Chapter 2: The Training Grounds
388 Words
The outdoor combat arena was a massive circle of packed earth surrounded by stone bleachers. Today, the air was biting cold, but the sweat pouring off the students made the ground slick.
"Pair up!" the instructor, Commander Vance, barked. "Alpha Aidan is observing today. If you embarrass this academy in front of the Midnight Eclipse Alpha, you will be scrubbing the silver-mines until your hands bleed!"
Lyra stood at the very edge of the courtyard, hoping to blend into the gray stone walls. She didn’t want a partner. A partner meant an excuse for someone to break her bones under the guise of 'training.'
From the raised observation deck, Aidan sat in a carved stone chair, his forearms resting on his knees, watching the students with detached, calculating eyes. He didn't look like an instructor; he looked like a predator analyzing a herd.
"Well, look what we have here. The defective model is left over," Gideon’s voice boomed across the dirt.
The crowd parted, leaving Lyra standing entirely exposed. Gideon stepped forward, cracking his knuckles, a sadistic grin stretching across his face. He was nearly twice her size, his muscles rippling under his training tunic.
"Commander Vance, I’ll take the mutt," Gideon offered, his voice dripping with faux charity. "She needs the practice. Someone has to teach her how to survive in the real world."
Vance glanced up at Aidan on the balcony, sweating under the Alpha's silent gaze, before nodding curtly. "Fine. Gideon and Lyra. Standard hand-to-hand. No shifting. First to yield or be pinned loses."
Lyra stepped into the center of the ring. Her heart was a trapped bird, but her mind suddenly went hyper-clear. She had no pack magic. She had no physical brute strength. But she had spent eighteen years watching, analyzing, and surviving.
Gideon took his stance, his aura flaring in a suffocating wave of heat meant to paralyze her with fear. "Don't worry, Lyra," he whispered, stepping close enough for only her to hear. "I won't break anything you can't live without. But by the time I'm done, you'll beg to leave this academy."
Up on the balcony, Aidan leaned forward, his knuckles whitening against the stone armrest. His gaze narrowed, focusing entirely on the small, silent girl standing before the brute.
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