The Tiger Prince's Witch

The training grounds were in the opposite direction of the ceremonial clearing. The witches and warlocks typically used it for teaching and practicing spells. They rarely had to fight anyone, so it had never been used to prepare for battle. Today they would be using it for that purpose. Stanley and Caprice spoke to the others, and they all agreed that no matter where the fight occurred, they would be part of it. They were not going to let Anna and the tigers face it on their own. They all landed on the ground, and Micah ran through the trees, slowing down once he realized he'd made it. He walked over to where Kamryn and Anna were standing. He felt out of place being surrounded by witches and warlocks. Although they had all been nice to him, he felt out of sorts.

"Micah, how are you?" Anna asked him with a sympathetic smile.

"I'm doing better than I thought. I guess because Elsie never accepted me, I didn't really feel anything when I rejected her. I hope I'm given a second chance mate, sooner rather than later." Micah looked around at the witches. Personally, he wouldn't mind being mated with another witch. They were pretty spectacular.

Anna noticed him looking around, and she grinned. Maybe if he wasn't given a second chance mate, he could find a chosen mate. She had a witch in mind that had found her mate when she turned eighteen, but he was human and refused to accept her. Anna saw her standing near the edge, away from everyone else. It had been about six months since her mated rejected her. Kamryn could feel Anna's mind working, and he looked down at her. "What are you up to?" He asked, and she winked up at him.

"Playing matchmaker." She whispered before walking away.

Jazlyn was a sweet girl with long blonde hair and dark blue eyes. Anna knew she was still hurting over her mate and hoped a big strong tiger could help her with the process. She walked over to her with a smile. "Hi, Jaz," Anna said, and Jazlyn smiled.

"Hi. I'm glad you're back. We missed you when you disappeared." They had always been good friends. Anna grew up with her, and their parents were good friends.

"It's good to be back. Can you do me a favor? Kamryn's brother Micah is here, and he's a little shy around all of us witches. Can you partner with him for our training?" Jazlyn looked toward the tall, handsome weretiger and felt herself blushing. "Are you sure he wants to partner with me? I see lots of other witches checking him out." Anna pulled Jazlyn with her.

"Trust me, you're the best partner for him."

Micah saw Anna pulling a pretty blonde up to them, and he wondered what she was doing. When they stopped next to him, Anna had a sparkle in her eye.

"Micah, this is Jazlyn. I asked her to be your partner for training." He saw the girl blushing, and he held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you," Jazlyn's hand disappeared in his large hand.

"Please call me Jaz," She said softly. Jazlyn felt really small next to Micah, who was at least a foot and a half taller than her.

"Thanks for being my partner. I don't have any special abilities, so I will be at a loss for the most part." He said, trying to ease the nervousness he could see on her pretty face.

"Well, I've never fought anyone, so we can learn from each other." Jazlyn immediately liked Micah. She could feel a gentle energy coming from him. She looked toward Anna and mouthed thank you to her.

"Who's that?" Kamryn asked after watching his brother with the blonde girl.

"Jazlyn's a friend of mine. She mated to a human about six months ago, and he rejected her. Even if they're not fated mates, they could be chosen mates if they get along." They looked toward the other two, who were chatting quietly. Anna saw Jaz laugh at something Micah said, and she smiled. She hadn't seen her friend laugh in a long time.

"You're amazing. I can already see Micah likes her. He's usually nervous around girls." Kamryn thought it would be nice if they returned to the palace with two witches.

"Alright, everyone, let's partner up," Stanley said, and everyone grabbed partners and spread out. He and Caprice had seen what Anna did with Jaz and Micah. They agreed they would be a good pair if it worked out.

"First, well, start with some basic exercises. We may have spells and power on our side, but that won't help us if we're hindered somehow and have to fight. We need to be fit and know how to defend ourselves without magic." Stanley and Caprice began demonstrating stretches. Everyone followed suit.

After the stretches, they began one-on-one fighting moves. Anna was angry because Kamryn kept trying to take it easy on her.

"Do you think anyone else will take it easy on me when we fight? You need to come after me like you would everyone else." Kamryn looked at his mate, unsure. She was so much smaller than him he didn't want to hurt her. Anna glared at him, and he chuckled.novelbin

"Fine. Get ready." He ran at her and almost stopped when she didn't move, but he didn't. As he was ready to attack, she twirled to the side, and he fell on his face. He turned and looked at her in disbelief.

"How did you do that?" He asked, still sitting on the ground. Her move was so fluid that he hadn't had time to react.

"I know more than just magic. I may be small, but I am quick on my feet. I've learned how to fight without hardly throwing a punch. Look around; most of us fight like this." Kamryn did as she said and saw she was right. He looked at his brother, who lunged for Jazlyn and fell on his side instead as she moved out of the way at the last second.

"Is there anything that you witches can't do?" He asked as he stood up.

"There are lots of things. For instance, if someone were to get their arms around me and I had to fight free, it would be difficult, depending on their size. Try it now. Grab me from behind." She turned her back to him, and he walked up, wrapping his arms around her.

"Gladly," He said as he leaned down and nuzzled his face in her neck, making her giggle.

"You're supposed to be restraining me. Hold me tight." She said, trying to sound firm. Kamryn did as she said, and Anna struggled against him. When he thought she was about to give up, she pushed against his arms just enough so she could duck down, slipping out of his embrace.

"Okay, show-off. We know you can get out of situations if someone attacks you, but can you attack yourself?" Anna grinned at him and got into a fighting stance. He did the same, and they started circling each other. Anna lunged for him high, and when he got ready to defend himself, she crouched down and swept his legs, making him fall on his butt.

"How was that, Mr. Tiger?" She asked as he stood up laughing.

"I think my little mate can take care of herself." She giggled as she hugged him. They both turned when they heard Micah laughing. He was lying on the ground with Jazlyn standing over him with a triumphant smile. They certainly looked like they were getting along.

"Okay, everyone, that's enough for right now. Let's go eat some lunch." Anna and Kamryn walked over to Micah and Jaz.

"Jazlyn, would you like to come to our house for lunch?" Anna asked and saw her face light up.

"That would be great. Thanks." As people started flying away, Micah once again felt inferior. After Kamryn and Anna left, he looked at Jazlyn.

"You can fly if you want. I have to walk." She smiled at him and started walking in the direction of the houses.

"I'll walk with you." Micah smiled as they strolled at a leisurely pace. "I'm sorry about what happened with Elsie. She's never been nice, but I know she was your mate."

"She never accepted me, so I don't hurt as much as I would have if we had a relationship." He had forgotten about Elsie with the fun he had training with Jaz.

"I found my mate too about six months ago." Micah felt his hopes of her one day being his mate fall.

"Oh, where's he? I'm surprised he let me train with you." Jaz hid her smile. She heard the hurt in Micah's voice.

"He's human, and he rejected me. I still feel the ache in my heart from the rejection. Today was the first time I've laughed in a long time." She realized that while she was with Micah, she never thought about Tim even once.

"I'm sorry he rejected you. He probably wasn't worthy of you anyway. Maybe fate has something better in store for you." Like a weretiger prince, he thought to himself.

"You never know." Jazlyn kept her eyes forward as they walked. Would fate be so kind as to give her a handsome weretiger as a second chance mate? She certainly hoped so.