Katana

Training was intense every single day. Katana felt like her mate was putting them through hell just for the fun of it. At the end of the day, she would crawl to her bed and it would feel like she just closed her eyes for a second before she was already jarred awake.

The food there wasn’t all that great. Everyone has a job to do. Some recruits were taken out on hunts. Others stayed behind and cleaned up the weapons and there were the lower ranks who had to do the dirty work that no one wanted - cleaning the bathroom and kitchen, cooking, laundry, and cleaning the barracks.

Unfortunately, Katana was in one of those groups. She scrunched up her nose as she stared into the men’s bathroom. Men are pigs. They were disgusting. She can smell the stench of urine from a mile away. Her nose hair curled up and died. It was that lethal. They could throw away the idea of bombs and replace it with old urine.

She picked up a mop and poked it into a bucket of water. The water sloshed around and out of the bucket. She pursed her lips and began mopping. Why couldn’t she do the cooking? She was a perfect cook. She could cook a meal that would make anyone die a happy person.

She was so consumed in her thoughts that she didn’t hear the bathroom door opening and Troy entering. He walked over to the sink and pushed himself onto it. Swinging his feet back and forth he looked at Katana, as she wore a sour face as she mopped.

“It’s not that bad.” Troy spoke up.

“AH! Crap!” She clutched at her chest. “You scared the crap out of me!”

“I thought you heard me.” He shrugged.

“What the hell are you doing here, Troy?” She muttered.

“I thought I could keep you company.” He pointed out.

Troy was one of the good warriors and clearly advanced. He didn’t have to do much dirty work and just came back from a hunt. She can tell by the change of his clothes. He gave her a lopsided grin, but she only threw him a glare.

“Company? How about you help me clean this up? It is your pee that I am mopping!” She growled.

“No thanks.” He replied and Katana rolled her eyes in response.

“You men are pigs. Is it really that hard to pee straight? You seem to have no problem when you are stick-”

“What is going on here?” A voice boomed from the entrance and Katana jumped for the second time that day.

Troy hopped off from the sink. Katana turned around to see her mate glaring at Troy.

“Do you have nothing else to do?” Kieran snarled to Troy.

“No, Sir. We just got back from a hunt and I thought to keep Kenneth company.” Troy stuttered under Kieran’s gaze that seemed to light up in flames even more at the mention of Katana.

“Get out.” Kieran commanded and pointed to the door. Troy ran like there was no tomorrow.

So much for protecting, Katana thought.

She went back to mopping, turning her back to her mate. She could feel his gaze moving up her body slowly. His gaze was burning through her clothes and skin. She felt her body lighting up in flames underneath his smoldering gaze.

She quickly entered a bathroom stall to avoid his gaze, only to have him stop her with a command. She turned to look at him.

Every time their eyes met, there was that one moment where everything seems to just stop. Time refused to move and all they could do was watch. After a moment, Kieran blinked and tore his gaze away. He moved to the far side of the room and leaned against a wall with his arms crossed.

“Did you need something?” She asked.

“I need to talk to you.” He responded.

She waited for him to continue, but when he didn’t she spoke up again.

“I’m sorry, what did you need to talk to me about?” She asked.

A look of uncertainty crossed his face before he quickly masked it. His eyes hardened once again. She was starting to get a little nervous. He ran a hand through his hair and pushed away from the wall, taking a few steps towards her before turning back around. She stared at his broad shoulders. Something was bothering him and she could see it.

“You are to return back to your pack tomorrow.” He ordered.

“What?” She asked and her lips parted slightly.

He whipped around to look at her and then, took the next few steps until he was standing in front of her. His hands went to grab her elbows, pulling her close to him. They were almost nose to nose as he leaned down enough to look at her.

“You are not fit to be a warrior. You are to return home tomorrow. We no longer need you here.” He growled.

“Kier-”

“No.” He snapped. “Don’t say my name.”

“Please, don’t do this.” Katana pleaded. If she went home, her father would be ashamed. Her pack would look down at her. Her father would never be looked at with respect again. Her pack would know that she was a rebellious daughter. No one would want her and she will have ruined her father in the process.

“You did this to yourself. I gave you countless tests of training and you couldn’t pass a single one. Your strength is dramatically lower than others. Your agility hasn’t even improved over the week that you have been here. Everyone is advancing except you.” He snapped in anger. His eyes burning holes in her head and his nostrils flared up.

“I promise I can do better - just please, give me another chance to prove it to you. I promise I won’t let you down.” She blinked back tears.

He pushed her away like she had scalded him. She braced her hands against the sink to stop herself from falling on the ground. She turned around to face him. He had his back to her as he was breathing hard. He didn’t reject her, but with him sending her home, it felt like he just did it. Her heart was hurting and her wolf was whimpering in pain. She wanted to cry so badly but she refused to let them down.

“One more week, Kieran. That is all I ask. Please.” She whispered with finality. “I need you to trust me.”

His body was rigid as a wooden board. She waited for him to respond and when he only walked to the door, she felt her whole world crumbling down. Her shoulders sagged and she looked down at her hands to stop herself from looking up. Tears were streaming down her cheeks now. He reached the door handle, but before leaving he turned his head slightly.

“One week.” He replied.

Her head lifted up and for that moment she felt relief. She had a second chance. She wasn’t going to ruin it for anything. If it meant she needed to train harder, then it meant she needed to do it. A wave of determination hit her and she quickly finished her job for the day.

It was later that night when everyone was sound asleep, that she popped her eyes open and turned to look at Troy, who slept in the bunk to her right. Slowly, she rolled out from underneath her blanket and crawled on her hands and knees to Troy’s bed. She slept in training clothes to make things easier on her.

Placing her hands on his bed, she peeked up at him. He was snoring when she flicked his nose and pinched it to stop him from breathing. He made some choking noises before his eyes flew open and he jumped out of bed, ready to attack.

“Come at me!” He growled with his fists raised up in the air as his eyes darted wildly around the room. She stood up quickly before running up to his side and slapping his arms and pulling down his fists. His eyes focused on her and he relaxed.

“I need you to train me.” She whispered.

“Are you kidding me?” His eyes widened in disbelief. He pointed at the clock. “It’s two a.m.”

“The early bird gets the worm or whatever.” She gave him an apologetic smile. “Please, Troy. I need this. If I don’t improve, the General is going to send me back home. I can’t go back home. I need you to help me like you promised!”

He sighed as he rubbed his face. A groan left his lips and his shoulders slumped in defeat. “Fine.”

Her smile grew and she tugged him and her out of the barracks quietly. They made it outside onto the training field with a yawning Troy. He rubbed his eyes as Katana turned him to face her. She raised her hands up into the air.

“Ok, let’s do it.” She said excitedly. When he made no move to fight her, she punched him in the nose.

“Ow!” He growled. “What the hell, Katana?”

She punched his jaw and then his cheekbone. He snarled and tackled her to the ground. She struggled to get him off of her. He moved to straddle her hips before sending a punch at her face. She saw it coming and moved to the side. She managed to free one of her legs and pushed him off of her.

They fought for several hours. When it got closer to six in the morning, they finally headed back to the barracks. Troy dropped into his bed like a dead body. He sighed and curled up into a ball while Katana grabbed a towel to wash her face. Just when she was about to leave for the bathroom, Troy’s alarm went off.

“You’ve got to be kidding me?!” He growled and she heard his alarm clock clattering to the ground.

“Get up Troy. Time for training.” Katana shouted as she entered into the bathroom, as she heard Troy growl after her.