A Call of Vampires (A Shade of Vampire #51)(10)

“I don’t need them,” she replied politely.

“Of course you don’t.” I pinched the bridge of my nose and took a deep breath. Anjani’s chuckle drew my attention. “What are you so giggly about, my love?”

“Oh, nothing. I’m just looking at you, surrounded by three ladies, about to get whipped,” my future bride replied. Her emerald eyes glimmered with droplets of pure gold, their mesmerizing effect amplified by her rich black hair flowing down her back and over her shoulders in generous curls. I loved the way she looked in her training outfit, her athletic curves hugged by black leather, quietly inviting me to lose myself in her.

“Good to know I’m lucky to have such a supportive fiancée,” I quipped, pursing my lips.

“Shut up and get to work, wolf-boy,” Hansa barked with a half-smile. “These girls are not here for your smooches and coos!”

Anjani lit up with a silvery blush, while I felt my cheeks heat. I blinked several times, then glanced at Fiona, Scarlett, and Avril. All three stood there, watching and waiting patiently. I glanced back at Hansa and Anjani, and decided to keep them busy, too. If I was going to get my ass handed to me by Fiona (again), the least I could do was make sure the others got some action as well.

“How about you, Serena, Vita, and my future wife take on Harper and Caia?” I suggested to Hansa with a smirk. “I’m thinking you’d be of more use to GASP if you trained with our young recruits, instead of standing on the side and being all judgy about how I communicate with my fiancée?”

“That’s perfectly fine with me,” Hansa shot back. “But I will still laugh when Fiona splatters you all over this plateau.”

I chuckled, then gave Harper a stern look, pointing a finger at her like a regular drill sergeant.

“You’d better show this succubus not to mess with us Novaks, you hear me?”

Harper raised an eyebrow, her hands resting on her hips. “Need help defending your ego then, cousin Jovi?”

“You’re not helping,” I muttered, unable to stifle a laugh. The others giggled as well, before I clapped once to regain their attention. “Okay, here’s how we’ll do this. One-on-one sessions, in rotation, each with a minimum of three five-minute rounds. Hansa, Serena, and Anjani can take on Harper. Caia can work with Vita, and I will deal with Avril, Scarlett, and Fiona.”

Harper frowned at me. “I get three opponents and Caia only gets one?”

“It’s actually very fair.” I grinned. “First, because you sold me out just now, and second, because you’re one hell of a fighter and you need to up your game. You’re already comfortable with two opponents, so giving you three is like upping you one level. I’m fighting three vampires here, after all. Proficiency does not reside in the number of opponents, but in what you do with your body and skills. And third, Caia and Vita train best together because they both focus on their fire abilities, which can be crucial to any mission we undertake.”

Silence fell over the group. Anjani beamed with pride, and Hansa couldn’t help but give me an appreciative nod.

“Good thinking,” the former Red Tribe chief said. “I’m impressed.”

“Didn’t think I had it in me, huh?” My lips stretched into a grin.

“On the contrary, I think you’re one of the most impressive and relentless fighters I’ve ever had the pleasure to go to war with,” Hansa replied in a serious tone, then grinned. “You just need a kick in the butt, once in a while, to get you back on track, because you are so. Easily. Distracted.”

“What do you mean—” I didn’t get to finish my question. Scarlett came at me with only a fraction of her speed, but still fast enough to hit me with a side-kick that knocked the air out of my lungs. I doubled over, then immediately jumped a couple of feet back, my senses ignited. I took on a defensive position and glared at her. “What the hell?”

“Less talking, more training,” Scarlett said, resuming her fighting stance. “I call dibs on the first five minutes.”

Hansa laughed as she, Anjani, and Serena took on Harper, and Caia moved farther away with Vita so they could practice their fireballs. The farther away they got, the better, as far as I was concerned. I nearly got fried the last time I was near them during fire training.

I engaged Scarlett in light combat first, blocking her kicks and punches and sending some back to disorient her. One of the rules in physical training with me was that both Scarlett and Fiona would reign in their special abilities, in order to perfect their techniques and not rely solely on supersonic speed or titanic strength. It worked well—the girls improved their hits and gradually strengthened their defenses, too.

I briefly glanced over at Harper between fighting sessions, admiring her speed and composure in the way she dealt with three powerful opponents. Neither Serena, Hansa, nor Anjani held back, either, making the fight an absolute pleasure to watch. Harper dodged hits, moved like flowing water, and made liberal use of strategic punches and kicks to weaken her opponents. She got a few jabs to her face and sides, though, enough to remind me that she still had a couple more months to go before she could take on four strong supernaturals at once without using her sentry abilities. Nevertheless, she was impressive and potentially deadly. I would definitely nominate her for a mission on Tenebris with Avril, Fiona, and Scarlett.