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Chapter 319
EMILY
I can’t believe the audacity of Axel.
Treating me like a literal child who doesn’t even know the basics of fighting.
Expecting me to train with the beginners who know nothing.
I could probably wipe the floor with all of them, and barely break a sweat.
And now he’s thrown down a challenge.
If I want to get out of this, I have to beat him.
Part of me thinks it’s impossible.
Especially knowing who he really is.
Axel has killed countless vampires and wolves over centuries.
I doubt I pose much of a challenge to him.
However, this feels like yet another punishment he or Aaron has come up with to keep me inline.
Forcing me to prove I can still be part of the pack.
‘m desperate enough not to endure the humiliation of starting training with the newbies that I think
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtmaybe if I’m quick and nimble, I might have a chance of getting Axel down long enough to claim victory.
It’s not some fight to the death, after all.
He said I only have to take him down.
Maybe I’ll be able to use his size and arrogance against him.
I glance at where the newbies are beginning some strength and fitness exercises.
“Let’s go somewhere a little quieter,” Axel suggests, and I appreciate it, because if I’m about to be
humiliated, I don’t need an audience.
I nod, and then Axel leads me across the huge training space to one of the smaller workout rooms off
to the side.
There are some weights and a few other bits of equipment on shelves and racks on the walls, but
otherwise the mats are clear in the middle of the room.
Axel kicks off his boots and then strips out of his shirt, leaving him in a muscle shirt underneath. It
shows off the bulging muscles of his biceps and fits snugly to the contours of his chest and torso.
“Is this really necessary?” I ask as he steps to the middle of the mats and waits for me.
“No,” he replies, and even though there’s mostly no inflection in his voice like usual, I feel like I detect a
hint of humor. “But it only seemed fair to give you the opportunity to get yourself out of it.”
I think this whole thing is probably rigged against me somehow, but I don’t say anything.
Instead, I step out of my own shoes and then walk over to stand on the mat across from him.
“So, what are the rules?” I ask, stretching my arms a little.
He grins wolfishly at me, a glint in his eyes.
“There are no rules.”
My stomach flutters at his devilish attitude.
If not for the fact he is currently making my life hell at my brother’s request-not to mention the fact he’s
a slayer-I think I would otherwise be in danger of falling hard for him.
“So I put you down, I win, right?” I clarify.
He gives a shallow nod. “The second I hit the mat; you win.”
I rake a gaze over him, taking into account his size and strength, and trying to figure out how hard I’d
have to hit him to take him down.
aight at him, it’ll probably be like hitting a brick wall.
I shift to the side a little and he mirrors me. Then we’re slowly circling each other, sizing up the
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmcompetition, both of us searching for weaknesses and openings.
Bits and pieces of my original training are coming back. Being in the underground facility is jogging
memories I had long forgotten.
I know I’m rusty. I didn’t exactly have much opportunity to keep up with my training, locked alone in a
remote house for ten
years.
And while I agree I could probably use a refresher, starting all over again with the rookies seems like
cruel and unusual punishment.
Also just downright galling.
Somehow, despite the odds stacked against me, I need to figure out a way to beat Axel at his own
game.
“Are we just going to keep dancing around each other all day or are you going to make a move?” he
taunts with a rakish smile, and it’s easy to see he’s trying to goad me into rash action.
He flexes his arms, making his muscles ripple, and now I just think he’s showing off.
There’s no way I can match him in strength, so I need to find a way to outsmart him and catch him off
guard.
That’s when I come up with a truly terrible idea that just might work.
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