The Moon Goddess' Chosen

146 Chapter One Hundred Forty Six

Crysta rolled her eyes at the alpha and signalled for Honour to get into her defensive stance. Because of the normal wolves’ inability to retain their clothes when they shifted, Crysta volunteered to be the one to shift, but that was only going to happen once she was sure the girl before had a few basics in her brain if there was any to understand what was about to be taught, “Wyatt, why don’t you find someone who can actually handle the kind of training you need?”

The alpha looked to his right and regarded the delta before him with a shrug, “Alfred can do what’s needed. He’s been such a big help.”

“You mean he’s helped you get out of training without having to go through the extra drills,” Crysta replied, showing Honour how to block, “Come on, girl. Move your hands and feet. This is not some fashion show for nature lovers.”

Honour complied and tried to put some energy in her already tired muscles. The fists that came at her were a little swift for her to handle, but she did her best to block and dodge for she knew Crysta was holding back a lot. In a real fight against her, she would have recognised nothing but a blur for the delta.

“Well, if that’s what gets in your mind when you see someone be so successful in everything they do, then who am I to deny your right to an opinion. Are you seriously going to train that runt?” the alpha asked her, noticing the girl taking her partner seriously.

“I suggest you find Liam and bother him. This particular person has a lot of kinks to work through,” the seriousness in Crysta’s voice reached the alpha loud and clear, and he did not like it.

“I’ll let this slide just this once. Have fun dealing with that runt,” with that, the alpha left them alone, the delta following him briskly. He looked troubled and upon further inspection could be found to have bruises all over from what he was going through with Wyatt.

Honour started to lose her focus and ended up getting hit more times than she would have liked, forcing Crysta to take a break from the pummelling, “What is it, runt? Are you tired already?”

Albeit winded, Honour was losing focus for other reasons. A gnawing curiosity that just wouldn’t go away and only got stronger the longer she kept it in, “Why are you training me?” she asked.

.....

“Oh, so you were only distracted. You won’t have time for distractions in the real world. One stray thought could mean the end of your life,” Crysta replied. When the girl’s persistence to know the answer didn’t waver, she sighed and went on to explain, “Fine... It was because of what you did yesterday. You stood up for someone who didn’t deserve that kind of loyalty. How you take this session is entirely up to you... It could be what you get for raising your voice at the future delta of this pack or it could be a sign of acknowledgement... Runts don’t go around standing up to people stronger than them.”

“Aww, you do have a heart,” Honour couldn’t help herself.

“Payback it is. Get ready. I won’t go so easy on you this time. Once you have the basics down, I’ll give you a few tips to surviving longer in case you’re attacked by a werewolf,” she started, commencing a series of attacks that were faster than what the girl had been getting used to. With time, Honour started matching up to the speed of the delta and was soon winded by the intense exercise.

She collapsed, completely out of breath, only three minutes after they had started fighting. Crysta watched her patiently, wondering how weak one could possibly be. After how long she’d spent training and keeping her body in the best shape possible, she’d simply forgotten the feeling of weakness. Honour wasn’t a fighter. She was delicate and weak and oddly beautiful in her own ‘green way’. She wasn’t meant to be on the battlefield.

“Have you been skipping out on training?” Crysta asked, trying to comprehend this. The girl was basically Lina’s age mate and yet she was still this weak. Pack training started at the age of fourteen and continued until one retired from safeguarding the pack which was a very long time away in case the wolf lived a long life.

“No, I haven’t. I have been coming to these things since we were supposed to, but there is no improvement whatsoever,” Honour replied, in between her quick shallow breaths. There was more she could explain concerning her breathing and how she easily ran out of breath. How it was always hard for her to do anything tasking from the moment she could walk, but upon remembering the person she was talking to, she held her tongue and left it at that.

“Well, you will have to find a way through it. If you can’t do that, then I never want to see play the hero again. You won’t always be able to defend yourself. Lina obviously can’t...” Just then, Crysta’s attendance got taken up by the commotion coming from a gathering group. She could see through them to watch the action that took place at the centre and she was just in time to watch the human girl pin down a slender white wolf.

