We were finishing our warm-up when a group of laughing werewolves rushed into the room. Dan wasn't wrong. I hoped we could finish our training in peace. I was overconfident. In front walked Adrian with Matthew. The wide smile made the chestnut-haired man even more handsome, and barely visible dimples showed in his cheeks. Behind them walked Em with some girl I didn't recognize. Karmen and Nik flashed somewhere in the corner of my eye. The whole group of about twenty people stopped in the middle of the hall and only then did they realize we were there.
- Dri, do you have a workout now? - asked the brunet, to which the black-eyed man nodded. - Okay. We'll move to the other end, make more room for you. When we're done, the room is yours. - He took the bag with the equipment and pulled me towards the windows. Thanks to the glass wall, a lot of light was coming into the room.
- What can such a little girl do to him? - I heard when we were halfway there. I didn't pay attention to this comment, but I could hear a growl, probably Adrian's. When we reached the place and I turned towards the group, I saw their glances directed at me and then quiet bursts of laughter. I may not be very tall, but that never stopped me from kicking someone's ass. Thanks to that I have perfected my agility and speed. I deeply do not care about their opinions. I looked at Daniel, who had a mischievous smile on his face.
- How do you feel about it? Shall we show them what this little girl can do? - he grinned. I answered with the same and went over to the bag. I grabbed two pairs of fingerless gloves, one of which I threw in his direction. In addition to providing protection from the silver, though I don't need it because I'm immune to it, they keep daggers and other weapons from slipping out of my hands when there is sweat on my hands.
- Show me what you got, princess. - I gave him a wink. I know very well that he hates this nickname.
- Oh, shut up... I will get my revenge for that. - he pointed his finger at me and went to the bench to take off his T-shirt. I did the same and in a moment from behind me I heard everyone gasp for air and also there was complete silence, but I know perfectly well why. They noticed our scars. Not caring about their reaction, I drew my katanas and brunet drew his two-handed swords. I looked towards the group and they all had their mouths open in shock and their eyes were on the verge of falling out.
- Stop! - Adrian was the first to come to his senses and shouted from the end of the room. - I won't let you guys practice with weapons like that. - Really? Practice? We're gonna have a fight in here.
- Oh, come on, Dri. Let us have a little bit of fun. - Daniel shut his mouth with that and walked over to the mat. - So, little girl, will you join me here?
- Of course. I'm in a hurry, princess. - I also got on the mat. All the company in the hall said that they wanted to see this beautiful view when I get a beating, so they sat around. Not happening. I never lose fights with such gadgets. A wooden stick is nothing compared to this. We stopped smiling and finished fooling around. Now the real action will begin. This time he was the one who attacked first. I didn't have to exert myself too much and easily repelled the few blows he delivered. Then I made a few moves. We passed the baton to each other like this to warm up and see if the opponent had a weak point. Mine being strength and his being maneuverability. Moments later we went on a stronger offensive. Our movements became pure calculation. We searched for a place that was poorly protected in order to make at least the smallest damage. Sweat was pouring down my back, but I ignored this unpleasant feeling. After a moment of torment, he finally managed to hit me hard under the ribs. I felt a trickle of blood, but I quickly evened out the bill, leaving a scar of a few centimeters on his cheek.
- You've lost the knack, princess.
- Pff... Are you talking about yourself? - He brushed the sticky hair off his forehead and we started the second round. This one was much more brutal, because we had learned the opponent's fighting style all over again. Every now and then someone got hurt. We wanted to get rid of the opponent's weapon. He did it first. He sent one of my katanas straight into a column a few meters away. I heard a quiet squeal, but I was too focused on defending myself when he had two swords in his hand and I was left with one to see if anyone got hurt. Fortunately, that sound brought him out of balance, so I sent his sword out of his reach. He knew that my weakness was strength, so he tried to aim with strong quick bursts. After a few of these, I felt the muscles in my arms begin to refuse to obey, so I dodged his blows as best I could. Unfortunately, at one point he managed to hit my handle. Because of the force of the blow, the weapon flew out of my hand. I was left with nothing.
- Do you give up, sweetheart? - he brought the tip of the sword to my throat, and I pretended to think about it.
- Never. - Now that he had stripped me of everything, he was sure of his victory, so he paid no attention to details. And as they say, the devil is in the details. I kept dodging until at one point he wanted to hit me in the shoulder. I turned my back to him, so that his hand was over my shoulder. Using his weight and momentum, I threw him over my shoulder and took the sword from him. I sat straddling his chest, raised the weapon above my head, and said one word:
- Details. - I heard someone call out a loud "no" and with one sweeping motion, I slammed the sword into the mattress near his head, gently wounding his earlobe. Did anyone really think I was going to pierce his head? Good God, have mercy, he is my friend. I stepped down from him and offered him my hand.
- I take back my words. It's me who got out of practice. And I overestimated my ability with you. Once again. - He scratched his head, embarrassed by his conviction of victory. I patted him on the shoulder and sent him a teasing smile.
- As always, Dan. As always. - I turned to the audience and saw fear mixed with admiration in their eyes. The siblings, on the other hand, looked at us with... pride? I don't think I want to know why. We picked up our bags and left, exhausted from the long but effective training.

