The Vicious Vixen: Mother To The Panther Lord’s Pups Chapter 08
The Lesson of Claws
Cassian came home from the training yard with blood on his collar and a split lip.
He walked past me without a word. Went straight to his room. Closed the door.
I gave him ten minutes.
Then I opened it.
He was sitting on the edge of his bed, looking at the wall.
His knuckles were raw, but the blood on his shirt was not all his. Someone had hit him in the mouth, and he had hit back. Badly.
“Who?” I asked.
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Cassian.”
He finally looked at me. Tears stood in his eyes, but his jaw was tight. He was furious and ashamed.
“Talon Ashridge. And his two pack mates.”
Talon Ashridge. Son of Lord Edric Ashridge. One of the strongest young shifters at the regional training grounds. Old family, big mouth, and used to getting away with everything.
“What did they say?”
Cassian’s hands curled into fists on his knees.
“They said my dad bonded a stray fox because no proper Lady would have him. They said my real mom died to get away from us.”
I forced myself to stay calm.
“And you swung first?”
“Yes.”
“Good. But you lost.”
He flinched. “There were three of them—”
“I don’t care if there were ten.” I crouched in front of him. “You’re a Nightfall. If you’re going to fight, you win.”
From down the hall, I heard Isolde talking to Octavia in the sitting room. She was loud enough for us to hear.
“The boy got beaten again. Can’t even hold his own against pups his age. Weak, just like his father at that age.”
Cassian’s whole body went rigid.
I stood up. “Come with me.”
“Where?”
“The training yard.”
Nightfall Hall had a training yard behind the east wall. There was a fighting ring, a weights area, and open dirt for sparring in beast form.
I walked Cassian past all of it, straight to the back wall where the older guards kept their training gear.
I pulled a short training blade from the rack. It was light and small enough for his hand.
Cassian looked at it.
“Take it,” I said.
He took it. Held it wrong. Blade forward, thumb on top, wrist stiff.
I fixed his grip. Turned his wrist. Pulled his elbow in.
“Do not go for the throat. It is guarded. Do not go for the stomach. It takes too much force. Go here.” I tapped the inside of his forearm. “And here.” I touched the back of his knee.
“These are where you stop a fight fast. They drop before they know what happened.”
“You want me to hurt someone?”
“I want you to never lose again.” I stepped back. “The blade is a last resort. But knowing how to use it changes how you stand, how you talk, and how you face someone who thinks they can hurt you.”
I spent the next two hours training him.
I taught him how to stand, how to move, how to block, and how to hit back fast.
Then I taught him how to move when he shifted. Stay low. Go for the legs. Use speed instead of size.
Cassian was a fast learner. Faster than I expected. By the end, he stood straighter, moved faster, and looked calmer.
Not angry anymore. Focused.
“Cassian.” I put my hand on his shoulder. “Nobody in this world will leave you alone because you are nice. If you want them to stop, make touching you cost too much.”
He nodded once. Hard.
The next day, Cassian went back to training.
By midday, Gideon came to find me.
Talon Ashridge was in the healer’s room. Cassian had pinned the older lynx shifter to the ground and pressed the training blade flat against his throat. No cut. Just enough pressure to leave a thin red line.
Talon did not move after that. His two friends stood back, too scared to step in.
Lord Edric Ashridge was furious. He sent a message demanding punishment.
I took the call myself.
“Your son and his friends attacked Lord Darian’s son for weeks,” I said. “I have photos of every bruise. Should I send them to the Council of the Northeast Houses, or should I send them to every lord in the territory?”
Lord Edric stopped talking.
“Cassian stays in training. Talon moves to a different group. Are we clear?”
A long pause. “…Yes, Lady Nightfall.”
I hung up.
Cassian came home that afternoon walking taller than I had ever seen him.
Liora ran to the door and grabbed his hand, talking about her day.
He looked at me over her head.
And for the first time since I entered Nightfall Hall, Cassian Nightfall smiled at me.
A real smile. Small and quiet.
Isolde watched from the top of the stairs, arms crossed.
She did not say a word.
She was finally learning.
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