The Wolf Of The Moon & Sun

A Burst of Flames (75)

Alec POV
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I tried to move my body, but the ice was tight. I didn't understand why he insisted on fighting as a human when his powers were more efficient as a wolf, clearly.

"Answer me," he demanded, and my heart began to race more.

"It's too wet out," I lied, and his face angered. He knew that was bullshit, he had just seen me use it.

"Don't fucking pity me—"

"I'm not," I cut him off. My chest felt tight. I didn't like being restrained like this, especially not while being questioned about things I couldn't answer, though I suppose nobody did.

His eyebrows frowned further, "Free yourself." He stepped away, giving me one more glare, until he turned and sat down. He began to practice simpler things.

I tensed my body as I continued to try and move my arms, to make a spark, something, anything to get me out. It was as if I had never seen fire before in my life, like I didn't even know what it was. I remembered the last time I had used the fire, how I had used it on him, and the way everyone reacted when I told them. They were right, I could've burnt him.

There was a snap somewhere in front of us, both our heads shooting straight ahead. Ethan saw them before I did. He waved his hand as he stood, and I dropped from the tree: the ice restraints melting into the snow.

"Grayson?" Ethan asked as he walked forward while Grayson came forward from the trees, "Why are you out here?"

"I was looking for you," he answered, "I wasn't sure what to do after they finished questioning me," he admitted.

"Go train," I suggested, and Ethan looked back at me with a glare. I wasn't sure why he was behaving like I did something wrong. It's what Grayson should've done. 

"Can I train with you both?" He asked and before I could respond, Ethan did.

"Yeah. I only know how to fight as a human anyway," he said. My jaw tensed a bit, but I didn't intervene.

I didn't like the idea of Ethan training Grayson. We still didn't know if he was a threat and the idea of giving the enemy insight on our methods wasn't favorable. Especially not Ethan's personal weak spot.

I stayed out there, though, watching as Ethan and Grayson practice the stances. Grayson wasn't a quick learner. I've never heard Ethan repeat the same thing in such a short amount of time before.

I noticed how Ethan avoided looking directly at Grayson, but the more Grayson messed up, the more comfortable Ethan got.

I focused on simpler things. My fire blockage was a good place to start. I stood as my father had always taught me to and I imagined him here, ordering me to just create fire. Nothing happened, though. I let out a huff and opened my eyes. Ethan glanced at me, his eyes flashing a bit of confusion before he turned back to Grayson.

This wasn't going to help me at all. I left them, going back out into the woods. I didn't like the idea of leaving them alone, but I wasn't going to make any progress if my personal handicap was present. And just as I expected, once Ethan was out of sight, the fire started to leave my fists.

I practiced as a human for a little bit. The trees became bruised as my fire burned certain spots on them.

The sunset, and I gave it a rest. I had nothing more to prove to myself. My powers didn't disappear completely, they were just stopping whenever Ethan was around. The only issue was, I didn't know how to fix it.

I headed back to the village. Everyone was in the dining room, grabbing plates of food. I couldn't eat, not when I felt so useless. Everyone sat somewhere in the house to eat. Alpha Nommi, Lonni, and Leo sat in the dining room along with Nommi's sister, Pressley, and Pressley's father. Ethan sat with Grayson in the living room.