Their Hidden Princess (Zora) novel Chapter 77

Chapter 77

“Again,”

The burning. The ripping of skin. The feel of fur back onto my paws.

“And back.”

More burning. More skin ripping. The chill across hands devoid of any hair.

“Again,”

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“God,” I choked out of my mouth as I fell forwards onto my hands. “Can I get a half a second of rest?”

I heard the squishing of feet against the gym mat. Then, the shade of someone crouching down next to me. I tipped my chin up to meet the piercing gaze of Valentin.

“This method of shifting is particularly successful in young wolves,” he said softly. “It forces your body to get used to the shift quicker and it forces the body to accept it quicker. It’s harsh but it works.”

My chest was still heaving. “How many times to get it to work?”

“Usually, I can get a wolf to max out at about ten shifts per minutes,” he tilted his head. “You got to five.”

Five and my body felt like it was splitting at the seams. My lungs were heaving, heart a beat too high for a normal human. I pressed my hand to my chest to try and slow it. Valentin’s eyes were locked on me as I tried to slow my breathing. Finally, he held a hand out. I took it tentatively and sighed as the electricity flowed freely from his hands.

He helped me stand, one hand wrapping around my waist to keep me from falling back over. I leaned into him more than I should’ve. In response, I was met with a throat clearing behind me.

I instantly jumped out of Valentin’s arms and wrapped my hands around my waist, awkwardly. I looked up to see Thorne pinning me down with his gaze.

“I think that’s enough for today,” he gritted from between his teeth.

I shot him a look, clocking how jealous he was. Then I looked at Valentin. His jaw was set as he looked at Thorne. He sighed before looking back at me.

“That was a good first start,” he said, softly. “We’ll try again tomorrow.”

“Okay,” I said softly.

“I’ll walk you home,” Thorne piped up from across the mat. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I gave Valentin a half smile before walking off towards Thorne.

The two of us walking out of the gym in silence. It wasn’t until we got to the Admissions building that Thorne said anything.

18:35 Tue, Dec 9

Chapter 77

“How’s classes?”

I immediately froze and looked at him. His eyebrows creased in confusion.

“What?”

“What’s your play here?”

“Play?” Thorne genuinely looked confused. “I’m just trying to make conversation.”

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I rolled my eyes and continued to walk. Thorne was frozen for a hot second before he jogged to catch up.

“Is making conversation so awful?” he continued. “I’m your knight. We might as well be cordial to one another.”

“I don’t need a knight,”

Thorne snorted. “Why ‘cause you have Maximus?”

I stopped again and narrowed my eyes at him. “Is that jealousy I hear?”

“Psh,” Thorne snorted, again. “No. Just know you and him are…whatever.”

“Need I remind you,” I snapped. “That you broke our bond. Not me.”

“I know,” Thorne said softly. “But, for whatever reason, the Queen has a soft spot for you. So, she paired me up with you. For which I say, again, it’s not a crime to be cordial.”

I huffed. Soft–spot–for–me is not how I would describe the mother who abandoned me for eighteen years but in Thorne’s eyes, that’s what she was. I bracketed my hands on my hips as I tried to figure out what do say to that.

The wind was whipping across the campus at that point, whisking the leaves and brush up and around like a hurricane. I wrapped my arms around me as shiver worked over me.

“Do you want my jacket?” Thorne offered.

“No I have-” my sentence was cut off as I patted my waist and realized my jacket was not wrapped around my waist. It must’ve fallen off in the midst of the shifting training. I sighed again.

“I left my jacket,” I said.

Thorne frowned. “I can go get it for you,”

“No,” I shook my head. “I’ll get it. Don’t worry.”

“Okay,” Thorne said, tentatively. “I’ll wait here.”

“Don’t,” I called over my shoulder as I jogged back to the gym. “I’m a big girl. I can handle myself.”

I heard Thorne chuckle behind me as I continued to jog back to the gym. Luckily for me, the lights were still

18:35 Tue, Dec 9

Chapter 77

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