Chapter 157: Choose Your Sport

Chapter 157: Choose Your Sport

POV: Astrid Vale

Students crowded around the registration board, and I found myself studying the list of compulsory sports with more indecision than the choice probably warranted.

"I’m picking swimming," Ivy announced immediately. "Water, sunshine, minimal effort. Perfect."

"You have to actually swim," I pointed out.

"Details."

Xander leaned over my shoulder, scanning the list with far more strategic intent than Ivy had shown. "You should do combat sparring," he said. "Or Wolf Racing. Something competitive."

"Something that helps her rebuild confidence in her own body," Reed countered, appearing on my other side. "Not necessarily something aggressive."

The list itself stretched longer than I’d expected, options ranging from archery to obstacle courses to something called Magical Combat that apparently combined witch abilities with physical sparring. What struck me most was how thoroughly integrated everything had become, several activities now listing both Lycan and magical students among typical participants.

I settled on Wolf Racing before I’d fully talked myself into the decision, something in me wanting to understand this new part of myself properly rather than avoiding it.

The problem became clear the moment I arrived at the training grounds and realized most of my classmates could fully shift, their transformations smooth and practiced, while I still hadn’t managed anything beyond the partial shift I’d experienced during the fight with the Alpha.

"Partial participation is allowed for students still developing full control," the instructor explained, though I caught a few curious glances from classmates who clearly hadn’t expected someone my age to still be working through basic shifting.

Embarrassment crept up my neck as I stood among fully transformed wolves, my own body stubbornly refusing to complete the change despite my attempts.

Beneath the surface, Sapphire stirred, not taking over the way she might have in a moment of danger, but offering something quieter instead, a gentle guidance that helped me settle my scattered focus. I felt my senses sharpen, my muscles coiling with energy that didn’t require a full transformation to access.

"Try running," the instructor suggested, watching me carefully. "See what happens."

I pushed off from the starting line, and speed surged through my legs faster than anything I should have been capable of without shifting completely. It wasn’t the same as running on four legs, but it was more than ordinary human speed, something borrowed from Sapphire without needing her fully in control.

The instructor noted something on her clipboard, offering only a small nod of acknowledgment rather than drawing attention to it in front of the entire class, and I appreciated the restraint more than I could properly express.

Xander, watching from the sidelines with far too much enthusiasm, immediately seized the opportunity. "Race me," he said.

"Xander," Reed warned, "don’t push her."

"I’m not pushing anyone. I’m proposing a friendly competition."

"You’re proposing to humiliate her."

"I would never."

I rolled my eyes at both of them. "I’ll race you."

Reed’s expression shifted into something more resigned than approving, though he didn’t argue further, clearly understanding that once I’d decided something, further protest would accomplish little.

We lined up at the starting point, Xander already fully shifted into his wolf form, sleek and confident, while I stood beside him in human form, drawing on whatever borrowed speed Sapphire could offer without completing the transformation herself.

The instructor signaled the start, and Xander took off immediately, faster than I could hope to match in raw speed. But something in me pushed harder than expected, Sapphire lending strength through muscles that shouldn’t have been capable of keeping pace with an actual wolf, and I found myself surprisingly close behind him through most of the course.

Xander crossed the finish line first, unsurprisingly, but when he shifted back to human form and turned to check on me, his expression carried genuine delight rather than the smug satisfaction I’d half expected.

"You kept up," he said, sounding thoroughly impressed. "That’s not normal for someone who can’t fully shift yet."

"I had help," I admitted, gesturing vaguely toward myself.

"Sapphire’s incredible," he said, and something in his easy acceptance of her, this part of me that still felt new and unfamiliar, settled warmly in my chest.

I didn’t win the race, not by any measure, but crossing that finish line and feeling genuinely exhilarated rather than terrified struck me as its own kind of victory. Ivy cheered loudly from the sidelines, practically bouncing with excitement, and several classmates offered congratulations that felt earnest rather than pitying.

This was ordinary, I realized. Competing with classmates over something as simple as a race, rather than fighting desperately for my life against forces I barely understood. The normalcy of it felt almost as good as the physical accomplishment itself.

I officially registered for Wolf Racing before leaving the training grounds that afternoon, and Xander immediately declared himself my personal training partner, entirely without consulting me first.

"I’ll help you learn to shift fully," he said. "We’ll practice every day until you’re keeping pace with actual wolves instead of borrowing speed from Sapphire."

"That sounds like a lot of extra time together," I said, glancing toward Reed.

"I’ll be supervising," Reed said, his tone suggesting he had zero intention of leaving Xander unsupervised with anything involving physical training and unrestricted enthusiasm.

"Great," Xander said, entirely unbothered. "The more the merrier."

I looked between the two of them, already sensing exactly how complicated and chaotic this training arrangement was going to become, both of them clearly intending to insert themselves fully into whatever schedule I developed for improving my abilities.

Xander grinned at me, victorious despite having technically won the race for entirely different reasons now. "Welcome to Wolf Racing, Astrid."

Something settled comfortably into place as I considered the challenge ahead, training alongside classmates, learning to control abilities that belonged genuinely to me rather than fighting desperately just to survive whatever came next.

For the first time in longer than I could properly measure, the challenge waiting for me felt like something I actually wanted to face.