Eve
The mont Hades stepped back, the air between us felt charged, crackling with unspoken tension. My shoulder throbbed like a steady drumbeat, but I clenched my teeth and pushed through it. Showing weakness now would be like bleeding in front of a predator.
"Again," Hades ordered, his voice smooth but commanding. His silver eyes flicked over , missing nothing. He knew. I could see it in the slight arch of his brow, the curl of his smirk. But he wasn't calling out on it yet. Why?
I reset my stance, keeping my weight centered, my fists up. His movents were unhurried, deliberate, as though he had all the ti in the world to toy with . I hated it. I hated that he made feel like a beginner every ti I faced him. But it felt good to fall back into our usual routine of banter. It felt… comfortable, no longer unnerving. I hadn't realized how much I missed training with him.
But I hated even more how part of wanted to impress him. I wanted to prove sothing to him.
"Good," he said, circling like a wolf stalking prey. "Your footing is better. Maybe you did pay attention while I was gone."
I didn't reply. I couldn't. Every ounce of focus was on tracking him, on anticipating his next move. The flicker of his weight shifting forward was my only warning before he lunged.
I ducked low, narrowly avoiding the swipe of his arm, and shot upward with a quick jab aid at his jaw. He caught my wrist with frustrating ease, his grip firm but not painful.
"Predictable," he murmured, his breath brushing my cheek. He liked that word too damn much.
"Try harder," I snapped, wrenching my hand free and stepping back to reset.
His laughter was soft, amused. "There's the fire I've been waiting for. But if you want to land a hit on , you'll need to stop hesitating."
"I'm not hesitating."
"You are," he countered, stepping closer, forcing to backpedal. "Every ti you second-guess, you give an opening. And trust , Red, soone less patient than wouldn't let you off so easily."
"Patient?" I scoffed, pivoting to dodge his next strike. "That's rich coming from you."
He grinned, his fangs flashing. "You have no idea how patient I can be."
My heart stuttered at the dark promise in his tone, but I ignored it, focusing instead on the fight. He ca at again, his attacks faster now, sharper, but I managed to block more of them than before. Each successful deflection sent a spark of satisfaction through , even if it was short-lived.
"Better," he said, catching my wrist mid-swing. This ti, instead of twisting it, he guided my arm downward, using the montum to turn around and pin with my back to his chest. "But still sloppy."
"Get off ," I ground out, struggling against his hold.
"Sloppy," he repeated, ignoring my protests. "Your shoulder's slowing you down. You're compensating with your other side, which makes you predictable."
I stilled, the breath catching in my throat. He knew.
"Don't look so surprised," he murmured, his tone softer now, almost gentle. "You're good, Red. Better than most, actually. But you can't hide pain from ."
"I'm fine," I insisted, but even I could hear the strain in my voice.
"Sure you are," he said, his grip loosening just enough for to pull away. "But if you want to survive out there, you need to be more than fine. You need to be ruthless."
He stepped back, giving space, but his gaze remained locked on mine, unrelenting. "Again," he said, gesturing for to co at him.
I hesitated for half a second before lunging forward, feinting left and aiming a kick at his side. This ti, he didn't catch it. He dodged—barely—and I felt a flicker of triumph before he pivoted and swept my legs out from under .
"Don't celebrate too early," he said, offering a hand as I scrambled to my feet.
"I wasn't celebrating," I muttered, ignoring his hand and standing on my own.
"Could've fooled ," he said, smirking. "But I'll admit—you're learning faster than I expected. Looks like you didn't slack off while I was gone."
I didn't reply, but the corner of my lips twitched upward despite myself.
For the next hour, he pushed harder, correcting my stance, my timing, my breathing. His comnts were sharp, often mocking, but there was an undercurrent of encouragent in them that kept going. And though his attacks were relentless, he avoided my injured shoulder, almost as if he was… protecting it.
Hades didn't give a mont to catch my breath. As soon as I straightened up, brushing dirt from my palms, he stepped closer, his eyes gleaming with sothing dangerous.
"New task," he said, his voice low and smooth, but there was an edge to it that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. "Your goal is simple: make flinch."
I blinked at him. "Flinch? That's it?"
"That's it," he said, his smirk widening as if he already knew the outco. "Should be easy, right? Just one little reaction. One tiny sign that you're getting under my skin."
