Chapter 8 Train Until I Win

• ~SAPPHIRE~
• ‘’Sapphire Focus!’’ Silver shouted.
• I groaned, picked up the stick again, and swung it. How did I get here? Simple. Zephyr informed me that my training would be starting that morning, as it was one of the requirements before I could become the luna of the pack. I had woken up to my door being slammed open, and Silver stood at the entrance with a frown.
• “Wake up, sapphire!” he yelled and hit the door, causing me to jump out of the bed and land on the ground. “Time to train!”
• “Yes, sir!” I responded and rushed to take my bath. Felicia gave me an outfit for the training: black pants and a sleek, sleeveless black tunic cinched at the waist with a leather belt. Once I was done, I followed Silver to the training grounds. There, I met the other werewolves training to join the pack warriors. They all seemed skilled and confident, and I couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated.
• “Everyone, this is Sapphire Brown, and she will join the training today.”
• They all nodded, but one of them, a tall and muscular girl, spoke up.” May I ask why an omega is training to be a part of the warriors?” she eyed me with disgust. “She will only get in the way and slow us down,” she sneered. I was wrong when I said all the pack members of Blood were welcoming. This girl was not.
• “I doubt she will survive a day here,” another person said, this time a boy.
• I frowned at them and then looked at Silver, who had not said anything. I guessed he was waiting for me to speak up for myself. I had to remind myself that the war pack was not for weak people. “I am more than capable than you think.”
• The tall girl laughed. “Oh, she speaks!” she laughed and turned to the others. I had thought that she was deaf!” The others laughed alongside her. “Listen here, Omega,” she picked up the stick at her feet and threw it at me. “Demonstrate your skills, Omega.”
• The stick hit me on the stomach, and I moaned in the pain and held onto the stick. I had no idea what to do with it. I had never held a stick to fight in my life. The stick fell to the ground when I tried to wield it, and everyone around me laughed. I was embarrassed and couldn’t imagine that on my first day, it would be like this.
• Silver stepped forward. “Melissa, demonstrate the proper technique.”
• Melissa, the girl who had confronted me and threw the stick, nodded. She picked up another stick and effortlessly demonstrated swift and precise movements. Her stick flew through the air, and she jumped and landed on her legs without falling.
• “That is how to hold a stick,” she grinned at me.
• ” Cut it out!” Silver shouted at her. “The alpha wanted her to join and train, so bear with it, and no, she is not training to become a warrior.” He informed them and left the part where I would become their Luna. I had no issue with that; I was glad he didn’t tell them. Who would want a weakling as a Luna?
• “I hope you all treat me well,” I bowed my head.
• I am still waiting for responses.
• Five minutes into the training, it felt like I was in hell. We started with a grueling run, and I struggled to keep up. My lungs burned like fire, and my legs ached, but I pushed myself to keep going. Everyone else around me was running like pros, and it didn’t take too long before I couldn’t take it anymore, and I tripped and fell to the ground, gasping for air.
• “You are weak, Sapphire,” Melissa mocked as she ran past me. “I already told you you do not belong here,” she laughed.
• Her words stung, and I knew I couldn’t remain on the ground. I stood up and continued running despite my exhaustion.
• When we finally finished, I came in last, panting heavily. I had never run out of breath like that before, not even when my mother and I were being chased in the woods by arrows and rogues.
• “Next training!” Silver shouted, and I raised my head to see that the others were already picking up sticks and preparing for the next training phase.
• Here I was, gasping for air while they all looked like they didn’t run. I felt embarrassed, but I refused to give up, and I also picked up a stick, ready to join the training.
• The training was more challenging than the run, and it became much worse when I was paired with Melissa. I knew that I was in trouble. She was already a skilled warrior, and I struggled to keep up.
• “Are you afraid, dear?” she mocked. “Think I am going to break you?”
• I frowned at her, picked up the stick from the ground, and then pointed it towards her. Beads of sweat trailed down my face, and I felt my heart about to burst. It was as if I was facing the enemy, and it felt like I was about to die.
• ‘’Start!’’ Silver ordered.
• Melissa moved towards me in the blink of an eye and quickly flipped me over. Then she pushed me to the ground, and before I could get up, she struck me with the stick repeatedly. The blows came rapid-fire, each landing with a loud thump until I could no longer defend myself, and I collapsed to the ground.
• “Sapphire, Focus!” Silver shouted at me, and I stood up again, my vision hazy. Melissa’s attacks had left me reeling, and it was hard even to face her. I was embarrassed. Why was I so weak? Why couldn’t I keep up? There was no way the pack members would accept someone as weak as I was as their Luna.
• “yes, sir,” I walked to where the stick was, and when I tried to pick it up, I collapsed again and whimpered in pain.
• “she is bleeding!” one of the warriors shouted. Of course, I am bleeding. Melissa had struck me.
• Silver approached me and raised my hand. “This concludes the training today. Melissa takes her to the pack doctor.”
