The following morning, I dragged myself out of bed at the crack of dawn following Ezra. He had joint training with the vampires and the witches, and I wanted to see it.

I'd always thought that waking up early was overrated, but having a reason to wake up actually made it easier.

"How is the rogue? Noah?" I linked him as we made our way through the dimly lit forest. Ezra's arm was warm around my shoulders, his side emanating a considerable amount of heat.

"We went to see him yesterday. He looked better."

"Really?" It was great to be able to help someone like that.

"Yes. Really. But let's keep your blood in you for now. Sam is working with what he has, and it seems that it's enough."

"Do you think it has to do with what I am? The fact that my blood heals them, I mean."

"Maybe," he said out loud. There was a massive fallen tree trunk in front of us. Without breaking his stride, Ezra wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me against him. I held on as he leaped over the trunk and landed softly on the other side. He switched to linking as we continued our way. "We don't know much about the fae. They were creatures that kept to themselves. My grandparents might have heard something, but I don't want anyone to know about you just yet."

"Your grandparents?" I had never heard him talk about them.

He grunted. "They're touring the world. Ever since Dad took over the throne, they come to the pack for a short while before traveling again."

"Mhm." His conflicted emotions seeped through the bond. I guess he didn't like his grandparents much.

"They never liked my mom," he admitted with a sigh. "I don't know the whole story, but there was a point where my grand-father made Dad choose between the throne and her."

I gasped. "What? What happened?"

"My great-grandfather happened," he said, tightening his hold on me. His voice softened as he talked about his great grandparent. "He was the king before my grand-father, and he stood firmly by Dad's side. He revered the mate bond.

"My father was more like him than my grand-father. Eventually, everything settled down, but my grandparents still don't like Mom much. It's a long story, I'll tell you some day."

Mhm. I really wonder how Wren and Zyron got together. Their characters seemed to be opposite. That would be a nice story to hear someday.

We arrived to the training grounds when the light changed from the bluish gray of dawn to the golden shades of sunrise. The training grounds were already full. The dirt rings scattered around were busier than the last time I'd been here.

A ball of glowing red flew across a ring, from the outstretched hand of a guy to his opponent. The slender girl leapt out of the way and zipped to the guy's side in lighting speed, socking him in the kidney and sending him flying to the edge of the ring. A witch and a vampire.

Wide eyed, I followed Ezra through the rings, watching the intriguing fights. Werewolves relied mostly on strength, vampires on speed, and witches on their magic.

We stopped in the center of the training grounds. An empty ring, much larger than the others, was surrounded by a growing crowd.

"Finally, I thought you weren't showing up." Sam smirked, cracking his knuckles. Hayden, Haley, Ashley and Zach were beside him.

Hayden didn't have his usual hoodie on, just a plain white t-shirt stretched over his muscular frame. The pale color brought out his dark tan and made his blue eyes pop. A few girls in the crowd gave him appreciative looks. Hmm. I guess he was a pretty guy.

I glanced at Ezra. He was prettier. And if I told him that, he would scowl.

He looked at me. "What?"

"You're very pretty."

He scowled. I bit back a grin. As expected.

"You're lucky I love you," he grumbled.

My grin widened, and my magic pulsed, as if in agreement. "I know."

"So, we gonna do this or what," Sam called, ending our moment. He threw his arm around Hayden's neck and both looked at Ezra expectantly.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"They'll fight," Zach said, rubbing his hands together. His excited grin matched Haley's. "Hayden and Sam against Ezra."

My eyes bulged. "What? Both against Ezra? At the same time?"

"They love getting their asses handed to them," Haley said. "It happens every time."

Worry twisted my guts. Sam and Hayden, as far as Ezra had told me, were one of the strongest in their species. Having them both team against him would not be a walk in the park.

"Don't worry," Ezra linked me. "I'll make it fast."

I frowned. "Just ... be careful."

He kissed my forehead and joined the two guys in the ring.

"Morning."

Blake. Standing beside me, he gave me a smile. "Don't worry. If anyone should be worried, it's Sam and Hayden."

"He's right," Haley said, nudging my shoulder with hers. I gave a reluctant nod, linking my arm through hers. The crowd around us swelled as more people came to watch. Jason separated from the crowd and talked to the three fighters.

"This is going to be awesome," Blake said.

"And we got front row seats," Zach agreed, fist bumping him.