I narrowed my eyes, trying to figure out the catch. "What's the point?"
"The point," he said, circling again, "is that if you can't make flinch, you won't stand a chance out there. I'm holding back, Red. The world won't."
I clenched my fists. He always had a way of making everything sound like a challenge—a dare I couldn't back down from. "Fine," I said, resetting my stance. "Let's do this."
He gave a low chuckle, stepping back to give room. "Go ahead, little wolf. Surprise ."
I lunged without warning, aiming a punch at his jaw. He sidestepped effortlessly, not even a flicker of hesitation in his movents.
"Predictable," he said, his tone dripping with mockery. "You're like an open book, Red. A very short, very boring book."
I ground my teeth and spun, throwing a kick toward his ribs. He blocked it with ease, his smirk never wavering.
"Still predictable," he said, shaking his head. "You've got to think outside the box, Red. Use that clever little head of yours."
I stepped back, my breath coming in short bursts as I tried to reassess. He was toying with , like a cat playing with its prey. And I hated it.
This ti, I feinted left, aiming a quick jab at his side before pivoting and throwing my weight into a kick toward his knee. He caught my leg mid-air, holding it firmly as his eyes locked onto mine.
"Better," he said, his voice low and amused. "But not good enough."
He released with a slight push, and I stumbled back, frustration bubbling to the surface. "Stop calling predictable!" I snapped, resetting my stance.
"Then stop being predictable," he countered, his tone infuriatingly calm. "You keep attacking where you think I'm weak. But newsflash, Red—I don't have weaknesses."
"Liar," I hissed, lunging at him again. This ti, I aid a series of quick punches, trying to overwhelm him with speed. He blocked every single one with maddening ease, his smirk growing with each failed attempt.
"Is that all you've got?" he taunted, his voice soft and mocking. "Co on, Red. Show so bite."
I growled under my breath, pushing harder. My knuckles grazed his side once—barely—but it was enough to make his smirk falter for the briefest second.
"There it is," he murmured, stepping back. "A little fire. But you're still too slow. Too predictable."
"Stop calling that!" I shouted, lunging forward with everything I had.
He sidestepped again, his movents so smooth it was like he was dancing. Before I could recover, he swept my legs out from under , and I hit the ground with a thud.
"Temper, temper," he said, crouching down. His grin widened. "And you're predictable."
I wanted to wipe that smirk off his face so badly it hurt. But as I lay there, staring up at him, I realized that was exactly what he wanted. He wasn't just trying to frustrate —he was testing . Pushing .
And I hated that it was working.
"Get up," he said, standing and offering a hand. "We're not done yet."
I ignored his hand and pushed myself to my feet, brushing dirt from my pants. "Stop calling that."
"What?" He feigned ignorance. "Predictable?"
"Stop calling that!" I snarled, every ounce of my frustration pouring out in my voice.
Hades smirked, unbothered, like he always was. "Predictable," he said again, dragging the word out like he was savoring it.
Sothing inside snapped. Fine. If he wanted unpredictable, I'd give it to him.
I reset my stance, forcing calm into my breaths even as anger simred beneath the surface. "Alright," I said, tilting my head and letting a hint of a smirk play on my lips. "One more try."
His silver eyes narrowed slightly, curious but still confident. "Go ahead, Red. Impress ."
This ti, I moved slower, more deliberate, as though I were planning another straightforward strike. I lunged forward, aiming a kick high—toward his face. I could see the flicker of recognition in his eyes, the way he anticipated the move. He ducked, exactly as I knew he would, his grin widening like he'd already won.
And then my knee ca up hard.
I didn't aim for his stomach. I aid lower.
The impact was solid, the connection so direct that I could feel his entire body tense. A strangled groan escaped him, and for the first ti since we started training, Hades staggered, clutching his groin.
"Son of a—" His words cut off in a guttural growl as he bent slightly at the waist, his silver eyes glaring daggers at . The smirk was gone, replaced by sothing raw, and for a brief, glorious mont, I had the upper hand.
"Flinched," I said, crossing my arms, breathless but triumphant.
"You little—" He groaned again, his voice strained as he straightened slowly, still holding his ground despite the obvious pain.
I grinned, unable to stop myself. "What was that? I'm sorry, I didn't catch it. Sothing about being predictable?"
His glare darkened, a smirk taking over his face. A dangerous one.
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