Forty-seven

76 dead.
100 injured.
83 missing.

That was the aftermath of the attack that had happened three days ago. The day after the attack the final statistics were brought in. A meeting was held to tell them about the attack. That day, the whole place was quiet- people whispered occasionally. There was a somber atmosphere the rest of the day. The day after, people started speaking up and standing up. Many wanted to go and attack right this moment, but all the people who were in their right state of mind knew that they would just get killed if they attacked then. All the Alphas and Betas held a meeting to think of possible of plans of attack. And they did. They did think of a plan. Now, all we could do was hope it worked in our favour.

I was standing in the middle of the big hall. Watching some of the trackers, warriors, and witches saying goodbye to their loved ones. A special group had been formed. This group was almost like an intelligence group in the human world.

They named them the Supernatural Intelligence - S.I. for short. These group of people were going to look for information that you couldn't find out from the outside. Some of them were going to go undercover and join Sarim's group. Even though these people had been specially requested by Leon and Rawer, they had a choice if they wanted to join or not. This was a risky mission and they weren't guaranteed to come back alive or come back at all.

Tears were falling and tight hugs were given but at the end, they all had to finally say goodbye. Their loved ones glanced at them properly, since this might be the last time they see them. The S.I. was to update Leon or Rawer every few days on their plans and any new information found. Leon and Rawer were hoping that this might give them an upper hand to Sarim.

"All members of the S.I. please go to the entrance." A loud voice boomed across the speakers.

All the loved ones of the members gave them a final hug and went to the entrance. I caught sight a young boy who was sobbing into his mom's chest. The mom's eyes followed- what I assumed to be her husband until he was submerged into the crowd and you could no longer see him. I walked towards and rubbed the mother's shoulder in support. When she turned to look at me, I saw the tears in her eyes that she was trying to hold back for the sake of her son.

"Ashley." I turned around to see Jared beside me.

"Jared! What are you doing here?"

"Well, except for the fact that most werewolves around this area are in this safe house, I was requested by Leon."

"What did you Leon request you to do?"

"He wanted me to teach you how to fight."

"Fight?"

"Yes, fight. He thinks it would do you good to be able to defend yourself not only for now but for the future as well."

"Okay. When do we start?"

"Now." My eyes widened in shock. Out of all the time in the world. Jared chose this moment to train me. I gave the woman a small smile as a goodbye. And turned back to face Jared.

"Where are you going to be teaching me?" I asked, following Jared as he lead the way.

"There's a gym in this safe house. I will teach you there. But first, you need to change your clothes."

"I don't have any other clothes. All my clothes in the safe house are the same type."

"Wear one of Leon's shirt. You'll feel hot in the one you are wearing now."

"I can't just take his shirt without his permission!"

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind." Jared flashed a smile at me when he said that.

"Fine. How long are we going to be training for anyway?"

"Until you can't walk anymore." I glanced at Jared in disbelief. Not for once believing he meant each word he said.

***

"Remember to be balanced at all times. If you have a weak balance and your opponent throws a weak punch your way, you will fall down."

I glanced at Jared from the sweat that was pouring down my face. I took a swig of water from my bottle and sat, cross-legged on the matted floor. I wondered how much time had passed, and for how much longer I could go on for. My hands and legs were shaking from going
over and over again. Luckily there weren't too many people at the gym or else I knew that I would embarrass myself even more.

"I think that's enough for today," Jared said, glancing down at fatigue body. My shirt was clinging onto me as if it were my skin. I now realised why Jared said I needed to wear something more lose before.

"How long have we been training for?" My voice was hoarse- making it sound like I had just cried but in reality, it was just dry.

"Two hours." My eyebrows shot up at that. I knew a lot of time had passed but I didn't realise, two hours had passed. Though I had to admit that half the time I was trying to catch my breath.

"Do you need my held to get up?" My initial answer wanted to be yes. But then I realised that I needed to try before accepting something and taking the easy way out.

I tried pushing myself off the floor with my arms. When that didn't work, I used my knees to slowly push myself up. I had to grab onto Jared's hand to balance myself as I stood up.

"You did well for a person who hasn't fought before."

"Thank you. I am going to be so sore tomorrow."

"Tomorrow we'll do some exercises to help with the pain."

"We are training again tomorrow?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes, we are. It's going to be hard for the next few weeks but the end result will be great. Trust me." Jared hands me a towel as we walk out of the gym. Once Jared drops me off to the room Leon and I are sharing, I quickly hop into the shower. The water pelted onto my body in a soothing manner.

Once I was done with my shower, I walked back into the room with my towel tightly wrapped around my body. I jolted backward when I saw a figure sitting on my bed.