The Mark of Betrayal (by Cooper) novel Chapter 26

Samara

I have no idea what came over me. Okay, yes I do and it’s more than just the mate bond. I might already be addicted to the way Roman kisses me. His mouth feels so perfect against mine, so soft and warm, and if I’m being honest with myself, loving. I can feel the love that Roman has for me through his kiss. It’s like he pours his entire being into the kiss. I don’t know much about sex, but I do know that if we ever get to that stage of our relationship, I’m positive I’ll be overwhelmed by him. If he puts this much of himself into a kiss, I can't imagine how much he'll pour himself into our love-making.

So, for him to agree that I can let Ayla run alone AND I get kisses out of it, it’s a win-win for me.

‘For us. I like the way he kisses us too. I can’t wait until I can have time with Pierce,’ Ayla says.

‘I know.’ Roman is making it nearly impossible to NOT trust him.

After another amazing kiss from Roman, he leads me back downstairs to warrior training. I’ve watched warriors train all my life, first in my father’s pack and then in Alpha William’s. I’ve practiced some moves in my room when I was alone, but without an instructor, I have no idea if I’m any good.

I watch Roman quickly assess his warriors, then nod at Austin to continue training before leading me slightly away from the group.

“Okay, I’d like to get an idea of what you remember about your training and see how strong you are so I know how hard I can push you. Let’s start with you on offense. I know you know how to kick...”

“Yeah she does,” a warrior chimes in. I turn and see Andrew, the warrior I knocked unconscious at the hotel, smiling at me. “Morning, Luna.”

“Good morning, Andrew.”

As I glance around, I realize all of the warriors are distracted by my presence. Roman seems to recognize the same thing and he turns to them.

“Thirty minutes. You can watch for thirty minutes, then I better see the best sparring I’ve ever seen in my life from you,” he says and in less than a minute, the entire group of warriors has surrounded us.

“Why do you want to watch?” I ask.

“You knocked Andrew out,” one of the warriors says.

“Yeah, he’s one of our strongest warriors, Luna. If you’re untrained and you did that, you must be pretty damn strong.”

“What they’re really hoping to see is you knocking our Alpha on his ass. None of us has ever been able to do it, but we’re hoping you can,” Beta Austin says.

I turn and look back at Roman. He’s grinning, and he waggles his eyebrows at me. It’s an obvious challenge, one that the Alpha in me can’t refuse, which I’m sure Roman knows.

“I think you have a decided advantage over me,” I tell him.

“As I said, this is for me to see what you remember and how strong you really are. Whenever you’re ready,” he says, taking a defensive stance.

I roll my shoulders and tilt my head from side to side, loosening my neck as I think through what I remember, and what I’ve seen and practiced in warrior training.

I get in an attack stance and then I come at Roman hard, punching straight at his chest, then an uppercut to his jaw and a third to the side to catch his ribs. He blocks the first two and grunts when I make contact with his ribs.

The warriors begin cheering for me.

“Quiet!” Roman tells them. “She needs to focus." Then he looks at me. "You’re fast, that’s good. I thought you said Ayla has never had training.”

“She hasn’t. I hadn’t gotten her when I left home.”

He raises an eyebrow. “That combination is a more advanced combination than I would expect a pup to have learned.”

“I have eyes Roman. I watched Alpha William’s warriors spar, and I taught myself what I could.”

He smiles proudly. “Of course you did. When you’re ready,” he says, getting back into a defensive stance.

I think through the next sequence I’ve been practicing. I come at him again, aiming for the chest, when he blocks, I swing my body around, using the momentum to try and land a punch to his ribs, which he also blocks. Then I let the momentum of the turn continue as I crouch and swing my leg out behind Roman’s. He leaps over my leg just before I can swipe his feet out from underneath him.

He spins around ready for me to come at him again, but my combos are only in threes, so I step back. Roman grins at me.

“Damn you’re good. You’re going to be one hell of a fighter once you’ve had practice.”

The unexpected praise has me beaming with pleasure.

“I’m still waiting for the head kick, though,” he says, getting back in his defensive stance.

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