The Pull and Push

CHAPTER EIGHT

Elara's pov

"Are you serious?" I gazed at him in disbelief.

"I am" he nodded. I stared at him perplexed for a moment, trying to figure him out.

"And if I lose?" I asked.

"You'll remain here" he shrugged.

"You know I won't be able to beat you" I huffed.

"Are you that bad at fighting?" An evil glint sparkled in his eyes.

"You're trying to goad me on but I won't fall for it" I rolled my eyes.

"All you have to do is have me on my back for a second. Seems pretty fair to me" he commented.

I weighed my options carefully and in the end I decided I really had nothing to lose because either ways Ronan was going to keep me by his side.

"Fine, I accept" I announced and the corners of his lips tugged upwards.

"Let's go" he cocked his head to the side before widening his stance defensively. I assessed him for a moment before attempting a jab at his side to which he swiftly blocked. I tried this several more times, attempting to identify his technique and use it against him. I lunge unexpectedly at him, delivering punch after punch which he blocked without much effort.

We continued to spar for what felt like hours, my lungs were burning and my breath was ragged but I was invested. I couldn't stop now. With a newfound desperation and the taste of freedom right in front of me, I delivered attack after attack letting everything else fade away.

"Elara" I heard my name being called but I kept on going, I was a woman on a mission and I wasn't going to stop till I had gotten what I wanted.

"Elara" Ronan held my hands tightly between us and slowly everything came back into view.

"Let go" I whispered, unsure why the back of my eyes stung.

"Showing your emotions on the battle field will be detrimental to you" he informed me.

"I don't care, let go of me" I tugged my hands but his iron steel grip didn't loosen.

"You have to learn to master your emotions or it could lead to your end" he tried again but I didn't want to hear it, I didn't want to hear the truth in his words.

"I think we've trained enough for one day" I muttered as I became aware of the heat which enclosed around my wrists where he gripped me. My traitorous eyes scanned his face and for the second time this morning my hands itched to run through his hair.

"Same time same place tomorrow" he muttered without looking away from me. His gaze was like a caress on my skin and as much as I hated to admit it, heat spread through me at his not so subtle admiration.

"I need a run. My wolf is restless" I blurted out.

"You can't change" he said.

"Why not?" I cocked a brow at him.

"Changing would increase the chance of your wolf taking over and allowing me to mark you not to mention you would immediately go into heat and there is no way my wolf would be able to stay away from you then" his eyes flashed as he concluded, his wolf obviously at the surface.

I swallowed as my cheeks heated in embarrassment at the implication of his words.

I had not thought about that and I had heard it was extremely painful to be on heat and not have your mate mark you. I shuddered at the stories I had heard of some wolves running mad from the pain.

"Right. I forgot about that" I scratched my neck with a nervous chuckle.

"You are free to go for a run in your human form though" he said as of to make me feel better.

"Right" I muttered lamely.

"You should shower, like I said yesterday I'll give you a tour of the pack" he reminded me while putting some much needed distance between us.

"I'll be ready in half an hour" I replied, wondering if I would really be able to handle some more time in this man's company without jumping him because of the stupid bond.

It was high time I put my plan into action if I wanted to get out of here before I gave in to the unexplainable pull I felt towards Ronan.

Without another word I strolled back to the pack house, all the while feeling Ronan's eyes on me. True to my word, I'm ready within the hour and we head out to see his pack.

"These are the borders as you can see they are heavily guarded and movement is monitored at all times" he informs me as we walk along the borders. The guards all bow and bare their necks as a sign of respect to him as we pass.

It was crucial I remembered every single detail about these borders Incase I ever needed to escape but I kept my thoughts to myself.

"We have several factories and companies where most of my pack members work" he continued as we reached a tall building.

"We mainly produce corn, cocoa and the likes because our pack lands have these crops in abundance. We export them to other packs and countries for both money and favours" he explained as we walked through the factory.

We spent four solid hours going round and my jaw literally dropped when he informed me we still had some more to see.

"They weren't kidding when they said your pack was one of the largest" I commented as he led to a big tree which provided a nice shade on us.

We rounded the tree and my brows shot up as I saw a blanket had been laid out and a basket rested in it's middle.