*Capítulo 15*

Quinn confirmed what I had been telling them all along, and they all sighed in relief. I held the urge to roll my eyes when they attempted to convince me into letting me rest for the rest of the day, but just gave them a small smile and declined politely.

"Is it too late to continue?" Was what I added after they eventually agreed. Dimitri scrunched up his nose as my dad nodded, and led us back outside to continue our training. Dimitri still instructed us, but unlike what he had said earlier, he demanded to be my partner for the rest of the day. It didn't make any sense until I realized he was giving me the basic and most easiest things behind my back as my mom and sister learned something different.

I narrowed my eyes at his back -since he was fixing Eveline stance with a few simple words- and turned around to head back inside. Thomas's group had vanished not even a few minutes ago, so knowing Dimitri, he would end it as soon as he finished fixing their mistakes.

"Emilee!" I paused mid step, surprised by his tone of voice. "Where the hell are you going?"

I turned back around, confused, and pointed northeast -the location of the house. "Uh, home?"

His state turned icily, and he crossed his arms over his chest, making his already tight shirt even tighter. My eyes immediately traced each ab I counted, and I could feel my cheeks burning up when I looked back up to see his quick, but smug reaction.

Oh fuck...

"Did I say you were dismissed?"

My mouth propped open, ready to let the words flow from my voice box, but nothing came out. I just stood there, speechless and shocked as he slowly uncrossed one arm and held it out. With his palm slightly up, he swiftly curled his index and middle fingers up and down twice, before he pointed to a few feet in front of him.

"Come here."

I gulped and just stared as he repeated his actions. When I didn't move an inch again, he quickly turned his neck without moving another part of his body and spoke to my mom and Eveline. I didn't hear what he told them, but I gasped and gaped when they quickly ran passed me with a small and timid smile.

I watched their retreating figures until I could no longer see them, and then faced him, shuddering and jumping when I realized he was right in front of me.

We had a mini stare down, just waiting for the other one to say or even move an inch. The electricity between us sparkled with so much power, my fingers besides me twitched with the urge to bring my hands up and touch him.

Remember Em, you don't need him. Stop thinking about him like that...

When his throat bobbed up and down as he gulped, I couldn't stop my eyes as they traveled a bit more north, and stop for a few seconds at a certain spot. They moved, but no noise reached my ears until I unfocused and focused on my surroundings.

"If you don't stop staring at me like that Emilee, I will do something that you won't approve of yet." His voice was thick and rough, and I shuddered as I took a step back, while looking down at my feet. "Now, will you care to enlighten me on the reason why you thought training was over?"

I just bit my lip, and continued staring at the grass underneath my feet.

"Did you get bored? Did you get tired? Did you want to get away from me?" He took a deep breath, and then softly added, "What was the reason Emilee?"

"Do I have to have a reason?" I finally breathed out, looking up at him. He gave me a half smile, but then his face smoothed out into a grim expression and he raised an eyebrow.

"Well I never dismissed you. You wanted to train, so you train until your instructor tells you you can leave. And I believe those words never came out of my mouth."

I sighed and slightly rolled my eyes, getting annoyed by this. "Well I'm sorry. I won't do that again."

"Uh, huh. You're staying an hour longer tomorrow." My eyes widened and I even felt my mouth pop open in shock. "Or is that too much for you? Do you not want to train?"

I snapped my mouth shut and shook my head slowly. "That's fine. Whatever you want, Dimitri," I whispered in between my teeth. "Am I dismissed now?"

With one curt nod, I all but turned on my heel and ran away, not even bothering to look back. When the house came into view, I didn't slow down; I bursted through the door and went straight to my room, ignoring all the stares I got from family members.

After a quick shower, I almost had a heart attack when I noticed a figure sitting down at the foot of my bed. She had her arms crossed across her chest, and was staring at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Damn Tatiana! Don't scare me like that!"

She got up, and followed me back into the restroom, taking the brush from my hands and began to comb my hair. "We need to talk."

"About what happened earlier?" I asked, wincing when she pulled a little too harsh.

"Yes."

"So I can't train?"

