by Regan Ure
“I’ll be okay,” I assured him as I pulled away.
I knew that Cade allowed everyone, including women, to train, but was it too much to hope that he’d changed his mind and he was going to allow me to fight?
He could read my thoughts because he shook his head at me.
“I still won’t allow you to fight,” he told me. “This training is to ensure you are able to protect yourself.”
Would we ever be able to agree on this subject?
I followed Hank out of the study and to the compound gym. On the way there he asked questions about the type of training I’d been doing with Gary.
“This training will be different and, in conjunction, you will need to do some weight-training to build muscle,” he informed me.
“Okay,” I said, following him into the gym.
“Even though you’re stronger than most humans, you are no match against a male werewolf,” he told me as he walked me to the weight machines.
“By building up your muscle, we can increase your strength slightly,” he began to explain.
“It still won’t be enough for you to take on a male werewolf, but that’s why our training will concentrate on speeding up your reactions. The faster you can get away, the better.” He gave me a serious look.
I could see he also wasn’t keen on the idea of me fighting the rogues alongside them. I wasn’t going to try and argue with him because Cade’s mind was the one that needed changing, not Hank’s.
Four hours later, or what honestly felt like forever, I landed with a thud on the gym mat. Winded and in agony, I rolled onto my side, trying to keep from screaming out in pain.
“Have you had enough yet?” Hank asked as he bounced on his feet, waiting for me to get back up. I looked like I’d been at it for hours but Hank had barely broken a sweat.
He was brutal and ruthless with his training. I’d trained on the weights until I couldn’t feel my arms or legs anymore. Then he’d proceeded to kick my ass on the gym mat for the last couple of hours.
I squeezed my eyes closed for a moment to try and wrestle with the aching limbs. I wanted to get back up and fight again but my body had other ideas. Every muscle screamed out in pain.
Breathing hard with the sweat dripping from my face, my clothes drenched in sweat, I lay on the ground unable to get back up.
“I think we are finished for the day,” Hank said as he bent down beside me. It was hard not to show how defeated I felt at that moment. There was no point in arguing with him. I was done for the day.
“What the fuck!” I heard Cade shout as I turned to watch him hurry to me. He was very angry. When he reached me he dropped to his knees beside me and looked over me with concern.
“I told you to go easy on her,” he said angrily as his eyes lifted to clash with Hank’s and he growled at him. Hank leaned back from fear of his alpha.
“I know, but she wanted to keep going,” Hank replied, lifting his hands to show Cade that he wasn’t to blame for the state I was in.
“You’ve been at this for four hours?” Cade directed the question at me in disbelief. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. I watched as he tried to control the anger trembling through him.
“It’s okay,” I said as I gently reached for his hand and squeezed it.
His eyes opened as he looked down at me.
“No, it isn’t.”
His jaw tightened as he stood up and bent down to pick me up. My muscles ached in protest at the sudden movement.
Honestly, I was too tired and sore to argue so I lay my head against his chest. With me firmly in his arms, he strode out of the gym and toward the house.
It wasn’t long before he entered his bedroom and laid me gently on the bed. The softness was so inviting that I was determined never to move again.
Yep, I’ll just stay here, all sore and sweaty.
Cade disappeared into the bathroom and I heard him turn the water on. Five minutes later the sound of water stopped and he walked into the bedroom.
“I’ve run you a bath so you can soak,” he instructed as he stood beside the bed. I looked up at him like he was crazy if he thought I was going to move anywhere.
“Come on, you will feel better,” he encouraged.
“Fine,” I relented, knowing he wasn’t going to back down and he did have a point. A nice warm soak in a bath would ease some of the aching in my muscles.
He helped me into the bathroom.
“Shout if you need anything,” he told me before he turned and left me alone in his bathroom.
Slowly, I stripped down and eased my body into the bath with a sigh. It felt so good as the warmth from the water began to make me better.
That night, Cade was over-protective and kept checking on me when I went to lie down after my bath. He brought me my food to the room so I didn’t have to try and get to the kitchen.
Gary popped in a little later that evening to check on me.
“I heard you took a beating today,” he said with a teasing smile as he sat down on the bed.
“Yeah, werewolf training is a lot harder,” I told him. It was true. The training that Gary and I had been doing was a walk in the park compared to what Hank had put me through.
“But you’re still going to do more training tomorrow,” he said. He knew me so well.
“Of course,” I added with a weak smile.
“I know you’re determined, but I think I’ve finally met someone with more determination than you,” he revealed.
“Who?” I asked, arching an eyebrow.
“Cade,” he answered. “I don’t think he is going to allow you continue with the training.”
“What makes you say that?” I asked.
“That’s what I heard him say to Hank before he hit him.”
My jaw dropped open in surprise.
“Cade hit him?”
Gary nodded his head at me.
“Why?” I asked, not able to understand how Cade thought Hank was at fault.
“He said he should have known better.”
