Chapter 37\u00a0<\/p>\n
The training ground turned out to be exactly what I needed, even if my body was screaming in protest by the end of it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst rule,\u201d Kiara had said before starting her torture in training form, \u201cForget everything you think you know about fighting. Your\u00a0<\/p>\n
wolf won\u2019t always be there to save you. Sometimes you need to rely on what the moon goddess gave you in human form.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
46\u00a0<\/p>\n
The next three hours were brutal. She taught me how to throw a proper punch without breaking my own hand, how to use my\u00a0<\/p>\n
opponent\u2019s weight against them, how to spot the telltale signs that someone was about to strike.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My muscles burned, my lungs felt like they were on fire, and I\u2019m pretty sure I have bruises forming in places I didn\u2019t even know could\u00a0<\/p>\n
bruise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Every time Kiara or the other ladies landed a hit during our sparring sessions, I reminded myself that this pain was different. This\u00a0<\/p>\n
pain was for growth, for strength, for making sure I never felt helpless again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re holding back,\u201d called out Sarah, a petite woman who\u2019d been teaching me defensive stances. \u201cI can smell your fear from here. Whatever happened to you before, you need to let that anger fuel you, not paralyze you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was right. Every time someone came at me, even in practice, my body would freeze for just a split second. Muscle memory from all those times Daxon raised his hand to me, all those moments when fighting back only made things worse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not here,\u201d I whispered to myself, blocking a slow\u2013motion punch from Kiara. \u201cHe can\u2019t hurt me anymore.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the time we finished, I was exhausted but oddly exhilarated. My hands were shaking from adrenaline, and I could taste blood where I\u2019d bitten my tongue during one particularly intense round, but I felt more alive than I had in months.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did good tonight,\u201d Kiara said, clapping me on the shoulder. \u201cCome back next week. We\u2019ll work on some ground techniques.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded, already knowing I would. This felt like the first step toward becoming someone who could protect herself, someone who would never again cower in a corner while someone else controlled her life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After I thanked everyone and said my goodbyes to Leah, who was beaming with pride like she\u2019d personally orchestrated my breakthrough, I walked outside and checked my phone. The time nearly gave me a heart attack.\u00a0<\/p>\n
12:47 AM.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t believe it was that late. How had five to six hours passed so quickly? I was wondering how I\u2019d even get home, especially looking like I\u2019d been in a bar fight. My hair was matted with sweat, there was dirt on my clothes, and I\u2019m pretty sure I had the beginnings\u00a0<\/p>\n
of a black eye forming.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But this time, I\u2019d accepted every hit, every bruise, every moment of pain. This time, the beating was for growth, not destruction.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I stepped outside into the cool night air, I was surprised to see a familiar figure leaning against a sleek black motorcycle under\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
18:36 Fri, Jan 2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 37\u00a0<\/p>\n
a streetlight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tristan was still there, waiting for me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
45\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou waited?\u2018 I said, walking up to him on unsteady legs. My body was starting to really feel the effects of the training now that the adrenaline was wearing off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He nodded, his eyes scanning my face with an intensity that made my stomach flip. Without saying a word, he handed me his spare helmet, the same one I\u2019d worn dozens of times before.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I took it from him, and our fingers brushed for just a moment. The contact sent an electric shock racing up my arm and straight through my entire body.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This time it wasn\u2019t out of fear or trauma \u2013 it was something else entirely, something I couldn\u2019t name but that made my wolf stir restlessly inside me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I knew Tristan felt it too because I heard him take a sharp intake of breath, his hand freezing where it had touched mine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly dry as I stood there not knowing what to do with the energy crackling between us. The air felt charged, like right before a thunderstorm, and I could smell his scent more clearly than ever before \u2013 pine trees and motor oil and something uniquely him that made my head spin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should hold on tight, Tristan said, his voice rougher than usual as he broke whatever spell had just fallen over us. \u201cEspecially if\u00a0<\/p>\n
you\u2019re sore from training.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded, not trusting my voice to work properly, and swung my leg over the bike behind him. When I wrapped my arms around his\u00a0<\/p>\n
waist, I had to remind myself sternly that he wasn\u2019t just my brother\u2019s best friend. He probably had a mate somewhere, someone who was\u00a0<\/p>\n
waiting for him to come home every night.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I needed to quit being such a horny, confused mess. The man was just being kind to a sister who needed help, nothing more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As we pulled out onto the empty street, Tristan\u2019s phone started ringing. I could feel the vibration against his chest where I was\u00a0<\/p>\n
holding him, the insistent buzzing cutting through the rumble of the motorcycle engine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t answer it at first, probably because he was focused on driving safely with me as a passenger. But immediately after it\u00a0<\/p>\n
stopped, it started ringing again. Then again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whoever was calling really needed to reach him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After the fourth call in less than two minutes, Tristan cursed under his breath and pulled the bike over to the side of the road. He\u00a0<\/p>\n
killed the engine and pulled out his phone, his jaw tight with concern.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to take this,\u201d he said, glancing back at me apologetically. \u201cIt might be important.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
18:36 Fri, Jan 2 J\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 37\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u0f62\u0f71(46)\u00a0<\/p>\n
I threw my face away, staring at the empty street instead of watching him. I didn\u2019t want to see his expression when he heard his mate\u2019s voice, didn\u2019t want to imagine what ever unhealthy feeling that was already trying to claw its way out of my chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know what\u2019s wrong with me lately. Ever since that dream I had about him, I can\u2019t stop feeling things I have no right to feel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d Tristan\u2019s voice was sharp, commanding in a way that reminded me he wasn\u2019t just any wolf. There was alpha authority in his tone that made my spine straighten automatically.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t hear the other side of the conversation, but whatever the person was saying made Tristan\u2019s entire body go rigid with\u00a0<\/p>\n
tension.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is he now?\u201d Tristan demanded, his free hand clenching into a fist against his thigh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His voice softened slightly, though it still carried that edge of deadly concern. \u201cWhere is she?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped. She. There was definitely a she involved in whatever crisis had interrupted our ride home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Memories Drifted Into Soft Silence by Kyx Frost 37 Chapter 37\u00a0 The training ground turned out to be exactly what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-second-gear-of-love-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26194\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}