{12}

I headed towards the sparring cage, already spotting the two males warming up. They looked my way when I entered the large fighting cage, I was excited to finally train after so long. 

I began to stretch my limbs and warm my body for the upcoming physical strain on them. All I had to worry about was to not expose myself in front of Luca, he wasn't aware of the physical benefits the Light Gene blessed me with. 

Luca's crimson eyes slowly swept me up and down, shamelessly checking me out. I abruptly stopped stretching and glared at him, catching him in the act. He didn't seemed fazed by my scowling, as a teasing smile lingered his lips. 

"Leather, huh?" He smirked, commenting on my choice. 

I raised my eyebrow at him. "It's warrior uniform."

"I know." He responded simply. His intense eyes swept over my body one last time, before finally turning away. 

Annoyance boiled within me, has he no shame? Looking at his brother's mate like that, it's fucking weird.

Kyle noticed this too, looking between us with a confused expression. "Okay, so who's fighting who?" He finally said, shaking it off. "Tic tac toe?" 

I nodded, totally fine with that. 

Luca looked between us in confusion. "What's tic tac toe?" 

We blinked at him, taken aback by his question. "Huh? It's a game...wait, have you never played it before?" Kyle exclaimed, bringing his hands to his head in shock. 

"Ah, you may know it as rock, paper, scissors." I told him, realisation hitting me. 

His eyes widened before he burst into laughter. "Oh, that! Why do you call it tic, tac, two?" 

"Toe." I corrected him. "And, I don't know. Did you grow up in New York?"

"Not as much as Lucio, I travelled around a lot more. Stayed in Europe a lot of the time."

"You know..." Kyle began to say sheepishly. "I'm not up for fight any of you two, maybe someone else." 

I tilted my head at him, he was much stronger than he let on or believed. "Why?"

"I don't wanna fight you, I don't think I'm ready. As for Luca, he's an Alpha blooded wolf whose been fighting for a living." Kyle responded thoughtfully. We had trained together countless of times, but had never had a serious fight. 

Luca didn't mind this as he cracked his fingers excitedly. "Looks like we'll be fighting each other." He retorted, grinning at me.

I was still looking at Kyle. "We'll fight each other soon, we need to." I told him seriously. "It will do both you and me good, so I look forward to it."

He nodded at me with a smile, accepting my request. "So Maya verses Luca, this'll be very interesting."

It will.

"Please make your way to the middle of the cage, and get into positions." Kyle announced, behaving like an invigilator. "This match will purely be MMA fighting so no weapons allowed, of course. Shake hands and retreat back more than the minimum amount of three steps."

We headed to the middle, and stood facing each other. He held out his hand, offering a handshake first to which I accepted. His warm, big hand gripped my smaller one with purpose and determination. 

"Let's have a good fight." He said with a small nod. 

I smiled genuinely and said, "Let's do that."

We both retreated back the minimum amount of three steps. I chuckled at that, I guess he was feeling confident.

"Good luck to you both, please don't kill each other." Kyle laughed, looking between us. "Before we start, can I get confirmations that you're fighting in the name of training. We don't want to be accused of violating the alliance contract after all."

"I am." I told him. I could count on Kyle to remember the details of the contract, sometimes he was more responsible than me. 

"I am." Luca called out.

"Okay. Let's fight in..."

I tense up, getting into a low and stable position.

"Three, two..."

Luca's blood red eyes glimmered with excitement, his grin widening. 

"ONE!"

We both took off at the exact same time, not expecting the other to do the same action. I had initially planned to inflict the first blow, but changed course after seeing he had planned the same thing. 

He jumped out my way at the same time, chuckling at the chances of that happening.

"Ooh." Kyle murmured in interest, sitting down to watch from afar. 

I shifted into a defensive position, my eyes flickering around his body, looking for an opening. I held back a smile, when I saw how exceptional he was at keeping his guard up. It surprised me a lot, he was better than I had expected. 

My sharp eye caught a slight opening, but he wasn't good enough. 

