Alpha's Girl

{15. Inhuman}

The intensity that Zac was staring me down with would've been enough to tear me in two less than a week ago; the human side of me would've been cowering in fear and paralyzed by the hatred and anger that sizzled beneath the glossy black surface or trapped beneath the gaze that reminded me so much of Alexander. But I wasn't that human anymore. No, I couldn't have that fear or weakness. Not right now. Channel the anger. Channel the fear and uncertainty. Channel the hatred, Zac words from nights before rang in my head as I zeroed in on him, taking in every detail and looking for a weakness in his seemingly solid defense. I could see his veins standing out prominently along his neck and his back muscles flex and pull with every change in his stance. His legs were firmly planted and I could see the conflict in his eyes as he tried to push his wolf down in an effort not to hurt me.

He wasn't going to make the first move, so it was up to me to get it started.

I stealthily swung, keeping myself from making the obnoxious battle cry that I used to, seeing that it would give my intentions away before I'd even had a chance to properly start them. Zac easily deflected but didn't seem prepared for the fury of moves I released onto him, one after the other like a storm. I landed a few hits on him, but he quickly broke my rhythm. I couldn't fully wrap my head around what was happening, but all I knew was that one moment I was standing tall and fighting with all I had, and the next I was pinned to the ground with Zac's hand on my chest signifying the 53rd time I would've had my heart ripped from my body. Today.

"Yield," he lowly demanded. I clenched my jaw, growing tired of the same bitter taste of defeat, but nonetheless, I bowed my head in submission. His features instantly softened. "Don't give up, Princess. You're doing amazing and putting in as much effort as some of our Warriors in training. I'm really proud of you, honest." He got up and offered me his hand.

"I'm not giving up, it just feels like I'm doing the same thing over and over again," I grumbled as I pushed myself up, ignoring his out-reached hand. "Yeah, I might be learning new moves and getting better at them, but it's no use. I'm a human fighting against a lycan. An alpha at that. I don't stand a chance and I never will, at least not like this."

Zac sighed. "Austin, I know this isn't what you want right now, but it all has a purpose, alright? Doing all of this, letting you feel defeat over and over and over teaches you how to tap into your anger and bitterness. It's teaching you to strive to want for more and help you realize how quickly things can turn against you in the blink of an eye if you're not careful. These concepts are things that we're born with as lycans, something that some of us still struggle to grasp, so by teaching you this now, you'll be far more prepared later when you turn."

"Okay," was all I could say, unable to argue, but still not feeling fully convinced either. After Zac's big speech two nights ago, I'd expected to be thrust into a new world even deeper than the mythological place I'd started calling home, but all I'd gotten were harder training sessions and talks on negotiations. I wanted more. I needed more if I was to successfully transition into this world in less than six days.

"You want more, okay, I'll give you more. Sit," Zac demanded, reading my mind. I did so without a word. Zac sat across from me, his gaze toward the sky, the multiple gears behind his eyes turning sporadically. "Our people originate from thousands of years ago back when the vast expansion of the world was still being discovered," he started. "Back when the world was still flat, the western hemisphere hadn't been discovered, and people still believed that gods created thunderstorms. As the explorers and colonizers continued staking claim to land that wasn't theirs, it came at a great cost. They were destroying nature and its creatures, mostly the wolves in an effort to domesticate them, but instead, they ended up slaughtering them when they couldn't be controlled. The Gaea, the earth goddess, had warned them that if they weren't careful, then the wolves would enact their revenge. But of course, the settlers didn't heed her warning. So the original moon goddess, Gaea's sister, Natus Lunae, which loosely translates to born of the moon, transformed the wolves into men who did exactly as Gaea had promised. They slaughtered the settlers the way they'd slaughtered many of the wolves brethren. Their violence knew no discrimination: man, woman, child, elder, they were all the same. When they were done, no one was left breathing. The Goddess was going to turn them back to wolves, however, they didn't want to be turned back into vulnerable creatures. Natus Lunae refused at first, but then they promised to be her slaves, doing as she pleased at every full moon for the rest of their lives, and she agreed. As time went on, she created more lycans, each pack slightly different than the other, and as the world continued changing and evolving, a lot of the lycan genetics got watered down by lycans getting with humans, witches, vampires, or whoever else. There are thousands of humans that have lycan genetics in them, but they're dormant or recessive due to the genetic mixing, or they're simply suppressed due to being raised a certain way, and can only be triggered by a specific thing.