Chapter 117 Liza
LIZA
Apeculiar heaviness weighed down my steps as I approached Liam.
When I finally reached him, I discovered he was not alone.
A man stood beside my brother, who was as tall as he was wide—that is to say he was massive.
He had to be at least six foot six, with broad shoulders that stretched the fabric of his shirt.
His eyes were cold and calculating as he sized me up like a predator would its prey.
“Who’s this?” I asked, trying to sound calm as I gestured at the stranger. My pulse quickened, and an uneasy sensation settled in the pit of my stomach. This was not part of our usual training routine.
“Meet your sparring partner for today,” Liam said, inclining his head at the hulking man.
“Are you serious?” I raised an eyebrow at my brother, trying to gauge whether he was joking. There was no way this guy was supposed to be my sparring partner. He looked like he could crush me with one hand. “Does Ty know about this?”
Liam’s smirk told me all I needed to know—Ty had absolutely no idea about any of it.
I’d learned enough about my older brother to understand that if there was even the slightest chance that Ty would get in the way of his training methods, he just wouldn’t tell him.
Better to ask forgiveness and all that shit.
If Ty knew anything about this, it wouldn’t be happening.
But Liam seemed to relish pushing boundaries and testing limits, especially when it came to me.
I squared off against the mountain if a man, his muscular frame towering over me like an imposing shadow. I felt a fleeting flicker of unease as I stared up at him, but I quickly pushed it aside. I’d faced greater challenges before. I could handle this.
“Ready, little girl?” The gravelly timbre of the stranger’s voice turned my blood to ice.
Swallowing hard, I bobbed my head in confirmation. “Whenever you are.” I tried to inject some confidence into my tone, though it wasn’t entirely convincing, but it would have to do.
Without warning, the man lunged, his movements swift, powerful, and surprisingly graceful for his size.
Caught off-guard, I barely managed to dodge out of the way, the air rushing past me as his fist connected with nothing but empty space.
My heart hammered as it hit me that he wasn’t holding anything back.
He was coming at me like he really wanted to hurt me.
“Keep moving,” Liam called from the sidelines, offering no assistance beyond his verbal encouragement.
I gritted my teeth. I didn’t need a goddamn cheerleader. I needed my brother to step in and put a stop to this madness.
But Liam remained steadfast, observing the fight with an intensity that told me he wasn’t going to interfere. I had to find a way to stand my ground, to prove to him, and myself, that I was trained to handle whatever was thrown at me, including this giant of a man who wanted to hurt me.
“Think, Liza, think,” I said under my breath as I dodged another blow, wiping the sweat from my brow with the back of my hand. My opponent was relentless, his attacks growing more aggressive with each passing second. I had to find a weakness—something to exploit and turn the tide in my favor.
As I ducked and weaved, I tried to remember everything Liam had taught me: how to read an opponent’s body language, how to predict their next move, how to counterattack with precision and force.
It wasn’t easy, especially with adrenaline thrumming through my veins, and fear gnawing at the edges of my focus.
But if I wanted to survive this, I had to dig deep and call upon every ounce of strength and skill I possessed.
My muscles ached, and my breath came in ragged gasps, but I couldn’t afford to falter now. Sweat dripped down my forehead, the saltiness stinging my eyes, and the scent of nature mixed with blood permeated my senses.
“During a battle, there won’t always be protection for you,” Liam said from the sidelines. He was barely audible over the sounds of our grueling fight. “Worst-case scenario, we are all fighting off someone else, leaving you unprotected. What will you do to stay alive?”
I gritted my teeth as adrenaline surged through my veins, and I dodged another blow. Every inch of the man radiated menace. The heat of his anger felt like the embers of a dying fire threatening to roar back to life at any moment.
My heart pounded as Liam’s words sunk in. There would be times when I’d have to face danger alone without the protection of my family. The thought terrified me, but it also fueled my need to master my abilities.
“Focus!” Liam’s presence was reassuring, even if he was encouraging the mountain man to maim me. “Remember what I’ve taught you.”
I centered myself, calling upon the magic within me, and recalling the countless hours Liam and I had spent training.
