Strength to Find Her Way

Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Quinn POV

After the perimeter run, sprints, and obstacles, I was feeling great. Who knew some good exercise was all I needed to really lift my spirits. Ethan however looked like he was about to pass out. Sweat was dripping from every inch of his body and he was dragging his arms and legs behind him like he'd just been through a three hour long boxing match.

"Why in goddess's name do you do that to yourself?" Ethan complained.

"I like to train," I stated simply.

"That's not training, that's torture!" Ethan cried. We were on our way to the training grounds for the sparring match Ethan had promised me.

"Oh hush, you," I chided. "Apparently you're just out of shape. I could fix that pretty quickly if you let me work with you."

"I'm not letting you anywhere near my training routine ever again!" he shouted. "You're insane!"

I laughed. At least I could take care of myself, I thought. "Okay, we're almost there," I called to Ethan who had started falling behind.

"Are you sure we have to do this, Quinn? Don't you need a break? I think it's time for a break," he whimpered.

"We don't take breaks. You're lucky I'm letting you walk to the training grounds. Normally we run sprints or race here."

Ethan's face paled upon hearing that. "You really are a psycho," he mumbled under his breath.

I just laughed even more. Guess my new nickname suited me just fine. We arrived at the training facility a few minutes later. Ethan was barely standing straight as I walked to the center of the mat. This wasn't going to be much of a sparring session if my partner couldn't even throw a punch.

Just as I was thinking that, the doors to the gym opened. The light blocked my view of who was entering but it didn't take long for me to realize who it was. I could recognize my mate's scent anywhere. I scowled. Ethan however fell to his knees and let out a huge sigh. "Oh thank goddess you made it in time. This crazy shewolf tried to kill me and now she wants to fight. She barely broke a sweat all morning running around this goddess forsaken place and I'm practically dead. Please help me," he whimpered while begging on his knees.

Liam let out a booming laugh. "Apparently we need to up your training, Ethan," he chuckled. Point Liam, I thought. "You couldn't even keep up with my mate on her morning workout." I take that point back, I scowled. He thinks I'm just some average she wolf.

"Why don't you show him how it's done then?" I taunted.

Liam turned to me. I saw his eyes linger on my body before his face turned hard and he looked back to Ethan. It appeared they were having a conversation over mindlink.

"On second thought, I think I'll go," Ethan said hurrying to his feet. "Maybe I can convince Suze to give me a massage so I'll actually be able to walk later."

Before I had a chance to respond, Ethan was out the door. No use wasting time, I thought. I began stretching again. My body was getting cold from the lack of movement. Right as I stood up from stretching out my hamstrings, a piece of fabric hit me in the face.

"What the heck?" I sputtered as the cloth fell to the floor. I looked in Liam's direction and saw that he was now shirtless.

"What are you doing?" I yelled.

"Put that on," he growled lowly. "I can't believe you've been running past guards and warriors like that all day. Is this how you dress normally? This isn't acceptable, Quinn. No other wolf should see you with so little clothes on. It's not right," he finished while squinting his eyes shut, trying to control his wolf.

As much as my wolf wanted me to wear his shirt so I could have his scent on me, it was the principle of what he said that bothered me. "So you expect me to wear this shirt?" I asked.

"Yes," he growled.

"And you're going to walk around like that," I asked again.

"If it's what I need to do to keep you covered, then that's what I'll do," he answered.

"Well that is incredibly hypocritical," I argued.

"What??" he shouted.

"You heard me," I said. "If you don't want your mate walking around half naked, why should my mate be allowed to?"

I could sense his exasperation. "Fine!" he shouted and his eyes glazed over. Before I could ask what he was doing, he gave me my answer. "Someone is bringing me another shirt. Now put that on before I lose my mind."

"I think I'll keep it off a little longer," I answered. "We're going to fight aren't we?"

"You're serious about that?" he deadpanned. "You want a sparring match with the crown prince, your mate?"

"Did I stutter?" I challenged.

"Well if you're so sure about this, why don't we make a little deal out of it?" he grinned. That caught me off guard. What kind of a deal did he have in mind? He answered that question for me though. "If I win, you're going to let me stay in Diamond Crescent until you're ready to move to the castle with me."

I should've known he wanted to play dirty. "Alright," I agreed. "But if I win, you're not allowed to tell me what to do...ever." Liam's face turned sour at my counteroffer. "What? Scared you're gonna lose to a girl? Your mate for that matter?" I teased him.

That must have set him off because within seconds he was in front of me with his hand outstretched. "You have yourself a deal." I could see his canines were beginning to elongate. He was really fighting his wolf on this one.

I hesitantly reached for his hand. I hadn't really experienced the sparks one feels when touching their mate before. The only time Liam had touched me was last night and I brushed him off immediately. I wasn't going to back down though. I firmly grasped his hand and shook. We both lingered a little longer with our hands entwined than was acceptable for a normal handshake. He was the first to pull away, which surprised me.

I gave him a few minutes to warm up while I took some halfhearted swings at the punching bag on the other side of the gym. I didn't want to give away my strengths before he'd gotten the chance to experience them himself. I could sense his eyes on me from across the room. A few minutes later, Liam shouted that he was ready. I unwrapped my hands and headed over to the sparring ring.

"Let's go over some ground rules," Liam began.

"By all means," I encouraged.

"No face shots and no blows below the belt," he began. I nodded in agreement. "No biting or scratching," he looked at me to see that I agreed and then continued, "First one to knock the other to the ground for five seconds three times is the winner." Sounded pretty standard to me, I thought.

I was going to have to keep my wolf at bay as she craved Liam's touch in whatever way she could get it. I had the advantage though knowing that my dad trained with the king's guards before becoming head warrior here in Diamond Crescent. He taught me everything he'd learned from his time with the king but also added on some of his own tricks. This little prince over here was certainly not as well trained as I was. He had no idea what was coming for him.

"Your move, your highness," I taunted. He scowled at my term of 'endearment' and lunged for me. Just what I wanted. Game on, mate.