• Not melissa. How could he allow the same person who had attacked me to take me to the pack doctor?
• ‘’Yes sir,’’ Melissa stretched forth her hand for me to take. ‘’come on weakling!’’
• I clenched my jaw and grabbed her hand. She pulled me up from the ground and placed my hand around my waist, leading me toward the pack hospital five blocks from the training ground.
• “What are you even doing in our pack?” Melissa asked as we walked.
• I didn’t respond.
• “I can smell another pack on you, and it is not the alpha thing to bring in another pack member unless…” she paused.
• “Unless what?” I finally spoke up, curious about what she wanted to say.
• She frowned at me. “I want you to know you are not supposed to be here. You don’t belong here, and if I were you, I would turn away and not show my face again because this kind of place is not for you,” she told me.
• “Because I am weak?” my voice sounded like a cry for help.
• “yes,” her reply was sharp. “you can’t fight well!” she yelled at me, and when we finally reached the front of the pack hospital, she stopped and let go of me. “if I were you, I would stop coming to training because this is just the beginning. You will get hurt because I will hurt you,” she pushed me forward and then turned around. “if you wished to continue training, then it is your funeral, Sapphire, because when I fight, I fight dirty,” she chuckled and walked away.
• That should scare me. Her words were supposed to make me crawl up somewhere and hide forever, but they didn’t. Instead, they made me understand what I was missing. When I got to the pack doctor and got my shoulder fixed, I walked out with determination, ready to train harder and make myself worthy of becoming a luna.
• I returned to my room after the pack doctor, Akira, fixed my shoulder and gave me an ointment for my injuries.
• “My lady, the alpha is requesting to see you!” Felicia announced as she walked into my room a few minutes after I returned. Her eyes roamed around my body until they landed on my shoulder. She gasped as she moved towards me and placed her hand on the bandage wrapped around my shoulder. “Are you alright?”
• I forced a smile on my face. “yes, I am fine.”
• No, I wasn’t. It hurt so badly that it felt like I was about to die.
• “I am glad you are fine,” she smiled at me and then pointed towards the door. “The alpha is waiting.”
• At the mention of Zephyr, I heaved a deep sigh before following her out. How was he going to react once he saw my hand? Would he be unhappy to see me like that, or would he criticize me like Melissa? I was curious.
• “I will prepare your bath now,” Felicia announced as she left. Once we reached Zephyr’s door, I was left alone. My hands grew clammy, and my heart raced like I had finished running a marathon. It pounded in my chest like a drum. My sweat trickled down my palm like a stream of anxiety. I was anxious to hear him speak. Then, the moment finally came as I stretched my hand forward and gently knocked on his door.
• “Come in,” his deep voice said, making my heart skip a beat and race even faster as if it were about to escape the confines of my chest. I took a deep breath before pushing the door open and stepping into his office.
• ‘’Alpha,’’ I bowed.
• His face was buried in stacks of books, and when I reached his front, he raised his head to look at me. His eyes examined every area of my body until they landed on my shoulder. “how was training?” he asked, going straight to the point like always.
• “I…” Now was not the time to stutter.
• “I heard from Silver that you are struggling, and I can see that from your shoulders.”
• Damn Silver.
• “Are you tired?” I shook my head in response. “Do you want to give up?” I raised my head to face him with a frown. “I ask you, Sapphire!” he slammed the book in his hand on the table. “Are you willing to give up?” he yelled at me.
• I shook my head in response. “I am not going to give up.”
• He stood from his chair and walked towards me until he stood behind me, placing his hand on my shoulder. “Then work harder. Don’t allow your enemies to see you at your weakest! If they do, they will attack you and torture you until you break!” his lips grazed my ear, and I shivered under his touch.
• Why was he so close? Why was he affecting me so much? I shouldn’t have thought about the warm breath of his mouth against my ears and his hand against my shoulder, but it wasn’t easy. They were all I could think about.
• “I…” I tried to speak but was lost for words. Finally, he moved away and walked back to his chair.
• “start training harder, Sapphire, and I want to see some improvements,” he muttered, picking up the book he was reading when I walked in. “That would be all.”
• “y..yes, alpha,” I bowed and hurried out of the room. Once I was outside, I gasped for breath and placed my hand on my beating chest. What the hell is wrong with me? I shouldn’t feel this way. I shouldn’t even have any thoughts about him, but then again, I found myself thinking about his hands on me.
• I was going crazy.
• When I reached my room, I fell to the bed and closed my eyes. The thoughts of him when he appeared behind me filled my head. It wasn’t easy to sleep that night, and because I could not sleep well, I woke up early and started running before the training began. I followed the same routine for two weeks, and I got better at running, but still, I was getting my ass whooped by Melissa in the stick sparring.
• That gave me more motivation, and even when the training was hard, I stayed behind and practiced with the sticks. In my sixth week, I was able to swing the sticks perfectly.
• Still, I couldn’t beat Melissa.