He had shown me how to channel my power, how to cause earthquakes and paralyze others with just a flick of my wrist. It hadn’t been easy, but I had come a long way since those first shaky attempts.
Drawing upon those lessons, I expertly evaded the man’s attacks, then waited for the perfect moment to strike. When it came, I didn’t hesitate.
“Gotcha,” I cried, thrusting my hand forward and directing my magic at the man. He froze mid-lunge, and I pumped my fist into the air. “I did it!”.
“Good,” Liam praised. “Now, finish it.”
A strange, frenzied sensation coursed through me.
It was like a bloodlust had taken hold of my very being, and I reveled in it.
The man beneath me looked terrified, his eyes darting around frantically.
His pulse pounded against the tip of my finger, my claw a hair’s breadth away.
Just one swift slice and I’d end him. The thought was intoxicating, and for a moment, I forgot that this was only a sparring match.
“Enough,” Liam cut through the haze, jolting me back to reality. “You’ve won. Let him go.”
I blinked, suddenly aware of my actions.
“Shit,” I said, retracting my claws and releasing my power on him.
My breathing was ragged as I stared at the petrified man on the ground, the bloodlust slowly dissipating from my veins.
A thin stream of blood oozed from a small cut on his neck, and I gasped, stumbling back with my hands shaking.
“Shit,” I said, my breath hitching. “I didn’t mean to... “
The man’s aura had been menacing, but that was his role for today, to make me believe I was in real danger. He’d done his job well. Perhaps too well. My heart hammered as I thought about how close I’d come to seriously hurting him, even killing him.
“Listen, Liza.” Liam stepped closer and gripped my upper arms, refusing to let me run. “You’re safe. He was never a real threat, and you handled yourself brilliantly. You need to learn to control that bloodlust. It’s powerful, and it can be dangerous if you let it take over.”
Ty burst into the training area, and his eyes were wild. He took in the scene before him—the man on the ground, the blood, and me standing there, shaking.
“Are you okay?” he asked urgently, checking me over for injuries.
“I-I’m fine.” The words felt like lead on my tongue. “It was just... it got out of control for a second.”
“Out of control? I felt your distress through our bond. Now, does someone want to tell me what is going on?” Ty’s attention flicked between Liam and me. “What the fuck happened?”
Liam sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “We were practicing her abilities, and she let the power get to her head a bit. She pulled back in time.”
“Are you seriously telling me you thought this was a good idea?” Ty’s words were now a low, menacing growl as he glared at Liam. His handsome face contorted into something terrifying. With the heat emanating from him, I was surprised his clothes didn’t combust.
Liam crossed his arms defensively. “Not only did I think it was a good idea, but it was also necessary. She needs to learn how to protect herself in a real-life situation. We can’t always be around to save her.”
“By putting her in danger? By making her think she might actually kill someone?” Ty shot back, taking a step toward Liam. Their faces were inches apart now, their bodies tensed for a fight.
“Look, it worked, didn’t it?” Liam was not backing down. “She managed to get the upper hand, even when she was scared. She can do this, Ty. With more practice, she’ll only get better.”
Ty’s jaw clenched, and the muscles in his neck corded as he tried to rein in his anger.
There was something incredibly enticing about the way his raw emotions played across his face, sending a pulse of desire right to my core.
My clit throbbed, and I did my best to control it.
This was so not the time or place to start feeling horny.
“Yuck,” Liam muttered, casting a sideways glance at me. He must have sensed the shift in my emotions, instantly killing my mood.
I flushed with embarrassment, looking away from both of them.
“Fine.” Ty forced the word out through gritted teeth. “Next time you pull something like this, I’m here, too. We both make sure Liza is ready for it. Understood?”
“Understood,” Liam grumbled, stepping back from Ty, and the tension between them slowly faded.
“Let’s clean up this mess and get our heads back in the game,” Ty said, gesturing to the training area littered with broken branches and the injured sparring partner. “We have bigger things to worry about than our own in-fighting.”
I replayed the scene in my mind, the fear coursing through me as I fought for my life, and the strange thrill of power that had overtaken me when I’d gained the upper hand.
I still had a long way to go before I had all the skills and could protect myself without a cheerleader on the sidelines, but today’s events had proven that I wasn’t entirely helpless.