The One 109

THE ONE 109

Chapter 109: Fighting Differently Sophie After getting our pack members settled, and then having breakfast, Hunter finds me. “Soph, come with me. Before the others arrive, you and Kinsley are getting a crash course on fighting together,” he says, and I see Lucas leading Kinsley in our direction. Hunter leads me outside and Lucas and Kinsley follow behind US. “Okay, here’s the deal,” Hunter begins turning to face us as several other warriors join us. “Lucas and I hate the idea that the two of you won’t be in one of the safe rooms. I understand your reasoning and I’m not going to fight you on it. However, I expect that the two of you stay together and fight together. Sparring with me and Lucas isn’t going to help. You won’t have one person coming at you face to face like we’ve been training you. So, what we’re going to do is have the two of you stand back-to- back, covering each other. That way, you only have to cover your front and sides, and you can help each other,” he says, looking at me then at Kinsley. I look at Kinsley and we both nod “Lucas and I are going to watch and give you pointers on how to protect yourselves better. These guys,” he says, pointing to the warriors, “are going to attack you from all sides as if we were in a real battle. You two are key targets, not just because Joshua Chapter 109 Fighting Differently 288 Nouchers will want to take you as his mate, Sophie, but because you’re ranked members. Injuring or killing either of you will destroy me and Lucas and it will weaken us enough that we’ll be easily killed.” I reach out and take Kinsley’s hand, knowing that neither of us is willing to be the reason our mates are weakened or killed in battle. “You guys,” Hunter says, turning to the warriors. “are my best warriors and that’s why you’ve been chosen for this exercise. You have the most knowledge, the most fighting strength, and the most control. Our mates are going to fight all out against you. You are only allowed to knock, scrape, orText © owned by .

injure them to the point that their wolves can heal them within an hour. Anything more than that, and you’ll answer to one of us,” he says, gesturing to himself and Lucas. He turns back to me and Kinsley. “I need it to hurt because I need you both to be prepared to continue fighting when you’re injured. But I’m not willing to risk either of your pups for a training exercise. Understood?” Kinsley and I both nod. “Do not hold back. Do not worry that you’ll hurt them more than they can heal. The goal is to prepare you to take them down and for the two of you to stay alive until Lucas or I can get to you. You’re both limited in your movements now which is why we need to practice this.” He turns back to the warriors. “Chris, Nathan, you each take one from the front,” he says, then looks at me and Kinsley. “Back-to- back you two,” he says, crossing his arms over his chest. Chapter 109. Fighting Differently 280 Mouchers “We’re going to start with just these two, then I’m going to have the others attack so you can see what will happen if you aren’t paying attention,” he says. “Ready?” he asks, and Kinsley and I get into a defensive posture. “Fight!” he says and Nathan, who is in front of me, charges at me. He pops me in the shoulder hard before I swing my arm about and smash him in the face, knocking him aside. He shifts into his wolf, coming at me again. When he leaps, I duck. “STOP!” Hunter calls out and we all stand to look at him. “Mistake number one, Soph. If someone comes at you straight on, you can’t duck, or they’ll take out Kinsley.” I turn, seeing that Nathan nipped Kinsley in the shoulder. He didn’t draw blood, but he tore her shirt. “You have to remember that you’re protecting her back as much as your front.” I nod, looking at Kinsley, both of us getting more determined. I squeeze her hand again, before turning around, our backs pressing more tightly together. “Again. Fight!” This time, I stay upright, making sure to protect Kinsley’s back. Nathan comes at me again and I’m doing pretty well holding my own but still taking hits when I feel a nip in my backside.

“STOP!” Hunter says and I turn to see that a third warrior entered the fight without me realizing it. Kinsley and I have moved apart, and this wolf didn’t even need to rush to get me. If we’d been in a fight, he’d have taken me down easily. “Second mistake, Kinsley. Don’t let the wolves pull you apart. They will try to draw you away from each other. One wolf is Chapter 109. Fighting Differently 288 Wouchers much easier to take down than two fighting together. “Again. Fight!” he says, and we go through the motions, with Hunter or Lucas stopping us periodically to show us where we messed up. “We’re just getting to a point where they aren’t stopping us but reminding us to be mindful of our situation when we get the notice that the she-wolves and pups have arrived from Owen’s old pack. “Nice job, you two. That was very good. We need to practice more and if we have time tonight, we will,” Hunter says. I turn and look at our warriors. “Thank you all. That was very helpful and also a great lesson on having to fight through the pain. I appreciate all of your control and that you were willing to take our punches and kicks at full force,” I say to them, Kinsley agreeing. “You pack a mean punch, Luna. My cheek is still swollen from that first punch you threw over an hour ago. Make sure your punch hard and fast like you did to me,” Nathan says. The others agree, letting Kinsley know that her knee to the gut of a wolf was also very effective. “You two go wash up and meet us inside. Lucas, Ezra, and I will go meet the women,” Hunter says. As I turn to go inside, I see that there is a large group of warriors and women who are watching, some of them have also started practicing fighting two together with other warriors and Alpha Ezra giving them pointers on how to protect each other. “Let’s have everyone return this afternoon, Hunter. It’s not just me and Kinsley that need to protect each other. Our young Chapter 109; Fighting Differently

mothers and others who have volunteered to stay out of the safe rooms could also benefit from this training,” I say to him. He turns seeing the others, who have created their own training sessions. “You’re absolutely correct,” he says and begins to address the larger group. “If we aren’t attacked before, meet here at four o’clock this afternoon so we can practice again. If you haven’t already, find your partner. We’ll have everyone pair off, so we learn to fight together and protect each other,” Hunter says. I can feel the relief from some of our pack members, especially ones whose mates have volunteered to be out of the safe rooms, but still have young pups, some still young enough to be nursing.