Thorne continued to lead her away from the training grounds; this time, Mason was no longer following them. Adina's brows furrowed as she looked around. They had gone off track completely and were now venturing into the woods.

"W-wait…aren't we training with the others?" she asked.

Thorne didn't answer right away; he pushed some tree branches away from their path as he led her. He looked over his shoulder at her. "No. Just us."

Adina blinked. "Just us?" she repeated, her voice rising slightly. "You're training me alone?"

Thorne cocked an eyebrow, glancing at her. "Why? You don't want to train with me…alone?"

"No, no—I mean yes—" she rushed out.

Thorne smirked, finally arriving at a clearing. "Which is it? Yes? No? Yes?"

"I just— I didn't know you were going to train me alone. I thought I would train with the others," she mumbled.

Thorne hummed, stepping closer as if he was considering it. He hooked his finger under her chin, making her look at him.

"Do you not get it, Adina?" he began, confusion creeping up her face. What was she missing?

"You're my mate," he said simply, as if that explained everything. "No one else gets to touch you."

Adina blinked, stunned. Thorne was possessive; she knew this, but this…she hadn't seen before.

"I—" she started, unsure of what she was meant to say. Her throat felt tight. "Okay."

Thorne's lips curled at her answer. He let his finger drop from her chin and stepped back, rolling his shoulders.

"Alright then," he said, his voice morphing serious now. "Let's begin."

Adina's eyes widened. "Begin? Begin what exactly?"

"Training."

"In the middle of the woods?" she asked, glancing around the clearing. There were no dummies, targets, or weapons. Just trees. How could she train here?

"You don't need weapons. First, we need to get your stance correct."

Adina nodded, rolling her shoulders now. She stepped forward, raising her fists awkwardly.

Thorne raised a brow at her stance. "Is that how you want to start?"

"I've seen people do it like this."

"That's not a punch stance. That's—" he squinted, "—a scared kitten trying to fight a hawk."

"Fine," she muttered, brushing her hands on her thighs. "How do I stand then?"

He stepped up behind her, hands guiding her arms into place. "Keep your shoulders relaxed," he said, his breath brushing her ear. "Elbows in. Chin tucked. Feet shoulder-width apart."

Okay! Wow! Would he be whispering breathily into her ears all the time?

She swallowed. "Okay."

"Now hit me."

Adina blinked…What? "I should what?"

"Hit me," he repeated casually. Adina's eyes narrowed. She should hit him? Thorne was the strongest fighter she knew. How could she hit him?

"Adina…" he called out, bringing her out of her thoughts. "Hit me," he said more firmly and securely. She stared at him for some seconds longer, then nodded.

She tried to, lunging forward with a wild swing, but he dodged easily and circled her. She spun to follow him, trying again and again, but each time he avoided her with irritating ease.

By now, twenty minutes had already gone by, and she still hadn't even come close to hitting him. She couldn't land a darn hit.

"Just stay still and let me hit you!" she snapped, frustration rising in her.

Thorne cocked his brows, and she shamelessly looked away. She was turning into an angry monster.

"Adina…" Thorne called again, softly, and she looked at him. "We aren't here to perfect your skills at once. You have a long way to go. Today is for you to learn and master your stance. It'll get better, I promise."

Adina blinked, her lips caught between her teeth as she sulked. She felt like an overgrown spoiled brat. It had only been twenty minutes, and she was throwing a tantrum.

She sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry."

Thorne walked toward her, reaching out to gently tug her loose braid. "You're fine, baby. This is the point of training. You'll get better. You already look hot doing it."

Adina rolled her eyes as she smiled, her cheeks warming. "You think everything I do looks hot."

"Because it does," he said without missing a beat.

She huffed out a laugh, biting her lip as she settled back into her stance. "Okay, again?"

Ten minutes later… She still didn't hit him. Adina was done being frustrated. She just wanted to hit him. How hard could it be to land one hit? ONE!

Thorne kept swerving her, that too…so easily, like she was a fly.

Adina threw another punch. This time, Thorne caught her wrist midair. Brows cocked up. "Better."

"It's not better. You said to hit you, and hit you, I shall," she said, grinning wildly as an idea popped into her head.

Thorne frowned in confusion. "What are you—" he didn't get to complete his words as Adina jerked her fist from his hold, and before he could even blink, she rammed into him, catching him off guard. His eyes widened as he stumbled back, right into the pool of mud behind.

Thorne hit the ground with a loud splat, landing squarely in the muddy water. For a second, there was silence. The birds even seemed to pause in the trees.

Adina's eyes widened for a second, and then she burst out laughing. Her body trembling so hard from how hysterical she was laughing.

Thorne blinked up at the sky, mud dripping down the side of his cheek, his hair now muddy, sticking to his forehead. He looked…shocked. Like his entire world had just glitched.

"You—!" she tried to speak through her laughter, pointing at him like she'd just seen the funniest thing ever. "You should've seen your face!"

Thorne wiped some of the mud from his cheek and stared at his hand. Then back at her. Slowly, he started to sit up.

"Oh, you think that was funny?" His voice was low, but his lips were twitching. "You think that was smart, huh?"

Adina took a step back, her eyes widening with panic as he got out of the muddy water. "Wait, wait, I—Thorne, I'm sorry—"

"No." He stood up fully now, his shirt drenched and clinging to his broad chest. "YOU. ARE. NOT."

"Mercy!" she squealed, turning to run, but she didn't get far. He caught her effortlessly and lifted her into his arms.

"Thorne! No— don't you da—!"

He threw her right into the muddy water. Adina gasped, blinking mud out of her lashes. "You didn't!"

Thorne doubled over laughing. A full, deep belly laugh that filled the woods. She stared at him, his head tossed back, eyes scrunched shut, chest shaking with how hard he was laughing…and forgot how to fake her supposed anger.

Gods, she loved that laugh.

It was everything, and she didn't want to ever leave this moment…well, excluding the mud.