Hiding Her Identity: The Wilford Wolf

Demonstrating the stance, Kendrick moved with sharp, precise strikes. He expounded the benefits of the stance as he shifted around. I mirrored his moves, and Kendrick pointed out areas where I could improve. He had me practicing various strikes until I had mastered them, constantly pushing my boundaries.

"Never let your guard down. Keep your eyes on your opponent until they're incapacitated, either dead or too injured to continue the fight. Rogues and enemies won't show you any mercy," Kendrick cautioned, then asked, "Ready to give it a try against me?"

I swallowed hard, anticipation and a hint of fear swirling within me. The thought of how badly this could turn out crossed my mind, but I steeled myself for the challenge. As Kendrick assumed his stance, I mirrored him. He lunged at me, but I swiftly sidestepped and counterattacked, my foot connecting with his back. He grunted, quickly grabbed my foot, and unbalanced me, causing me to hit the ground. I rolled away from his subsequent punch, retaliated with a kick, and used the momentary reprieve to recover. However, my lapse in concentration cost me as Kendrick lunged again, pinning me to the ground. I squirmed, but escape seemed impossible.

"Always keep an eye on your opponent, regardless of fatigue or injury. But considering this is your first go, it's quite promising. You managed to land some solid hits on me. I'm impressed," Kendrick complimented, pulling me up with him as he stood.

Breathing heavily, I rubbed my side where I had fallen awkwardly.

"I think I've got the hang of it," I replied, before jogging off to hydrate.

We continued our training for another hour. Each skirmish resulted in me being tossed to the ground and pinned, the wind knocked out of me every time. Kendrick was consistently leveraging his superior strength against me, my marginally inferior strength proving to be my Achilles' heel. I pushed myself off the ground, panting heavily. Sweat had started to dot my forehead, and my hair was slipping from its bun.

"Come on, Gia, you've got this," Kendrick encouraged. "You have more potential than me. You're not fully leveraging your skills. We won't stop until you manage to pin me."

"Alright," I replied, interspersing my words with labored breaths.

I rose to my feet, resuming my defensive stance. I needed a new strategy. Kendrick was more vulnerable when I was behind him; his extra weight was a potential weakness. I was faster and more flexible. I had to get behind him and pin him – that was my plan.

Kendrick lunged at me once more. Swiftly, I placed my hands on his shoulders and vaulted over him, landing behind him. I immediately wrapped my arms around his neck and used my weight to yank him backward. Then, with a swift kick to his right leg, I sent us both crashing to the ground. As we tumbled, I maneuvered myself so that I was on top of him, holding down his arms and pressing my calf against his neck. He attempted to dislodge me by shifting his weight, but I had him pinned in such a way that his efforts were futile.

"Alright, Gia, you've got me this time," Kendrick conceded, gasping for air.

I released him and stood up, extending my hand to help him rise. He was now panting as well.

"Well done, Gia. I knew you could do it. However, as a consequence of taking down your Alpha, you now owe me another 30 laps as a cool down," Kendrick commanded.

"You can't be serious! We've been training for the past three hours. I'm exhausted," I protested.

"That's an order," Kendrick retorted.

Mumbling under my breath, I embarked on my laps, aggrieved by the sight of Kendrick lounging by a tree, sipping water, and relaxing simply because I'd bested him.

Eventually, I completed my laps and collapsed on the ground, draining the rest of my water. I splashed some on my face, seeking some relief from the heat.

"That was a productive training session. We'll conduct a few more focuses on hand-to-hand combat, and then you just need to maintain your skill level," Kendrick outlined.

"Sounds good, but next time when I kick your butt, you're doing the laps instead of me," I complained.

"Sorry, but as the Alpha, my decisions are final," Kendrick stated with a smug grin.

"'As the Alpha, my decisions are final,'" I parroted in a mocking tone.

In response, Kendrick maneuvered me into a playful headlock and began ruffling my hair.

"Kendrick, not my hair. Please, stop," I pleaded, squirming in his grip.

"That's the penalty for cheekiness," Kendrick chuckled.

Finally, he released me, and I shot him a glowering look, to which he responded with a hearty laugh. I shook my head at him, and we eventually parted ways. I grabbed my bag and water bottle, pulling my hoodie back on.

"See you later, Kendrick," I called out as I ventured into the tree line.

"See you later, kiddo," Kendrick replied.

Then, I started my journey home, completely exhausted. Yet, I knew I was becoming a better fighter and growing stronger. I was now capable of defending myself, but until my secret was unveiled, I wouldn't be able to fully utilize these newfound skills.