A Wolf Scorned by Taylor Spratt

Amira

*Bang* *Bang* *Bang*

An explosive rumble raged outside my bedroom door, unceremoniously ripping me from sleep.

Startled, I jumped off the bed, landing hard on the ground and taking my bed sheets with me.

“Rise and shine, little wolf. It’s training day! It’s training day! It’s Traaiiinnning Day!” Syrus sang merrily from the other side of my door.

My gaze flickered over to the window. Darkness looked back at me and I glowered.

“What the hell, Syrus? It’s the crack of dawn. What’s your problem?” I stormed to the door and flung it open so fast it smacked against the wall.

Syrus looked rested and fresh as a daisy as he shot me an annoyingly cheerful grin. On the floor to his left was a large golden gong and in his hand, he held its beating rod.

“It’s 5 am to be exact. This is the perfect time to start your training.”

“Says who? The crows aren’t even awake yet. Why should I be?” I rubbed at my burning eyes and pointed at the miserable contraption beside Syrus. “And a gong? Seriously? It’s a bit over the top even for you, Alpha drama queen.”

“Drama queen?” Syrus drew himself back in dismay. “Is that any way to speak to your Alpha? I let you get away with it last time but this time, maybe I really will punish you for your disobedience.”

“Oh yeah? Just try it,” I said, showing him my teeth. He did the same as we just stared at each other in a wolfish stand off.

Miles bustled from his room, a few doors down. He wore nothing but his boxers and his impressive abs beamed at me like a torch of sexiness.

“What's the deal man?” Miles yelled while shaking his fist above his head. “Some of us are trying to sleep over here! You woke up my baby chinchillas. Now I’m gonna have to bottle feed them three hours early!”

“Sorry friend. I just wanted to have a little fun with Amira before training. You go off to bed now and I’ll help you with your chinchillas later.” Syrus waved his hand in a shooing motion over his chest that seemed to calm Miles.

He calls this fun?

“Well, good then.” Miles's eyes squeezed shut and he returned to the comfort of his room before gently shutting the door.

“Hurry and get dressed. The training ground has been prepared and we need to get started ASAP.” The corners of Syrus’s eyes wrinkled as he spoke and his eyes sparkled with an innocence he sure as hell didn’t truly possess. He got a sadistic pleasure out of annoying me. I was sure of it.

“How about I sleep for another hour or two then we train, okay?” Ignoring the way his eye now twitched, I spun on my heels and slunk back into my room.

“Now, Amira,” Syrus demanded before banging the damn gong three more times like it was a game.

I jumped at the sudden noise. It was so intense it made my chest vibrate. No way was I getting back to sleep now.

“I could do this all day, you know,” Syrus laughed, toying with the rod. “It’s actually kind of fun.”

Syrus hit the gong once more and Miles shouted, “Fuck!” from his bedroom. This of course tickled Syrus pink as he began chuckling like a naughty school boy.

“Will you stop that fucking noise already?” Callum’s angry shouts pierced through his door at the end of the hall, filling the hallway in a deep saturating sound. “If you make me come out there, I’ll break that damn thing to pieces, Syrus!”

“Not gongy,” Syrus declared, kneeling on the floor and hugging the gong as if it were a precious treasure.

“See what you did now?” His eyes narrowed in my direction.

“Are you sure you're really an Alpha? Because right now you're acting like a spoiled brat.”

His nostrils flared as he rose from the floor to resume his towering stature over me.

“You shouldn’t have said that, little wolf. Now I’ll be forced to show you just how much of an Alpha I truly am.”

* * *

I got dressedas slowly as I could just to get back at Syrus, and then we both left the cabin. The dark blue of night gave way to a soft pinkish purple as the sun broke over the horizon and gently awakened the forest.

About a quarter mile into the thick trees Syrus led me to a grassy clearing, about twice the size of the one that Callum and I had trained in yesterday.

The scent of fresh pine wafted on the cool morning air, and the chirp of birds brought a harmonious music to the landscape.