I took off, feeling the heat on the soles of my feet from the friction and speed. I sprinted across the distance, covering it in no time, reaching him within seconds. My fisted hand appeared by his right side, to which he was quick to dodge. 

I threw five consecutive punches his way, he managed to dodge two and block three. His red eyes were flickering around at an insane speed, spotting all my incoming attacks. I smirked at his efforts, it was admirable. 

However...

I began to throw another ordinary punch, which he had gotten a feel of already. Changing it course slightly, I aimed for his jaw which he saw coming. 

Sike. 

I swiftly changed it's course yet again, my fist heading towards his nose. His red eyes widened, realising he had to retreat to dodge. His left leg moved back slightly, indicating his next move. 

Exactly what I was expecting. 

Not wasting time, I twirled around him in a flash and inflicted a knee strike to his back with most of my strength. An audible crack was heard, making Kyle and I cringe hard. I definitely had the upper hand in this match. 

"Maya, control your strength. You haven't used the light gene's advantageous physical abilities, right?" Kyle mind linked me. 

"I don't need to."

Luca stood up right away, retreating back to avoid getting hit again. My eyebrows flew up at the fact that he was standing upright, like I hadn't just damaged his spinal cord. 

Kyle didn't let this go unnoticed, whistling in awe. "Woah, Luca, you are tough."

Luca simply grinned and rubbed his back. "That was kind of rough." 

Kind of? 

This time he darted across the arena towards me, reaching in a flash. Immediately, I get into defensive mode anticipating his attacks. His right hand was clearly clenched into a fist, and ready to throw a punch. 

An experienced fighter as myself, I knew better than to just focus on that. 

He, very subtly, was shifting his weight onto his left leg as he made his way towards me. More likely than not, he will use his right leg. 

Just as I thought that, he suddenly twisted and tried to roundhouse kick me. Me being a step ahead of him, had already planned to dodge and attack when he's off-balance. As soon as he realised his leg did not make contact with me, he did something I did not expect.

Drop to the floor, before I could bring him down myself.

He took advantage of the split second of surprise, and swung his leg out to take me down. I was a moment to slow to register his speedy action, tumbled towards the ground. My mind was already racing with the next possible moves I could do. 

Leg lock! 

His leg was in my sight and within reach. 

My body twists and turns into position, using my legs to grab one of his. I reached forward to grab his leg into a lock, before it was too late. Realising my next move, he was quick enough to forcefully kick my hands away, resulting in my small finger snapping. 

"Fuck." I snarled, ignoring the searing pain in my right finger.

He began to twist away from me, to which I used my legs to hold onto his for dear life. I had to admit, I was in a sticky position. It wasn't easy to leave this position within potentially risking getting hurt by him, I'm sure he was in the same position.

Suddenly, he twisted us both across the floor, using his weight to his advantage. I was essentially being dragged across the dirty ground, to which he managed to force his way out of my half-assed hold. 

Half a second. 

Half a second, was how long it took for him to put me in a heel hook. 

A hold to forcefully put their opponent into submission, usually resulting in them tapping out. An annoyed snarl ripped from my throat once I realised the situation. How did it get to this? Was I having an off day? 

Or was he actually good? 

I'll find a way to get myself out of this mess, of course I will. I was able to freaking beat my parents, compared to that, this fight shouldn't be a challenge. 

"Are you okay?" Kyle mind linked me with surprise. He couldn't understand how I was in a submission hold, which I completely understood. 

I blushed hard, feeling embarrassed and ashamed. "Yes, I'll get out of this." I responded. 

"I wonder what Lucio would think of our current position?" Luca called out with an amused chuckle. 

My blush deepened when I took into account that we had our legs wrapped around each other. I was going to snap at him for being inappropriate, before he tightened his hold on my leg. I gasped in shock, before groaning in pain. 

That's when a worrying thought dawned onto me.

If he wanted to, he could snap my leg.

"Yield, Maya." 

I also laughed out loud, did he just say yield? To the likes of him? I just needed time to figure out how to escape, I needed to stall time and I'll be fine.