"I'm not saying that. I'm just saying you can't train, hard. You can't overwhelm yourself or do activities that require high strength. Whatever you feel, I feel and vice versa." She dropped the brush on top of the sink, and twirled her fingers in the air, quickly constructing my hair into some braids. "Since I am sharing half of my strength with you, you only have half the strength of normal people."

I turned around and stared at her. "So you're saying I am technically weaker than a human right now."

She led me outside the bathroom, and she clicked her tongue once, before she bared her straight teeth and sucked in some air. "Sort of. But in other words, yes."

"Well damn. Why didn't you tell me this before?"

Her light brown eyes narrowed at my words and she halted for a few seconds. "I never had to bring it up since you never had to fight for your life. I didn't tell you all that a war was coming just so you could put yourself in the front line."

I was still absorbing her words as I made my way down the stairs, with her trailing not even two inches behind me. At the foot of the stairs, I saw Ali's retreating back going to the dining room, and heard the loud chuckles and screams of people as they ate lunch.

"I felt your energy going down with the run you made. A normal run wouldn't have tired you down as easily as it did this morning. You have to be careful and watch what you do."

The laughter and chatter stopped for a few seconds when we arrived to the dining room, but then picked up when my mom cleared her throat and stood up from her spot.

"Eat. You need it since we skipped breakfast." She spoke as she walked towards me. She practically forced me down on the nearest seat to her, and I blinked rapidly when a full plate of food appeared in front of me. "Eat."

I couldn't stop myself as I gorged on the food. I ate until I felt full, and then I made eye contact with Tatiana while she stood propped against the wall across from me. She nodded once, and walked out, with me following closely behind. No one said anything as we walked away; they just stared with curiosity in their eyes. She walked out of the house, and I hesitated for a few seconds before I continued.

I was safe with her, right?

When we were a few feet in front of the tree lines, she grabbed my hand and with a wave of her hand, our surroundings blurred and we popped somewhere else. Somewhere I did not recognize.

"Where are we?" I was worried, but I wasn't that worried. She could protect me. Well at least I think she could...

"Outside the walls. It was getting stuffy in there."

I raised an eyebrow as she took the remaining steps toward, and sat down at the edge of the cliff she had brought us to. The ocean was right below it, and the scent of salt in the air was so strong, it was making me dizzy.

She patted the spot next to her without taking her gaze from the water, and whispered, "Come on. Sit child."

I sat silently, taking one quick look around us, making sure we were alone before I looked down. A small squeak escaped my lips, and she laughed before she scooted closer to me. "You'll be fine."

We were quiet for a few moments, before I turned to her and sighed. A recent memory passed through my head, and I bit my lip, wondering if she would go with it. "So I can train, right?"

She slightly rolled her eyes as she looked at me. "Yes. I've said this many times before."

"But I can't exert myself." She nodded again, looking back, so I took that chance to just blurt everything out instead of dragging it out like I intended to do. "Can you train with me?"

Her neck quickly snapped back to me, and I flinched when I saw the hardness in her eyes. They quickly softened, but then she frowned and cocked her head an inch to the side, a confused expression etched on her face. "Why would you ask that?"

I looked down at my fingers as I spoke. "Well... If you are there with me, you can protect me, and make sure nothing happens to me." I quickly looked up, and saw her mouth opening, but I shook my head and spoke rapidly before she could get any words out. "Before you say 'You don't need to fight. You have enough protection as it is with your family.' Let me say this: I want to do something for them. I've always been running, never actually knowing exactly who I was. I didn't know why I was running, and who we were hiding from, but I'm tired of letting Alice do all the protecting and fighting. Sure I might be human, but I am more than a human. I'm a princess." I swallowed, and looked out into the sea, feeling her gaze burning on the side of my face. "I have half of you running through my veins until my birthday. My father is the king of werewolves, and I have..."

I paused, not even knowing why I was about to say that. My sight was focusing in and out at boat that was a few miles away from where we were at, making me loose my concentration on what I was saying. I shook my head, closing my eyes at the same time she took advantage of my silence.

"You have Dimitri as your beloved."

With my eyes still closed, I answered her. "Yeah... that too."

