by Jen L. Grey
"No, but he has a football game I need to be at too. Maybe we could meet up Sunday, and I'll bring Bree along so she can see Nate." That sounded like fun and a good opportunity to get Liam to warm up to Nate.
"You're going to bring Liam with Bree and expect Nate to be around too?" He didn't sound convinced.
"Yup. You'll see." I’d always enjoyed a good challenge. "Let's plan on it."
"Sounds good to me." He chuckled. "If anyone can make it work, it's you."
Liam walked into my bedroom and headed straight to me, pulling me into his arms. "Okay, I'll see you this weekend, I've got to go."
"All right, I love you." He hung up the phone.
And at that moment, everything felt like it might work out.
I hurried over to the football stadium bright and early Thursday morning. Evan had told me to wear something comfortable for sparring, a change of clothes, and to wear my hair up. I found it oddly specific that he even went as far as to address my hair.
Liam had tried going with me despite Evan's insistence for him to stay away, so it was fun leaving the dorm without him. I’d bet he was still standing at the door scowling. He didn't like to lose. However, when I pointed out it was for me to learn how to fight and defend myself, which couldn't be done with him growling every time Evan got near me, he conceded.
He made me promise to make it up to him for all the emotional turmoil it would put him through this morning. I had a very good idea about what kind of compensation he wanted, and my body warmed at the idea.
When I reached the doors Bree and Kai had taken us through at the football game, I paused. There wasn't a guard outside, so I wasn't quite sure how I'd get in.
"You didn't take my advice." A deep voice came from behind, startling me.
I spun around and came face to face with the football coach.
He narrowed his honey eyes as he adjusted his Wolf Moon ball cap on his head. He was wearing the standard blood-red jersey with Wolf Moon written in silver, and black shorts. He had to be in his forties but looked like a man in that age range, unlike the youthful-looking council members.
"What advice was that?" He scared the crap out of me, so my mind wasn't functioning right yet.
"To stay away from them." He shook his head and blew out a breath. "But according to what I've heard, instead, you've wrapped yourself more into them than even I am. Good luck with that." He reached around me, using his badge to unlock the door. "Let's go. He's already in there."
He held the door open for me, and I passed through, still reeling from that odd conversation. Why would he say that to me if he thought I was so entwined with them? Wouldn't he be afraid that I would tell Liam?
When we reached the split, instead of going left as we had for the game, he took a right, heading down to the door on the left.
"Wait, isn't that the men's locker room?" There were some things I'd rather leave to the imagination.
"Yeah, but you walk into the football team’s private gym first." He grinned at me. "Afraid you might see something you like or don't like?"
Okay, this guy officially gave me the creeps. "Uh... I don't think Liam would take me seeing anything all that well." That was the best thing I could come up with at the moment.
"Oh, yes. Your mate." He headed down the hallway and opened the gym door for me. "After you, princess."
I hurried into the gym and almost sighed with relief when my huge-ass trainer came into view.
He was lifting some free-standing weights. It looked like he was lifting three-hundred pounds without breaking a sweat or straining at all.
This room didn't have any machines. It was full of weights and a huge mat for only God knew what.
Evan turned to me and nodded. "Good. You listened."
"You may want to warn her about being aware of her surroundings." The Coach headed toward a desk in the back of the room. "I caught her by surprise; and I wasn't being quiet at all."
"Yeah, she's got a lot to learn." He shook his head and sighed. "Is your shoulder healed?"
"Yeah, it's fine." I had finally healed by Wednesday morning. Thank God for quick healing shifter genes.
"All right." He pointed to the mat. "At least Kai had you build up some strength, so that should bode well for you. Let's begin with some basic stances. Coach, I'll need your help."
"Okay." He put down his drink and headed over. "What do you need?"
"Grab one of the punching bags." He pointed to a bag laying against the wall.
"Got it." He walked over and picked it up.
"Why is he here?" It struck me as odd, and I couldn't get past it.
"Well, one … Technically, it’s his gym, but the main reason is that he's the only one who can fight against me if I need to do a demonstration." He shrugged as the coach carried the bag over to us.
The coach placed the bag in front of us. "There you go."
"All right. So, watch me." He got into a fighting stance where his hands were in front of his face.
"Wait. Don't we need boxing gloves?" I glanced around, expecting to find some.
"We're wolf shifters, not pussies. Come on." He pivoted on his toes and punched the bag, making it fall into the coach.
The coach pushed it back upright.
Okay, so he was here as his helper. That was kind of interesting.
"Now, it's your turn." He waved his hands in front of his face. "Get in a fighting stance, and pivot with your right foot as you swing your punch outward. Remember to lead with your elbow."
It all seemed to run together, but I did the best I could. As I punched the bag, it barely moved. "What the hell?" I'd expected at least a small swing or something. It was like I didn't hit the damn thing.
The corners of Evan's lips tilted upward, or at least, I thought they did. His expression was always a mask of indifference. "It just means we have a lot more to make up for than I realized. Again."
I wasn't sure how long I kept hitting the damn thing, but it felt like days at this point. My arms were like gelatin, and the only thing I worked on today was punching the damn bag. He did have me rotate between my left and right side, which I wasn't sure if it was better or worse.
