Page 155 of The Forsaken Heir
“Is your brother going to warn you when he attacks?”
I sighed and pushed myself to my feet. “No.”
“Okay, then. Let’s start with some more basic stuff,” Delphine said, her smile returning.
Over the next several days, all the planning took up most of Aurelius’s time and attention. We were able to connect at mealtimes mostly, but the rest of his days and nights were taken with meetings, discussions, and planning. Bastien hadn’t responded to the Hikshil’s request yet, and the entire castle was in what I could only describe as a constant state of tension. Through it all, Delphine and I spent the time outside training.
Over the course of three days, I actually improved quite a bit. I’d learned how wolves attacked and fought, the rhythm of their paws, how they balanced, what they’d do when cornered. Personally, I thought I’d done a damn good job.
“Nice moves. Want to try that on someone else?”
Delphine and I both turned to see Freddy strolling down the hill toward us.
“I’m guessingyou’rethe someone else?” I said, then chugged from a bottle of water.
“Yup. I’ve been watching you since yesterday.” He pointed at a window on the fourth floor of the mansion. “My room. Great view.”
“Are you any good?” I asked. “Delphine has done a pretty great job. Is there anything you can teach me?”
He smirked at me. “I know a thing or two. You forget, I didn’t ride off into the sunset like some badass the way you did. Istayed behind and got taught all the things a good noble-born shifter needs to learn.”
“A badass?” I said, snorting a laugh. “Is that what I am? You make it sound like I left of my own volition rather than being kicked out on my ass.”
He shrugged. “That’s the way Sophia and I saw it. You got away. We had to stay behind with our psycho brother and less-than-loving parents. In our minds, you were a hero. Let me help make you one for real,” he said, and extended his hand to help me up.
“Fair enough,” I said, though deep down, his words struck me with heart-melting ferocity.
A hero? My younger siblings had spent all these years wishing they could be me, when I’d spent all that time wishing to be them. Had we not been about to spar, I’d have probably gotten a little teary-eyed.
Freddy looked at Delphine. “Have you guys done any half-shifted fighting?”
Delphine shook her head, her nose wrinkling in distaste. “I never liked doing that. It doesn’t feel right. Like putting a shirt on backward. Not painful or disgusting, just uncomfortable.”
Freddy chuckled. “That’s a good way of putting it, but it’s a powerful way of fighting. You aren’t quite as fast or powerful, but you still have the jaws and enhanced strength. Then there’s the hands,” he said, holding his up, fingers curled like talons. “Easier to attack when you aren’t walking on all fours. That night at the conservatory you saw how efficient it is to fight like that. In closed quarters, it’s a better option.”
“Okay, then,” I said, preparing myself. “Let’s see what I can do.”
It turned out, I could do very little. I managed to hold my own for a few moments, using what Delphine had shown me, but Freddy’s size quickly overwhelmed me. He was right. Instead of only focusing on not getting bitten or tackled, I also had to watch out for his wicked claws.
After the first sparring session, Delphine showed me how to use his own weight against him.
“Instead of backpedaling,” Delphine explained, demonstrating, “movetowardhim.”
Freddy, still in his half-shifted form, pretended to claw at Delphine, but the woman moved in close, forcing herself inside his attack radius where he couldn’t swipe at her.
Delphine grabbed his arm and shoved her hip into his, then pivoted forward. Freddy let out a yowl of surprise as he tumbled over her back and landed with a thump on the grassy earth.
“See?” Delphine said, wiping her hands together. “I’m smaller, but I got him down. You try.”
Over the next hour, we did. Soon, I’d perfected the hip throw. Along with that, they showed me a number of other ways to use my attacker’s strength and size against them. Shoulder throws, leg wheels, and other martial arts moves that worked well against two-legged attackers.
When all three of us were sweating and tired, Freddy grinned at me. “I’d love to stay longer, but I’m supposed to meet with Titus and Aurelius to draw up a layout of the house. Are you guys good?”
“We are,” I said, wiping my brow. “We’ll probably work on this stuff a while longer though.”
He chuckled as he walked away. “Don’t wear yourself out.”
I watched him leave, Delphine standing beside me.