**********

I was lying in bed late at night and couldn't fall asleep. I sat on the roof all day because I had no desire in doing anything after the sparring. I thought about everything and nothing until the evening came. After showering, I immediately jumped into bed and have been shuffling back and forth for three hours. Annoyed, I turned once again on my left side the moment Adrian entered the bedroom. I took a deep breath and spoke up:
- Can we talk? - Startled, he jumped up in place, but crawled onto the bed and lay across from me. He kept a fair distance between us and propped his head up with his bent arm.
- You wanted to talk. - I sat up and started looking at the ceiling.
- I'm sorry. For treating you so badly and... and for not letting you into my true self even for a millimeter. And for the words that offended you in any way. - I looked at him for a moment and saw that he was absorbing everything I was saying attentively. - I... Those, the scars...
- Hey, look at me. - He held out his hand toward me and lifted my chin so that I was looking into his eyes and not at the sheets. - You don't have to talk about it now. I'll give you time and when you're ready... - he shrugged his shoulders. - The most important thing to me is that you think about the offer to stay with me. And maybe someday you will trust me enough to open up to me. - I started shaking my head, because if I don't say something today, I'll chicken out and I'll never do it. I stopped looking at him again, but this time I closed my eyes.
- I will try to tell you everything that matters now and more in the future. This is difficult for me. Please do one thing, don't interrupt me. - He didn't say anything, so I took that as permission for me to start talking. - When I was sixteen my pack was slaughtered. Everyone was killed to the bone. They left only me and my family alive. They started to bleed them, and they threw me in a cell. They decided that I would be useful to them as a "breeding vessel". After a month in captivity, I escaped. I ended up in a small village in Mongolia. I was kidnapped from the village and where I ended up... That's where I got all the scars on my body. They tortured me, exposed my body to conditions where very few people could survive. Eventually I broke free and met Daniel, and then Rafael joined us. - That was the short version of the story, without mentioning my profession or family background. I should tell him about it, but I'm afraid that if I tell him too much he will run away screaming. I opened my eyes and saw love and anger in his irises, but it wasn't directed at me. Just at the people who had hurt me so much. I choked on air.
- Oh, honey. You've been through so much and I wasn't there for you. I wish I could have hugged you then and told you that someday everything would work out and be okay. - He sat down and gave me a tentative hug. I pressed myself against him, curling my body into a ball and rested my head on his chest. He laid down with me in his arms and whispered: - Sleep, from now on I will always be with you. No matter what happens.

For the first time since I don't-remember-when I slept through a whole night.

No nightmares.

Without waking up.

In his arms.