Lycans Of The Woods

Chapter 31

"Who will train me?"

I was the first to speak after seconds stretched into minutes after Hannes had spoken, his tone telling me there was no sense in arguing with him. I hadn't planned to anyway, for I agreed with him; I needed to learn how to defend myself effectively.

"I've asked both Jeremiah and Willow to do so. I will assist at times, but for the most part, they will be the ones training you."

Hannes shifted on the bed, lowering his body beside mine when I eventually slipped under the covers of his bed. Warmness enveloped me, and I curled and uncurled my toes as a slow shiver crept up my skin.

"Eric from Corozal had tried to train me for two weeks," I told Hannes. "I was horrible."

There was a moment of silence and then Hannes grunted,

"Eric Mason trained you?"

I turned my head his way, and squinted in the darkness. I could not see him despite my best efforts to, but I could certainly feel the heat from his body, especially when he eventually raised the covers and moved to rest even closer beside me under them.

"Yes." I finally answered. My fingers traced the soft cotton of my pajama pants in thought, angling my head so it faced the ceiling as I inquired, "Who were the persons that attacked the pack you travelled to today?"

The atmosphere in the room shifted. Some sort of heaviness seemed to weigh on my shoulders, and as Hannes' body became tense, so did mine.

Hannes finally answered lowly, "Hundreds of humans attacked the lycans. The humans, as far I am concerned, are not a part of Corozal, but their beliefs are similar to those of that community. The Beckland pack had never wished or done ill towards humans, but that mattered little to the humans. They would not surrender despite the amount of lycans against them, and the majority of them who attacked are now dead."

I tilted my head to where his voice came from, and felt warmth brush my cheek. "Do you think they are many communities or groups of people like those of Corozal?"

I jerked at the feeling of a thumb tracing my lower lip, grazing over the areas in which I'd nibbled on whilst I'd been showering. "I know they are." His touch moved away, and I released a short breath. Hannes continued, "I will speak with you more about those who attacked tomorrow if that is what you'd like. Right now, I am tired."

I nodded in understanding, knowing that he could see me doing so in the dark, and listened to his even breathing for a long while. Thinking that he'd begun to fall asleep, I too began to slumber but was momentarily roused when I was pulled so that I came to lie on my side, and my head rested upon Hannes' chest. I could feel his continued even, soft breaths against my hair, and the rise and fall of his chest repetitively eventually led me to sleep.

When morning came, I awoke before Hannes did, and managed to successfully leave the room without him awakening. After taking a quick shower and slipping on some warm clothes, I eventually heard Hannes stirring in his bed and then the gruff sound of him calling my name, confusion and tiredness laced between his words.

I didn't answer immediately, as I was brushing my teeth throughout that time, but when I did leave the room after fifteen minutes or so, I saw that the door which I'd, of course, opened when leaving was now closed, and there were barely audible footsteps heard behind it.