Aimee POV
I woke up from my short nap and felt fully refreshed. I got dressed in yoga tights and a sports bra with a tank top over it. I then made my way down to the training room Sam had fixed up for me. He didn't want all the pack members to see my powers and possibly relay that information to an enemy pack or Alester. So, he cleared out the floor just below our room and made the only two entrances connected to our room and Aniya's suite.
Aniya was already there when I came down the staircase from our room. She was calmly setting up the sparring area for our session. I mastered all my powers already. So, Sam and Aniya have been training me for this last week. They want me to not rely on my powers but also have the strength and knowledge to defend myself physically at any time, in any form. My strength, speed, and accuracy are now at their peak in both human and wolf forms. Now we are working on endurance. Nichole has made some puppets for me to spar so I am not hurting Aniya or Sam. I don't think I would have progressed as quickly as I have if I were actually sparring them.
Aniya noticed me and began to bow to me. I wrap her in a hug and whispered to her. "I've told you not to bow to me. You are like family to me."
"Hard to break old habits." She replied with a shrug. She released the hug and held me by my shoulders.
"Okay so, what's the plan today?" I asked. "I see you made the area bigger."
"You will be fighting in wolf form against human and wolf forms." She said in her serious tone. She guided me to the center of the mat. "We will run through a few moves in our wolf forms before we start the drills." She explained as we reached the center. "Shall we?" She inquired while she disrobed to shift.
"Absolutely!" I said and followed suit.
"Are you ready Ash?"
"Anytime!"
I had barely finished undressing when Ash shifted in a flash of blue light. Our shift has gradually become instantaneous. Over the last few weeks of training my glow, as I shift, has gotten brighter and quicker. This power will be beneficial in the coming battle. Aniya went over some moves with me before she jumped to the side of the mat. She shifted and activated the puppets Nichole made. A human puppet tackled me while I was watching Aniya. I quickly recovered and donkey kicked its head off. A few more came at me from different directions trying to split my attention. They were no match for me and Ash. We took them out with ease.
She started increasing the amount, frequency, and forms of the waves not allowing me to recover fully. She was pushing me to my limits again. This wasn't like our regular training session. She was testing us. I used that as fuel and defeated every last one of them. I stood there in awe at the mess I had created. There were piles of puppet shards everywhere. I wasn't even breathing hard and I didn't feel tired. Any normal wolf would have died going against what I just did.
"Beautifully done My Luna!" Aniya yelled while clapping and jumping up and down, "That was a very brutal tactic you just defeated." She said squealing happily.
I could feel the pure adoration coming off her as she came over to me. I could feel the same from the twins. She hugged me as soon as she got to me. "Do they really go after the Luna like that?" I asked as we made our way to the bench and sit down.
"Yes, they do." She said sadly. "because of the mate bond if the Luna is killed the Alpha will be distracted, instantly weakened and in great pain. Taking out the Luna basically guarantees a win. It also goes for mated wolves in general." She clapped her hand on my shoulder to bring me out of my thoughts. "I can proudly say that won't happen to you and Sam. I increased the intensity of the training to more resemble the type of war Nichole described. You survived it without a scratch. With that I say congratulations, our training is now complete. From now on you will just need to practice, tweak your techniques and increase your strength." She finished with and smile and wrapped me in a hug.
That's what I love about Aniya, no matter what she tries to lighten up a rather dark explanation. Though I can't deny my uneasiness towards the true nature of this brutal world I now find myself in, I am so grateful for the guidance I have from friends and family. The way they protected me all these years may have hindered me mentally but, they did it to keep me safe and alive till the time was right.
"So, its about time for dinner, how about we pick up practice tomorrow?" Aniya said dragging me back from my thoughts.
As if on cue my stomach grumbles and I hear the twins giggle through our link. "My stomach agrees." I said with a giggle and stand up heading to the door.
We made our way back down to the main floor. As soon as we reached the dining room I could smell dinner was ready. Sam must have felt my hunger through the mate bond. Ever since we linked with the twins it seems they have changed our bond. Strengthened and altered it into the perfect connection. It feels like we are actually one being, more than soulmates. The one thing I wish for when we finally kill him, is that all mate bonds can achieve this feeling. This sense of absolute completeness and love.
Dinner was delicious and filling. Sam must have asked my mom to teach him to cook foods that wouldn't trigger my morning sickness. I'm so in awe of the man that is my mate and best friend. Growing up together was a big help to our bond. I often wonder what would have happened if I never knew him till our mate bond clicked. Would it be this easy or would I have been standoffish? I will have to ask mom about how she met dad sometime.