AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We learned to pick our partners carefully after that.
By day five, we knew practicing was the only way to avoid the grueling punishment. Failure to execute meant more work.
I reached the top of the hill and fought the urge to double over. I focused on slowing my heart rate as I caught my breath.
“Great job, everyone,” Bowen said as if we weren’t heaving. “Partner up. Today, we’re going to work on disarming techniques. This includes claw evasion. Myla, you’re with me. Kema isn’t feeling well, so we have an odd number.”
Enforcers spread out, standing by each pair for more focused guidance.
I joined Bowen as he placed his hands behind his back. “Choose an attacker and defender,” he instructed the group. “Once you’ve decided, your instructors will work with you for ten minutes before switching roles. We’ll do this for three rounds.”
Bowen gave me his full attention as we faced off.
“Do you want me to defend?” I asked.
“No. Attack. It might help you get some of your frustration out,” he said knowingly.
I huffed out a breath. Fine, if he wanted to see frustration, I’d show him.
Propelling myself forward, I punched and kicked in rapid succession, missing my target every time. For such a muscular male, he moved with the grace of a feline. It pissed me off. My muscles shook from exertion as I swung harder to no avail.
“Control your anger.”
Swing.
“You’re getting sloppy.”
Kick. Swing.
He tapped my side. “You’re leaving yourself open. If that were a real attack, I could have cracked your ribs or pierced you with my claws.”
I tucked my elbows in.
“Much better. Stop using your hands. Get close, use your hips to direct the punch, then snap your fist like a whip.”
Bowen let me use his body as a punching bag as he fixed my form and directed my punches.
“Switch,” he called out, undisturbed by my strike to his stomach.
Goddess, the male was a machine.
He demonstrated two blocking techniques and made me repeat them until the movements were semi-fluid.
“Put your hands up in a defensive position,” he said. “I’m going to slow my attacks, and you’ll block them.”
My arms felt like slabs of brick, but I held them up.
“All right, sweet girl. Pay attention to my body and remember to always keep one arm in to block,” he said.
“Got it.”
He threw a few practice swings, but my movement was all wrong. I was like a doe learning to walk—awkward and gangly. Bowen pushed me to continue, forcing me to move until my clumsiness started to fade. I managed to block him only because of his slow pace, but I was still proud.
“Let’s go, baby,” he said. “Three more minutes, then we’re done.”
“I can’t. My arms are going to break off!”
“No, they won’t. You got this. And if you make it to the end, I’ll give you a full body massage.”