I couldn't share their excitement. This was not going to be awesome. At least for me. I was already on edge, and the fight hadn't even started yet. I bit my lip, trying to calm my magic.

"It's going to be fine, baby," Ezra linked me. He had the guts to be amused. Amused! Stupid Alpha males.

My magic stirred and buzzed, flowing through the bond, as if trying to reach out to Ezra to make sure he's alright, as though it was trying to jump out of me to shield Ezra.

At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if it did.

"Vampire Sam and witch Hayden against werewolf Prince Ezra," Jason said, his voice managed to sound low and and loud at the same time, silencing the crowd. "If you're out of the ring, you lose. The aim is to pin into submission. No shifting allowed."

"He can't shift?" I asked. Jason stepped out of the ring, crossing his arms over his chest and watching the ring closely.

"Nope," Blake replied. "Fighting in wolf form usually makes much more serious wounds, although his majesty has strong hold over his wolf."

I nodded right as Sam and Hayden split into different directions, stalking Ezra. My mate stood firm across the ring from them, assuming a fighting stance.

His eyes followed Sam and Hayden's movements. They were on either side of him when they attacked at the same time.

They were so fast I almost missed their movement. Ezra didn't. He met Sam and Hayden's fists head on, deflecting one with his arm and the other with a kick.

Then he was behind Sam, his arm wrapping around his neck. Choking him? No, not choking him. He was trying to snap his neck. I remembered Ezra saying that vampires wouldn't die from a snapped neck.

But Sam jammed his elbow to Ezra's ribs. Ezra's grip faltered. Hayden had recovered and was coming for him again. Ezra let go of Sam and jumped away from the two males.

They attacked again, and they went hit for hit. Ezra landed some, Sam and Hayden struck as well. The force of the hits made me wince every single time. If I got hit like that, I would be screaming in pain.

Much to my relief, Ezra held his own rather well against two opponents. Then Sam and Hayden exchanged a look, and Sam smirked. "Let's make this more interesting."

What was he talking about?

Hayden held up his palm outward, and a blur of glowing blue burst out of it and zipped through the air toward Ezra. Ezra dodged, but Sam was right next to him and he hit him in the ribs in the exact spot he'd hit earlier.

Ezra's growl shook the ground. He countered Sam's punch with one of his own. Sam flew backward to the edge of the ring. He planted his feet in time to not be eliminated. Then Hayden was there, exchanging fists with Ezra. Hayden's fists were glowing blue, and balls of blue light kept coming off of him to Ezra, who dodged everything, just barely.

Sam was coming back. Ezra struck Hayden's throat. The witch choked as Ezra shoved him away, but he was too late. Sam was already swiping his clawed fingers across Ezra' side, tearing apart his shirt and drawing blood. The crimson glistened under the rising sun.

Hayden snuck on Ezra and planted a kick to his ribs at the very same spot they'd been targeting since the beginning of the fight.

There was a loud crack. Then pain exploded in my side. I grunted, clutching my ribs. What the heck?

Then I realized. It was Ezra's pain.

Ezra's head whirled around toward me, his eyes glowing a paler brown. He snarled, facing Hayden and Sam again, waves of anger rolling off of him, almost distorting the air around us. Ezra's thunderous growl echoed in the woods, sending birds fluttering to the sky. The crowd took a collective step back.

I looked around, wide eyed. Haley pressed against my side and breathed out. "Oh, this is much more comfortable. It doesn't reach anywhere near you."

Sam and Hayden attacked as one, but Ezra just barreled forward, shoving both men like they were bowling pins.

Then, in a second, he was over Sam, pinning him to the ground. Ezra's knee on Sam's chest, his claws around Sam's neck, drawing blood. Ezra dodged Hayden's blue magic without letting go of Sam.

"Fine!" Sam snarled, hitting the ground once. Ezra rolled off of him and zipped towards Hayden.

I let out a sigh of relief. One down, one to go. Sam left the ring. The crowd broke into murmurs as Hayden faced off Ezra, who was driving him to the edge of the ring with a relentless attack. Their arms blurred, blobs of Hayden's blue magic melting into the air near Ezra. Hayden managed to dodge one of Ezra's blows and jumped aside. Instantly, he was surrounded by his blue shield; the same transparent shield he'd used that day in the forest when he checked the barriers.

Ezra just barreled forward, but as soon as he touched the shield, he jumped back as if he was electrocuted. He stalked around Hayden, a wolf thinking of the next move that would fell his prey.

