The Moon's Shadow

☾ Chapter Thirteen

My heart was pounding in my chest; I thought my blood was actually boiling from rage.

Asshole.

I was tired of trying to think things would magically work, that if Jett and I just spent a little time together we would love each other and all would be good.

I scoffed at myself, I was annoying myself with how stupid this all sounded, understanding why he would think I'm a child.

I found my way to the combat grounds, my eyes finally settling on Athena, who was lazily sitting under a tree, smiling at Ryker, deep in conversation.

I hate love.

I scowled and made my way over there.

"Athena!" I said, a bit too loudly and harshly.

Her face contorted in confusion, eyes wide at my aggressive pace.

"Fight me."

"Rhea are you okay?" She asked a bit amused, her eyes looking over my clenched fists.

"Are you sure this is the best decision right now?" Ryker said slowly, in the short amount of time I spent with him I realized he was always level headed.

My head snapped his way, "Yes," I growled.

Athena slowly got up, unsure of what to do.

"Don't hold back," I said walking away to a clearing, not even bothering to look to see if Athena was following me.

Once I was satisfied with a spot, I rolled up my sleeves and took a fighting stance. My right leg planted firmly in front of my body, my arms up and ready to deflect any incoming attack.

Over the past month, I had trained hard with Rooks; I was eager to show to off what I had learned.

Without any hesitation, Athena sprinted towards me, last minute slid her body against the ground, her left leg out and crashed into my legs.

The impact sent me flying back, causing me to fall on my butt.

"Shit..." I mumbled. I guess that's what I get for trying to fight her.

She smiled, extending her hand out to help me back up.

Once again I was back on my feet, taking another stance. I was determined to have a fight with her, even though I'd probably get my ass handed to me.

She motioned her fingers at me, allowing me to strike first.

I stepped forward, aiming my fist at on left side. She quickly blocked the throw, sending a punch of her own at me.

Her clenched fist made contact with my side, right where I had was stabbed during my fight with the Hunter. I winced at the pain, even though the stitches were gone, the skin was still tender.

She didn't let me recover from the previous blow. Her free hand came crashing into my stomach.

I clutched my stomach hurling over, trying to catch my breath.

Shit, that hurt, I winced as the pain spread through my body.

She let me recover, but not for long. The minute I stood back up she was already attacking, left right, left right, her punches on my side were quick and fast, but they landed with purpose.

I struggled to match her pace, failing to block all of the punches as they made contact with my body.

I grew frustrated with myself.

I stepped back from Athena to escape the never-ending rain of the punches aimed in my direction. I growled in frustration as a punch landed on my shoulder; my wolf was ready to come out to finish the fight for us.

I held up my forearm to block the next punch, surprising me a bit when I successfully managed to.

I gave a quick smile, throwing our arms apart. I ran towards her, faking a punch right trying to throw her off.

My left fist went straight into her chin, making her stumble back.

This is my chance.

With the bit of daze I caused, I did the same thing she had done to me. Throwing punches left and right, trying to match her previous speed. I felt some of them land in her sides; others were getting blocked.

I kept the onslaught going, focusing as much anger as I could on my punches.

I knew it wasn't right to take out my anger on Athena, but now she was my punching bag.

Athena suddenly ducked, dodging all of my punches, lunging for my legs.

We both went flying back, her full body weight landing on top of me with a thud, effectively ending the fight.

"Ow..." I moaned, the wind knocked out of me.

Athena laughed, "I think that's enough for the day, you did well."

She slowly got off of me and sat next to me, panting a bit.

I laid on the ground for a while longer. The last hit took a lot out of me, I slightly struggled to recover my breath.

I groaned as I rolled over to my side to face Athena, giving her a weak thumbs up.

"Do you want to tell me what that was about?"

I rolled my eyes, "No."

She shrugged at my response, taking a sip of water from her bottle.

"Can I ask a favor?" I asked, enjoying the quiet company she provided.

"Of course."

"Can I stay with you for a couple of days?" I asked, pulling a single blade of grass from the dirt.

She pursed her lips, "Sure, but we should inform Jett."

"I don't think he'll care." I sighed, turning onto my back, watching the clouds glide through the sky.

She gave a small sigh as she laid down next to me.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" she questioned.

"I slapped Jett," I laughed at the memory.

She sat silent for a couple of seconds before she started laughing.

"That is amazing. Why'd you slap him?" she finally managed to say after suppressing her laugh.

"He told me he would stop seeing Lexi, but I found her waiting for him in his office. I lost my temper, called him an asshole, slapped him and stormed off," I casually shrugged.

She continued to giggle, "You're a rockstar," she whispered.

We stayed silent for a while; I closed my eyes enjoying the last bit of sun.

"You're his mate?" She asked suddenly, coming off as more of a statement than a question.

"I'm supposed to be" I rolled my eyes again, annoyed at the word mate, annoyed I placed so much faith into it.

She reached for my hand, giving it a tight squeeze. "Of course you can stay with me, for as long as you need."

I looked over at her smiling, grateful I had someone like her in my life.

"Thank you."