The Ember In The Dark novel Chapter 16

I woke up feeling like shit. My body hurt all over, extremely sore from shifting for the first time. I groaned loudly.

"Some of us are still trying to sleep." Ash said cranky.

I forgot we slept in the same bed last night.

"Sorry, princess. Better not mess with that beauty sleep." I said sarcastically. "Don't mind me. I'll just die silently over here."

"You're not being very silent." He deadpanned and I threw a pillow at his face.

His eyes slit open and he smiled that cheeky smile of his. Never cranky for long, this one.

"Alright alright. What's wrong?" He asked.

"I feel like I got run over by 3 semis, repeatedly." I sighed.

"Oh yeah. Your body is pretty sore after your first shift. I'll do for you what mom did for me."

He sat up on the bed real serious all of a sudden. He slapped his hands together, rubbing them fast until they began to glow, then he placed them on me. A quick shock flew through me and it was like my body was better than before. Like I was just given an adrenaline shot that also healed my body.

"Well damn." I chuckled. "Thanks."

"No problem. Let's go eat and train. I heard Charles say it's combat training today. Your area of expertise. I bet with your wolf you'll be able to beat everyone." Ash smiled proudly at me. He liked underdog moments and that's all I've ever been, an underdog.

"Can't wait." I smiled.

I could use an outlet after last night. I still feel so pent up after my kiss with Toni. Just thinking about it had my body tingling.

Ash and I ate quickly as we were running a bit late. Not a great start. Charles is gonna chew us out.

We ran out toward the field in the back. Charles was training intermediate fighters while the beta trained the beginners. I waved at Gabe as we ran towards Charles, he gave me a small shake of the head.

"Why are you late?" Charles' loud voice called.

"Sorry alpha. It's my fault. I was a bit sore this morning." Charles' face softened at my words, some sympathy in his eyes.

"Get in place. You'll be the first to spar with each other as punishment."

Ash and I took our place in the front. I got a tingling on the side of my face. Toni was watching me. I could feel it. He's somewhere in this crowd of intermediate fighters. I didn't look around though. I don't want to lose focus.

"Today is test day. I'll be ranking you all. I've set up brackets. As you can see my pups have joined us. They won't get any special treatment. They must reach the top on their own. As punishment they will spar each other in front of you all. Study their moves and learn before we start our test." Charles directed everyone in his alpha voice. Real authoritarian this one. "Ash, Ember, come on up." He called us.

"20 bucks says I win this time." Ash whispered to me as we made our way to the center mat.

"You're on. No, 'I owe yous' either." I smiled at him.

"Take your places." Charles barked and we hurried to our sides. "Commence." He yelled.

Ash lunged at me the second the last syllable left Charles' mouth. He was always so fast, but he seemed slower now that I had my wolf. Ash went to grab me, but I spun gracefully out of the way. I was like a dancer twirling around Ash as he tried to grab me.

He punched and I dodged, pushing his forearm with my own and twisting my body around him. I landed a blow to his stomach and spun out of the way before he grabbed me. I toyed with him a bit as I laid against his back.

"Come on brother. A little faster." I mocked and he growled at me.

"No problem sister." He gave me that wicked smile before he kicked me in the side.

The wind was knocked out of me, but I recovered before he landed another blow. Our speed was reaching speeds neither of us had ever gone before. I felt like everyone around us was blurring.

Ash went to punch my face, but I caught it and landed a kick on his chest. He took a couple steps back, preventing himself from falling.

"That's enough." Charles called out. "Don't want to tire you out before the real test."

Ash and I stared at each other breathless for a moment, a fighting aura still encasing us. Ash stood straight, pulling down the hem of his shirt, fixing it. I stood straight, following him back to our spots.

"Guess it's a draw." I whispered to him.

"Are you kidding? I owe you $20. You were kicking my ass, Ember. I'm tired." He snorted.

Did I really tire him out that much?

"Could you see what happened?" One of the pack members whispered behind us.

"Not all. What was that? They were moving so fast." Someone else responded.

"They're not normal. They are a tribreed. We don't stand a chance." Their tone held a slight disgust.

A loud growl came from Charles as he looked in the direction of the whispers.

"May I remind you that although these two may not be mine by blood, they are still mine. They are my pups and any ill will towards them will not be tolerated. That includes whispers. You know in this pack we don't whisper. Voice your concerns or hold your tongue." He shouted, his alpha waves were strong causing everyone to bow their heads…including Ash and I. Everyone went silent. "Now I'll break you up into brackets. I'll rank you based on how well you fight in your bracket." Charles projected the bracket on a screen and everyone broke out.

