The Duel

_Zephyr’s POV_

I slipped out of my bedroom early in the morning, hoping to blow off steam, maybe get some stretches in. But just as I turned to the corner behind the training hall, I froze.

Someone was already there before I arrived.

The sound of steady breathing and the sharp, precise thud of fists meeting the ground reached my ears. I tiptoed forward, peeking past the wall.

Push-ups. One-handed push-ups, to be exact.

At a closer look, I saw who the strong figure was.

Prince Kael.

The prince who threatened me earlier was here, shirtless, muscles flexing with every brutal rep, as if he were punishing the earth for daring to hold him up. His back glistened with sweat, his black hair sticking to his neck. He looked carved out of stone, and annoyingly perfect.

I should’ve turned around.

But no, I had the tendency to run my mouth because he had insulted me earlier. Since no one else was around, I could as well insult him.

“What’s this?” I said, arms crossed, loud enough for him to hear. “The mighty prince torturing the ground for his sins?”

Kael didn’t stop, he didn't even spare me a single glance. He just kept going. “You’re up early. Came to run your mouth again?”

“Just thought I’d see if the rumors were true,” I grinned. “A weak Alpha in line.”

That did it. He paused mid-rep, slowly pushing himself up to a stand.

“You’re one freshman with a death wish,” he replied calmly, but his eyes had darkened.

I took a small step back, just in case, but I didn’t stop talking and decided to run away. “That’s not true. I happen to value my life. I just also value honesty.”

He took a step toward me and crossed his arms over his chest as he glared at me. “You should learn to shut up, Zephyr. Or I might help you.”

My heart skipped. Not out of fear, well, maybe a little, but mostly from the tension crawling under my skin.

“Hurt me? Do you think you can?”

He moved so fast that I barely had time to blink and protect myself.

His hand gripped my collar and slammed me against the stone wall behind me. The air left my lungs in a painful puff as I gasped.

“Keep talking,” he growled, his face so close I could see the anger in his eyes. “And I’ll give you a punch to break that nose of yours that can’t stop poking into my business.”

I couldn’t help it blurting out, “My pretty nose.”

His eye twitched.

“You want to spar?” he asked, stepping back and letting me drop.

“What—now?!” but he said earlier today.

He tossed me a wooden sword before I could protest. I fumbled, nearly dropping it.

“Let’s see if your mouth can keep up with your arms,” Kael said. “I’ll go easy. Maybe.”

He didn’t!

By the time the sun rose, every cell in my body remembered that fight.

Yes, he said he’d fight before everyone today, and I didn't want to. Hell, I wanted to look for a corner to hide in.

But then, I couldn't do that.

I hadn’t trained for years just to be scared off now.

So I forced myself out of bed, hissing as I wrapped the tight bandage around my chest again. It hurt to even lift my arms.

“You’re an idiot,” I muttered to myself in the mirror, tying my hair up into a bun. “But at least you’re a persistent idiot.”

My blonde hair, now dyed a boring brown with that nasty-smelling herb paste, was the only thing I’d insisted on keeping long. My excuse? “Some princes do it too. They have long hair.”

My real reason for leaving my hair? I didn’t want to let go of everything that made me… me.

By the time I entered the training hall, the others were already gathered.

Gasps followed my arrival like waves hitting a shore.

“He actually came,” someone whispered.

“I thought Kael scared him off. He really doesn't know who Prince Kael is and what he's capable of.”

“Is he okay? He looks like death.”

I stood taller, ignoring the whispers.

Kael didn’t say anything. He didn't smirk. Didn’t even blink.

He simply stood up and approached me, then picked up a wooden sword and tossed another at my feet.

Fear crawled up my spine because I knew I was no match for him. He almost crushed me last night.

But my pride was at stake here.

I had to do it, again.

I picked it up.

We squared off.

No warm-ups nor greetings. He didn't even say a word to me.

Kael was fast. Too fast and strong for me. He was damn ruthless.

I tried to block, but every hit rattled my bones. I barely landed a blow, and when I did, he didn’t even flinch.

He wasn’t trying to kill me. But he wanted me to feel every second of it. The pains. Mother never told me this, or maybe she had no idea.

Finally, he swept my legs out from under me, and I crashed to the floor. My ribs screamed. I coughed, once, twice, before blood sprayed from my mouth and onto the floor.

Everything spun. I saw his boots approach. Then stop.

I was losing consciousness. I knew it. He was stronger, and to think he wasn't even using his wolf power since he seemed to have gotten it.

I blinked up at him. And just as my vision darkened, I had one final thought. Damn it. Why does he have to be so good-looking…?

And then everything went black.

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_Kael’s POV_

He dropped like a sack of flour.

With just one hit, I watched his body crumble to the floor, limbs limp, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Then, he wasn’t moving.

Good.

I lowered the wooden sword in my hand and stood over him, breathing steady. No surge of guilt. No flicker of regret. Only satisfaction filled my chest.

The brat had a sharp tongue and no discipline.

Pretty boys like him? They always thought they could talk their way into power. Like arrogance could replace training. Like they could stand next to people like me.

He didn’t belong here, his father should have had another wife, a wife capable of giving him many boys he could pick as the next Alpha in line. Not this weakling before me.

Of course I knew about the Silver Wolf Pack.

And now, everyone else knows as well. Everyone should see that the next Alpha in line of that pack was nothing but a weakling.

Silence fell like a heavy cloak over the room. The other boys, those second years and heirs who had been so amused earlier, stood frozen. Eyes wide and mouths shut. As they should be.

“Pathetic,” I muttered, letting the sword clatter to the ground beside me.

Barrett, my closest friend, if I could even call him that, darted forward, dropping to his knees beside Zephyr.

He pressed two fingers to the kid’s neck, eyes narrowing as he searched for a pulse.

“Kael…” Barrett looked up at me, brows furrowed. “I think you killed him.”

I scoffed, folding my arms across my chest. “I barely touched him.”

“You, barely….” He looked back at Zephyr and shook his head. “You call that barely?”

“If a single jab knocked him out, then he was never cut out for this academy,” I said coolly. “I did him a favor.”

I didn’t wait for more gasps or accusations. Let them all stew in their shock.

Today was visiting day for final year students. My father would be arriving soon, and unlike these fools, he mattered. I had things to prepare. Expectations to meet.

I turned, boots clicking against the stone floor as I walked away.

My back burned with the stares of cowards too afraid to speak. None of them would challenge me.

They wouldn’t dare.

But that kid, Zephyr… Zephyr had challenged me.

He was bold, reckless, and stupid. He didn’t even know what he was poking at.

He was all talk, no strength or even control.

By the time I reached the end of the hall, I had already forgotten his face.

I had no space in my head for weaklings.