. We have Maxson Shaw with Lucien Zeke. Remember, hand to hand, no magic, meaning no superspeed, Lucien.”

Lucien steps forward, and I immediately recognize him as a vampire. His dark black hair, sickly pale skin, and red eyes give it away instantly.

His arms are thin, but that really doesn’t mean anything as a vampire. Their true strength lies in their blood rather than big, burly muscles. I size him up, noting that I’m still a few inches taller than him.

“Shake hands, then start.” I reach my hand out, noting how terribly cold his fingers are against mine when we shake. I quickly pull away and put my fists up. I let him come at me, trying to get the first move.

I effortlessly dip my head, moving out of the way and grabbing his arm as it passes. I take it, using the momentum to flip him over, causing the air to leech out of his lungs as his back smacks against the mat with a loud thud.

I can hear the class groan for him as he takes a second to stand back up. He turns toward me, and I can see the anger in his eyes as I smile back at him. He charges toward me again, and I step out of the way, planting my foot directly on his back and kicking him, effectively shoving him to the ground again.

I wait for him to get back up, and this time, he waits for me to approach him. I step closer to him and start a round of hits that go so fast I’m sure he considered using his superspeed to get a hit back.

I pull my hand away from his bloodied face and hear Tage’s voice.

“That’s enough.”

I step back, watching as Lucien grabs his bloodied face and shakes his head.

“You’re good. I’ll give you that.” He smiles as he pulls his hand away, going to shake my hand again.

“Thanks, next time I think we should let you use your superspeed, though.” He chuckles, and I can tell it hurts when he winces before walking away.

I step back and stand next to Sophia, who won’t even make eye contact with me. I can’t really blame her, but her lip is still bleeding, and she really couldn’t expect me to stand there and just watch, could she?

I have a duty to protect her, and I can’t just sit by and watch her get hurt. It’s not in my nature. She’ll understand soon enough.