Bound by the Moon ,Marked by the Alpha

Chapter 2: Training

Lydia's POV

Following the path around the gym, the training field comes into view . Various warriors are already doing their morning warm-up . As I make my way towards the sparing arena, I see Marcus, and what a sight he is . He's 6'5 " with beautiful chocolate skin. His perfectly etched muscles could make any girls jaw drop . Top if off with his tatted sleeves and back piece, he's truly a work of art.

"You know if you don't pick your jaw off the ground, you're liable to catch flies," I hear someone say. Looking to my right, I see Adrian with a huge grin on her face . Shut up. I wasn't even staring, I say. "Right," and I'm just going to assume the smell of your arousal is still in the air because training gets you all hot and bothered . Laughing, I roll my eyes , saying ya,ya, whatever.

Well, speaking of hot men, where's your brother ? Adrian, please don't ever say the words hot and my brother in the same sentence again . What? You know it's true she responds. I really don't ,as I fake a gag. He should be here , I say. He was with Clay headed this way .

Well, in that case, I guess I should get warmed up , plus I wore my good sports bra, as she winks.And you have the audacity to bring up my arousel I laugh as she starts a light jog ahead of me.

Opting to stretch first, I sit on the ground and start my toe touches. It's short-lived as I see a shadow cast over me, and judging by the neon pink tennis shoes, it's none other than Allison Swafford .

"Goodmorning Allison to what displeasure do I owe this visit? I say. "Very funny," she says as she stands with her arms crossed and her minions at her side. " I seen you with Clay this morning in the dining hall." Did you now? I taunt her. " I'm warning you, Lydia , stay away from Clay, or you'll regret it . Oooohh, is that a threat, Allison? Don't get me excited now . I've been itching to spare all morning.

"I wouldn't waste my manicure on a dog," she spits at me . " You F***ing B***h." I jump up, grabbing Allison's hair with my fist drawn back.

Lydia Stop ! Marcus has his hand wrapped over my fist . What is going on ?

Clayton and Eli have now shown up, both looking confused, staring between Allison and I.

Marcus again asks, " What is the reason for this?" Tell me now Lydia before I lose my patience. " It's nothing Marcus , let it go," I respond . Looking at Allison , Marcus says, " What do you have to say for yourself ?" Like she said, Marcus , it's nothing, just a simple misunderstanding between friends . Isn't that right, Lydia? I don't respond. I simply glare . I'm ready to spare now, Marcus, I say. Lydia, you haven't even completed warm-ups . I want to spare Marcus! Now ! With a heavy sigh , alright, fine, he responds. You will spare with Izaiah . Fine, I say, clenching my fist as I walk away from Allsion.

Alright, you all remember the rules of sparing, no wolves, since Lydia has not shifted yet . We are training , clean hits only . If your opponent keeps you down on both shoulders for a 10 count, you lose. If your opponent has you locked and you can not continue, you must tap out . Let's have a good, clean fight, Marcus shouts .

I step into the ring, circling Izaiah like a lion before it pounces . My altercation with Allsion has me heated . I want nothing more than to release this anger. Just as I finish my thoughts, I see Izaiah's fist coming towards me. In that second, I dive to the ground, making his punch barely miss the top of my head .Using his weight against him, I push off him and slide around to his back . As he's turning around, I reach for his shoulders and wrap my legs around his torso. He suddenly drops to his back. I lean to the side as he falls, but he's trapped my leg underneath him. In an instant, I decide to flip my other leg over his throat and squeeze, cutting off his airway. He tries to break my hold, but it's no use. I have a full lock around his throat. another minute passes, and he finally taps . I release my lock as he gasps for air . F***ing Hell Lydia! He chokes out. I thought we were sparing? We are , you'll thank me in the future for not going easy on you, I joke. Yeah, I'll keep that in mind the next time I'm fighting spider monkeys off my back . He exits the ring, rubbing his neck.

I quickly give a glance to Allison, who continues to glare .

That was amazing, Lydia , "Clayton says as high fives me. Eli gives me knuckles. Kick ass little sis, he says.

Alright ! Now that we got that out of our system, let's actually get back to training. Marcus shouts !

I grab a water bottle and sit on the bench as I steady my breathing. I feel exhilerated. Every day, I feel myself getting stronger. As my birthday approaches, I will continue to get stronger until I gain my wolf. Only 3 more months ! I can't wait! Once I have my wolf, I will be easily one of the top warriors. After that, I hope to make it to the Royal Guard Academy.Only the most skilled warriors will get their chance. If selected, I will get to train with the top warriors from across the globe. The top 5 graduates will earn their spot onto the royal guard, and the top graduate earns their place as private warrior to the king or queen. That's my dream. Being a warrior in your own pack is great, but I'm ready for so much more than just dealing with rogues.

As I'm sitting on the bench thinking over my future, I look up to see Clayton headed my way.

You ready to spare with a real man? He says. That depends,oh, great one, I say . On what ? He answers. Are you ready to tap out in front of all your future pack members, Alpha ?

He gives me a crooked smirk and says, " We'll see about that kitten ." I roll my eyes again and stand up to follow him to the sparing ring.

We step into the ring and wait for Marcus's command . On the count of 3 .....1....2...Fight ! He shouts. I attempt to strike first, and I opt for faking a swing and aim to kick out his legs from under him. To my surprise, Clayton catches my leg mid-air. Using my momentum, he flips me over, making me land on my stomach.I quickly recover and eye him again. Anticipating a punch from him, I slide down as his fist misses me . I turn around quickly to jump on his back, hoping to get him in a chokehold . As I jump on his back, he laughs and says, " Not today, sweetheart ."he grabs my shoulders, tossing me over him and onto the ground.Knocking the air out of me, he quickly takes advantage and slides his hand over my throat. He doesn't squeeze it's a simple show of force . I know he has me, so I tap. Finally feeling some air being welcomed into my lungs, I see Clayton with his hand extended. I take it and stand up. I extend my fist out to give him a fist bump and say, "Well played, Clayton." I won't forget it, though.

Who said I want you to forget beautiful? I want you to dream of my hand around that pretty throat. I roll my eyes and turn my back to him .

Walking back over to the bench, Adrian sits down beside me and hands me my water bottle. Taking a drink , I hear Adrian say way to go bad ass . Way to go what ? I lost , I say. Girl, you beat a top warrior and held your own against a future Alpha . Yeah, well, I also lost against said future Alpha. Royal Warriors don't lose to Alpha's.

Come on, Lydia , don't be like that she says. Don't be like, what Adrian ? How do I stand a chance of I can't even beat a wolfless Alpha ?

Lydia, he gets his wolf in a month , yours won't be here for another 3 months . Plus , hello , he's an Alpha. The fact that you stand any chance against him in one on one combat is impressive. Once you have your wolf, everything changes, Lydia. You will be a top warrior easily, she adds. I give her my best smirk and wipe the sweat from my face . At that time, we hear Marcus shout that this concludes today's training session, and he will see us back here in the morning .