4.Fight training
2265 Words
“I found it.” Alessio holds up an old dusty leather-bound book. At least they didn’t have to search the whole cabin for this book, Elio thinks. He has had an aversion to dust since his extended hospital stay.
“Let’s see what we have in there. What kind of a fight is this? It’s not a direct Alpha challenge, right?” Elio asks him.
“No. That one, I can’t do. Uncle cheats.” Alessio smirks and gives the book to Elio. “You look it over and I’ll make us something to eat.”
“Sure. My offer to teach you some fighting moves still stands.” Elio says, and dusts off a chair in the front room. If the guy is willing to cook, he’s not gonna stop him. Besides, this book interests him on many levels. Can he find something in here to enable a power switch?
“This thing is so archaic. I never even heard of half of it.” Elio comments some time later. “Are you sure you can call on these rules?”
“Yes. Did you read about the blood contract? That one is truly messed up.” Alessio asks and serves them two bowls of stew and bread.
“I have. I regret coming here. I thought a big city pack would be an adventure, that they needed an enforcer to be a security guard or something like that.” Elio tells him. “But this? This makes me puke. And I can’t go back home, because that would break the treaty deal.”
“Where did you come from, anyway?” Alessio inquires.
“Alba. A small town south of Torino.” Elio answers with a sigh. No harm in them knowing where he’s from.
“Do you miss it now? Or someone?” Alessio asks.
“I miss the wide open plains and nature. I miss the green and vibrant fields and rolling hills. And my father said this would be an opportunity of a lifetime. Big city life.” Elio sighs. “God, I want to go back.”
They talked late into the night and even created a few different strategies for Alessio. He has some basic fighting training, so the theory is clear to him. He will issue a challenge for the right to win his mate back and Elio will train with him to give him a fighting chance. That is the best option he’s got, because breaking her out and running away is not so simple this time. Grazia is guarded all the time in the city house, which is the enforcer's headquarters.
“I never had a protein breakfast before.” Elio complains in the morning over a protein bar and a strawberry shake.
“I don’t do it often, either.” Alessio admits. “These are snacks and pick me ups after running on the treadmill.”
“So? We’ll go running to warm up?” Elio asks him. He is itching to see more of the forest around the cabin.
“Not a bad idea, just don’t get lost.” Alessio chuckles. “If we go down to the lake and back up, that’s about 5 km.”
“A nice morning run. I’m in.” Elio stretches his hands out and over his head.
Sprinting at top speed and jumping over fallen logs makes it a challenge for both of them. Elio has to mind the unknown terrain and his damn leg. Down at the lake, they change their pace. A slow jog on the shore of the lake to catch their breaths and off they go again. Top speed back up the slope to the cabin. They are evenly matched in running, but that tells Elio nothing. He has to see Alessio fight to make sure the guy has what it takes to win a fight. Even a rigged one, because they have to make it believable.
“You beat me fair!” Alessio laughs and grabs a bottle of water to pass it over. The difference was less than a metre.
“Thank you. This is fun, but now we need to see where you are regarding your fighting skills.” Elio answers.
“A sparring session?” Alessio asks.
“Yeah. I need to see how good you are and build that up. We only have a day.” Elio nods at him. “That’s not much time for any real training. So tricks it is.”
“Where did you learn to fight?” Alessio inquires.
“In the army. Certified drill instructor.” Elio laughs. Among other things, that Alessio doesn’t need to know about. “Prepare to be bloody and bruised. I don’t hold back for anybody.”
Alessio sank down onto his thighs for their fight, when Elio’s phone rings with a theme from the Godfather. He looks at the guy and places a finger on his lips.
“Don’t say a word. Don’t even move.” Elio says. “It’s your Uncle.”
“Fine.” Alessio nods and sits down.
“Hey boss! What do you need?” Elio answers and he holds his phone in front of him. He put it on speaker to let Alessio listen in.
“Where are you?” Vito growls.
“In the woods, following a lead.” Elio answers, clipped and short. He won’t give away anything that he doesn’t have to.
“Searching for Alessio? Good! I want this resolved.” Vito says.
“It would be easier if I had the coordinates. Where the hell is this cabin? I was yelled at by four people already.” Elio lays it on thick. The benefit of a phone call. You can lie and get away with it. He’s been practising that with his own father ever since he got his first cell phone.
“I don’t have the coordinates, it’s a trail you follow in. There is a plastic bear on the porch and it used to be green.” Vito growls. His agitation is heard loud and clear. The instructions are lacking as always.
“The bear is green?” Elio asks and winks.
“No! The porch, you i***t!” Vito growls and hangs up. It seems that it’s settled for him. Elio chuckles and looks over at Alessio.
“Wow. He really is totally nuts.” Alessio chuckles.
“Yeah. Let’s get this training going.” Elio sets his phone on the green porch with a smile on his face.