Ash was paired with a muscular older teen. Charles was trying to pair us with stronger kids because he wanted it to be fair. The way he has it set is that Ash and I would meet at the end if no one beats us.

I know Toni is on this side of the bracket with me. I saw his name, but I refused to look for him. I need to focus on the fight before me.I was paired with a strong male as well. I knew this kid. I think his name was Tyler. He eyed me cautiously, reading me.

Tyler seemed serious. He saw how I fought earlier and he knew I was no joke. He was tense and ready. I could tell he was more of a brawns than a brain guy. There won't be much of a strategy game with him.

"Take your places." Charles yelled out. "Commence."

Tyler didn't learn much from watching Ash it seems. He lunged right at me just like Ash had. I dodged it so easily. He was a lot slower than Ash. I elbowed him in the back and he fell to the ground with a thud. He quickly shot back to his feet, turning to look at me. He snarled his teeth and he was letting his wolf take him over a bit.

He came at me a bit faster, but still not fast enough. Between Talia's strength and the new magic strength, I was feeling really powerful. I already had good combat skills but now I have the strength to back it up.

I punched Tyler hard in the stomach and then kicked him in the face. He fell over and out of the mat. I moved up to the next fight. I had to wait a while till they finished their match. We kept going like that. I would be paired and then I'd win and move on. Nothing special from the other fights. Eventually it was just me and the last person for this side of the bracket.

His chocolate eyes met mine, a mix of emotions on his face. He seemed unsure of what to do. I could tell he didn't want to fight me, but he also couldn't just forfeit as the son of the beta.

"I'll be mad if you go easy on me." I muttered to him as we took our places. I don't want his pity. He needs to take this seriously.

He nodded his head at me, getting serious. I could tell he was a good fighter by the stance he took. It was guarded, he wasn't planning on attacking blindly. I smiled, getting a little excited.

At Charles' words Toni and I started circling one another on the mat. I watched his muscles carefully, waiting for them to tell me when he would attack. I waited for the muscles in his calves to coil, letting me know he was lunging at me. He didn't try to grab me though, instead he went to kick my side. I wasn't expecting it so I was slow to react. I wasn't able to dodge, but I was able to block.

The kick was strong and had me sliding to the side. My forearms hurt from blocking the kick, I shook them off. I smiled excitedly at Toni. I actually felt like he could challenge me.

I ran toward him, faking a high kick, but ducking down and sweeping my leg across instead. I swept his feet from under him causing him to fall. I quickly jumped on him, sitting over his stomach. I went to punch him, but he grabbed it. His touch still sent fireworks through my body, even in this setting.

I tried pulling my fist back, but he held it tight. He pulled it toward himself causing me to lean down over him. I used my other hand to push down on his chest. I was going to flip over him but he used his other hand and arm to wrap around my back and press me against him. He then flipped us over and he was on top. He smiled down at me.

Is he flirting with me right now? Is he toying with me?

I smiled back, getting more excited about this fight. He pinned my hands above my head causing my breasts to press together. I pushed my hips up trying to push him off, but it didn't work.

"You're a really good fighter, but I think I got you beat." He whispered into my ear.

"Don't get cocky, Toni." I told him.

I squeezed my legs out from under him and used my feet to push him off me. I flipped back and crouched on the floor ready to lunge. He just smirked at me, impressed.

His freaking handsome face is so damn distracting.

We fought for a while longer, sort of doing a tango. He would pin me then I him and so on. Eventually he started to tire. I kicked his side, actually making contact and then swept his feet from under him again, causing him to fall backwards off the matt. I had won. I held my hand out for him, helping him up from the ground.

"Thanks." He smiled at me. He wasn't mad that I won.

"Thank you for fighting me seriously." I really appreciated him doing that.

Finally it was me and Ash. We had a repeat of our pre match. A lot of speed and back forth. He'd land a blow on me then I would land one on him. We were going at it for 15 minutes now and we were both getting bloody and bruised. Nothing we won't heal from though.

"That's enough." Charles called. "Next one to land a blow wins."

Ash got excited and lunged at me too obviously. I dodged it and hit him in the back with my elbow.

"Winner." Charles called. "Ranking will be listed this afternoon. Everyone, go get cleaned and eat. Lunch is ready."

"Damn. I thought I had you." Ash laid flat on the mat exhausted. I plopped down beside him.

"You heal me and I heal you?" I asked him. "I'm sure I can do it now that I have magic. I mean I've been taught how."

"That would be great!" Ash smiled. "Give me your hand, I'll show you."

Ash made his hand glow and had me feel what the healing magic felt like. I quickly accessed my own magic and we healed each other laying on the mat. When we were good as new we got up and headed to our rooms to shower.