Overnight, | tossed and turned, thinking of Rik’s question. | really want to say yes. | want to get to know him. It’s a risk, if we
begin dating. If he’s not my mate, it may cause issues with my mate in the future. But, as of now, | will be his
Guardian. Getting to know him is important. And I''ll make sure to maintain my boundaries.
| finally fall asleep early in the morning but wake at my normal time. It’s time for me to get back to training. | know my father will
not agree, and possibly Rik won''t either. But | can’t continue to sit around.
| get dressed and head outside just as the other warriors begin to show up. Rik isn’t here yet, so | walk up to the others and greet
them. | get a lot of high fives, wee backs, good to have you back on your feet, the usual greetings when someone has been
out for a while.
“Cara? What are you doing out here? You should be resting.” My father asks.
“Dad, | need to get back to training. | need to start building my strength again.”
“There will be plenty of time for that next week. For now, you need to rest.”
I turn to face my father head on. “No. This is not how you trained me, sir.” | use sir instead of calling him dad as an
acknowledgement of him leading the training and me being a trainee. | need him to think like a warrior, not a father.
“Cara.” Ites out as a warning. He’s telling me not to argue with him. Well, guess what dad. You didn’t raise me to give up or
give in.Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.
“Sir.” | reiterate the word. The training field has gone silent. The warriors are watching to see which Guardian will win this battle.
have trained me all my
life to fight through weakness. ‘The enemy won''t give you a break if you’re hurt or injured Cara.‘ Those are your words, not mine.
That is how I’ve been taught. That is how | train. Push through the pain, push through the weakness, push through until you can
get back on your feet. So that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to push through, starting today. Sir.”
My father is staring holes into me. His anger palpable. | feel heat at my back and smell the scent of brownies. Rik has arrived.
I''m not sure if he is supporting me, or preparing to argue with me, but right now, my focus is on my father.
Alpha Anders walks up to my father and puts his hand on his shoulder. “She doesn’t just look like Lily, she acts like her too, don’t
you think Clint?” He asks my father.
My father doesn’t say anything, and Anders continues. “Better to have her in training and under your supervision than to have
her go off and try to train on her own, wouldn’t you agree?”
| see my father give in, his shoulders slumping in defeat. “You''re right old friend. She’s as tough and stubborn as her mother.” His
next statement is for me. “As your trainer, if | think you’ve had enough, you listen, do you understand me Cara? And no sparring,
only obstacles today.”
“Yes sir.” | smile at my dad before turning to Rik. His brows are furrowed. “Are you going to argue with me about training too?”
He puts his hands up in a surrender and takes a step back. “Nope, not me.” Then he grins at me.
“Okay you bunch of pansies, let’s see what you’ve got. Rik. Cara. You''re up first.”
Dad has us on the outdoor ninja warrior course today. We are running the course in pairs. I’m familiar with it which will give me
an advantage over Rik. He still has the overall advantage though because I’m definitely not up to my usual fighting strength.
When dad shoots the starter gun, we go. About halfway through, | realize Rik is holding back, making sure | can get through the
course. He stays close until we finish, beating me by only a couple of seconds. I’m panting much more than | should be and my
time is terrible, but | did finish.
| look at Rik, “You slowed down for me, why?”
He shrugs handing me a bottle of water. “I know you''re not at the top of your game, and | just wanted to make sure you didn’t
need any help. You didn’t, but | wanted to be there if you did.”
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