9. A Break
1916 Words
Leo
I just knew that they would get selected. All five of them were included among the ten finalists and I was extremely proud of them. They were given three days off before they started the second part of their sessions. Xander told me about a specialist in martial arts being brought to teach them certain tactics. Until then, they had a couple of days to relax.
We decided to do regular workouts during the day and join them for fun afterward. Because we knew that they wouldn't have leisure time after they completed their training. Then, the serious business will begin. They would have to go on various missions and it was inevitable.
The rogues were being sneaky. Some of them were spotted a bit too close to the werewolf packs and the perimeter of the lycan kingdom. Although there weren't any attacks recently, all of us sensed danger. If Calvin truly had recruited the rogues, it could only mean danger. Moreover, since they were sneaking around, it could mean that they were trying to spy on our activities.
He might want to get revenge from the royals for locking him up. Silly, I know. But the mind of a criminal works in strange ways. Most of us would never understand their reasons.
Xander begged his parents to let us have a little party before the new trainer arrived. Thankfully, they agreed, but on one condition. We weren't allowed to leave the neighbourhood and only the ten recruits could be invited.
Since our safety was a huge issue, we agreed to stay within the premises of the Palace. That way, the guards could easily keep an eye on us and the other young recruits. We understood that they wouldn't allow us to wander around, especially with the rogues squirming around in the wilderness.
"The warrior's quarters have an empty room. I think that place is perfect. It will be easy for you and the recruits to come and go. I can arrange that place if you want," Sir Elliot told us when we spoke about it.
It was perfect. Everyone was excited about the gathering. The workers cleaned the place during the day so that we could use it at night. We ordered some pizza and prepared the place so that we could watch some movies and play some games.
We had a good time. After having some food and watching some movies, some of the recruits went back to their rooms. It was already late, but the rest of us wanted to stay and play some games.
"Let's play truth or dare!" Sarah squealed excitedly. We had the whole night for ourselves and we wanted to make the most of it.
"Yeah, sounds fun," Elena agreed. I looked at the guys. They didn't seem to mind, so I shrugged my shoulders.
We sat on the floor of the vast room. Elena, Sarah, Astrea and two more girls I wasn't very familiar with stayed back. Among the guys, Rafael, Arnold, Xander, and I.
"How does this work?" Xander asked, furrowing his eyebrows. An empty bottle was placed in the center of the circle.
"We will spin this bottle and whoever it points at will have to play," Elena sounded excited about the game. "If you pick the truth, you'll have to answer any question truthfully, even though the question is embarrassing as hell. If you pick dare, then you'll have to do something we dare you to," Astrea explained.
"Okay," I mumbled.
"Wait, wait… are there any rules?" Arnold asked.
Shrugging her shoulders, "don't chicken out?" laughed Sarah.
The bottle was spun and its tip pointed towards Elena.
"Dare!" She said, grinning widely.
Smirking, "well, I dare you to kiss Rafael," Astrea grinned mischievously, making Elena's mouth drop open.
"What?" Her cheeks flushed.
Clapping her hands, "you heard her. Now kiss him!" Sarah cheered.
I glanced at Rafael, who seemed to be stunned.
I couldn't help but smirk as Elena stood up and walked over to him. She slowly sat beside him on the floor and placed her hand on his cheek. She smirked and pecked his cheek and giggled.
"There, I kissed him on the cheek!" She laughed as she walked back.
"Hey, that is cheating!" A new girl complained.
"Well, I was told to kiss him. So I did," Elena winked at the girls, chuckling to herself.
"Fine! We have got to make our dares a bit more specific hereafter. You got away with that one Elena, but not next time," Astrea stated and gestured at her to spin the bottle.
It was her turn.
She spun it, and this time it landed on Xander.
" OK," he shifted and faced our friends.
"Truth," he said.
Elena tapped her chin and scrunched her face. I snickered. Only a few people knew about Xander's secrets. Since he was royalty, his personal life was unknown to the public.
"Have you chosen a mate yet?" She finally asked.
Laughing, "no. Not yet," he replied.
"Is there anyone you like?" She asked again, but Xander chuckled and raised his hands.
"I think just one question should be enough," he said and relaxed.
"Yeah. One question," Astrea agreed.
It was Xander's turn. I prayed to the heavens that the bottle didn't point at me, because I had no idea how the i***t would embarrass me. When the bottle pointed at Astrea, I exhaled a breath of relief.
Whew, saved.