"You have to make it tilt on the edge before you can leave today." Evan met my eyes, challenging me.
Even though I'd never taken kickboxing before, I knew humans could move the damn thing. Why the hell couldn't I? I lifted my arms back up, ready to take the damn thing down. I didn't care if I had to go all Tarzan, straddling it to make it go down. I wasn't sure how much more of this I could take, and technically he didn't tell me it had to be with my arms.
I took a deep breath and steadied myself. I pulled deep down within and connected with my wolf. She purred in response. As I struck out, I pivoted on the bottom of my foot and led with my elbow. When my fist connected with the bag, it fell over to the ground. What the hell?
"Hot damn." A proud smile filled Evan's face. "You did it."
The coach shook his head and grabbed it, lifting it to stand it up. "How the hell did she do that? She had almost the same force as you."
"She channeled her wolf." His smile didn't falter when he stared into my eyes. "Your wolf is way stronger than I gave her credit for. Good job. You're done for the day."
He was breathtaking when he smiled. Not that I wanted to act on it, but I hadn't realized just how handsome he actually was until now. "That's it?"
"Yup, you channeled your wolf to knock the bag down." He nodded his head.
"Wait. Why didn't you tell me to do that in the first place? And how can a human knock down something like that when it took me all day."
"You didn't tell her this was made specifically for a gym full of wolf shifter football players?" The coach smirked and shook his head. "Damn."
"She didn't need to know. She had to get frustrated in order to figure the rest out." He reached over and patted my arm. "Besides, you need to learn how to fight with your wolf, and you needed to figure it out on your own. Now go on and get out of here. You’
ll want to take a hot shower; you'll be hurting in the morning."
I wasn't sure what else to say, but the information hit me to the core. I'd grown up around more humans than wolves, so I never had to fight someone stronger or bigger than me. It took being here before I figured it out.
As I walked out the door, I heard the coach mumble to Evan. "She shouldn't be that strong. That's damn near impossible unless she was one of the elite alphas."
I shut the door as I tapped into my wolf. I could barely make out Evan's response.
"Yeah, something doesn't seem right, but I'll get to the bottom of it."
Maybe having Evan train me was a bad idea. He could figure out my secret. I had to go talk to Liam now.
Chapter Five
My body felt like it was numb—that's how damn sore I was, and I hadn't even made it halfway back to the dorm. Maybe Kai was right; I could've used a couple more months of weight training.
As I approached the dorm, I heard some voices that made me pause.
"You know it makes more sense for him to be with me, not her." Amber's overly entitled voice filled my ears.
"No, no I don't." Bree's voice was stiff and unyielding. "She cares for him."
"Oh, that's bullshit, and you know it." Amber's voice was fierce.
I stepped into the trees, moving slowly until I was able to see both women through a hole made by some branches. I was still a good fifty feet away.
"No, it's not." Bree's pink face made her blue eyes stand out more. "Unlike you, she doesn't give a damn about his position or that one day he'll be powerful. She's genuine and cares not only about him but me too."
"How has she been able to manipulate the two of you?" Amber threw her hands in the air. "Maybe I could expect it from you, but not Liam. He's always been able to call people out on their shit."
"Someone sounds jealous." Bree stood tall and, for once, let her strong wolf shine through. "You do realize there are three other heirs you could try to..." She huffed and rolled her eyes, "negotiate with."
"It is business." Amber scoffed and clenched her hands into fists. "If you start letting your heart rule, then you're weak … a nothing."
Dear God. Had they all been raised this way? It was so foreign to me after what my parents had instilled in me.
"No. I think we've all become weak because we've removed the heart from the process." Bree shook her head and narrowed her eyes. "Something that Liam and I are starting to realize with Mia in our lives. So instead of fighting it, accept it. She's part of our family now and won't be going anywhere."
"Your dad isn't sold on that." Amber flipped her long hair over her shoulder. "So, it'll be victorious when I see both of you fall."
"Dad doesn't have any say in it." She took a step toward the girl, her eyes glowing. "Liam and I are both willing to walk away from it all."
"Liam would never..." The words left her mouth, but she paused.
She didn't even believe what she was saying.
"Try him." Bree smirked. "I dare you."
"This isn't over." Amber turned on her heel and headed toward the building across the field.
If I'd had any doubts about Bree's loyalty, they were gone now. I stepped from the trees and hurried over to her.
When I turned the corner, Bree's eyes fell on me and she sighed. "I guess you heard everything."
"Yeah, are you okay?" I hated that they both were going through so much, all because of me. I never meant for any of this to happen, but at the same time, maybe they needed everything shaken up in order to remember what was really important.
"I'm fine." She snorted and raised her eyebrows. "I've always hated that bitch, and she made Liam even more of an asshole than he already was."
"Well, we don't need that." I couldn't imagine a grouchier Liam. Granted, the past few days, he appeared to be mellowing out ever so slightly.
"We definitely do not." She snorted as she glanced over at me. "You look like shit. What did Evan do to you?"