“I’ll talk to him,” I said. I’d overdone it today but that hadn’t been Hank’s fault, it had been mine.
“You find out anything yet?” I asked while fiddling with the edge of the blanket where a thread had come loose.
“No, not yet, but I’m still looking,” he assured me. I don’t know if it was the look or the tone of his voice, but something made me lean forward to hug him.
He was scared for me and I loved him for it.
The next morning I changed in to my gym clothes. My body was still sore and stiff, but I felt much better than the day before. I was glad Gary had gone to get some of our clothes and stuff yesterday. There was no way I was going to school dressed in sweats and a shirt that belonged to someone else.
“Where exactly do you think you’re going?” I heard Cade ask from behind me.
I turned to see him standing with legs slightly apart and his arms crossed over his chest.
“I’m going to train,” I said like it was nothing important as I sat down on the bed and shoved my feet into sneakers.
“No, you’re not,” he told me in a firm and unyielding voice as he stood blocking the only exit out of the room.
“Look, I admit I overdid it yesterday and I promise I won’t make the same mistake again,” I tried to reason with him. He was concerned about me and, while I appreciated it, I didn’t want him to feel that I should stop training.
I needed to train like they did in order to be able to fight alongside them and that was never going to happen if I didn’t persevere with the training and show that I was capable of doing what they were.
His jaw twitched as he studied me for a moment.
“Fine, but I’m going to be there,” he relented with a frustrated sigh.
I smiled for a moment. He was learning to back down on certain things and I appreciated it.
I stood up and walked over to him. My hands touched his chest as I raised myself up onto m
y tiptoes to press a kiss to his mouth. He tilted his head down to mine as his arms encircled me and held me as we kissed.
It was a good thing I was a werewolf and could heal quicker than humans, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to train again today.
A look of surprise appeared on Hank’s slightly bruised face as I stepped into the gym with Cade following behind me.
“You’re back for more?” he asked, not quite believing I was going to punish myself further.
“Yes, I am,” I said as I stood with my hands on my hips. Although any movement still hurt slightly I wasn’t going to show it. I didn’t want them to look at me as if I was weak. If I had any chance to fight, I had to show them that I was determined and capable.
Hank looked to Cade and I saw Cade nod his head.
“All right, let’s get started,” instructed Hank as he walked over onto the sparring mat.
Cade leaned against the wall, watching Hank and I spar. Every time my body hit the mat, Cade closed his eyes and rubbed his temple. He was struggling with having to watch me get hurt in any way.
Luckily, the sparring had helped my body warm up and my muscles no longer hurt as much.
It was pure determination that got me through the next hour. Like Hank had said previously, I would never match his strength, and he was right. Even with increased weight training, it still wouldn’t increase my strength to that of a male werewolf. If I had any hope in being able to hold my own, I needed to learn to increase the speed of my reactions to defend myself.
Sweat dripped down my forehead as I waited for Hank to make his next move. I hit the mat a few more times, but I was starting to get quicker. I felt my confidence starting to grow.
Cade watched anxiously from the sidelines.
As Hank moved forward to try and grab me, I moved out of his way. His fingers didn’t reach me and I pushed him using his momentum to lose his footing and land on the mat with a thud.
I’d done it and I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face when I saw the look of disbelief on Hank’s face as he rolled onto his back to look up at me.
I turned to look at Cade. He smiled at me and looked at me with a look of pride that made my heart feel like it was going burst with feeling.
I could do this. I knew I could.
Hank got back onto his feet, but this time when he looked at me there was a little respect in his gaze.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Scarlett
The next week went by with everyone on edge and expecting another attack from the rogues, but it never happened. It was like the rogues had backed off totally, which had confused Cade and Blake. It wasn’t normal rogue behavior apparently, but then again we already knew that these rogues weren’t behaving like normal rogues.
If they’d been acting like normal rogues it would have been easier to try and figure out what their next move was going to be. The fact that they weren’t predictable made them more dangerous. We had no idea what they would do next.
Cade became more protective, which was a little hard to handle. I was so used to being able to do what I wanted, when I wanted it and never having to take another person into consideration. It was taking some getting used to and a few times I’d lost my temper with him.
I’d started getting better at handling thoughts, although I was only linked to Cade. There were times when I was training with Hank that he would allow me to hear his thoughts and I did the same with him.
It was getting easier, but I was in no way ready to handle all the thoughts of the entire pack just yet. Just remembering what happened the last time I’d heard everyone in my head was enough for me to take it slowly.
The couple of times Keri had tried to arrange to go out, I’d had to make up some excuse not to go. Also the fact that I was training for at least two hours after school every day with Cade watching was a good excuse as well.
Slowly but surely my body’s strength increased. I was also learning to react more quickly due to all the sparring. So far, under the proud gaze of Cade, I had been able to land Hank on his back three times.
Unlike human bodies, mine adjusted to the exercise pretty quickly and the pain from the training lessened each day.