The junior hunter had defeated their princess in her wolf form. ‘You just keep on hitting newer lows, don’t you Lina?’ Crysta thought to herself. Honour came up to her in time to see what had just happened. Jackson confirmed the winner of the duel and Lina shifted back to her human form after being released. The audience roared in praise of the junior hunter... They’d always love a good fight. Lina, on the other hand, was nearly petrified by her defeat and looked like she might just enter the ground.

Without looking around for anyone else, the girl looked Crysta in the eye. ‘What look are you trying to give me? You should have trained with your stronger sister, but you had to go and ask for something you thought was simpler,’ Crysta was utterly disappointed. Lina vanished from the scene faster than normal eyes could witness although she was still visible to Crysta who paid her no further attention.

“What difference would it make if she was facing off against a rogue?” Crysta asked the girl before her. Honour barely heard what the delta asked her. She was far too worried about her friend and tears stung her eyes. The girl’s state tugged at something in Crysta’s heart, but she shoved the emotions far within herself. There was no room for something of the sort when it came to Lina. She was a lost cause to the pack... or at least, that’s what she believed to be true.

“Hey, get back in form. You haven’t finished with me yet and I’m not planning on training runts for the rest of my life,” she barked at the Honour.

“Yes, of course...” Honour replied after watching Katie run off after her sister. She wasn’t confident of the girl catching up to Lina, but she was a better option than Honour could have ever been. She’d also seen her speed when she’d fought Crysta the previous day. Perhaps there was a chance she could keep up that pace. Honour was sure Lina could keep at her top speed for a longer time than any other wolf and this was what made catching her impossible in the pack.

“Oh, the runt has shamed the pack even more now that she was beaten by a human,” Liam spoke up, walking up to them with Wyatt and his delta in tow.

“Where is your training partner, Liam?” Crysta asked.

“He’s only taking a short nap. It’s nothing to be worried about. I heard you were training the runt’s runt, but I hadn’t believed it to be true,” he responded, scanning Honour’s appearance, “She looks like she could faint any second.”

“She’s weak. That’s for sure, but good enough for a female,” Crysta said. All eyes were on Honour as they tried to gauge why on earth Crysta had taken on such a partner for the first time.

“Is this going to become a daily thing?” Wyatt asked, with a hint of excitement.

“What are you so happy about?” Crysta snapped at him, narked by his behaviour.

“It’s quite simple. Watching a royal getting their ass handed to them...” he breathed in deep as though he was on drugs, “No amount of weed can top that feeling. I would think this is something that you would get a kick out of. Are you having a change of heart? Is it now that you have decided to get on the royal’s good side. It would definitely explain what you are doing training this brat.”

Crysta’s eyes flashed with defiance as she stared at the alpha talking back at her. Since he wasn’t her alpha, she didn’t have the obligation to answer any of his questions. His questions did reach her though... She hadn’t thought through everything when she’d decided to help Honour with her training, “I was only giving that runt the chance to recognise how weak she is. Training this one just happened to be the price...”

Honour, who had been given an entirely different reason began to wonder what exactly was happening before her eyes. If it hadn’t been for the sway Crysta had already established over her, she would have been appalled by her response. “So that’s the reason for these bruises...” Honour scoffed, her mind soaring back to the girl that had just left the clearing in a rush. ‘Please, be fine, Lina...’

Looking at the two of them, Liam scoffed and walked away from them, shaking his head in disappointment. “Watch your step, Crysta. It’s almost like you’re going soft,” Wyatt said, choosing that moment to walk away from them as well, his partner in tow.

The two were quiet for a little bit longer before Honour spoke up, “It’s not easy being you, is it?”

“Shut up and let’s get back to training,” Crysta barked at her, shaking off the question. Honour didn’t argue and got ready for the continued assault that had taught her more than she’d learnt in months, ‘It’s harder being Lina...’ Crysta thought to herself...