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Benajmin’s movements were sure and precise. He moved with a swiftness that any dancer would envy. I’ve always trained and fought with the warriors at court, but this was a whole other ball game. I blocked another blow, spun around and brought my arm up just in time to cover my head from a strike.
I was already out of breath. The wheels in my mind were spinning too fast to keep up. Everywhere Benjamin’s body touched mine, shocks erupted and travelled through every cell in me. I couldn’t concentrate on anything but the movement of his body. His scent filled my nostrils and made my heart pound in excitement.
I was on my back. Benjamin had long since drove me off of the fighting mat. The twigs and rocks dug into my exposed back where my shirt had lifted. Benjamin was on top of me and, instead of fighting back, I froze. I was suddenly aware of just how extremely close we were and how amazing it felt. I wasn’t focusing on the fight at all. It cost me dearly.
I was unexpectedly hauled off of the ground and tossed through the air. My breath rushed from my lips as I hit the ground. Something sharp dug into my side. I could feel the tiny wounds in my back from the numerous sharp rocks and sticks.
I flopped onto my back and stared at the open sky peeping through the trees. There was a strange ringing in my ears. Moments passed. Then, I heard something from the watching crowd that made my blood boil and my vision turn red, “I thought they said he was a Galager.” I started shaking. Nobody would insult the Galager name. I’d make damn sure of it.
I sprung to my feet in one fluid motion. My hands came up as my leg shot sideways at lightning speed. Benjamin barely had time to register his shock before my foot connected with the side of his chest. The students were standing around us in a tight circle, but quickly took a few steps back as our fight continued.
Benjamin regained his balance and faced me again, his arms raised. His face was blank, but his eyes held something that made me proud: respect. I didn’t know why it mattered to me what he thought, but it did.
I had him pinned to the ground two minutes later. The instructor declared me the victor. I stood, towering over Benjamin. Our eyes met and I stuck out a hand to help him up. A few of the other students gasped. Alphas never accepted help, especially not after a defeat like that.
A tense few seconds passed as Benjamin stared at my outstretched hand. Then, he surged up and gripped my arm tightly. I was grinning as I pulled him to my chest. He tapped my back three times. “Good fight,” he said, letting go of my arm and making his way to his packmembers.
The class was utterly silent. I couldn’t blame them, I was surprised too. I’d never fought like that before. It was as if my body just knew exactly what to do and which muscles to move.
For the rest of the class, I switched partners after every round. I won each and every fight. Some didn’t even last a full minute. Suddenly, I wasn’t just the outsider freak anymore. I was someone to be respected. Someone to fear. Good. Fear is good, father had always said. Especially amongst those who are weaker than you. A bell sounded in the distance.
“Uh… Right.” The instructor was staring at me in shock, the final student that I could fight in the class pinned underneath me on the mat. “That’s your que. Next class. Come on. Move it along.”
The walk back to the Academy buildings was a quiet one. Hushed murmurs sounded up every now and then, but the words were too soft to catch. One thing was clear: I wasn’t going to be brushed off by anyone anymore.
I stopped in front of a lecture hall. Students were filing in. I got a few impressed slaps on the back from people who had either been in the forest, or had heard of what had happened from friends. I hid a wince and gave a tight lipped smile.
My back was killing me. I could feel the pieces of earth that was stuck underneath my skin. They were going to be a bitch to get out. Until then however, they were forcing their way deeper and deeper into my flesh with every movement I made.
I had no choice. It was my first day at the Academy. I couldn’t afford to miss any classes. I gritted my teeth and walked into the lecture hall.
***
My body was lightly shaking as I brought my fork to my mouth. It was dinner and I was desperately wishing for the day to be over so that I could go to my room. Not even counting the fact that I had never trained as hard as I had today in my entire life, my back was still in agony. I had managed to hide the bleeding wounds underneath my jacket for the entire day, but it wasn’t ideal.
I stuffed the last fork of rice and chicken into my mouth, dropped my empty plate off and made my way to my room.
Benjamin wasn’t there yet. I hadn’t seen him in the cafeteria either. I had a few more classes with him except combat training. I had history, weapons training and tracking. Thankfully, we weren’t in our formal school years anymore, so we only had the subjects that directly impacted our future positions in the pack. Those who wished to join the human world had left when they were eighteen. The rest of us could pursue jobs within the werewolf world. Warriors, trackers and council members had to stay until they were twenty two. Alphas, Betas and Gammas, the first, second and third in command of the numerous packs, also had to stay.
