“My mom also wanted you to know that Bjørn is actively looking for Anastasia. If he finds her before Dresden contacts us, you’ll be the first to know.”
“Please thank the queen for me.” Natalia’s mask fused back together, her demeanor hardening before my eyes.
“You can thank her yourself. She wants to see you this afternoon. After our training.”
Awhat the fuck for?kind of look crossed her face before she caught herself, shrugging nonchalantly. “Sure. Are you ready for me to kick your ass again?”
Laughter burst from our mates, echoing in the forest.
“Kick my assagain? That would imply you kicked my ass yesterday, and I remember that very differently.”
Her plump red lips curved into a sensual smile, but she shrugged once more. “I don’t know what to tell you, Beasty boy, I totally kicked your ass. And I have witnesses.”
“One hundred percent,” André assured, amused.
“It was embarrassing, really,” Dante added, and I narrowed my eyes at them.
Traitors.
“Oh, you have them eating out of your palm, don’t you?” I teased.
“And out of other places too… Ouch.” Dante grunted when her hand connected with his arm. Hard.
“Fine. But you only get one chance,” I explained. “And just to be clear, we trained Isis, so…”
Thegood luck with thatwas implied, and that pissed her the hell off.
She was coming for my ass now.
If my idea worked, she’d stop relying on her old knowledge of fighting. Yes, she was an incredible fighter, but the hand-to-hand combat she was taught had been intended for fighting the bastards in her village and defending herself when she couldn’t shift.
Natalia was a full-on, powerful supernatural now. A hybrid. Those tactics were children’s play against the people who kidnapped her mother. She needed to access her powers in a fight, naturally, instinctively, to use them without holding back.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I closed my eyes. “Come at me.”
My senses awoke to her the second I closed them. Her heartbeat, her scent, the sound of her steps, everything formed the image of her in my mind as she lunged forward, telling me exactly where she would strike.
Whirling an instant before she could hit me on the right, I felt her breeze blowing past me and gripped her arm, yanking her back into my chest.
“I’ll give you three tries. No more, no less,” I whispered in her ear. “One.”
She pulled her arm from my grasp and stepped back, coming at me again.
Double kick to the chest.
My forearms flew in front of me, slamming against her boots and blocking her kicks one right after the other. Gripping her ankle, I yanked her into me once more. This time, I pressed our chests together while I anchored her thigh on my hip, my gaze boring into hers.
“Two. Only one try left.” My whisper mixed with her panted breaths while she glared up at me.
Her heart rate accelerated with us being so close, and I saw the fire ignite in her irises.
Let’s play.
Letting her go, I walked several paces away to give her space, but this time I pinned her with a smug gaze… letting her know she couldn’t best me.
Something told me Natalia was her best self when she wanted to prove someone wrong.
Flashing forward, she jumped into the air, confusion gripping me when she began to rotate like an ice skater. Before I could react, her boot connected with my chin, making me stagger back as fire wings erupted behind her and she spun once more.
