The Rejected Luna Claimed By The Lycan King

Learning The Enemy

In Lucian's land a strange day passed.

Not slower.

Not faster.

Just… controlled.

I wasn't in a cell anymore, but I wasn't free yet.

I was given privacy in Lucian's stronghold, but for some reason I found that there was no such thing as being completely unmonitored anywhere. But the guards were ever on the move, silent yet precise. No unnecessary noise. No wasted movement.

I started watching.

I didn't trust them,

I had to find out where I was to know what to expect.

I could see from the top walkway training grounds over the valley. The warriors of Lucian were not like Shadowfang warriors. The shouting, chaos and fights with ego was not there.

They would travel in groups.

Not individuals.

I saw it on the third day.

When one of the warriors fell, the sparring continued. They picked up teams immediately, made adjustments and went on as though they had failed already.

I looked a bit down on the ground as I watched.

“Again,” a voice said behind me.

I turned.

There was a woman standing there with her arms folded. She was tall and of sturdily built figure, and had hard-set eyes and a determined look, as if she had seen too many battles.

Lucian introduced her earlier in a brief description.

Kaela.

He said that she was his trainer.

I didn't object at the time.

That's why now I knew.

“Just watching,” I replied.

Kaela wasn't happy about it.

She said “Observing won't keep you alive.”

I didn’t answer.

She stepped closer.

“You were a healer once,” she said, “says Lucian.”

“Yes,” I replied.

“And not a fighter.”

This was no question.

It was a statement.

I didn’t deny it.

Kaela slightly arched her head.

“Then we will work on that,” she said simply.

⸻

Training began as soon as possible.

I didn’t even get time to prepare.

Kaela wasn't afraid to hit me where it hurts. I was on the ground, having a hard time breathing, at the end of the first session, with my arms shaking from the impact.

“You're just not sure,” she said coldly.

I slowly got to my feet.

“No”, I grumbled, “I'm not a warrior.”

Kaela raised her eyebrow.

“No,” she agreed. “But you'll have to stop being prey.”

That word had me tightening my jaw.

Prey.

I stood again.

I said "try again" and he tried again.

Kaela didn’t hesitate.

She moved.

Fast.

I blocked poorly.

Fell again.

This time harder.

A pain rained down through my shoulder.

I was still lying on my back like before for a second longer.

Thick, stuttering gasps came from my mouth.

Kaela was standing over me.

You still feel like protecting and not hitting,” she said.

“Well, I'm not used to fighting anybody I don't want to kill,” I shot back.

Kaela crouched slightly.

“Here in this world,” she told them, “that indecision is the first thing that kills you.”

I went silent.

She stood back up.

“Again,” she ordered.

And I forced myself up.

One evening, following a training session I sat alone near one of the inner balconies trying to get my breath back.

I still felt the aches of Kaela's training but not as much as before.

I was improving.

People walked behind me, and I remained silent, listening.

Two warriors went by and they were talking quietly.

“…no one can enter the inner chambers,” one of them said.

“My informant told me that they moved the child again,” the other answered.

I frowned slightly.

Child?.

Was it a prisoner?

A royal heir?

A hostage?

I stood slowly, gazing down the corridor from where they had come.

The inner quarters.

I was not permitted there.

I never heard anyone else say anything of the sort.

I frowned.

How can a king have a child in his own kingdom without the people knowing?

So why would even his warriors deny this?

I was interrupted in my thoughts by Kaela's voice behind my back.

“Do not stray near to any restricted zone.”

I turned slightly.

She was standing there, gazing intently at me.

“Not a wander, I was saying,” I said.

Kaela furrowed her brow a bit.

“Yes, I was listening,” she said.

I didn’t deny it.

Kaela stepped closer.

She declared, “Forget what you heard, it is not true.

This just whetted my appetite even more.

“Why?” I asked.

She didn't respond right away.

We had a little time out.

Then she said, “It's not your problem, train yourself. “That’s what will keep you alive.”