His grip tightened, using his strong arms, as his fingers trailed across my leg. I gritted my teeth, growling lowly at him and struggling against his hold. His large biceps were flexing in efforts to keep me in place. 

"Stay still, feisty kitty." Luca ordered, his fingers trailing higher up my leg towards my inner thigh.

"Your fingers." I commented with an annoyed glare. "Stop that."

He smiled innocently when he said, "Huh? What do you mean?"

Kyle, who was listening in, couldn't see Luca's hand on my thigh. Luca gaze turned provocative and suggesting, as his fingers carried on closer to his destination. His touch made my skin tingle with pleasure, what was this?

An involuntary shudder jolted through my body, to my dismay. Luca's smirk widened at this, while I mentally cursed my body. I had a freaking mate, shouldn't I be repulsed by another man's touch?

"I will break your arms." I said calmly. 

The match ended for me as soon as he put his fingers on my inner thighs, for different reasons. 

Finding this funny, he said, "Okay then." 

I was so enraged, I felt my wolf come to the surface. 

"Silver...?" He murmured, taking in my eyes. 

I breathed in deeply as my body started to shift into Light Gene Mode. The familiar electrifying feeling of immense power rushed through me. Within a flash, I forcefully pulled my leg out his grip and kicked the air out his chest. 

He flew back from the impact, wheezing from the damage to his chest. Kyle stood up, his eyes wide and surprised that I used The Light Gene. I didn't have to, but it was the easy and quick way to escape that situation. 

Before he could register what was going on, I charged towards him in a second and grabbed both of his arms. He began to struggle against my strength, but I was pretty much invincible in this mode. 

I brought his arms back, placing my right foot on his back, and twisted them the opposite way. 

SNAP! CRACK!

Kyle cringed at the sound, looking alarmed but remained quiet. He knew when to not interfere, and this was one of those times. 

I let go of him, letting him fall onto the ground. With more time, I would've strategized myself out of that situation. However, he brought this fate upon himself. Fucking pervert. 

"Let's go." I commanded, fixing my hair. 

Kyle stayed still for a second, before walking out the cage with me. He glanced at me hesitantly, and glanced back at his new friend. 

"Fine, go help him." I told him, not faltering in my steps. I held my pinkie finger tenderly, annoyed that it was broken.

"Before I do that, why did you do that?" He asked me curiously, taking in my enraged silver eyes. "Did he do something to you?"

"Yeah, he touched me inappropriately on purpose." I responded honestly. "Sorry Kyle, I don't think he's as innocent as he seems."

Kyle slowed down at this, his eyes darkening. "Fuck, no way."

His eyes widened as he turned to face me. "Maya, I swear I didn't see any of that, not from where I was sitting. I'm so sorry."

"I know that, already." I told him, waving it off. "I want you to take him to the nearest hospital."

Silence. 

"No."

"Hmm?" I said in surprise. 

"Fuck, no." Kyle reiterated. "He's deserves to suffer a little, after what he's done. How the fuck does one do that to their brother's mate, or to any unwilling female? I'll have someone else show him to the hospital later."

I crossed my arms over each other, feeling disgusted. "I need to take a shower." 

Kyle looked apologetic and worried as he gave me a side hug. "You go do that. Maybe stop by Lucio's room too, when you're done. He'll calm your nerves right down." 

"Thank you." 

We walked back to the Alpha Manor, feeling satisfied that I left him with broken arms. Kyle was quiet the entire time, processing what he had just learnt about his friend. I almost felt bad, but reassured myself that it was fair to let Kyle know about this. 

"Ella and Alex are coming back from their trip today." Kyle reminded me, a smile appearing on his face. 

My mood immediately lifted from hearing that. "I can't wait to see them!"

The guards straightened up at the sight of us, and bowed. We raise a hand up in greeting, as they opened the gates for us. We headed towards the front door, halting in our tracks when we sensed Lucio's strong presence. 

