The Werewolf King’s Mate
Chapter 71

Cory's

POV:

As the warm and welcoming beam of sunlight kissed my eyelids, I gradually opened my eyes and greeted the day. I looked at the empty space beside me - no sign of someone sleeping there. I rose from my bed and grabbed a fresh set of clothes to wear for my morning meal. When I reached the dining hall, the chairs were empty except for Lola's - the rest were not there to eat with us. And Lucas' seat remained vacant.

"Hey, Cory." Lola smiled as she greeted me.

"Hi, Lola. Where is everybody?"

"Silas mentioned to me last night that training starts today.

They needed to start as soon as possible as they did not know when Elisha and her army would strike..." It was quick, but I saw a glint of sadness in Lola's eyes.

"Why are you not there? Didn't you sign up?" I asked as I took my seat.

Lola sighed heavily, "I did. But Silas said I should stay with you and the rest in the hideout. And that he will come and get me as soon as it's over." She stopped momentarily and continued, "But I want to be there, Cory - fighting alongside my mate."

I understood how she felt. We both felt hopeless during the attack on our pack before and hopeless about being unable to stand against our abusers in the Midnight Moon pack. I know for sure that Lola doesn't want to feel it anymore - the feeling of only waiting for the quiet to come, the feeling of only hiding out in the dark, waiting for your family to open the door, and the feeling of losing someone.

Then, out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Alfred walking with a few baskets in hand

"Alfred, where are you going?" He was not in his usual business suit. Instead, he was wearing a dry-fit t-shirt, shorts, and a pair of training shoes.

"Good morning, Your Majesty! I am about to bring snacks for the people on the training grounds."

"Alright. Good luck, Alfred!" Then, a thought came to me.

"Alfred! Hold on a second."

He stopped in his tracks and asked, "What can I do for you, Your Majesty?"

"Nothing. Maybe Lola and I..." my eyes met with Lola,

"could accompany you to the training grounds. We would be happy to help distribute the snacks for our soldiers and volunteers."

"I, uh, I am not sure about that, Your Majesty."

"We will just say hi and then go. I don't see anything dangerous about that."

"I guess so..."

"Then, that settles it!"

Lola and hopped in the car and headed to the palace.

When we arrived, everyone had just finished warming up and was about to start their first training session. We went straight to the sheds on the side of the training ground, and Lucas stood there. Silas was beside him, too. When Lucas saw us, I couldn't say if he was happy, surprised, or disappointed. It was Silas who was the first to approach Lola and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"We, uhm, brought snacks. We accompanied Alfred and decided to check on everyone." Lola said.

Silas helped Lola with the baskets, and I was left with Lucas. I could still feel the tension between us, and he hadn't looked my way after we arrived. At a quarter past ten, Elias called for a short break. Everyone gathered in the shed and grabbed the snacks. If I were doing intense training, I would also rush to get food to replenish my energy. When everyone had their sandwich and a water bottle, they sat on the open ground and rested.

Lola and I decided to stay for a couple more minutes to observe the 2nd round of today's training. But before they started, I saw Lucas whisper something to Elias, and immediately, Elias blew the whistle.

"Attention, everyone!" All focus was on Elias now.

"We will have a little demonstration. His Majesty and I will be showing you a one on one combat. He will be playing the role of a rogue."

And so, Elias and Lucas started circling each other - waiting for the other to make the first move. With lightning speed, Lucas charged ahead and took down Elias. They tackled each other - Elias tried to defend himself and pushed Lucas with all his strength, but Lucas kept moving forward to close the gap between them. Punches and kicks were thrown in all directions, hitting each other's faces, stomachs, and legs. Lucas ended the demonstration when he did a hip throw.

"And that could happen to you - being thrown down by your opponent and giving him an opening to s***h your throat."

After he said that, he looked in my direction. That show was for me. Lucas was trying to prove his point about my safety. But instead of me taking it well, it just agitated me further. I left the training grounds without saying a word to Lucas, Lola following behind me. On our drive back to the chateau, Lola asked me,

"Did you and Lucas get into a fight?"

"Hm. Something like that. He doesn't like the idea of me going to training"

"Oh! That's why they had a demonstration a while ago." She noticed it, too.

"Yup. He's trying to prove that he's right."

The drive was quick, and we were already in the chateau in just a couple of minutes. As I surveyed the area, I noticed that it was relatively quiet. Some maids and butlers had left for training, and the handful of guards Lucas assigned to watch over me. This is so infuriating! I went to the library again. Since yesterday, I have been cooped up in the aisle of books, reading, and reading. I was looking at martial arts books and had a light bulb moment. Quickly, I left the library and went to Lola's room. "Lola! Lola!" | shouted as I knocked on their door.

"Is something wrong, Cory?"

"I just thought of something. Since everyone or nearly everyone is out, why not train in secret?" Lola did not say anything and just listened to me. "No one is using the gym or the fields, so maybe we can train together...What do you think?"

"I think it is a good idea, Cory." I am sensing a but here.

"But..." There it goes.

"But what?"

"But I don't think Lucas would be happy if he found out.

And what about your condition?"

"First, he won't replace out. I will make sure of that. And second, I have already asked Dr. Miranda if I could do some exercises, and she said yes." Of course, that is a lie. I never asked Dr. Miranda before this, but I will later.

"I am not sure about that, Cory."

"We will just train for an hour. I believe that will be plenty enough."

"Uh, alright. We'll train, but you have to take it slow. OK?"

"OK. So, let's start today! Meet me in the gym in 15 minutes!"

After heading to my room, I swapped my regular clothes and into my workout gear. I was feeling giddy on my way to the gym. We started doing some stretches, and we watched some online workout videos. We were presented with many routines to choose from, and before long, we were engrossed in observing various fighting techniques. After watching, we tried to copy each move. We didn't get it at first, but after a couple of exchanges, we got the hang of it. Time passed by, and we went back to our rooms.

****

As soon as I stepped out of the bathroom, Lucas strolled into our room. He simply glanced my way yet remained tight-lipped. I couldn't take it anymore, so I initiated the conversation.

"Hey, how was the training?"

He just shrugged.

"Lucas..."

"What?" His tone was still cold.

"Why are you still mad at me? I thought we'd be going to talk about this. You haven't said a word the whole day to me."

He took a deep breath and said, "Alright. Let's talk about this."

"Why can't I train with you? Like everyone else."

"Because it will put a strain on your body, Cory. You have to be extra careful!"

“I can and will be careful. How about I train for only a couple of hours or even minutes? Just like what Lola and I did..."

Oh-oh! I slipped. Stupid, stupid, Cory! The way his sharp eyes pierced through mine made me weak on my knees. "What did you do?"

"Hm. Nothing, we just did some stretches." My gaze shifted away from his intense stare.

"Cory. I know you are hiding something. Tell me, what did you do aside from stretching?"

"Uh, we watched videos..."

"What videos?"

I kept my mouth shut.

"What videos, Cory?"

"Martial arts and training videos."

The room was enveloped in a serene hush. I avoided his gaze all this time, and when I looked up, I saw no anger in those eyes. Instead, I saw disappointment. With a heavy sigh and no further words for me, he left. The door closed, and then I found myself standing alone in the center of our room.