Chapter 756: When Wolves Collide At The Training Ground
Chapter 755: When Wolves Collide At The Training Ground
13 Days To Go
Annabeth’s breath came in sharp, ragged gasps as she scrambled back to her feet, her sword still raised, her eyes locked on Kevin. He hadn’t even broken a sweat. He stood there, spear in hand, his expression calm and almost bored, as if he had all the time in the world.
She couldn’t understand it.
How had none of their hits landed? She had fought Victoria’s warriors before. She had led her pack through attacks, through battles that should have broken them. She had faced strong enemies before. But this—this was different.
And it made her wonder.
Was Brynhild actually stronger than this man?
Everyone spoke about how strong Brynhild was, but perhaps Kevin was stronger? She wasn’t even sure at this point.
And also, didn’t they say he was a hunter? Why did he fight like he was so used to fighting wars instead? People even.
Then it clicked.
This was Nirvana, and it was different. The hunters were even more familiar with fighting the beasts of Nirvana than even the guards themselves.
Perhaps she should have joined the others and gone after Ronan instead.
She turned her head briefly toward Ronan’s direction, just for a moment, and immediately shook her head.
Even that wasn’t safe.
Ronan was fighting three warriors at once, and he was holding his own without even trying. His sword moved in quick, precise arcs, deflecting strikes and creating openings. When one of the warriors overextended, Ronan’s fist connected with his jaw, sending him staggering backward.
But it wasn’t just the sword that made Ronan dangerous.
It was the bow and arrow.
He somehow managed to use both simultaneously—sword in one hand, bow in the other—and he fought seamlessly, transitioning between close-quarters combat and ranged attacks without missing a beat. One moment he was parrying a strike, the next he was firing an arrow at a warrior who had tried to flank him.
He shouldn’t be able to do that. It shouldn’t be possible. But he was doing it, and the warriors who had gone after him were groaning in pain, scattered across the snow.
And then there was Rhea.
Annabeth had assumed Rhea was an archer. She had a bow, after all. But why did she fight differently? Why didn’t she fight like one?
Rhea had barely even touched her bow. Instead, she moved through the warriors, her fists and feet finding their marks with devastating precision. She was faster than she looked, her movements fluid and efficient, and every warrior who tried to corner her ended up on the ground.
Annabeth shook her head, forcing herself to focus when an arrow flew past her face, so close she felt the wind of its passage against her cheek.
She blinked, her attention snapping back to the present.
Ronan stood a short distance away, his bow still raised, a smirk on his face.
Before she could even react, he sent another arrow.
She parried it with her sword, the impact jarring her arm.
Then another came.
And another.
They came in quick succession, each one faster than the last, forcing her backward. She swung her sword, deflecting one, then another, her movements growing more desperate with each passing second.
There was no way she was going to win this; she knew that now. She was fighting a man who could use a bow and sword at the same time, who had been fighting in Nirvana for years, who had faced monsters that would have broken lesser warriors.
And even though he was supposed to be weaker than Kevin... she was weaker than both.
So she gave up on her sword.
She let it fall from her hand, the blade clattering against the frozen earth.
And she let her wolf take over.
Bones cracked and reshaped, her body folding and reforming in a surge of raw power. Fur sprouted across her skin, golden and thick, and she felt her senses sharpen as the world shifted around her.
The wheat-colored wolf surged forward.
Ronan’s smile deepened, like he had been waiting for this.
One of the warriors tried to attack him from the side, hoping to catch him off guard. Ronan didn’t even look. He reached out, took the warrior’s sword, and sent him crashing to the ground with a casual shove. Then he shifted.
His eyes gleamed with sharp intelligence as he lowered his head, his gaze fixed on Annabeth.
Annabeth’s wolf surged forward, and Ronan’s met her head-on.
They collided in the center of the training grounds, a blur of fur. Teeth snapped. Claws raked across the frozen earth. Snow exploded around them as they fought, each one pushing the other back, neither willing to give ground.
Around them, the training grounds had become a battlefield.
More wolves had joined the fray.
Annabeth saw Miles shift, his wolf form smaller but faster, darting in and out of Kevin’s reach. Kevin responded by shifting as well, his wolf massive and powerful, and the two of them clashed in a storm of fur and fangs.
Micah had shifted too.
He had been fighting Gregory in his human form, taking blow after blow, refusing to back down. Gregory had sent a punch to his face, and Micah had spat blood onto the snow. But instead of falling, Micah had growled and shifted, his wolf surging forward with a ferocity that surprised even Gregory.
Gregory laughed—a deep, rumbling sound that echoed across the grounds—and shifted as well.
His wolf was enormous, a massive beast of dark brown and grey fur, its muscles rippling beneath its thick coat. It met Micah’s charge head-on, and the two wolves collided with a force that shook the ground beneath them.
Soon, the training grounds were filled with the sound of wolves fighting.
The scent of blood hung thick in the air, sharp and metallic. Some of it belonged to the warriors, some to the trainers. It didn’t matter. No one was holding back.
It was a battle at this point.
Annabeth’s wolf felt her jaws close around Ronan’s leg, not hard enough to break skin, but enough to hold him in place. He twisted, his powerful body surging against her grip, and she felt herself being dragged across the snow.
She released him just as he lunged for her throat.
She twisted, barely avoiding his jaws, and felt his teeth graze her fur.
She scrambled to her feet, her chest heaving, her body trembling with exhaustion. But she didn’t stop. She couldn’t stop.
She had to prove herself. She had to show them that she was worthy of fighting alongside them.
Ronan’s wolf circled her, his eyes bright and focused. He was watching her, assessing her, waiting to see what she would do next.
Annabeth’s wolf growled low in her throat.
Then she lunged again.
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