A rack about four feet high and five feet across stood amongst the wild grass. It was covered in a thick black sheet which Syrus eagerly yanked off it and cast to the ground.

“This will be today’s training equipment.” Syrus tilted his head, planting his hands at his sides, seeming quite proud of the equipment he’d brought. As if they were somehow special.

All I saw were a dozen basic, black balls sitting on the rack. I scratched my head, eyeing the strange balls.

“Um, and these are? Bowling balls, I presume?”

“What? Bowling balls?” Syrus blinked disbelievingly, picking up one of the balls and bringing it right up to my face. “Haven’t you ever heard of a fire sphere?”

“You mean these things catch on fire?” I asked and he nodded. I immediately didn’t care for where this was going.

“My plan is a simple one.” He threw the ball in the air and caught it as it fell. “If we are to unleash your magic, your inner witch needs to think your life is in danger. Only then will your power manifest. It’s a simple matter of self preservation. Your power will spring into action to protect you when you need it most.”

“When I need it m0st, being when I’m about to be flayed alive, you mean?”

“I promise you will be perfectly safe. We just need your inner witch to think you are about to die. That’s all,” he shrugged, as if all this would be as easy as taking a stroll in the park.

“And just why do you think I would trust you? Given our general history?” I rotated my wrist in a clockwise direction, prompting him to convince me.

His eyes squinted and he took the ball under his arm, while looking at me as if he didn't have the faintest clue what I was talking about.

“You have my word that no harm will come to you, Amira. Just follow my instructions and everything will be fine. Okay?” He smiled at me sweetly, trying to make himself look all cute and innocent.

“Fine,” I sighed. “Let’s give it a try.”

“Good, just keep your eyes on me now.” Syrus did a few stretches and then made a beeline over to the rack to pick up two more balls.

In a grand show of agility, Syrus launched all three balls high into the air at incredible speeds. He then made three clicking sounds with his mouth.

I watched in wonder as the balls, sprouted a rich and sparkling green fire, summoned by Syrus’s command.

“Stand back, Amira. They're coming!” Syrus bellowed.

“Coming? Where? How?” I immediately got my answer as the three flaming balls soared through the air, barreling toward Syrus at breakneck speeds.

The objects gave off a howling high-pitched screech as they ripped the wind in two.

I sprinted towards the nearest tree and ducked, darting my eyes in every direction, searching for the fire balls.

“Eyes on me, little wolf,” Syrus said, as he pointed two fingers at my eyes and then at his. He stood in the middle of the clearing, watching the fire balls zip toward him.

My heart banged in my chest and I couldn’t tell when last I’d taken a breath.

What was he thinking? This was way too dangerous a game he was playing, even for an Alpha.

The fire balls cruised a meager three feet from his head and Syrus took off like a jet, breaking across the clearing. He ran up a tree trunk doing a flip and then landing on the ground.

One of the balls, ripping after him, crashed into the tree trunk and vanished in a puff of green smoke.

“Syrus, behind you!” I called out and Syrus turned to see the other two balls honing in on his back, like a bullseye. Effortlessly, he dodged both balls, spinning like a top .

The smooth motion with which he moved was nothing short of awe-inspiring. I’d seen Syrus fight once in the cave, but even that didn’t show the extent of his powers.

I scarcely saw his feet move as he dodged the flame balls over and over again as if it were a game of magical dodgeball.

One of the balls cruised towards Syrus’s head and with a jerk of his neck to the side, the ball hit the ground, vanishing just like the first one had after failing to hit him.

Determined to have a little fun, Syrus did a little dance while dodging the last flame ball this time. He was like a performer on stage, gyrating his hips like a dancer as the ball failed to land a hit on him over and over again. I hated to admit it but he put on a hell of a show.

Seeming to just give up, the final ball disengaged, losing its flame and landing in the palm of Syrus’s hand. He gave a performer's bow and, losing myself in the moment, I cheered for him, clapping until my hands burned.

“I’ve never seen anything like that! How did you do all that?” I asked. Absorbing my praise, he simply stated, “You’ll be doing it too, in a minute.”

