I released a slow breath and pushed myself off the counter. It was for the best if we didn’t repeat last night. I had a home to get back to, and a seven-foot-tall daemon didn’t belong there.
Chapter
Seventeen
Bokkan
In an effort to understand my female better, I asked her to take me through a regular training day for her.
I quickly regretted it.
While conditioning was an important part of my training and of my men's, Leda and I had different ways of approaching it. I knew my female was formidable, but, like my men, I’d underestimated her skills and abilities.
Leda took me through a series of bodyweight exercises that I found difficult. With her shorter stature and legs, her body had no issues with moving the way she wanted it to. I struggled to complete each exercise because my joints and muscles weren’t used to it, and they didn’t want to fold in on themselves the way hers seemed to so effortlessly.
Then, we did something she calledburpees. I loathed them. After my fifthburpee, I refused to do another. She laughed at me. The femalelaughed at me.
After the foul burpees, we did strange exercises that included squatting down before jumping as high as we could. Again, I despised them.
“Are you making these up, female?” I finally asked, breathing more heavily than I had since I began my physical training as a soldier in my thirteenth year.
The infernal female was breathing hard, but not as hard as me. “What? No! These exercises increase strength and stamina at the same time. They also work more than one muscle group.”
“Are you sure you aren’t just trying to torture me?” I gasped, leaning over to put my hands on my knees.
Her laughter was loud and bright. Her eyes lit up with humor and entertainment. In the morning sunlight, she seemed to sparkle. I vowed then and there to make her laugh every day if possible. She was a light in the darkness that had become my life.
I was not unhappy before, but there had been no joy or laughter either. Each day blended into the next. I was not even content. All I did was exist.
Now, looking at the small female who laughed with her entire body and whose smile took over her face with joy, I was so much more. The world seemed brighter, clearer. I had a purpose.
I had a mate.
In all my years, I never understood what this would feel like. My father tried to explain. Other males had as well. But none of their words would ever come close to the true, soul-deep purpose her presence gave me.
Caring for her, bringing a smile to her face, touching her soft, beautiful body—these were now my reasons for living.
After the torture of burpees, jumping squats, and a few other exercises, Leda said it was time for a water break. The soldiers were training with Guldan this morning, and it was clear they were watching us when they were able. I was tempted to bellow that if they had time to gawk, they must need more of a challenge.
I decided not to because it was good for them to see Leda’s capabilities. They could see that I was struggling while she excelled. I wanted them to remember that she might be human, but she was also formidable in her own way.
However, that didn’t mean I was going to spar with her in their eyeline. After seeing her fight Talus, I had no doubt my little human would surprise me. She might not be strong enough to harm me seriously without a weapon, but she was fast and vicious in a fight.
If I hadn’t feared for her life yesterday, I would have been able to admire the way she dismantled Venna’s attacks and used the daemoness’s size and strength against her.
After our water break, I led Leda behind the house and onto the soft grass.
“What are we doing?” she asked.
“Sparring,” I answered, scanning the grass with my eyes for any rocks or branches that could injure her.
“Is there a reason we’re doing it back here?”
I smirked at her. “Maybe I’m afraid my men will see me get my ass kicked by a small human female.”
She rolled her eyes. “I think you’ll hold your own better than your soldier,” she muttered. “I saw you fight that big asshole.”
“And what did you think?”
