The Alpha’s Dark Revenge

Nikolai’s POV

I was at the training ground earlier than the last time. After I had spent about twenty minutes and there was still no sign of Liyah, I began to wonder if she would come today. I wouldn’t be surprised if she eventually didn’t, I would understand why. She was still trying to heal, and if being around me was getting in the way of that then it was probably best to stay away.

As I lowered myself onto a large log of wood, my thoughts drifted to the events of yesterday. It was shocking to see her lash out the way she did. And one thing I was completely sure of was that, as I watched her chide me and put me in my place yesterday, I knew that I never wanted her to let anyone push her around the way I had.

And she left me in shock everytime we spoke. After everything I had done, she still wanted me to realize that it all hadn’t been entirely my fault. What person on earth would do that? Who would apologize to you for your pain after you hurt them over and over again? She was such a good person that it made me feel bad for myself. And although some of her words had hurt, they were completely true. It was time to start facing the truth, and these were facts.

And the fact was, I was a terrible person, and I needed to change and be better. Not just for myself, but for the people around me as well.

I got up, deciding I would try again tomorrow, and keep trying until she felt ready to show up. As I heaved all my equipment on one shoulder ready to leave, I saw someone race in.

Liyah?

I was so shocked that some of the stuff I held nearly fell from my hand. As I parted my lips to ask, she beat me to it.

“Sorry, I’m late. I was out jogging and I lost track of time.”

The fact that she apologized threw me off balance. Again. And for a moment I was speechless.

“So… what are we doing today?”

Her voice reminded me that I still hadn’t said anything. Cursing myself silently for being so distracted, I cleared my throat.

“We’re doing guns today. Target practice.”

She nodded thoughtfully. “Okay then. That’s great,” She said, lowering herself to the ground as she waited for me to arrange the equipments and get out the guns.

I did so in silence for a while and then I turned to her. “Liyah?”

She looked surprised but said nothing.

I took a deep breath. I needed to let this out now, unless I wouldn’t concentrate on the task at hand.

“About yesterday… everything you said was completely right. And I’m so sorry that I made it sound like everything would be okay if I just apologized. I know you need a lot of time to heal and get back on your feet, and I respect that. I just want you to know that I’ll keep doing everything in my power to show you how sorry I am and to earn your forgiveness.”

She looked surprised but thoughtful. And when I saw done, she only shrugged and nodded. But that was enough for me. It was all I needed.

“Have you ever held a gun before?” I asked, begining the lesson. She looked as though she were trying to remember.

“Once when I was younger, there was this scout of Father’s that always let me watch when he had target practice. I only held it once, and the memory is sort of blurry.”

I nodded. “Maybe when you hold it you might remember.”

She shrugged.

“The safest way to hold a gun is with both hands. That way, the chances of your aim being on point are higher, and you will be able to withstand the recoil, especially if you’re a beginner.”

“But it’s crucial to also learn the one handed grip. It’s helpful in situations where you’re only able to use one hand. Maybe when you are in trouble, or surrounded. That one second draw could save your life.”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

As I began to walk her through the steps; disassembling and reassembling a gun, parts and functions of a gun, types of grips, bullets, I marveled at how quickly she was grasping the information. When my father had taught me how to do all of this, it had taken me nearly three days to master all of this. But she effortlessly remembered everything like it was the ABCs.

Impressive.

I tried not to smile when she tried to imitate all the ways to hold a gun after I had shown her.

“You need to be relaxed, shoulders back…”

She tried to relax her shoulders, but her posture was still quite tense. Without thinking, I made to help her straighten her posture, then stopped in my tracks when I remembered I was going to need to touch her.

“It’s okay,” I heard her whisper. “It’s part of the training, I understand.”

But I moved back, shaking my head. “I can teach you how to be relaxed, balanced and comfortable enough to handle a gun without touching you. It’s just going to take a little longer to enable you grasp the postures I’ll be mentioning. And we have time. Lots of it.”

The glimmer of approval in her eyes was all I needed to know I was in the right track. And I would keep doing everything, until I earned her forgiveness.

“Okay. Shoulders back, no pressure. Firm but comfortable grip, aim, now pull the trigger.”

Her first shot completely missed the target and ricocheted, flying clean above our head. We both scurried and flew to the floor to avoid the impact. When the commotion had died down, we awkwardly faced each other on the floor.

I had completely forgotten that the bullet couldn’t hurt me because it wasn’t made of silver. I guess I had been too surprised. Liyah must have realized this because she suddenly began to laugh.

“I swear I wasn’t trying to get us killed,” She laughed again, getting up and dusting off her clothes.

Her laughter was so contagious I couldn’t help but join in. Before long, we had started practicing again. After a few more instructions and failed targets, she finally hit her aim. She was so busy shooting down all targets that she didn’t realize she had hit a perfect aim. When she finally did, her eyes widened in surprise.

“I did it!” She was so excited that all the fatigue I had begun to feel suddenly evaporated into thin air. It was worth it.

It was definitely worth it.