They circle around and throw a few trial punches to get the feel for the speed of the other. Mostly for Elio to see how Alessio moves, because after the first punch, he kicks the guy to the ground fast. Getting up to try again only lands him down faster. No matter what he tries, he can’t get one up on Elio. He makes sure of that by moving like a fighting machine, graceful and fast. That was his training, he didn’t forget any of it. Speed and endurance can’t help Alessio now. Down he goes again and Elio knows it’s starting to hurt. He’s told him he won’t be gentle.
“I was thinking.” Elio says and calls a break. Alessio looks like he needs it and the bruises are starting to well up all over him, too.
“About?” Alessio huffs out a breath.
“If he allows you this fight, there is a huge chance he will call me to fight you.” Elio looks over at him. “I am unbeaten in one-on-one combat. I haven’t lost yet.”
“Mhm. Vannessa kicked your ass.” Alessio smirks. “Too bad I can’t ask her to fight for me.”
“That does not count! That was a ‘cluster f**k’ of epic proportions. Whatever she is, human’s not it.” Elio growls. He doesn’t like to be reminded of that disaster.
“I can’t win against you. I haven’t gotten a single strike against you in the two hours we took to train.” Alessio looks at Elio and shakes his head. “This is all useless.”
“No, it’s not. You are good. You have a good base knowledge. We just have to build it. And put on a good show.” Elio smirks. He has a plan that is foolproof. Nobody will suspect anything if they execute it right.
“What are you talking about?” Alessio inquires. “Should I be worried?”
“I will teach you how to defeat me. But the show before that needs to be good. I am sorry in advance for the beating you will receive, but it has to be believable. Your Uncle has seen me fight. Then I will just pretend to be a cocky winner before the fight is really over. Goating and mocking you, laughing.” Elio explains his plan.
“How could that help me?” Alessio asks.
“It will help, because you will know it’s an act.” Elio sighs. “The reason I left the army is simple. I had one too many knee surgeries. You hit me just right on my left knee and down I go. Follow that with a quick kick to knock me out and you win. No matter how bloody and bruised you are, all you have to do is get two hits in.”
“How bad is your knee that our advanced shifter healing doesn’t help?” Alessio wonders. “It should heal perfectly.”
“No shifter gene can help if there is plastic instead of a knee cap. I’m missing a part of the bone and joint.” Elio tells him. “Come on. Let me show you how to take me out. Then we can have some rest and go home.”
“Sure. I need a lot of rest. I think you bruised my ribs.” Alessio smirks and whines.
The demonstration on how to knock Elio to the ground doesn’t involve Alessio actually hitting him. It’s enough that he knows the exact spot. Ruining his leg right now would not be useful to anyone. He doesn’t need the pain and the hustle to get it fixed again. They have more important things to do.
“I’ll grill us the steaks I bought. You deserve some good food for being a good teacher.” Alessio tells Elio. “If it comes to a fight, please make it quick, if you decide not to go through with our arrangement.”
“I’ll honour this deal.” Elio nods at him. “I like you and I hate what Vito is trying to do here. This is not about disciplining a few kids that have taken the human lifestyle a bit too far. This is pure evil, what he’s doing.”
“Does that mean we have an ally on the inside?” Alessio asks. “Would you help Kara or Massimo? I know he’s planning an arranged marriage for Kara. Massimo is probably next on the radar.”
“Kara’s brother Massimo? The Mayor's right hand?” Elio asks for clarification. He has seen that wolf on so many billboards around the city it’s hard to look away.
“Yeah. Him.” Alessio nods.
“No. He’s probably the only one who is not on the radar. Because he’s too close to the bears. I heard him talk about Kara, Mateo and Allegra.”
“Allegra is my baby sister? What about her?” Alessio jumps up.
“Vito has someone lined up for a marriage with her. For some alliance with the Blue Moon pack.” Elio tells him. This is not information he was ordered to keep quiet. He might as well warn Alessio about his sister.
“No, no, no. She’s too young! She’s only 22.” Alessio rants.
“I’m just telling you what I heard.” Elio says. “Calm down.”
“I can’t. She’s just too young. She’s got her whole career planned out.” He tells him and starts pacing around. “There needs to be something we can do?”
“I don’t know what. I can try and help when it comes to it.” Elio shrugs. “I don’t know everything. This is just something I overheard.”
“I get it. Thank you.” Alessio nods and breathes in deep to calm down. “Help me clean up.”
They didn’t use many things, so there was little to put away. They are done very fast and Alessio locks up the cabin and stores the key back in the plastic bear. Making sure they didn’t leave anything open for the wild animals to get in. Elio has the bright idea just then of asking Alessio about that young wolf girl he saw. The guy is a biker. She was in a biker bar. And it's close to the fire station as well.
“May I ask you something?” Elio inquires and pulls his phone out.
“Sure. What is it?” Alessio frowns. “I’m not answering anything incriminating.”
“There is this wolf girl I really like. I was wondering if you know who she is? I only got a picture.” Elio turns his phone around to show him a photo he'd taken of her outside the bar.
“I don’t know if I should punch you or hug you.” Alessio chuckles. “That’s Allegra. That’s my little sister.”
- Writer
