Page 45 of Royal Bite
“Footwork needs to be improved,” Hegna snapped. She was speaking to both Stormey and Zeke. If the human ever had to defend herself, she needed to be quicker on her feet. She would never be able to outrun a vampire or a lycan, but it would help if she didn’t trip over her feet.
Hegna moved forward swiftly, twirling her staff around in her hands, sending it again in a downward motion at Stormey. A satisfied grunt left her when Stormey brought her stick up, blocking Hegna.
Stormey cried out from the force of Hegna’s staff meeting hers.
“Why are you going so hard?” Stormey gasped. She was panting, sweat pouring down her face. She quickly found herself on the defensive, backing away from Hegna’s advances.
They danced around the mat, all the warriors surrounding them now to watch.
“I’m supposed to be learning.”
“And you don’t think this is a lesson?” Hegna said. Her human just didn’t understand that in the midst of war, no one would give any of them a break.
Stormey gave a short growl of her own, forcing her way forward, sending a combo of hits at Hegna.
“Good.” Hegna twisted her stick around and knocked Stormey’s out of her hand.
It flew over into the spectators. A hand reached up and snagged it in the air then dropped it on the floor. Everyone knew during a spar, no one was to interfere. Stormey’s eyes widened. Her gaze flicked to the area where her staff had gone.
Stormey was going to make a run for it.
Hegna easily read her expression.
Stormey raced toward it, but Hegna used her vampire speed to rush forward, catching her by surprise. She tossed her staff down and wrapped one arm around Stormey, clutching her tight.
“Don’t give up. Fight me.”
Stormey swung her elbow back to Hegna, almost catching her in the face. Stormey clawed at her arm, then stomped on the inside of Hegna’s ankle. Pain exploded in her leg, and her grip loosened slightly. Stormey had wiggled free of Hegna’s hold, but she didn’t make it far. Hegna leaped forward and tackled Stormey. They fell down on the mat with Hegna rolling on top of her. She pinned Stormey’s wrists down to the mat.
“Just admit that you hate me,” Stormey spat. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly. Tears flowed from her eyes. She struggled to buck Hegna off, but she was no match for her strength. “And I don’t know what I did to make you hate me so much.”
Hegna paused, staring down into her big brown eyes. She blinked and glanced down at Stormey’s plump lips that were slightly parted. Her skin flushed, drenched in sweat, was soft and so supple.
Hegna’s blood was pumping from the excitement of sparring with her human. Having Stormey underneath her again brought back the intense need to claim her.
“Leave us,” Hegna ordered.
She didn’t recognize the huskiness in her voice, but she didn’t have to repeat herself. The shuffling of feet echoed through the room as everyone filed out. Once the sound of the door shutting rang out, Hegna spoke.
“You think I hate you?” She tightened her grip on Stormey’s wrist. The human couldn’t be further from the truth. She released one of her wrists and wiped a tear that fell from her eyes. Just because she didn’t want to complete the mating bond did not mean she disliked the human. “If you were a person I hated, you would feel the wrath of my hatred.”
That was for certain.
“Then why are you doing this? You send me away then have me relocated across the castle. Do you know how that made me feel? That there are whispers going around the castle, people are trying to figure out why you wouldn’t want me—”
“Who is this whispering about you?” Hegna demanded. She would cut the tongues out of the mouths of whoever gossiped about her human. Not one vampire or human who worked for her should be spreading lies or rumors. Taking their tongue would ensure those rumors would die out.
“That’s not the problem.” Stormey hiccupped. She turned her face away from Hegna and closed her eyes. More tears fell from her lids.
Hegna hated the sight of them marring her human’s beautiful skin. She grew panicked, not knowing how to stop her from crying.
“The problem is you.”
“Me?” Hegna gasped. Disbelief filled her. How could she be the problem? She’d moved Stormey away from her to keep down the temptation of going to her room. She had ensured Stormey had everything she would need and want. “What have I done?”
“You pushed me away and didn’t even try. You’re such a control freak that you have it in your head that only you can decide what is best for you. Apparently, I am not good enough for you, and fate doesn’t know what she is doing. You don’t see that everyone around you wants you to be happy. You deserve everything that you are denying me.”
Hegna swallowed, not knowing how to respond. Her hand slipped down to Stormey’s chin, and she brought her face around so she could meet her gaze. Hegna hated to admit that she had been fighting a losing battle since the moment she’d sent Stormey away. Memories of their night had been haunting her.