"He actually got him to use his shield," Haley said, impressed. "Not bad."

"Why?" I asked.

"Hayden doesn't like hiding behind his shield in training," she explained.

Then Ezra stopped, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His end of the bond buzzed with a powerful energy, an energy that called out to mine. And he let go.

Waves of sheer power rolled off of him, finding a target in Hayden. The people closest to them around the ring staggered out of the way. Hayden's face tightened, his entire body shaking. The blue shield flickered off and on. Hayden bent his knees and held his palms out, as if he was trying to push an invisible wall.

Ezra opened his eyes and took a step forward. Hayden's feet slid back, his magic flickering out. Another step. The shield crackled out of existence and Hayden was shoved out of the ring by an invisible force, landing roughly on the ground. Ezra blinked hard, sucking back his power inside.

Silence. Then cheers and applause erupted to life. The crowd went crazy.

Hayden jumped to his feet, shaking his head as if to clear it. Sam and Ezra met him halfway.

Finally. It was over. I let out a sigh of relief, only then realizing I had been clutching Haley's arm in a death grip.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," I said, letting go of her arm. The part I'd been holding onto was paler than the rest of her dark skin.

She just laughed, bending and extending her arms. "It's fine, Orla. At least you didn't pass out on me."

The crowd broke into excited chatter about the fight. My magic settled down, at ease now that Ezra was no longer at risk.

Ezra turned his head, his gaze found mine. He left Sam and Hayden and walked up to me, the side of his top in bloody tatters.

"Are you okay?" he asked, touching my side. The throbbing was very faint, I could barely feel it.

I scowled and pointed to the blood. "I should be asking you that!"

I raised his top. The skin of his side was covered in blood.

"It's fine," he said, wiping some of the blood to reveal healed skin. But there was a bluish bruise there.

"Why does it still hurt?" I asked.

"Broken ribs, they're the hardest to heal," he said, wincing as he lowered his shirt. "But they'll be okay in a couple of days or so."

My magic nudged me. I bit my lip and scanned Ezra's side. I could help him.

Ezra kissed my forehead, wrapped his arm around me and led us through the crowd.

"You shouldn't," he said through the link, nodding when people bowed their heads. "It makes you tired and you have class. I'll heal anyway."

"I want to. We still have time." I blinked my eyes at him. His resolve cracked. I smiled. "Pretty please?"

He sighed. "Fine."

*

Back in our cabin, Ezra took a shower then sat on the bed, shirtless. Putting my hands on my hips, I frowned at the bruise in his side.

"Now..." I said. "If I just know how to do this..."

Ezra chuckled and winced. I pushed his shoulder. "Lay down," I said.

He laid down and crossed his arms behind his back, giving me a crooked grin. "I like where this is going."

I rolled my eyes and sat next to him. My hand hovered near the bruise. My magic stirred, moving in my chest. I tugged on it, and after a moment, it came willingly, flowing to my fingers over Ezra's discolored skin.

My fingers glowed white and turned warm. I put them on Ezra's skin. A shiver raked through his body, and the bond between us sizzled.

My fingers grew hotter as the skin underneath them started to lose the bluish shade. It lasted a minute, maybe two, before my magic retreated back to my chest, content.

Ezra's skin looked smooth. I poked it. "Did it work?"

He smiled and sat up, looking at his side. "It did. Good as new."

I grinned. Taking his pain away made me feel so... powerful. It was a heady feeling. I yawned. I already felt tired.

Ezra grazed my cheek with his finger and kissed me. We got lost in each other for a while, until my phone pinged. We pulled apart. I checked my phone. Blake. He was waiting for me downstairs.

"We should just skip this morning," Ezra said, pressing a kiss to my neck.

I chuckled, my face warm, and got up. "You're incorrigible. And I can't keep skipping, I'm a scholarship student."

He raised his brow. "You do know who this school belongs to, right?"

"Yes, and?"

"You do realize you won't be kicked out even if the scholarship is canceled."

"And?"

"You don't really care, do you?"

I grabbed my backpack. "You shouldn't abuse your authority. And I'm still a scholarship students, so I will act like a scholarship students. Besides, I'm sure there would be much more pressing reasons for me to skip in the future."

We looked at each other, our thoughts aligned. I really hoped I didn't just jinx myself. 

--- ---- ---

Thoughts?

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Vote and comment! I appreciate it. 

Much love <3 <3 <3

M.B.