Ayla: Always an Alpha

Chapter 17 - Too Graceful

~Killian~

I caught Ayla's scent in the air as soon as I entered the gym, so when a rough tug sent my back flying into a large metal column, I was more annoyed than anything else.

"What the f..." I began before a hand landed over my mouth.

Ayla had to stand on her toes to make her mouth level with my ear. The words "There's people here... in the changing area" were barely audible.

As soon as I pulled my attention from our position, I realized she was right. The scents of two of her pack members were still prominent in the air. If I hadn't been distracted by my own thoughts before walking in, I would've realized sooner. Silently, I chid myself. I knew I'd been off my game since the moment I first encountered Ayla, but coming to terms with that fact still hurt like a bitch.

"You stay here," she whispered. "I'm going to make sure they use the exit near the toilets."

Instead of waiting for a sign of acknowledgement, she dropped the arm pinning my chest and the hand covering my mouth and took off.

Now that I could move my back off the column I had been thrust into, I could feel some soreness creeping into my spine. It would go away within a few minutes, but still, she had made a point without even trying. The situation had taught me three things:

I needed to get my head out of the clouds.

She could indeed walk silently when she wanted to.

If she had wanted to put me on my ass the night we meant, she could've before I even had my blade to her throat.

I locked the main entrance door while I waited. In only a few minutes, Ayla strolled back into the main room - loudly, of course - as if she didn't have a care in the world.

Having wanted to get a survey of all the buildings in her pack lands, I'd been in here once before. I knew there were two exits. The one I'd just walked through and the one Ayla just sent the two men through. There were three main rooms, but the large, open gym area seemed to serve many purposes. There was an area off to the side with training equipment and mats to roll out onto the floor, but the floor itself was painted like a basketball court. Believe it or not, bleachers even ran along one side. There was a weightlifting room and a restroom/locker area off in the back.

"You lock the door back there?" I asked her.

"Obviously," she responded in the prickly tone she reserved for use when she thought someone was questioning her intelligence.

Always on the defense, this girl was, like a bee you hadn't known you angered until you felt the sting. I hadn't been questioning her intelligence, of course; I knew she likely was far smarter than me. People are human, however, and sometimes they forget things, just like I forgot to check the building was clear before coming in.

"I'm going to grab a mat," Ayla announced, after staring at me for a second and realizing I wasn't going to offer a response.

"That won't be necessary."

"Jesus!" she exclaimed, realization quickly dawning on her. "They have you guys sparring on bare floors?"

It wasn't a "they," more like a "he," but I didn't bother correcting her. I also wouldn't call my training "sparring." Instead, it was more like a "well, if one of you dies, I won't be too devastated" sort of vibe.

"You won't get to choose where someone tries to kill you," I offered her as a sort of explanation.

"Killian, boy, you better know how to reset a bone. It's not like I'm going to be able to explain breaking myself in the middle of the night to a pack doctor." 

"Actually, I do."

"Of course you do." Gazing up at the rafters, she shook her head for a second before turning back to me. "Alright then, let's get started."

I didn't even give her time to get into position before I launched myself at her in an attempt to knock her to the ground.

Apparently more prepared than I had given her credit for, she parried my attack almost immediately.   

We danced around each other for a while, kicking and punching out but not making any headway until I saw an opportunity to wrap my leg behind hers and throw her to the floor. While it must have knocked the wind out of her, she continued defending herself against my punches. Even as I managed to immobilize one of her legs, she wrapped her other around one of mine, trying to gain leverage in an effort to switch places. Although my calf was beginning to twist painfully out of place, I held steady until she started slowing enough for me to roll us until my arm was wrapped around her neck.

After a few attempts at elbowing my torso, she gave up, slapping her hand on the ground. "Fuck, fuck, okay. I'm dead."

I released my grip immediately and stood up to survey her as she caught her breath.

"You're too graceful," I told her, offering her a hand. "While you make some really impressive defensive moves, once you're on the ground, you struggle."

After she was standing on two feet again, I checked in with her. "You good?"

Already getting into a stance, she nodded.

"Okay."

We fought a few more times until the both of us got tired. I mainly wanted to evaluate Ayla and give her some practice. We'd focus on development next time.

"I can't believe you hit my fucking nose," Ayla exclaimed, talking more to herself than to me. Staring up at the ceiling and all splayed out like a starfish, she hadn't moved from the ground since our last fight ended.

"You're lucky I didn't use enough force to break it. That's one bone I do not know how to set properly."

"What? They don't care about cosmetic issues in assassin school?"

Noting the question as an obviously rhetorical one, I chose not to respond. I did, in fact, break Luca's nose when we were younger, but it unfortunately healed properly.

"Most of my training was with humans for the first 20 years of my life," she said after a minute. Her focus was still on the gym rafters, but a look of assessment had fallen onto her face.

This conversation seemed to be approaching personal topics, something I had very little experience in. I was lucky she couldn't see my mouth open and close like a goldfish as I sought out what the proper thing to say was.

Instead, she continued, as if I wasn't even there. "I think that's why I'm 'too graceful' as you say. Judo, taekwondo... All their basic principles involve respecting your partner, keeping a sort of balance in your body. It was all very controlled. I was never allowed to be aggressive."

Genuine confusion interrupted my usual length in generating a proper social response. "You didn't train with everyone else your age?"

"Women weren't trained the same way as men, and I certainly wasn't allowed to even train with them."

"What do you mean?"

Propping herself up on her elbows to look at me from the floor, Ayla gave me her attention now, laughing sardonically. "Now now, Killian Murray, are you implying all this wasn't in your little folder on me?"

"I suppose it wasn't found to be relevant."

"Interesting."

"Ayla..."

"Can I see it?" she interrupted.

This was beginning to feel like the start of a dangerous path. "I really wouldn't advise that."

"Well that just makes me want to see it more." Ayla stood up and dusted off her leggings. "Come on then."

~~~

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I'm a few chapters ahead with writing and boiii things are getting ~spicy~. I've gotten into a bit of a groove lately with this book, and I'm excited for you all to get to read everything!

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