It was quiet as I took slow, deep even breaths as I calmed my racing heart. The darkness that was above my eyelids didn't phase me much until she basically read my mind.

"You don't want him, do you?"

The pale, blue colors of my pants was the first thing I saw as my eyelids popped open. With slow, deliberate movements, I stared at her in shock, and managed to choke out some words. "How... how did you know that?"

Her lips thinned into a straight line as she looked at me. "Just by the sound of your voice." She quickly licked her lips, and scrunched up her nose as she looked away for a millisecond. "Is it because of what he did?"

"No." I quickly answered and she raised an eyebrow. My nose scrunched up as well, and I bit my lip, before I bared my teeth as I sucked in some air. "Maybe..." I sighed and shook my head. "Not really."

"Then what is it?"

I sighed heavily this time, and scooted back so I could hug my legs as I spoke. "I'm not entirely sure... I think. I just... gah... I don't even know how to explain myself without stumbling with my words."

She gave me a small smile and patted my leg. "Just try."

"I don't need him. I have been fine without a mate, beloved, man, my entire life, so now that he is here, I just..."

"Don't need him," she repeated my earlier words and I nodded.

"I'm not saying I don't need my father or my brother; they are my family. I am stuck with them whether I want to or not." I softly chuckled and half of her face lifted up into a smile. "But with Dimitri, I can choose. I can say if I want to be with him, or if I don't. And I don't."

"I'm not trying to side with him, but he has been waiting a long time for you. Almost as long as your father."

I scrunched up my nose and gulped loudly. "I know... and I feel bad for not wanting him. He is sweet. I know he cares about me, and will do anything I ask him to do. He won't hurt me, so I don't want to hurt him as well, but doing this is killing me."

"So why don't you just tell him that?"

I lifted up a hand, and waved it around, not really knowing exactly where he was at the moment. "Have you ever seen the way he looks at me when either him or I are in the same room? His eyes brighten up, and he gets this goofy smile that makes me want to-" Her smirk stopped me from saying anything else, and I squinted my eyes at her. "I'm not saying anything else."

"It looks like to me, that you don't want him, but your soul does. You two are soulmates Emilee. The moon goddess gave you someone to love, and it's very hard to go against her. She knows what she's doing, and there's a reason for every pair she makes."

"Why did she make us a pair?"

She rolled her eyes and stared at me with a dead expression. "Are you serious. It isn't obvious?"

"Well I wouldn't be asking you if I knew."

She ignored my remark and answered me. "She wanted the wolves and vampires to come together and finally make peace. Forever."

"Forever?"

"Vampires don't age Emilee. They stop aging, unlike werewolves. That's why Dimitri has to know of every transformation that is made, so they won't overpopulate."

My eyes widen slightly. "So Noah... Aria... all my aunts and uncles... every wolf I've met will die one day?"

She bit her lip, and slowly nodded. "Well, except Noah and Aria. Your siblings got the special gene from your father, so they won't die, just like your mother."

"I won't die... right?"

She shook her head slowly. "That's right. You won't die again Emilee. I promise you, the day of your birthday, at the exact minute you were born, I will change you. War or not, you will not remain human and let all of this go to vain."

I nodded twice, and laid down, spreading my arms up above me. I groaned, feeling the small aches from this mornings' lesson and quickly sat back up when that reminded me of something. "So, will you?"

"Will I what?"

"Train with me. Be there with me at the time of war."

She patted the hand that was closest to her, and gave me a small smile. "I will be there to protect you. I, Tatiana, the leader of all witches, promise you, Emilee, daughter of the werewolf king, to protect you with the remaining part of my life. Nothing will happen to you that day."

And she couldn't sound even more sure than that.

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Dedicated to my sis, mariaaskyy for being the first to crack the code last chapter. Love youuuu

But none of y'all reminded me to update last week!! That's why this chapter is a week late!!!

Anywhoo, hoped you liked. Confused? Don't hesitate to ask. Any -and I mean ANY- questions y'all might have, just ask 🤗

Just a reminder, it's not edited, so please kindly point out any mistakes.

Thank you!!

~Gris