“Of course. Not for battle, but to defend themselves—and their pups—if it ever comes to that.”
Emily’s eyes grow glassy, and she chokes out her response to say that she would love to learn to defend herself and her future pups. Something like determination flickers in her gaze and she promises she will be there before she turns and heads back to the pack house.
My heart clenches at the thought of her being alone and defenseless like she was before she got here.
“Thank you for doing this for her,” Sofia says softly as shewalks up behind me.
“She needs to learn, and it gives me an excuse to keep an eye on her.”
“You cannot seriously still believe she’s a potential threat?” Sofia glares at me while crossing her arms. Flipping from gratitude to outrage in a matter of seconds. Do I still consider Emily a threat? Realistically, it seems unlikely. The girl is terrified of everything, and her injuries were awful. But what if I’m wrong?
I don’t answer. I don’t know how to. So instead, I return to observing the warriors and showing them where to adjust their form. From the corner of my eye, I see Sofia throw me an obscene gesture before storming off.
Ryan stops by to check in after Emily and Sofia have left, and we move to training in wolf form before finishing up for the day.
“So, how are things going with the new girl?” Ryan asks as we walk to the pack house for a late breakfast.
“Good, I guess. Did Sofia tell you where she came from?”
“Yeah, she did,” he sighs. “Aidan Blackwell is the biggest asshole I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting. Sofia doesn’t even know half of it. He gives Alphas a bad name. And I have to imagine she deserves a chance to start again in a new pack. But as much as I hate how Aidan runs his pack, I won’t be able to stand in his way if they are mates. The council ruling on that is crystal clear.”
Ryan has always been so level-headed. I worry about pack security, but he looks at everything through a wider lens. Understanding the big picture has always been a strength of his. He encourages Luca and me to question him in private, never publicly, of course. And while he is open to hearing different perspectives, his decision is always final. I’m proud to have him as our Alpha, even if he is such a stickler for the rules.
“Would you consider allowing her to join Lunar Eclipse if they aren’t mates?” I ask.
“Potentially. I haven’t had a chance to get to know her, but Sofia is definitely in her corner,” he says with a look that I understand immediately. Sofia has never been one to let something important to her go easily once she has made her mind up. “I’m going to be gone for a few days, maybe a couple of weeks. I need to visit some packs on the east coast. I want your recommendation when I get back.”
“Yeah, of course, Alpha. She seems genuine but also like she’s too good to be true. I’ll try to scope her out a bit more.”
“Too good to be true? What does that even mean?”
“Have you seen her?” I groan as Ryan laughs at my description and tells me to keep it in my pants as we arrive in the pack house. Obviously, I’m fullyaware that this girl is not an option for me. She needs time to heal. And it's been years but I’m still way too fucking damaged for something serious and she isn’t the kind of girl you have something casual with. She’s the kind of girl who ruins you for everyone else.
And I’m already halfway ruined.
Chapter 10
Emily
I’m still riding the high from this morning’s run, mostly because I finally got to see what this pack is about.They train omegas.Not just allow it—encourageit. I know I’m weak and there’s only so much they can do for me—especially with the little time I have here—but every little bit has to help.
My excitement has tamped down my nerves, and I’m not even mad at Sofia for not telling me she was bringing me to warrior training this morning. She hadn’t told me what to expect, so I didn’t know what was going on until the smell of sweat hit me.
I had panicked when I realized where we were and Sofia practically had to drag me in, but I’m glad she did now. I got to see how the pack warriors engaged with each other, and they seemed so keen to impress Jackson that they barely spared me a glance.
It was such a relief to be able to finally fade into the background instead of being paraded around like a trophy. Sofia is a lot taller than me and some of the clothes she gave me hang off my tiny frame, allowing me to blend in for once. Being able to braid my hair and keep my hood up definitely helped, too. I had no idea how freeing it would be.
Sofia can’t come to omega training with me, but after how this morning went, I’m not nearly as nervous as I expected. Jackson was much nicer, and that clear disdain wasn’t there when he addressed me. Oh goddess, how pathetic can my thoughts be? Am I really celebrating someone not hating me so obviously? I shake it off. I need to soak up as much of this self-defense as possible. There’s a maximum ten days or so before I need to move on again.
There is a small group of omega she-wolves sitting on the soft exercise mats, chatting animatedly. Sofia had introduced me to a couple of females our age yesterday, but I don’t want to intrude on their conversation, so I hover near the weights, pretending to examine them while my nerves nibble at the edges of my excitement.
Then the air shifts. A collective change in posture draws my gaze toward the entrance. Jackson walks in, and every head turns.
He's wearing dark shorts, slung low on his hips, a snug black T-shirt that does nothing to hide the way his muscles flex with every step. He rubs his hands together, easy and confident, and I swear I can feel the oxygen being sucked out of the room. The omegas eye him appreciatively, shooting him flirtatious glances and smiles. I can’t blame them. He looks like he was carved from stone, and even though I know better than to trust looks, I can’t drag my eyes away from him either.
“Okay ladies, let’s start warming up,” Jackson calls out. His voice carries—firm but relaxed. Most of the she-wolves present are already up and moving their bodies into pretzel like stretches.
“We have a new member joining us today,” Jackson says while pointing to me. “Emily is here to learn self-defense, and I’ll need to give her my focus over the next couple of weeks, as she won’t be here long. I also want her to see what you girls can do, so don’t hold back today.”
