‘I’m alright.’ He glanced at his uncle. ‘I don’t think Mallory needs self-defence lessons.’
Alexander frowned. ‘You can go, Nick. Thanks for your help.’
‘Any time you need a punchbag, give me a shout,’ he said.
Both Mallory and Alexander winced. ‘Sorry, Nick,’ she apologised again.
‘I didn’t mean for that to happen,’ Alexander told him.
‘You mean you wantedmeto be the punchbag?’ Mallory asked.
Alexander ground his teeth. ‘Nobody is a punchbag!’
‘Apart from Kevin,’ she pointed out.
Nick’s eyes widened. ‘Who’s Kevin?’
Alexander ran a hand through his hair. ‘No one. Grab a shower, Nick. If you need a doctor…’
Nick made a show of limping badly and groaning, then laughed and straightened up. ‘I’m not hurt, honest.’
Mallory breathed a sigh of relief that she’d not done the poor boy any real damage and watched him leave the room. As soon as he’d gone, Alexander turned to her. His expression didn’t give much away but eventually he nodded and walked to the opposite side of the mat. He gestured to Mallory to return to her original position.
‘Are you the bad guy now?’ she asked.
‘I am Kevin. I won’t hold back.’
‘Okay.’
‘I mean it, Mallory. A real attacker wouldn’t hold back and neither will I.’
‘Okay,’ she repeated, smiling brightly.
Alexander started to stalk towards her, his muscles tense, his eyes sharply focussed. She gave him a little wave and strolled forward to meet him. His arm snapped out and he grabbed her right wrist. Mallory thrust her left hand across her body and jabbed his eye with lightning speed.
He recoiled and released her. ‘That was effective,’ he grunted. ‘But what if I do this?’ He lunged for her again and twisted her around until he had her pinned in a bear hug, her spine pressed against his chest.
Mallory didn’t hesitate. She dropped her weight and spread her legs wide before swinging her hips first left and then swiftly right. She hooked one leg around his ankle then crouched lower until she could free enough of her arms to grab his knees and yank them hard enough to shove him away.
He came at her again and reached for her hair, which was already escaping the scrunchie. Mallory ducked away in the nick of time. Alexander’s eyes darkened.
‘I did tell you I could look after myself. Although it helps that I’m sober,’ she admitted ruefully.
‘You’ve had training.’
She shrugged. ‘I’m a squib in Coldstream – of course I’ve had training, though I’m not dippy enough to believe my skills are foolproof. You said you wouldn’t hold back but you’re obviously doing just that.’
Alexander growled, ‘I don’t want to hurt you.’
‘I’m not made of glass.’ Mallory pulled away the irritatingly loose scrunchie and shook out her curls. Alexander’s nostrils flared and a split second later there was an explosion of colour as he leapt towards her, not as a man but as a wolf.
Mallory was so shocked that she froze. Before she could draw breath, his massive front paws landed on her shoulders and knocked her backwards. She fell onto the mat with the huge werewolf on top of her, his yellow eyes piercing into her soul while his hot breath scalded her cheek.
‘I didn’t know that was possible,’ she whispered. ‘I didn’t know you could transform like that.’ The full moon was only hours behind them, but she was still astonished. ‘Okay, you’ve made your point. I can defend myself against someone on two legs but I don’t know what to do when I’m faced with four.’
He didn’t react even though his snout was barely an inch from her nose.
Mallory licked her lips. ‘Uh, Alex?’
