Cassian
My palms were damp and I wiped them against the sides of my trousers before pushing open the heavy doors to the training hall.
The smell of sweat, metal, and something sharp that reminded me unpleasantly of blood hit me hard. My stomach tightened, but I forced my feet to keep moving. Around me, students were already filling the massive room, stretching, laughing, talking about fighting methods they were taught in their packs and arguing who was the strongest.
They all looked like they belonged here.
I kept my head down and slipped through gaps between bodies, murmuring quiet apologies when shoulders bumped mine, until I reached the very back of the room. The wall was cool against my spine when I leaned into it, my fingers curling around the material of my training clothes.
This was the class I'd been dreading since I saw it on my schedule.
Defense and combat training.
An adjunct needed to know how to fight. That was drilled into everyone from day one. An adjunct stood close to an alpha, advised him, guarded him when necessary. One day, I might have to put my body between danger and someone more important than me.
No alpha would want an adjunct who couldn't defend himself.
I swallowed hard and tried to convince myself of the lie.
You can do this.
You have to do this.
If I put in all my efforts I could really learn how to fight. It would be useful for me too. It was something I've always wanted to learn but was denied by my father.
"Why would you need fighting classes," my fathers would sneer, "when you can just act coy and have everyone rushing to give their lives for you?"
I shook my head, trying to silence the voices of my fathers when the air in the room shifted. Conversations dulled and laughter dropped a notch. My chest tightened even before I knew why.
The Dravenmoor twins walked in.
They didn't rush in like me and the other students. They moved like the space belonged to them, shoulders brushing past other students who instinctively stepped aside. They stood a head taller than almost everyone in the room, broad and imposing, their presence impossible to ignore.
Even from the back, I could see them clearly.
One of them turned his head slightly in my direction.
My heart slammed violently against my ribs and I ducked my head so fast my neck twinged. I stared hard at the scuffed floor, counting the cracks between stones, afraid to breathe too loudly.
Please don't look.
Please don't notice.
Seconds passed and when nothing happened, I let out a slow, shaky breath, relief loosening the knot in my chest just a fraction. I'd been quick, thanks to the moon goddess.
Then the three instructors arrived after the twins.
They were large, scarred men with hard eyes and harder voices. The room snapped to attention almost immediately. Even the twins straightened, though they looked more bored than respectful.
The lead instructor clapped his hands together as he stepped forward to address us.
"Listen up everyone. Let's get this class on track. " he said in a voice that was loud enough to reach me at the back. "For those just joining us, I'm instructor Silas. Behind me are instructor Orion and instructor Felix." He pointed at the two other instructors and they gave a little wave. Felix smiled but Orion remained stone faced.
I fixed my eyes on the lead instructor, trying my best to pay attention and not let my gaze drift towards the twins.
"For today's class, we'll be focusing on defense. Defense is survival," Silas continued. "It's not about brute force alone. It's about awareness. Control. Knowing how not to die."
A few students snorted.
"I know some of you think this is beneath you," the instructor continued with a grin that promised pain. "Yes, I know you've all trained before. But this is BlackMoor's beginner core. And"—his eyes swept the room—"we have new students."
Groans followed.
"New students, step forward."
My heart dropped straight into my stomach.
Bodies shifted. Several students moved toward the center of the room. I stayed where I was, pressed firmly against the wall, willing myself to blend into it. I'd been warned to stay far away from the twins and they were right there at the front.
I wasn't stepping into that.
Seconds ticked by.
"Anyone else?" Instructor Silas asked, eyes scanning the faces of students. "Hurry up to the front. We haven't got all day."
I didn't move. My pulse roared in my ears. If I stayed still enough, maybe—
"Hey!"
The shout cut through the room like a blade, causing me to finch.
"Little omega's hiding at the back!"
Every head turned in my direction and the sudden, crushing weight of their attention slammed into me from all sides. Heat rushed to my face, my ears ringing as if I'd been struck as laughter erupted around me.
I wanted the floor to split open and swallow me whole.
My legs locked in place and I couldn't move.
Instructor Silas' gaze snapped onto me. "You," he barked. "Forward."
I shook my head before I could stop myself. It was small and instinctive. More laughter followed.
"Scared already?" someone jeered.
"Figures."
"Step forward!" Instructor Silas barked. "I won't repeat myself. You'll drop this class and find another if you're too scared."
That got me moving immediately. The thought of the twins punishing me later for standing close to them was not as terrifying as the thought of being dropped from pursuing my dreams as an adjunct.
I pushed off the wall on trembling legs and forced myself to walk. Every step felt like dragging my body through wet sand. I kept my eyes on the ground, my shoulders curled inward, trying to make myself smaller even though I already was.
Every eye was on me but two eyes in particular were like cold daggers as I came to a stop at the front where other new students were. I refused to look at them.
Instructor Silas snorted. "You look like you'll break if the wind hits you wrong."
My vision blurred as more laughter followed his words but thankfully, he moved away from me to continue the class.
"Now," he said, clapping his hands once, "it's time to pair up. The only way to learn how to defend yourself is through practical training."