Chapter 76: Not Your Partner

The Advanced Training students gathered on the main field for the Royal Lycan Exchange, and the instructor explained that the purpose of the day was to expose them to different fighting styles. Visiting students from another pack stood in a loose cluster on the far side, watching everyone with cool interest, their jackets marked with a silver crest Roxanne didn’t recognize.

A few of them whispered to each other as the Moonstones walked past, and Liam gave them a cheerful wave. Roxanne stood in line and waited for her name, half certain she already knew what it would be, and she was surprised by how much she wanted it to be a name she knew.

"Roxanne Silver, Elias Mercer," the instructor read. Elias glanced at her with open amusement.

"Again?" he asked, and Roxanne shrugged. "Apparently they haven’t learned their lesson." Across the field, Liam groaned loudly enough for half the students to turn around. "They keep stealing her," he complained.

Kai’s expression barely changed, but Roxanne noticed his eyes go to Elias and stay there a moment too long.

The first exercise was paired combat, and Roxanne and Elias fell into rhythm almost at once, since they had trained together before. Kai had been paired with Serena, and she saw his attention wander within the first two minutes. Serena noticed too, because Serena noticed everything. "You’re supposed to be watching me," she said, ducking under his guard.

Kai looked back at her. "I am," he said.

"No, you’re watching Roxanne," Serena said, and Kai said nothing.

Serena smiled, a small, knowing curve of her mouth. "Interesting," she said.

His jealousy was quiet and contained, and nothing about it was angry or possessive, only a stillness that came over him whenever Roxanne laughed at something Elias said.

He kept his strikes precise and his face neutral, and Serena had to work harder than she liked to keep up with him.

Their next exercise involved adapting to each other’s combat style, and Elias was visibly impressed by how quickly Roxanne adjusted.

She shifted her footwork to match his heavier stance, then changed again when he switched to quick, low strikes. "You trust your instincts more now," he said, stepping back to catch his breath.

"I had good teachers," Roxanne said. Elias glanced toward the Moonstones on the far field. "All four of them?" he asked.

She thought about it honestly. "In different ways," she said, and it was true. She realized she had never put that into words before, and she felt slightly embarrassed that Elias had needed to ask. Roshan had taught her patience, Lucien had taught her how to think, Liam had taught her to improvise, and Kai had taught her to trust her own body.

During the break, Liam strolled over with his hands in his pockets and a wicked gleam in his eye. "Having fun with your new boyfriend?" he asked.

Elias raised an eyebrow, and Roxanne kicked Liam’s shin hard enough to make him hop. "He’s not my boyfriend," she said.

Liam grinned through the pain. "That’s not what I asked."

Roxanne glared at him, and Kai walked past just then carrying a water bottle. Liam saw his expression and became instantly, gloriously delighted, and Roxanne could have thrown something at him.

Elias, standing beside her, pretended to study the sky with great concentration, though his shoulders shook.

The instructor blew a whistle to call everyone back and announced a surprise challenge. Each temporary pair would fight another pair using unfamiliar techniques, and the matches would be drawn at random.

Roxanne and Elias were matched against Kai and Serena, and a low murmur ran through the students watching from the sidelines. Jace whistled, and somebody near the back began quietly taking bets.

Now the tension was real, and Roxanne felt a thrill of it. She knew Kai’s fighting style extremely well, and he knew hers, so the two of them kept anticipating each other before either had finished moving. Elias noticed it, and Serena noticed it, and even the instructor tilted his head and made a note.

At one point Roxanne moved exactly where Kai expected her to, and he caught her wrist. She reversed the move in a blink and stepped out of his grip. "Still predictable," she said.

The corner of Kai’s mouth curved. "Not anymore," he said, and he shifted so fast that she barely blocked the next strike. Elias and Serena had stopped fighting altogether by then, circling each other warily while the two of them tested every habit the other had.

The instructor let it run a full minute longer than the rules allowed.

The final exercise forced each pair to decide whether to follow their partner’s command or trust their own instincts.

Elias told Roxanne to take the left route through the obstacle field, but she saw a better opening on the right and went that way without asking. Elias followed her without hesitation, adjusting his own path so that they came together again at the far end. They succeeded, and the instructor praised them for adapting instead of blindly obeying.

Kai watched the whole thing from the edge of the field with his arms crossed, and something in his face shifted. He was learning that Roxanne didn’t need him to lead her anywhere. What she needed was someone who could keep up with her choices, and he seemed to be working out whether he was that person.

Afterward Elias clapped her on the shoulder. "You’re good," he said. "I know," Roxanne said, and he laughed out loud. Kai approached as the students began to disperse. He didn’t criticize Elias or make a scene of any kind.

He simply asked Roxanne whether she had enjoyed it. She looked at him and asked if he meant the challenge. "The whole day," he said.

She smiled. "Yeah," she said. Kai nodded. "Good," he said, and he walked away toward the equipment shed with his hands loose at his sides, unhurried, as if nothing had been said at all.

Roxanne watched him go, and it struck her that there had been something almost vulnerable in the question, as though he had needed to hear the answer.

That evening the instructor posted the next round of exchange assignments, and everyone crowded around the board. Roxanne pushed forward until she could read her name. Her next partner wasn’t Elias, and it wasn’t Kai, and it wasn’t any of the Moonstones. It was Serena Ashford.

Below the partner list was another announcement. ROYAL LYCAN EXCHANGE — SOCIAL EVENING TOMORROW. Each student was required to attend with their assigned partner.

Liam looked at Roxanne, then at Kai, then at Serena, and a grin spread across his face by degrees. "Oh, this is going to be entertaining," he said.