I pulled off my shirt and stared at my back in the bathroom mirror. I grimaced. Thin lines of dried blood ran all the way down my back and disappeared into my jeans. Little holes littered my flesh and were filled with rocks, sticks and pieces of dirt. My back wouldn’t heal until the pieces of debris were out and the wounds could safely close.
I turned on the shower. Perhaps the water would wash it out so that it could heal. I stepped into the warm spray, turned my face to the faucet and closed my eyes. The water trickled down my back. I felt a sting of pain every time that it touched a wound.
It took me fifteen minutes to realise that the water wasn’t going to clean them out. I sighed and stepped out of the shower. I dried my hair and wrapped a towel around my waist. I rummaged around in the bathroom cupboard until I found a small first aid kit.
The box held numerous tubes, bandages and disinfectant. I settled on a pair of tweezers.
The light from above me wasn’t nearly enough to work by. I had to twist around with the tweezers in my hand to see my back. The movement only lodged the pieces in deeper. I hadn’t even started when I heard the bedroom door open and footsteps sounded in the room. I took a deep breath and pulled the first twig out of my skin. I gritted my teeth against the pain. I was never really good at handling any type of pain. My eyes would water if I had to comb through a knot in my hair.
I’d only cleaned three of the wounds when I missed a fourth piece of whatever was stuck in there and gripped my flesh instead. I cried out before I could stop myself. I froze. The bathroom door was thrown open moments later, a concerned Benjamin standing in the jamb. It was the most emotion that I’ve ever seen him show.
Benjamin’s lips parted and his eyes went wide. I was still standing with my back to the mirror and the towel around my waist. The wounds had started bleeding again. My hands were gripping the counter behind me in pain.
Benjamin composed himself in the next second. “Finn…” He’d never said my name before. My body tingled from his voice. “Is this from the fighting in the woods this morning? Why didn’t you tell me?”
His exasperated tone had me laughing out loud. “Tell you? Why would I do that? You hate me.”
“Beacause we’re… I don’t hate you, Finn.” Then, the strangest thing happened. Benjamin dropped the walls that he had built around his emotions and looked at me. Really looked for the first time. His dark eyes shone with mischief and he suddenly looked very childlike. “Can I help you?” His voice was soft and hesitant. I frowned. “Please?”
I gave in and nodded my head. It would be better if someone else could remove the debris anyway. Benjamin walked over to me and took the tweezer from my hand. He gently pressed on my shoulder to get me to turn around, facing the mirror, and began examining my back. He whistled softly, but didn’t make another comment.
The bathroom was silent as he worked. I flinched from time to time, but tried to hide it. I became acutely aware of his hard body behind mine. His legs were mere centimeters from my own. His breath was tingling my hair. His fingers were brushing across my back. I stared at him in the mirror. His eyes were narrowed in concentration. His lower lip was caught between his teeth.
I felt my heart speeding up, my breathing growing ragged. All my blood rushed south. Benjamin paused. His head rose and his eyes met mine in the mirror. I didn’t know what to think, say, do. I was at a loss. My body was numb.
“All done. You are officially debris free. You’ll heal in a few hours,” Benjamin whispered. I couldn’t even nod my head. He was so close. He hadn’t even moved an inch and made no indication to do so now.
As I watched in the mirror, Benjamin brought his hand up and lightly ran his fingers over my shoulder and down my arm. His hand gripped my wrist as he moved closer to me. I closed my eyes when I felt the pressure of his soft lips on the bare skin of my shoulder.
I had never felt this way about anyone before. I had never felt this drawn to someone in my life. His voice, his scent, his touch, everything about him calmed me. I opened my eyes and stared at my reflection, Benjamin still behind me and looking at me curiously. I decided then: I didn’t care what the council thought about it, Benjamin was mine.
A small smile played on Benjamin’s lips. He knew what I was thinking. Benjamin placed a hand on my hip and slowly turned me to face him. He placed his hand on my neck and drew me to him.
His lips were magic. For a moment, just one moment, we forgot about the world around us. There was him. And there was me. We stood pressed against each other in a dorm bathroom, our lips locked and our hearts on fire.
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