Surrogate for the Alpha Prince in a Coma novel Chapter 146

Chapter146

Chapter 146

Lillian’s POV

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My thoughts were spiraling. I refused to go to my room to be trapped with them, and any task like reading or needlepoint would not be enough to distract me. So, as I did so often in my youth, I ran from my problems, sorted through my frustrations, by slashing a blunt sword against a training dummy in the training grounds

I held nothing back, making wild strikes, roaring in my attacks. The blunt weapon smashed down onto the straw stuffed figure again and again until the whole thing started to lean precariously to one side and a fake arm was hanging loosely, likely to fall at any moment.

I panted, heaving as I tried to catch my breath. Once I did so, I would dive back in, pushing myself to exhaustion

That was my plan, anyway.

A voice behind me caused me pause.

“Destroying a training dummy does not make you a warrior.”

I knew that flippant tone, that smug superiority. Reginald had already cast an impression on me, so as I turned, I wasn’t surprised to see him watching me with clear disdain.

“I’m glad to have your input,” I said, dismissing him as politely as I could. “If that’s all…” I lifted my sword, ready to return to my task.

“Why are you wasting your time with this?” he asked. Whether he missed my subtle attempts to dismiss him or if he was simply ignoring them, I wasn’t certain, though I suspected the latter.

“Surely the prince of the Lycan Kingdom has something better to do than to watch me train.”

“I should,” he said. “Because even watching this is a disgrace. Woman have no place on the battlefield. But perhaps you would be willing to prove to me that I am wrong.”

“I think we’d both prefer to go our own ways,” I said.

“Maybe. But you are a trainer, aren’t you?” he asked. “Would you turn away a man who is only seeking advice on his form? Or do you simply not believe that you have the talent, after all, to be able to do your job correctly?”

He was purposefully egging me on. I knew that. But with the state I was in, my frustration riding so high, I was unable to properly ignore the bait.

“What are you suggesting?” I asked.

“Spar me,” he said. “If you are really as talented as everyone around here seems to believe, I will see it in your form when we fight. A friendly match with blunt weapons would suffice. There is no reason for you to get hurt.”

So arrogant. So damn smug.

I couldn’t do anything about my life falling apart since Odette’s return, but maybe in this bout with Reginald, taking him down a peg or two, I could feel a moment of fleeting happiness.

He underestimated me. Everyone did. It was time I showed him just what I could really do.

My frustration was driving me, I knew that. It would be smarter to back down. But I was so amped up, so filled with irritation that had nowhere to go, I found myself agreeing before I could truly talk myself out of it.

“Fine.”

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Chapter 146

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He smirked ever so slightly, the very corner of his lips curling upwards. “Good.”

He grabbed one of the blunt blades that was hanging on the nearby rack, the ones Teacher and I used for lessons, and walked to the center of the training grounds. The space was more open there, giving us space we need to fight.

A few other warriors were scattered around, doing their own training. When they spotted us, they glanced over curiously, watching from a distance. I didn’t mind the audience, and as Reginald’s expression did not change as he spotted them, he didn’t seem to care either.

“Ready yourself, female warrior, he said condescendingly. “I will not go easy on you.”

“You won’t need to,” I told him.

We both took our stances. He moved forward first. Our swords clanged again and again as he made careful strike after careful strike, each of which I blocked with ease. Despite his saying he wouldn’t go easy on me, he was clearly holding back. He likely thought he could defeat me without putting in any effort.

I immediately proved him wrong, easily deflecting.

He backed up a step, his smirk slipping.

When he came at me again, it was with more effort, his strikes less telegraphed, but I had been training for years and could still read him.

Then, he tried to hit me from the left. Swinging in a circle, I brought my sword up, blocking his attack. In the next half instant, I pummeled the hilt against his hand. His sword fell free. Panicked, he reached for it, dropping down to his knee. I lifted my sword to his throat, stopping him.

He froze, his eyes widening for a moment, still looking at his sword, before that surprised gaze lifted up to me.

“Do you yield?” I asked.

He returned his hand to his side and slowly stood. “I underestimated you.”

“You did.”

“I had thought that you were merely using your position as Luna Princess to gain this role,” he said, his words stilted with his continued shock. “I thought you were riding the coattails of Prince Grayson.”

“I have my own strengths,” I told him.

“Yes. I can see that now.”

Pride surged through me, and for a moment I did feel that joy I had been chasing. “You can see now that I am a worthy fighter?”

“No,” he said, souring my mood again in an instant with one single word. “You might have some skill, but you are still unworthy. You lack the noble breeding to have any elegance, You fight like a pit fighter, without grace.”

I glowered at him.

“I don’t know where you came from,” Reginald said, “But it would be better for this entire kingdom if you return there.”

would

“I’m sure Prince Grayson would appreciate you staying out of his affairs,” I said. “He has chosen me. We are married.”

“A mistake that will be easily rectified now that Odette has returned. Do this kingdom a favor, do Grayson a favor,

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Chooter 146

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and step aside. Odette and Grayson belong together, and only you are standing in the way of their true love.”

The words sparked something hot and angry within me. What was he implying? That I was some kind of boundary to the love between Grayson and Odette? Impossible. I wasn’t the attempted homewrecker here.

“I feel as if you need reminding,” I told him. “Odette is the one who is attempting to interfere with a fated mate bond. I carry Grayson’s mark. We are mates and spouses. Odette is the one who is breaking taboos.”

Reginald’s face twisted with rage. “She is a kind-hearted woman, raised in the court. She is beloved by my family and would make a perfect Luna Pincess for this pack. Any implication that this would be otherwise is beyond the pale and I will not hear of it.”

“Facts are facts,” I told him. “I am Grayson’s mate. Odette is not. If she wants my husband, she has to come between he and L. Is that truly the act of a kind-hearted woman?”

“You don’t know what you are talking about and I will not entertain you a moment longer,” he snapped.

He turned then, storming off back into the palace, leaving his blunt sword in the dirt.

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