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That made me feel like shit. Maybe I shouldn’t have intervened. Being mated was a new concept for me as well. Did I just make things worse between myself and Ivy? Her wolf would’ve known what was acceptable and what wasn’t. And I asked her to walk away. “Oh shit!” I mumbled to myself. I rarely swore, a trait pounded into me by my mother. But I’d asked Ivy to walk away and let Violet live. Did she think that I took Violet’s side in all this? Did I defend the wrong wolf? Dread settled deep as I reached for the bond. The intense feeling of anger and betrayal almost brought me to my knees. How would I fix this?
Chapter 22
Ivy
A caged animal couldn’t be angrier than I was. Some fucking wolf presented her ass to my mate, and he asked me to walk away? Well, fuck him! At least myunknownother half kept me from being a slave to this mating bond. It would be challenging, but I could walk away from all of this. From him.
I’d already shifted and threw on my clothes when Rage found me. Starting tomorrow, he was assigned as my new trainer. Always eerie quiet, he watched me with cunning eyes. I didn’t know his story, and right now, I didn’t give a shit.
“Let’s go,” he said, briskly walking past me.
I thought about it for about two seconds and decided that I needed to let off steam and pound my fist into something. Somewhere underneath all the anger, I knew that hurt and betrayal were the primary cause. I’d finally started trusting Luca, and to be honest, I would’ve agreed to mate him. These feelings kept intensifying, making me into a sexual deviant. I craved his company, his body, his cock thrusting in and out of me. After he pinned me down first, of course. Nobody but Luca had ever made me feel so special.
And nobody had made me feel as low as the dirt on their shoe either.
Barefoot, Rage and I circled each other on the mat. Unlike Devon, I didn’t hold anything back with him. We weren’t friends. Rage was a lurker, always watching from the shadows.
A strange calming feeling, something akin to simmering fury, made my focus sharp. My training—Caroline’s instructions—were as clear as if she were standing in front of me. Every opponent has a weakness. Don’t rush things. Wait for your opening.
Without warning, Rage rushed me. I used his momentum and met him halfway, grabbing his arm with my left hand while jabbing his ribs with my right as I slid past him. A sinister grin spread across Rage’s face as he shook his head. I’d wager that he was a little impressed. Two quick steps forward, I kicked straight legged, aiming under his chin, hoping the kick would knock him out cold. Instead, Rage caught my ankle and twisted, making me lose my balance. Jumping to my feet, I did a quick back flip out of his range as I regained my bearings.
More advanced than Devon, more calculating, Rage threw a jab at my face. I ducked, then threw one of my own. He blocked with his arm. In rapid succession, we exchanged blow after blow, each one blocked and countered until we were both dripping with sweat and panting for breath. Nobody won.
I took a seat on the bench. Rage came back and handed me a bottle of water. “Thanks,” I said, gladly accepting it.
Unscrewing the cap of his bottle, he took a gulp before saying, “You are more advanced at fighting than you let on.” He eyed me with…was that respect?
I shrugged. “I like Devon.” Rage barked out a laugh that startled me. I rarely heard him talk, let alone laugh.
“Word of advice,” he said, a little more serious.
“Sure, why the fuck not.” I took another swig of my water.
“Next time some she-wolf goes after what’s yours, rip her fucking throat out.”
I slowly turned to see the deadly look in Rage’s eyes. A grin spread across my face. “Did you just swear? Finally! Someone after my own heart.”
“Not hardly,” he snorted. And then took a seat beside me. “Everyone plays politics here except me. If you allow me, I will teach you about our kind. What’s acceptable and what’s not. Respect is earned, even when you are the mate of the Regional Alpha.”
I contemplated his statement before it struck me. “I lost respect by leaving.”
“Yes,” he said quietly. “Although I suspect the alpha asked you not to kill Violet.”
The anger that I thought I had expelled came rushing back full strength. “My wolf wanted to,” I admitted. “And then she was so pissed with Luca, she wanted him to know that she could walk away. So, she did.”
“You and your wolf are the same. She just acts on instinct more than you.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “We are two different entities. When I’m afraid, she refuses to let me cower. She wanted to mate Luca long ago, but I refused. So, she took it upon herself during the full moon to make him prove himself to her. And thenshemated Luca. Not me.” And that was the problem. When it came to mating, we were not on the same page.
His eyes narrowed at me. “Interesting. Why don’t we shift and train that way? I would like to see her in action.”
“Here? In the basement?”
He shrugged. “Sure. It’s a large area.” I glanced around. The training area itself, with the padded mats, was small. But the rest of the room was massive. “As alpha female, I can mind-speak with you.” He reminded me.
“That’s weird, you know. And why didn’t Luca explain it a little better than one passing sentence? Mated and then bam, someone is inside your head having entire conversations.”
He chuckled a little and then tossed his empty bottle toward the trash. Before we separated to shift, Rage glanced over his shoulder. “Don’t try to hold your wolf back. I want everything.”
