I laughed, and she shot me a glare, clearly not in the mood for my teasing.
"And why exactly have you tagged along, Ryker? What am I supposed to be learning from you?"
"I'm here to offer emotional support!"
"If you call emotional support laughing hysterically and staring at my ass every time I collide with the mat. I suppose you are great in that department."
“I'm fucking hurt that you don't see my value, Kitten. I'm being a supportive unit mate.”
“If you want to support me, you could stop with the commentary.”
“Alright, enough, both of you,” Talon cut in. “Rowan, back to start. Ryker, on the mat. I want to watch her move. This time, Rowan, let the wolf rise. You won't shift if you maintain control. I know you're capable. Plus, think of how nice it will be to watch Ryker’s smug face hit the floor. Make it happen.”
“If I shift, you are going to be the one to explain it to Cade,” she said, pointing at Talon.
Then she turned toward me. Her breathing slowed, and instead of staring at me and bouncing back and forth like usual, she closed her eyes and went still.
Talon counted down. “Three, two, one.”
On one, her eyes snapped open. The look on her face was hungry and focused. I moved forward, ready for her to charge, but she ducked under my reach, sliding along the mat and dropping into a crouch.
At that moment, she reminded me so much of Talon.
I had seen him move like that. Low, balanced, stealthy, and instinctive.
We had sparred enough times that I could anticipate what came next when he took that posture. Usually he would go for the ankles or legs, forcing his opponent down from below. I expected Rowan to do the same.
But she didn't move. She waited. When I didn't move either, she circled me slowly. Not like prey trying to avoid a strike, but like a predator sizing up its target.
“Okay, Kitten, I see you are getting serious about this. Let's see what you—”
I didn't get to finish.
She exploded forward without warning, leaping into the air. Her legs wrapped around my torso, and she swung herself around my back in one smooth motion. The force of it, and the sheer fucking audacity of it, caught me completely off guard.
The world flipped, and I hit the mathard.
"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Talon said with something that resembled actual praise.
Rowan landed on top of me, straddling my hips and pinning both of my wrists to the mat like she had been waiting her whole life for this exact moment. Her chest was rising and falling fast, eyes bright, cheeks flushed with victory. She was glowing with pride, like a fiery little goddess who had decided tosmite me personally.
She was powerful, confident, and definitely not helpless.
That's my girl.
I let out a breathy laugh. “Look at you, Kitten. Climbing me like a damn tree and dropping me on my ass. I'm fucking impressed.”
She beamed at me, smug as hell, and it did something warm in my chest that I would absolutely deny if anyone asked.
“Well done,” Talon said behind her, sounding equal parts proud and irritated. “Again.”
Seeing her like this, strong and triumphant, made something fierce coil inside me. I had never been so attracted to her. Also, I wanted to brag endlessly to Cade that his fragile little omega was turning into a tiny badass.
Instead, I stayed flat on the mat with her sitting proudly on top of me and said, “You should see yourself right now, Rowan. I am not even mad. I'm fucking proud.”
Her smile widened, bright and wicked.
Then Talon ruined it. “Get off him. Again. Reset.”
