AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My dad—I would always think of the man who raised me that way—had been a master of several martial arts, including the weapons those with advanced training could wield with deadly grace. Ever since I saw my first blade, I’d begged Dad to let me learn to use them, but he’d insisted I learn all the skills that led to them first.
He had been emotionally unavailable in a lot of ways, but he taught me to be strong and defend myself.
And now, I understood the reason for his lack of a bond with me. He wasn’t my father at all.
It stung, but I tried to focus on the good times, which were few. He made sure all my needs were met. I never lacked for anything. He took me under his wing as a student of all things strength and discipline.
Those practices would carry me through times like this.
I walked out of the elevator and immediately found myself smiling at the wall of weapons that greeted me like old friends. There were sais and katanas. Bamboo practice swords. Broad swords. Bows and arrows.
Suddenly, I was in heaven.
“Why do you look like you’re in heaven?” Lex whispered in my ear, and I gasped as he seemed to have read my thoughts. I had only known my three roommates for less than a day, but I would know their voices in a sea of others. Shivers rippled down my skin. I refuted every sensual message my wolf sent through our bond about my three new roommates and focused on the wall of wonder in front of me.
“My dad trained me on weapons. I love them.”
He chuckled. “Weapons and food. I’m making a list of things that conjure up that look on your face, female. You’re a surprise for sure.”
I noticed Nolan and Wolfe off to the side talking to each other, their eyes focused on me. “How is that?” I asked.
“Because most girls don’t get excited about weapons. Which one is your favorite?” I had to tear myself away from staring at his gray eyes.
I scanned the wall, but there were two weapons in particular that I always went for. My dad said I had an affinity for them. I had my own pair of sais since I was in kindergarten. They were dull, of course, and made from wood, but I was damned good at them if I did say so myself. “The sais.”
“Little Ninja Turtle, aren’t you?” He laughed, and I knew he was referencing the movies.
“Something like that. I think class is starting.”
We walked over as the teacher was saying that each of us would pick a weapon and they would ask us to display what we’d learned during the semester. “Ava, I know it’s your first day so you may observe if you wish.”
My face heated at being singled out in the crowd. “That’s okay. I’d like to participate, if you don’t mind.”
The teacher, dressed in a tight coral bodysuit, nodded. “Fantastic. Everyone choose your weapons.”
I beelined for the sais. Wolfe chose an ax right out of the Viking era. Nolan picked up a bow, and Lex seemed torn but eventually chose the katana. Lean and powerful, just like him.
Where in the hell did that come from? From the wolf inside me. She was tail over muzzle for these three men.
I watched in awe as the others showed off their skills. Everyone was really talented. They clearly had some good training here. Another good thing for me to focus on.
“Ava, your turn.”
I went through moves I’d used in training with my dad and some I learned from others. He’d enrolled me in some weapons competitions when I excelled.
When I was done, I bowed to the teacher, as I’d been taught.
The entire class broke out in a round of applause. “Thanks,” I said, feeling my face on fire from the attention.
“Ava, I’d like you to work with Seraphine. Raise your hand, Seraphine? She’s a hard worker, and I bet the two of you will do well together.” The teacher returned her attention to the crowd. “All right, everyone. Break off and work in pairs.”
I walked over to Seraphine. “Hey, I’m Ava. It’s nice to meet you.” From my other interactions at this school, I half expected her to attack me, but instead she offered me a friendly smile.
“It’s nice to meet you too. Where did you learn all of that stuff? It was amazing. Can you teach me?”
Her voice was soft, and soon we fell into a good pull and push, teaching each other. She had skills but needed practice. “How about sparring?” I asked. “I learned a lot by sparring with my dad.”
“That sounds great.”