She picked up the truth. Xander asked her a stupid question about her first crush which she laughingly answered. As expected, he was some celebrity I wasn't very fond of- Ashton. I hated him even when we were in the pack. I knew that she adored that guy. He was her all time favourite actor and I despised it. Perhaps I just didn't realise that it was because I liked her so much.
All of us had a lot of fun daring each other to do embarrassing things and hearing shocking answers. After a couple of rounds later, it was my turn. I looked at the girl who spun the bottle and nodded my head.
"Dare!" I said.
She snickered. It was one of the new girls who stayed behind with us.
"I dare you to french kiss one of the girls in this room," she declared, making me suck in a breath.
The fúck… I did not expect that.
I looked at Xander for help, but that traitor was already laughing under his breath. His eyes twinkled mischievously as he gestured to me to proceed.
"Well, go on," he chortled.
Rolling my eyes, I stood up.
"I thought you were the timid type!" Waving my hands, I exclaimed at the girl who dared me. She laughed with the others.
I looked around. Elena, Sara, Astrea, and two girls whose names I didn't know were in the room. I gulped. My eyes lingered on her - Astrea. Everyone except her seemed to be excited. She was looking rather anxious. From the way she was stretching her lips, I knew that her smile was forced.
Well, here goes. I thought as I sauntered over to her. Her face reddened when she saw me approach her. Chuckling internally, I halted in front of her. She looked so cute when she was blushing.
I knew she wouldn't push me away since it was a dare. If I had to kiss anyone, it would be her. My heart raced as I stretched my hand forward. My breathing hitched as her blush deepened and took my hand.
Gawd… why was the room suddenly so hot?
I picked her up. I made eye contact and smiled, forcing myself to ignore my emotions that were going crazy.
I ran my tongue over my lips as I tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"May I?" Tracing her soft skin with my thumb, I asked in a silent whisper.
She nodded timidly, her large brown orbs gazing deeply into my eyes. I swallowed hard, trying to gulp down the excitement in my chest. My eyes focused on her soft pink lips. I heard our friends snicker, but that was the least of my concerns. My focus was solely on her glossed lips. Her lips looked alluring and luscious, just as in the dream.
Her lips parted as I slowly bent my head down. I closed my eyes. My hysterical heart seemed to pump up my adrenaline. Slowly, I collected her lips in mine and held her tight, clutching a potion of her hair in my fist.
At first, she went rigid in my arms, but soon she relaxed. Slowly, I sucked on her lower lip, allowing her to respond to the kiss. Her cold fingers touched my cheek. But soon, they were wrapped around my neck, bringing me close to her.
It was blissful. I took my time savouring her lips, not caring about the eyes witnessing my first kiss - our first kiss. I pulled her closer to me. She didn't seem to fight it.
It might have been a dare, but I didn't mind. I loved it.
While I explored her mouth with my tongue, I felt her grip tighten around my neck.
Did she like it? I wondered.
Soon I forgot about the others. It felt as though nothing else mattered. It was only us. It felt as though we were being transferred elsewhere… if only I could freeze time...
"Oh my God, guys! That's enough!"
I was taken out of the trance I was in when Elena exclaimed and that ended my little moment of heaven.
Still holding her in my arms, I looked into her eyes. Both of us were gasping for breath. Her pretty little lips were swollen and red and I kind of liked it on her.
Her face was tainted with a deeper shade of pink as she stepped back and sat down. I looked at Elena and the girl who dared me. The girls were blushing deeply and Xander was smirking at me.
"Well, you asked for it," I shrugged and sat down beside Xander.
I noticed that Astrea was rather silent for the rest of the game. By the time we ended our little party and went back to the Palace, the night was almost over. It was fine. Sir Elliot had promised to give us a break the next day.
Xander, Astrea, and I walked back. None of us spoke. When we went inside, Xander nudged my side and gestured for me to walk her to her room.
Yawning, "I'm way too sleepy. Hey, Leo. Walk the lady to her room, will you?" He said, winking at me.
He didn't wait for a response and walked away. I stared at him for a while, unsure if I should thank him or slap him the next time we met.
"Let's go," Astrea said. I nodded.
I could sense Astrea's timidness as we walked together.
Say something. Dàmn it!
I scolded myself. We had said nothing the whole time we walked to her room.
"Uh… Astrea…" I attempted to speak before she entered.
She chuckled. Perhaps she felt my nervousness.
"You are a good kisser," she said, grinning at me. "Your girl would be one lucky bítch," she added, and winked at me before entering her room.
The smile I had forced on my lips faded away as I stared at the closed door.
"But… I want that girl to be you…" I whispered to myself.
- Writer
