Chapter Thirteen

Training

Sakura shrugged.

"Werewolves don't have powers, but sometimes some of us can see our future mates in our dreams."

Syaoran relaxed his expression and went back to stargazing. From the top of that mountain the stars were perfectly visible, he even recognised some of the constellations.

"Why were you wearing that suit?" she added in a whisper.

He looked into her eyes.

"Because it helps me move better. I like to wear it when I'm going to use my magic or have a fight."

"Have you fought many wizards?" Sakura asked in surprise.

"I've had to, more than once," he replied, letting out a long sigh.

The two were silent for a moment, until Sakura turned to face him.

"If we're under an attack, I want you to hide. Promise me, Syaoran."

He frowned, crossing his arms and shaking his head.

"I won't hide like a coward."

Sakura growled through her teeth, tugging on his arm until Syaoran looked at her again.

"You know that now you have my mark, and if they hurt you, they'll hurt me too."

"I won't let that happen. I'm a wizard, I can protect you all with my magic and I want to help if I can."

She let out a snort.

"I have my doubts that your magic can reach one of my people. We're too fast."

Syaoran shot her an angry glare.

"We can fight whenever you want," he muttered in a low, angry voice.

She smiled.

"All right, tomorrow."

He nodded, giving her a smirk. Those wolves needed someone to take them down a peg or two.

The next day, it was Sunday and the entire pack was in the small town, enjoying their day off.

After breakfast, Sakura and Syaoran walked to the edge of town and into the forest. There was already several inches of snow on the ground.

He snorted and wrapped his coat tighter around him, listening to her laughter beside him.

"It's not as cold in Hong Kong as it is here," he protested with annoyance.

"You'll get used to it," she replied, nudging him.

After walking through the trees for half an hour, Sakura stopped. Syaoran also stopped walking and glanced at her, somewhat confused.

"They're over there," she whispered, pointing to some trees.

Out from behind them came Tomoyo and Eriol, an amused smile on their lips.

"We can never surprise you," Tomoyo complained, making a face.

"But we've scared Syaoran more than once," Eriol added, raising his eyebrows with a mocking glint in his eyes.

Syaoran folded his arms, glaring at him.

"You take advantage of me because I don't have a sharp ear as you do."

The three werewolves laughed and Syaoran grew even angrier. Sakura stood on her tiptoes, leaning over him.

"Okay, great wizard... try to get us," she whispered in his ear before running to hide behind a large tree.

Her two friends followed suit and, a few seconds later, Syaoran found himself surrounded by three huge wolves snarling in his direction, revealing a large row of sharp teeth.

He conjured his sword and decided it would be best to use water magic so as not to hurt any of the wolves.

"Water God, come forth!"

The blade of his sword was surrounded by a swirl of water just as the black she-wolf lunged at him. Syaoran pointed his sword at her and a large jet of water shot out, throwing her into a tree.

"I'm sorry!" he said, trying to get closer to the animal.

He heard a bark and saw the bluish wolf running towards him from the side, taking advantage of his distraction. He spun with his sword in his hand, creating a swirl of water around him, and aimed at the wolf.

The whirlpool shot out, spinning on itself, but the blue wolf dodged it with a leap backwards. He landed on all four paws and looked back at Syaoran, baring his fangs.

Syaoran heard a noise and out of the corner of his eye saw the black she-wolf advancing towards him again.

Without thinking, he swung his sword at her and threw another stream of water. The she-wolf dodged the attack with a leap and approached the other two wolves. The three of them looked at each other for a moment and started to run at full speed towards Syaoran at the same time.

He closed his eyes, concentrating. A large mass of water began to rise from his sword, pooling in front of him.

Opening his eyes, in one motion he hurled all that water at the three wolves. The animals broke away, but could not dodge the attack and were drenched.

The mahogany wolf growled and lunged at Syaoran. He swung his sword at her with another jet of water, but she dodged it and pushed on his chest, causing him to fall backwards.

Suddenly, Syaoran found himself lying on the ground with the great she-wolf on top of him. She dug her snout into his hair and he heard her breathing. He felt her breath on the back of his neck and it sent a shiver down his spine.

The she-wolf pulled away from him and turned to the other two wolves. They exchanged a glance and the three animals disappeared into the trees.

Syaoran sat up and looked around, but he couldn't see them anywhere. He sighed as he made his sword disappear. He had managed to hit the three with his magic, though being water it hadn't hurt them.

He heard footsteps and saw the three werewolves approaching him, already dressed and silent. He stood up and ran towards them.

"I'm sorry, Tomoyo. Are you alright?" he asked, staring at the black-haired girl.

She smiled and nodded her head.

"Don't worry, we recovered very quickly from the blows and injuries."

Syaoran sighed in relief and listened to the laughter of the three of them.

"I think we can call it a draw," Sakura commented, glancing at Eriol.

"Well... if he had used fire or thunder instead of water, it would have been a very different story," Eriol acknowledged, arching an eyebrow.

She snorted when she saw Syaoran with a triumphant smile.

"Don't be so happy, this was nothing... there were just three of us. If we get attacked, there'll be dozens of wolves coming after you."

Syaoran felt another shiver as he imagined himself surrounded by angry wolves.

"But we'll be by your side too, don't worry," Tomoyo added, grabbing his shoulder.

He nodded, a little calmer.

"Anyway... you should only worry about the promise now," Eriol murmured close to his ear.

"The promise?" Syaoran repeated in confusion.

Tomoyo and Eriol stared at Sakura.

"You haven't told him yet?"

She rolled her eyes, sighing.

"I was planning on doing it soon, I don't know if he's going to take it well," she replied quietly.

"When? The day before?" Eriol asked teasingly.

She clicked her tongue in annoyance and took a few steps towards Syaoran, taking his hand.

"Come with me, I'll tell you about it," she said as she forced him to walk away from her two friends.

They stopped when they reached a waterfall and Sakura sat on a rock near the river bank, watching the small fish swimming there. Syaoran sat down next to her and looked into her eyes.

"What's this about a promise?"

Sakura sighed, closing her eyes. She was afraid that Syaoran didn't feel ready to commit, even though she had been ready since the day they met.

"When we find our mate, after some time together, we do a sort of ceremony where we officially introduce our mate to the pack and promise to be together forever."

He furrowed his brow.

"I don't see it as horrible... Why didn't you tell me about it?"

She fixed her gaze on the waterfall.

"You don't understand, Syaoran... it's like some kind of werewolf wedding. It's a very serious thing for us."

His face paled.

"Wedding... So soon? Really?"

Sakura nodded, standing up.

"If you don't want to, you don't have to. It's not obligatory," she added, starting to walk in the other direction while holding back tears.

Humans couldn't understand, they didn't feel the bond in the same way... and that was painful.