carried across 34

34 Focus 

Sera 

By training day three, my body had reached a state of constant, dull vibration. Every muscle felt like a guitar string pulled too tight. But the movements were finally starting to make sense. When Yvara stepped in, I didn’t just flinch and wait for the impact. I braced. I planted my heels and kept my center heavy, just like she’d been shouting at me to do for the last forty-eight hours. 

The pain wasn’t getting better. If anything, it was worse because Yvara saw I could take it and decided to hit harder. Every strike felt like being swung at with a heavy lead pipe. But I was anticipating now. 

Yvara lunged, a straight jab aimed at my nose. I didn’t back away. I shifted my weight, brought my forearms up in a tight V, and took the hit on my bones. It rattled my teeth, but I stayed standing. Yesterday, that hit would have put me on my ass. 

“Again,” Yvara barked. 

She swung a low, sweeping kick. I dropped my weight, blocking with the side of my shin. It stung like a burn, but I didn’t let my guard drop. I felt a small spark of something-progress. It was a tiny victory, but it felt like the first real thing I’d owned since crossing the border. 

Then, Yvara’s eyes flicked past my shoulder. It was only for a second, a tiny break in her focus, but it was enough to make me turn. 

Taya was standing at the edge of the yard. She wasn’t alone. She’d brought a small crowd-five or six of her followers, all leaning against the stone archway like they were watching a show. Taya had her arms crossed over her chest, her bandaged nose making her look even more vicious. She was smiling. 

“Eyes on me,” Yvara’s voice was like a hammer. 

I turned back just as Yvara swung. I barely got my arms up in time, the force of the blow sending a jar of pain through my shoulders. 

Behind me, Taya’s voice carried easily across the dirt. “Look at her. She looks like a newborn deer trying 

to walk on ice.” 

The crowd behind her erupted into a chorus of snickering and sharp laughter. 

My jaw tightened until my teeth hurt. I tried to focus on Yvara’s shoulders, but the noise was a constant itch in my brain. Yvara didn’t slow down; if anything, she accelerated. She came at me with a flurry of strikes, testing whether I could hold my focus while being mocked. 

“One,” Taya called out as Yvara’s fist caught me in the ribs, sending me stumbling. 

“Two,” the crowd joined in as my knees hit the dirt a second later. 

“Three.” 

I scrambled back up, wiping sweat and dust from my eyes. I wanted to turn around. I wanted to scream 

1/3 

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at Taya to shut her mouth and leave. Yvara saw it. 

“The enemy is in front of you, Sera,” Yvara said, her voice low and dangerous. “Not behind.” 

I tried. I kept my eyes forward, taking another hit to the shoulder that numbed my arm. I got back up. I kept moving. 

Taya’s voice got louder, crueler. “Look at her. The Alpha’s charity case. His broken Southern toy. Tell me, do you think he actually fucks her, or does he just keep her around because he feels sorry for her?” 

The laughter that followed was loud and jagged. 1 

“This fucking bitch!” I snapped. I forgot the shoulders. I forgot the bracing. I spun around toward Taya. 

Yvara’s fist connected with the side of my head. 

The world vanished into a flash of white. I hit the dirt hard, my face pressing into the cold, gritty ground. My ears were ringing so loud it drowned out the wind. My vision swam, the grey sky and the stone walls blurring into a mess of shapes. 

“That’s how you die,” Yvara’s voice came from somewhere above me. It was cold and utterly disappointed. “Looking the wrong direction.” 

I could hear laughter through the ringing in my skull. It was a satisfied, mocking sound. Then I heard the rhythmic thud of boots-the crowd was leaving. The show was over. 

I stayed in the dirt. I didn’t try to get up. My face was pressed against the cold earth, and I felt the familiar, hot sting of humiliation behind my eyes. I was furious, embarrassed, and hurt. I wanted to chase after Taya and finish this damn thing. 

Yvara’s shadow fell over me, blocking out the dim sun. 

“If you think you’re capable of taking on Taya right now, you’re really stupid,” Yvara said. “She’s the daughter of a chief. She’s been trained since she could walk. Let that sink in.” 

I didn’t move. I didn’t respond. I just listened to my own ragged breathing. 

“If you spend your time getting triggered by what people think and say about you, you’re going to keep putting yourself through a great deal of pain,” Yvara continued. “Over and over again.” 

My chest tightened until it was an ache. 

“That’s why you spent years with an arsehole who didn’t care about you,” Yvara added, her voice dropping to a flat, brutal honesty. “Trying to prove a point that wouldn’t even matter in the long run” 

Silence. 

I lay there in the dirt, her words sitting in my chest like heavy stones. I had no comeback. I had no defense. She was right. I’d gambled three years on a man who didn’t want me, just to prove I could. 

The truth hurt worse than the hit to the head. 

2/3 

34 Focus 

“Get out of my yard.” 

*** 

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