A Rouge with Powers

Chapter 23

Sweat trickling down the sides of my face and my chest, I stop and take a breather, my hands on my knees. I look across the room at Cade who seems to be just as tired as I am. I stand up straight, stretching my arms high above my head. I arch my back, hoping to crack it, failing to.

"Did you still want to keep going or are you done for the day?" Cade asks taking a gulp of his water. Watching him do that makes me want to drink, I take my bottle and gulp my water instantly feeling more refreshed and ready to continue.

"Lets keep going." I state, getting in a crouching position, thinking about the other night, remembering that I was only able to land one measly hit on Hopper. Furious, I charge at Cade, going at a rehearsed set of attacks, trying to perform them perfectly and swiftly.

Left, right, right, left, left. I think throwing each punch, annoyed that Cade can avoid them so easily. I decide to throw in some kicks, throwing Cade off balance I go to deliver the finale blow. Cade moves quickly to avoid my hit, leaping off the ground and latching onto my waist and pushing me straight into the ground, knocking the wind out of me.

"Ughh! Again!" I scream, agitated. I jump up and get into a fighting stance, ready for another round. Cade, having different plans, walks off the mat and to his water.

"That's it for today." He says putting back on his shirt and taking a swig of water. I stand up, confused as why he decided to stop.

"What? Why?" I ask rubbing the back of my hand across my forehead to keep the sweat away from my face. Cade picks up his stuff and walks over to me. His brown hair now drenched in sweat making it look more black and the slight stubble catching a few sweat drops.

"We've been at this for the past five hours, I have other stuff to do and so do you." He says putting a hand on my shoulder. I sigh not ready to finish practicing. I look around the gym, searching for an alternate way of practicing.

"Okay, I'll just hit the bag over there instead." I sigh pointing to the punching bag on the other side of the huge practice mat. Cade shakes his head at me.

"Oaks...." Cade starts, his face holding an emotion I can't seem to figure out. I look down, my hands on my waist, my breathing heavy from all the fighting.

"Don't." I warn him, he breathes out ready to say the same thing to me again for the hundredth time.

"You need to rest, you can't overwork yourself like this." He says, the concern in his voice very evident. I shake my head, thinking about the night of the Ball. How we were attacked, Jax's pack was attacked just because they wanted me. The deaths of all three packs being my fault.

"I need to get stronger so that no one else dies because of me." I spit out, not ready to call it a day. Cade gives me a sad smile, knowing that I'm blaming myself for the ten wolves that were killed that night.

"That wasn't your fault, they were doing their job, protecting their packs from rouges, protecting their Alpha and future Luna." He tries to explain to me. I turn my head to the side, looking out the window and out across the field. I watch as the wolves are in a fighting class lead by Zane. Looking closer I see Jennifer in the group, practicing her skills in fighting.

"But they were there for me, not for any of the Alphas, me. As far as I know, I'm still a rouge just taking shelter here. If it was their choice they would just hand me over so they wouldn't have a rouge problem." I explain to Cade.

"If they knew why they wanted you, I can promise you, every wolf would fight to keep you out of their reach. You're more important than you let yourself believe." Cade reassures me. I give him a smile, thinking about how close we've gotten over the last week.