Roman’s POV
The first strike landed before I could stop it.
Wood cracked against my shoulder hard enough to send a jolt through my arm.
“Again.”
My voice carried across the training grounds without rising. The warriors circling the sparring ring shifted uneasily, boots grinding against damp earth darkened by the night’s rain. Cold morning air rolled down from the cliffs surrounding the Blackthorn Pack, carrying the sharp scent of pine and wet bark. Gray clouds smothered the sunrise, leaving the world painted in bruised shades of silver.
Nobody moved.
Viktor lowered his practice sword a fraction.
“…Alpha.”
“I said again.”
His jaw flexed before he lifted the weapon once more.
The goal was simple.
Train until my body remembered discipline better than my mind remembered her.
It sho