Blake had totally recovered from his injury and was back to his normal self. He annoyed me every chance he got, but I had to admit I was happy he was okay.
Cade and Blake joined Keri and I for lunch every day at our table. Cade would sit beside me and Blake would sit beside Keri. From an outsiders’ point of view it looked like Blake had a thing for Keri and I was pretty convinced with the fluttering of Keri’s eyelids that the feeling was mutual. I was starting to suspect that they liked each other.
I didn’t know enough about the whole mating thing to know whether if what I suspected was happening between Blake and Keri was even allowed.
I kept meaning to ask Cade about it, but it kept slipping my mind.
It was dark and I was lying in Cade’s arms in his bed. It was late and I was tired. It had been a long day of school and training. I could tell from Cade’s breathing that he wasn’t sleeping so I decided to finally ask what I’d been curious about for so long.
“Where are your parents?” I asked softly. I felt him shift slightly underneath me as he pulled me closer.
“They are dead,” he answered.
His answer took me by surprise. I’m not sure why it hadn’t crossed my mind. The heaviness in his voice revealed that it still affected him deeply so I hugged him closer.
“They were killed about a year ago by rogues,” he revealed softly.
I remained silent.
“There had been a couple of rogues in and out of territory a couple of months before, but by the time we discovered that two rogues had entered our territory it had been too late.”
He let out a deep sigh and rubbed his forehead.
“I’m sorry,” I said. There was nothing that you could really say that would help with that type of loss, I understood that, but I needed some way to tell him that hearing the loss in his voice had affected me, too. I didn’t like the idea of anything hurting him.
He feathered a kiss to the top my head.
So many things began to fall into place. That bit of information gave me a better understanding of him and his fear for my safety against the rogues that were after me.
This had to be bringing up the memories of what had happened to his parents and I couldn’t help feeling a little bad that I’d been pushing so hard against him when all he was trying to do was to make sure that what happened to his parents didn’t also happen to me.
I felt like a complete bitch. I promised myself that I’d be more understanding in the future.
My thoughts drifted to Blake and Keri.
“Blake seems to like Keri,” I started as I ran my hand across his bare chest.
“Yeah, I think you’re right,” he replied, confirming my suspicion.
“Is that type of thing allowed?” I asked.
“What type of thing?” he asked.
“You know, a werewolf together with a human,” I clarified.
“There are no rules that say it isn’t allowed but it doesn’t normally happen unless the wolf has lost their mate,” he explained.
“Blake hasn’t found his mate yet, has he?” I asked, already being pretty sure he hadn’t.
“No,” he answered.
“How often does it happen that a werewolf doesn’t find their mate?” I asked, wanting to know more.
“Not very often. Fate has a way of making sure their paths cross.”
Well, that made it very complicated for Blake and Keri. There was no disputing it; Keri was human, and Blake hadn’t found his mate yet.
It meant that despite how they felt about each other, there was no point in doing anything about it because when Blake found his mate, he would end up hurting Keri.
I kind of felt for them.
“There is no point in getting emotionally involved with someone until you find your mate because you’d hav
e to walk away from them.”
I understood why. There was no way anyone else—human or not—could compete with what I felt for Cade.
In that moment, I felt a wave of emotion for him and I hugged him tighter.
“I’m glad I found you,” I revealed softly.
I felt him move and he shifted beside me so he was lying on his side, facing me, when he leaned forward and kissed me. I reveled in the feel of excitement that tingled through me at the contact of his lips against mine.
“I’m glad I found you, too,” he whispered. In the darkness, I couldn’t see him properly. I felt the heat of his gaze on me, though, which made my stomach flip.
It was astounding how with one simple touch he could make me feel so much.
Through the last week, it had become harder and harder to stop at just kissing. I hadn’t been quite ready to go further, although my hormones that were running wild in my body disputed that.
I cared for him more than I ever had for a boy and I was sure that I was already starting to fall in love with him. But I wasn’t ready to say those words to him just yet and he hadn’t said them to me, either.
We’d come a long way from our first meeting.
He was so much more than the arrogant and self-assured player that I thought he was when I’d first met him. In the short time we’d been together, I’d learned that he was compassionate and caring while still being strong and in control. He was also extremely possessive and over-protective as well.
No matter what I was going through or feeling, just a small touch from him settled me into a peacefulness that only he could give me.
“What’s going through your mind, Scar?” he asked softly.
In the darkness, I put my hand on his cheek and caressed it as I leaned forward and touched my lips to his.
He let me lead him into the kiss as my tongue tentatively slid into his mouth and touched his. His arms slid around me and pulled me closer as I deepened the kiss tentatively. Normally he always instigated it and I simply followed his lead.
I loved being in charge for a change.
I pulled away and looked at him in the darkness for a moment before I leaned toward him again and kissed him harder.
And in that moment, I’d made my decision. Even though the thought made me nervous and I had no idea how I was going to explain my little white lie, I was ready.
