263 Sparring Circle

She could also feel the soreness throughout her body. She might have only gotten away with some light scratches that broke the skin, but the bruises were definitely there. She could feel soreness on her back and her arms. 

All she wanted to do now was to lay down and close her eyes to rest. But the Alpha of the Moon Ring pack stood right before her eyes. She needed to be alert. Within a flash, Darric made his first move. 

He closed the distance between the two of them in the blink of an eye, ready to claw Vy. He was fast, but her intuition saved her. Vy got out of the way in the nick of time. Another close call. But she could not rest! 

Darric used his front legs as a pivot point and spun his body. This allowed him to propel himself towards Vy. Using the force of the spin, he sent her flying into the air. Vy could feel the inertia flinging her body away. 

If she did not do something swiftly, she would smack her back into the tree trunk. Not only that, she would be knocked unconscious by the force of the impact. There must be something she could do to prevent this. 

Everything felt as if it was moving at a fraction of its original pace. Vy closed her eyes for a fraction of a second, gathering her thoughts. At that moment, she came up with her plan. 

There was no guarantee that it would work, but she was willing to give it a shot. She saw how Darric used his body to swift directions mid-attack and she was going to attempt to do the same. Bracing for impact, Vy turned her body so that it would be her hind legs that touch the bark of the tree. 

Using the momentum to her advantage, she used it as a springboard to launch herself back at Alpha Darric. The Alpha had made the assumption that Vy was defeated. When his ears picked up on unfamiliar sounds, it was already too late. 

Vy was coming towards him at top speed. Even Bertuf, who tried to stop Vy, was too slow. She rammed straight into him, grabbing hold of him with her claws. Both of them tumbled for a bit. When they finally came to stop, Vy was on top of Darric with her sharpened teeth around his neck. 

Vy released Darric and stepped off him. She took in a deep breath as everyone else took to their human forms, including Darric. Vy did the same, panting for air as she did. Aether came over swiftly with a wide grin on his face.

-Good work.- Aether chimed in her mind. 

The Alpha of the Moon Ring pack could not believe that he was defeated by Vy. But he was impressed with her skills. If this was the power and intelligence she had now, without the use of her powers; who knows how strong she truly was?

"Alpha, are you hurt?" Bertuf asked his leader out of concern. 

"Thank you. You gave me quite a few good pointers during our sparring."

"Although, I think there are a few things you need to take note…"

Vy listened intently as Darric explained to her key fighting techniques she should take note. He also taught her some defensive moves to protect herself in the case she is injured in battle. She could tell the Alpha had real battle experience from the way he spoke. 

Not to mention, the scars on his toned body were visible since he did not have his shirt on. Some of the scars were much larger than others. Others did not look like claw marks. Seeing all of them, made Vy curious about what the Alpha had been through in the past. 

Although she could sense that Darric was older than her, there was no telling of his actual age. Unfortunately, while her mind wondered many questions, her eyes had been fully focused on looking at Darric's body. 

This angered Beta Bertuf who felt that Vy was being disrespectful. Darric was so focused on what he was saying, that he never noticed it one bit. Aether realised what happened, so he nudged Vy to signal to her. 

But the young woman was so deep in her thoughts, she did not get the signal. 

-Vy, stop staring.- Aether reminded her. 

The moment she heard his voice, she came back to her senses. When she looked up at the werewolves, she realised Bertuf was giving her a death glare. Using some hand gestures, he signalled to her that he had his eye on her. 

Though Vy did not quite understand what Bertuf meant, she redirected her focus back to Darric who was still speaking. As the sky darkened, all of them decided to head back to the campsite. They had been so focused on sparring, that the werewolves forgot to hunt for their dinner. 

Lucky for them, Vy and Lycster had some food stored up. 

"Should we still hunt, Alpha?�� one of the werewolves asked Darric. 

"The sun is about to set. Don't go too far. Return before the darkness fully sets in."

"Yes, Alpha."

"I will go with them as well," Beta Bertuf volunteered. 

Darric nodded in response and three werewolves left for the hunt while the rest remained by the campfire. Lycster had already begun to cook their food, using the supplies they still had. He used a small pot that they had and placed it over the fire. 

The smell of the stew he made permeated their senses and made their mouths water. 

Darric and the other werewolves became curious as to what the boy was cooking. It was something none of them had smelt before. Then again, werewolves rarely ate cooked meat while they were travelling. They usually ate their meat raw. 

"What are you making, boy?" one of the werewolves asked. 

Lycste was surprised by the sudden question, but he answered it anyway. 

"It's a meat stew, flavoured with spices,"

"Remember to put in the truffle oil, Lycster,"

"Oh, yes sis! I almost forgot."

From his spatial storage, Lycster retrieved a small glass bottle that was only half-filled. He unscrewed the cap and poured a little of the oil into the stew. The moment the oil fused with the stew, the aromatic fragrance of truffle began to spread everywhere.