“Wait, what?”

“That was just a demo so that you could give it a try next. It’s really not so hard. Just make sure the flame balls hit anything but you and they will automatically be extinguished. If they don’t hit you after five minutes they will also automatically power down. See? Easy as pie.” Syrus squeezed the ball under his arm and studied my doubtful expression. The twinkle left his eyes.

“Come on, don’t worry. I’ll make sure you don’t get hurt.”

I thought about backing down but my inner ‘bad bitch’ hated the idea of me being seen as weak, especially after Syrus’s effortless display of speed and power.

In the end, my pride won out and I took the ball from Syrus.

“Atta girl.”

Syrus went over to the rack and removed two more of the balls and he threw the three of them together high into the air.

He made the same clicking sound he did before and the three balls sprouted shimmering green fire.

“You can do this!” Syrus gave me the thumbs up before relocating to the side lines.

I watched them fall, quickly picking up speed as they neared ground.

That fire looked a lot hotter than it did when Syrus was doing this.

No, Amira. No doubting yourself. You're the boss. YOU. CAN. DO. THIS.

The three balls came zipping towards my head and I maneuvered out of the way, falling to the ground and rolling over the grass.

Several singed strands of my hair covered the ground and my mouth gaped open.

“Amira, on your left!” Syrus yelled, and without taking a second to even look I sprung from my place on the ground and launched myself in the air.

One of the balls hit the ground where I’d just been and vanished. Syrus cheered loudly and pride surged through me as my feet landed on the grass.

What the?!

My celebration was short lived as the two remaining balls jetted toward my face. Heat seared my delicate flesh and I sling-shotted to the side, doing a nose dive into the grass, missing the ball by a hair’s breadth.

Had I been just a second later my cheek would have been torched. How did Syrus make this look so easy?

I took to my heels as the fear of death lit a fire under my ass like it never had before.

Deciding to use the trees as cover, I left the clearing and wandered into the surrounding foliage.

One of balls flew past me on the right, only to do a 180 and come soaring right toward my chest.

An ear-shattering scream flew from my lips and time seemed to stand still. There was no time to dodge this one, it was too close, moving too quickly.

I imagined how it would feel when it finally pounded into my chest and shattered my rib cage. It would singe my clothes and then the flesh would be next. It would burn me to cinders and by the time Syrus got to me, there would be nothing left.

I closed my eyes, squeezing them tight and bracing for the earth-shattering pain.

I took a final breath and a strange sensation rippled through my core. It felt icy cold and yet burning hot at the same time. It expanded within me until it permeated through every cell in my being.

Every muscle in my body contracted as if compelled by some unseen force, and power like I’d never known exploded from the deepest, darkest corners of my soul.

A bright blue light shot from my body, illuminating the surrounding area in a pure, blinding light. The orb disintegrated, turning it into a green mist.

The otherworldly power cut like a switch and the light vanished just as soon as it had appeared.

Speechless, I stared into my own open palms. They were telling the truth. I really was part witch!

My entire life unraveled in my mind. So many questions were now answered and just as many were created. Why did my mother lie to me about our witch heritage? Who the hell was I?

The sound of branches breaking under foot grabbed my attention as I turned to face Syrus’s stunned expression.

“Magnificent,” Syrus mouthed the word, but never made a sound as he scanned my body in a daze.

A swishing noise broke the silence and Syrus’s head spun to face the source of it.

“Amira! There’s still one more orb.” He flailed his arms like a flightless bird and I turned to face the third orb.

Too little too late. It was almost on top of me.

Syrus leapt in front of me and the orb exploded into his chest setting his shirt on fire and the fabric vanished in a burst of flame.

“Syrus!” I cried out and he fell in my arms. The orb had vanished, but not before doing untold damage to Syrus’s rib cage. His chest sunk in to one side and blood covered his entire abdomen.

“See, little wolf?” Syrus coughed and blood ran down the sides of his lips, bringing hot tears to my eyes. “I told you I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

His mouth went slack and his head fell back as he slipped away into the darkness.