The laughter was deafening. They seemed to be making a mockery of his unsuccessful attempts to beat his trainer. He sat still on the floor, trying to get over what he had just witnessed.
"What the heck just happened?" he managed to utter his first post-defeat words, looking at Rae.
Managing a grim smile, Rae reminded him how he had warned him to be on his toes whilst being trained by her.
"You can't say I didn't tell you."
"But I didn't see that coming!" he protested.
"What is rule number one?"
"You must always be on your guard. Your enemy will never give you a cooling break," he struggled to complete it, looking down.
"I'm glad you remember what she said. You better get up," he said, drawing his attention to Aurora and the rest of the pack who was fast approaching them.
"Get up, A
