Vincent's brow went up and he smiled. He had no need to fight someone that was afraid of him, but once Mallory started running her mouth, it became easier for him to deal with her. He forgot for a little while that she was promised to the man he hated. He wanted to hate Mallory as well. It would have made things easier, but Vincent had to think that anybody that was around Mallory for too long, would find it difficult as well.
They started with the basics, and he quickly realized, that like most things, that Mallory had encountered at the Academy, she excelled at all of them. He didn't know if she was practicing on her own, or it was just a natural talent of hers. It seemed like everything was her natural talent.
When they went into a serious fight, he could see the determination on her face, and she was not pulling punches at all. She was putting the full weight behind every single one of them, and he narrowly missed being hit in the face twice.
Vincent, after some time, was determined himself. He did not want to be shown up by a girl, and Mallory was definitely doing that. She had a smile on her face, but at the same time, there was a coolness in her eyes.
“Does your boyfriend help you practice?”
That threw her off a little bit, and he was able to get his arm around her waist and sling her across the mat. Her body hit hard, and she made a sound before she got back up and stared at him.
“I don't have a boyfriend.”
“Balthazar? Your promised?”
Mallory charged at him, but she wasn't as focused as she had been before. Obviously, she was thinking about Balthazar, and since Vincent was as well, it seemed to be equal.
He threw her to the mat again, but the next time, she got a couple of hits in, and he smiled when he felt one of his ribs crack. Vincent was actually proud for it. Not many people could get a hit in on him, even if they were being thrown across the room moments later. That part didn't matter.
By the end of the class, both of them were breathing hard, and he liked the way the sweat made the edges of her hair curl up around her neck and ears. She had a flushed face and her chest was going up and down rapidly. She looked even more beautiful than before, and Vincent had to look away. He realized then that whatever he was feeling for her was the wrong thing, and he needed to focus on something else.
Mallory was Balthazar's mate. The last thing he should be focused on was her. At all. She was promised to his enemy. Wasn’t that enough?
Chapter 4
Mallory had always had a bit of a crush on her promised mate’s cousin. The two were quite different, in pretty much every single way. Balthazar had blonde hair and blue eyes. It was the classic color of a handsome man, but Balthazar was anything but handsome. He had a scar across his face that went from his cheek to the bottom of his chin. It wasn't the scar that made him ugly, though. It was the coldness in his steel blue eyes, and the way he held his mouth and had a sneer all the time.
Vincent was not that way at all. He made a person feel good when they looked at him, but Balthazar was anything but that. He brought out only ill feelings, and so many times she wished that her parents had not promised her before she was even born. It felt unfair that she would have to follow something that was agreed upon like that.
He came to see her before she went into the Academy. He knew where it was because he was cousins with the owner. Vincent had taken over the Academy from his father. James had not only led the clan as King before his murder, but he was very proud of his other works. He wanted to make sure that the next generation would have plenty of education as well.
His father had pushed the agenda that education was vital for the next generation. They had to be of strong mind and body to make it in a world that was dominated by a race other than their own.
When Mallory saw Balthazar, she immediately felt a chill go over her. He had that usual, smiling sneer on his face, and the happier he was, the worse off whoever he was looking at was going to be. His smile was full of wattage and she had to wonder why that was. What did she not know?
“My beloved! It is good to see you!”
He pulled her into his embrace, and she didn't even try to fight it. Her body came crashing down against his thick and muscular body. He grinned at her, knowing what his attention did to her. Mallory was sure that he liked to feel her shake. It seemed that way anyway. He always smiled wider when she was trembling inside. Why in the world would she want to be mated with a man like that?
“It is good to see you, Balthazar. I usually don't see you during the day. Did we have a meeting that I didn't know about? I hate to think that I forgot it.”
He insisted that they didn't.
“Don’t you think I should be able to see my fiancée any time I want?”
Mallory agreed with the sentiment, even though inside she wished that it wasn't true. It would be a lot easier if he wasn’t her promised, but Mallory still hadn’t figured out a way to get out of it yet. She kept telling herself that she was working on it and soon she wouldn't have to worry about it, anymore. It made her feel better, even if she didn't fully believe it.
“I just wanted to see you. It has been awhile since we have gone out, and I'm starting to think that you're avoiding me. I knew that you wouldn’t be able to do that here.”
She assured him that it wasn't the case at all. Mallory knew how ridiculous Balthazar could be when he was upset. She did not want to experience that and be embarrassed, so instead, Mallory was willing to tell him what he wanted to hear. It was easier than fighting with him as that could really be the pits.
Mallory didn’t want to imagine a lifetime of being with a man like that, narcissistic and incapable of doing anything any other way than the way he saw fit. Mallory knew that she had to come up with a plan soon. It wouldn't be long until she was expected to marry him and that was something that she wouldn't be able to get out of.
He was saying something, but she was too far in her head to even hear it. Then he was pulling her close again and pressing his lips against hers. She didn't have time to turn her face and give him her cheek. Instead, she had to take it full frontal, and he made her unsure of what to do next.
Finally, she was able to push him away, and Mallory tried to play it off like she was innocent and chaste, but that wasn't it at all. She just didn't want to feel his lips on hers. Mallory had enough to deal with, without Balthazar complicating things further.
Mallory was able to get away without being accosted anymore. She kept putting off deciding what she was going to do about him. She was going to have to go against her own parents’ wishes and that wasn't going to be easy. At the moment, it felt like it was impossible, even though she knew it had to happen. She just had to keep her distance. Somehow, she had to figure out a way to get away from Balthazar. There was no way that she was going to be able to live any sort of life with him. No matter what was promised, it wasn't like she had promised it herself. Mallory hadn’t even been born yet when the deal was struck, so how could she be held to do such things?
