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Well damn, now I’m fanning myself. It’s been like this for a little while. Somewhere in the past week, we went from getting to know each other to feeling flirty.
Wineowolf: You sure do know how to make a girl swoon.
Sexywolf: I’d buy you dinner first. ;)
That makes me snort-laugh some of my wine. Ugh, that did not feel good; I think I can smell grapes now. He’s funny, and our conversations are easy. I’ve been putting off meeting him, but I think I’m ready to do it. We’ve already talked about meeting on Friday, and I’m excited and nervous all at the same time.
Sexywolf: Only 4 more sleeps till I get to see you with my own eyes.
Wineowolf: Counting down the days, are you?
Sexywolf: Damn straight I am. To be honest, I never thought I would meet someone like you. To my surprise, I met not only someone who held my attention but also someone I looked forward to talking to every night.
Wineowolf: Wow…I look forward to talking to you, too. I never thought I would find a match, either. I’m glad this thing exists.
Sexywolf: Me too.
We talk for the next hour before I tell him I need to go to bed. On the weekend, we stay up most of the night talking back and forth. I hope to Seluna that this match might be the one.
Chapter 2 - Liam
Sweat pours down my back as I pull myself up the thick rope on the obstacle course. The cold air does nothing to cool me down. The afternoon sun, high in the sky, beats down on me as I climb, my muscles straining and the threads from the rope pulling at my skin, causing it to become raw and tender, but that only pushes me forward to get to the top. The guys watching to the side holler and hoot, adding to the noise of blood rushing in my head, but I try to focus on the task at hand.
“Come on, Gates! Gotta go quicker than that if you wanna beat Rider.”
Prick. I climb the rope faster, trying to get to the top of the tower. The landing is in sight as I grab the edge and fling my body on top of it. The other side is a flat expanse of wooden slates. I slide down, trying not to catch my boot on some of the open areas. Hitting the bottom, I race over to the ten foot wall and project myself up the wall with no aid to get to the other side. In front of me is a series of tunnels and bars that I have to crawl through and hop over to get to the end of the course.
“Let’s go, warrior!” Beta Dominic yells.
This new course is to help keep us in shape and keep up our response times. Falling on my stomach, I army crawl through a cement tunnel that is not made for a shifter my size. Little rocks dig into my skin, scraping every side that is touching the tunnel. My wolf pushes me harder, because we don’t like to lose.
You might think it’s because I’m a cocky bastard, but no; it’s because failing meant a beating was coming, and no matter how long it’s been since that was my life, I can’t seem to get it out of my head, so I push harder. Breaking free from the tunnel, I crawl under the barbed wire field. My back catches a couple of times, probably leaving a mark, but it doesn’t matter. I finally get out on the other end, and I push myself up and run for the uneven bars. Grabbing the highest bar, I pull my body over using my legs and arms. Dropping down to go under the lower bar and back over again is a practiced movement to improve agility. I can see the end in sight; the beta watches and assesses while some fellow warriors cheer me on.
The guys yell and clap as I get to the end; it feels good to push my body and not fully depend on my wolf. Dominic walks up to me and hits me on the back as I try and catch my breath.
“Good job. Fastest time yet.”
I walk over to my water bottle and put my top back on. The icy air is making the sweat freeze on my skin, which is the worst part about working out in the cold.
“Thanks.”
"We are going to practice again tomorrow morning, and you will be in charge of showing the younger warriors how to use their upper body more effectively."
“Sure thing, Dominic. I’ll be there.”
Some of the other warriors are standing around talking, so I head over to join them before going in to clean up.
“Damn, Gates, you keep that up, and no one will touch your time. Good job,” Leo says. He is around my age, and one hell of a fighter; I respect him, so it’s encouraging to hear him say that.
“Thanks, Leo. What are you guys up to tonight?”
“A few of us are going into town to get pizza later. Wanna come?”
“Nah, I got plans.”
“You mean you’re gunna be holed up in your room talking on your phone.”
I can’t help nervously rubbing my neck because, yes, that’s exactly what I’m going to be doing.
