A Calculated Kiss

I didn’t want to see him. My muscles trembled with sheer exhaustion, and my heart raced with fresh dread. I stood rooted in the dirt of the training yard, my chest heaving from the brutal session. The wooden staff lay discarded at my feet. My palms throbbed with blisters. Out of survival and a forced sense of respect, I let Gael nudge my shoulder.

"Go on, little wolf," Gael murmured, a teasing li