"It was rough, but he did more for me in one session than Kai had in the past month and a half." I hadn't realized how true that was until I said the words. In one training session, I went from barely making the bag move to almost kicking its ass like Evan did.
"That's a good thing, right?" She glanced at her phone and sighed. "I've got to go or I'm going to be late. I'll catch up with you after class."
"Yeah, I'll see you later." I stood there and watched her hurry off to her class.
Right when I was about to head into the dorm, I saw Amber run off out of the corner of my eye. She was heading toward the stadium.
What could she be doing? It couldn't be anything good. Was she going to try to hit on Evan or something? Someone needed to put that bitch in her place.
I followed behind her, keeping close to the woods.
She glanced around as if she could feel herself being stalked, but she didn't slow her speed. In fact, she increased it.
I had to be careful; there was no telling what she would do if she caught me. I had a gut feeling she was up to something important, but I had no clue what the hell it could be.
When she broke into the clearing, something snapped right beside me in the woods. As I turned to see who was sneaking up on me, a hand with some sort of handkerchief went over my nose. Before I could jerk away, my head began to swim. Shit. Liam, I need help.
Where are you? His words were full of anxiety.
But before I could respond, darkness overcame me.
I woke with a startle. My neck ached as I lifted it, and all I could see was black. There was something over my eyes, keeping me blindfolded. I tried moving my arms, but they were restrained on what felt like armrests. What the hell? Liam?
Oh, thank God. Liam's voice was rough and pained. Where the hell are you?
I... I don't know. I shifted in my seat, but my legs couldn't move. Chains rattled as my feet were stuck in place. I'm blindfolded and chained to a chair, I think.
Is there anything you can make out? Liam's fear was clear through the bond.
Or at least, I thought it was his. Hell, it could have been mine for all I knew. No, nothing. Other than a dingy musk.
"She's awake." A guy's voice I’d never heard before came from right behind me. "What... What do we do?"
"Knock her ass back out." I heard another man’s voice, and then someone's feet scuffed the ground.
They're about to knock me out again. I didn't know what the hell to do. I couldn't fight or run. I was helpless. I’d never felt so weak before in my entire life. I didn’t like it, and to be honest, I was scared shitless.
I'm going to find you; just hold on. I’ll be there soon. We have a lead. His voice was a deep growl even through the mind link.
Someone was now over my shoulder, I heard them moving as a hand moved from behind me and around to my face. "I'm sorry, but we have no choice."
My head grew light as the cloth pressed against my nose again. I love you. I needed him to know that, in case I never got a chance to talk to him again.
I love you too. He sounded broken as blackness engulfed me once more.
A faint growl stirred me from my sleep this time. I tried moving, ready to fight whomever was close by, but again, I couldn't move. That's when everything sank back in. I was blindfolded and chained to a chair. Liam?
We're here. Liam linked back with me. We're coming for you.
My heart began to race. I had no clue where I was, who was around me, or anything. I tried to calm my racing nerves and focus.
"Shit, what do we do?" The anxiety-ridden man from earlier was pacing in front of me. "He told me to stay back here and make sure nothing happens, but if it's them, we're dead."
Them? I wanted to ask the question, but I was afraid he'd stop speaking. I tried not to move despite my neck screaming in pain. I needed to lift it, but then he'd know I was awake.
A howl echoed against the walls.
"Dammit." The guy shuffled his way over to me and leaned close to my ear. "W
ake up. We've got to move."
Oh, hell no. I wasn't going anywhere. I stayed perfectly still, making sure my breathing stayed even.
"What the fuck am I supposed to do?" His heart started racing, and he began jerking on my arm. "I can't push the chair out of here. I guess I'll have to carry her."
I considered that this could be my chance. I tried to remain limp so he wouldn’t catch on.
He shuffled and sounded like he might be digging something out of his pockets. "She's light. It shouldn't be a problem." He bent down and began rattling the chains. "There we go."
There was a click down at my left ankle. I had to take deep calming breaths so my heart rate didn't skyrocket and alert him to me being conscious.
Footsteps pounded outside, heading toward us.
"Shit." The guy mumbled as he fumbled with what had to be the key. He grabbed the key again right as something pounded against the door. "No." The guy grabbed the other chains, rattling them.
Another loud bang hit the door.
"Let us in or you're going to regret it." Micah's deep voice came from behind the door.
The guy managed to unlock the other leg, but before he had a chance to remove the key, I kicked my left leg straight out as hard as I could.
"Ow!" The guy yelled as he stumbled backward.
"Mia?" Micah yelled again as something pounded on the door once more, causing a loud cracking sound.
I tried to open my mouth to yell back, but there was a large piece of tape over it. Dammit, I hadn't even noticed that until now.
"Dammit, we've gotta go." The guy sounded like he’d gotten back on his feet. "Where is the inhalant?"
Something rammed against the door again, and I heard another loud crack.
"No." The guy's voice sounded scared and shaky.
The door opened, and the musky scent of a shifter in wolf form filled my nose.
"Look, I, uh, didn't have a choice," the guy stammered.
The wolf growled, and I heard its paw hit the ground fast.
A hand touched me, and I jerked back.