The large door opened, revealing Lucio in a white t-shirt and black joggers. His dark hair was messy, as though he had just woken up and looked unbelievably cute. 

His lips curled up into a smile when his gaze rested on me, but suddenly frowning when he noticed something. He stepped out slowly, and stood right in front of me. 

"Why do you smell like my brother?"

He took in my roughed up warrior uniform and messy hair, his eyes darkening with rage. Okay, I guess this must look pretty bad to him. 

"Oh shit, Maya." Kyle mind linked me, channelling his horror through the connection. "I mean, you reek of Luca. I forgot to point that out to you."

"We-." I said, about to explain. 

"Did you two...?" He interrupted me, stepping away from me. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

 I crossed my arms over each other, interested to see him jump to conclusions. 

"You two fought each other?" He roared in anger, curling up his fists. "Does the fucking alliance  contract mean nothing to you? Couldn't you just argued your disagreements, instead?"

"I know it looks bad." I sighed, huffing as I walked inside. "But we had a MMA fight in the name of training, there was no arguments or ill-feelings. The contents of the contract was not breached."

His observant golden eyes lingered on me before looking away. "Alright, that's good to hear." He said, visibly relaxing. 

I uncrossed my arms, glad that he believed me right away. Those intense eyes and cool demeanour of his almost had me convinced that he can sense when I lie. 

Kyle stepped into the manor after me, closing the door behind him. "So..." He started to say, with a confusion expression. Lucio and I looked at him, wondering what he was about to say.

"Clearly, I was the only one out the three of us who assumed that Lucio was about to accuse Maya of cheating on him with Luca." He blurted out sheepishly. We stared at him blankly, thinking back to the conversation. 

He rose his arms in surrender, chuckling at our cluelessness. "It really sounded like that, I was ready to yeet out of here." 

Lucio frowned at that. "Why would I jump to an outrageous conclusion like that? Maya isn't like that." 

I nodded in agreement, glad that he knew me well. 

Kyle visibly relaxed at this. "Damn, you guys have a nice relationship." 

Lucio smiled at this before turning towards me. "So who won?" He asked, looking genuinely curious.

My smile dropped, feeling offended. "Obviously me." 

I felt so insulted that I was about to walk away, when he grabbed my waist to stop me. "I'm kidding, just messing with you!" He laughed, pulling me towards him. 

I gave him the side eye. 

He grinned down at me. "I was teasing you, Maya."

A small, happy smile involuntarily creeped onto my face.

"Luca is exceptional at fighting, so don't be too concerned if he was a bit of a challenge." Lucio murmured into my hair. I was quite unsatisfied with my win, but I was getting over it quicker than I thought.

His expression changed a little, before he let go of me. "You reek of Luca, and I hate it." He said bluntly. 

"So do I." I agreed with him, reluctantly stepping away. "I'm off to shower." 

He nodded in approval. 

I was about to leave, when I stopped to tell him one last thing. "Lucio, I have something to tell you about your brother." 

He looked surprised, but nodded nonetheless. "Alright, you wanna tell me now?"

I shook my head. "After I shower, it can wait."

"Okay, I'll be in my room." 

I walked away and hurried up the stairs, heading to my room. Lucio really looked up to Luca, didn't he? Would this ruin their close relationship? 

But it was right to tell Lucio about this, he's my mate. I felt violated back there, and even more disturbingly he was able to invoke a pleasant reaction from me. It was confusing, horrible and scary; I hated it.

I was right to keep cautious around him, he was a perverted freak hiding behind an innocent, kind mask. He had fitted in so well with our group, and even earned the complete trust of Kyle. His likable personality had made it easy to get along with him, was that all a lie?

That teasing smirk of his and those blood red, seductive eyes appeared in my mind. 

He was nothing like how he portrays himself to others. 

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What an interesting chapter >< 

Soooooo, what did you think? Please give me your thoughts!! 

What do you make of Luca's character? 

Question -  Any future predictions? Any theories of any sort? :) 

I hope you enjoyed this update! Please VOTE and COMMENT, if you did <3

Love Yasmine xx