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It’s a far cry from what I saw before. She looks far more at ease with the powers that have been growing. A part of me wants to be proud of her.
The other part of me is fucking pissed.
I shift back into human form as I reach the outside of the clearing that houses our training circle.
“What the hell is going on here?” I bark, my voice echoing across the clearing. It distracts Tess, giving my father the opportunity to grab her arm and pin it behind her back. She winces, making me growl, but he releases her a moment later.
Neither of them answers me.
“You can’t sacrifice your focus,” my father warns Tess, shaking his head. “It’s the easiest way for a shifter to get hurt. There will always be someone trying to distract you, someone who thinks you won’t be paying close enough attention to what’s important. Don’t let them be right.”
“I’ll work on it,” Tess returns, sounding as serious as I’ve ever heard her.
I don’t like this. I don’t like it at all. I move into the clearing, approaching them in the training circle even though common courtesy dictates never interrupting training here. Technically, my father has no authority on these grounds anymore. He really shouldn’t even be out here. If the pack were to see him…
“Calm down, Dominic,” Tess chastises me just before I reach them. “We’ve been at this for hours already. The time for storming in like a fire-breathing dragon has already passed.”
“Calm down? Are you fucking kidding me? Neither of you should be out here, especially not together. If the pack finds out, they’ll—”
“Do absolutely nothing,” Tess interrupts.
I can’t believe I was worried about this woman a few minutes ago. She’s a constant damn headache, and it’s only been a couple of weeks. I’m going to have one hell of a time surviving the rest of our lives together. After only a couple of days as Luna, she’s already bossing me around as well as anyone. She’s hot when she’s powerful—there’s no denying that—but we have to draw a line somewhere. The decision about my father was made years ago; he isn’t allowed to train anymore.
As if reading my mind, Tess reassures me, “I’ve already spoken to the elders and addressed the pack. Your father won’t be returning to the training program, but he has received the green light to train me. The elders came out this morning while you were still sleeping to watch us do a practice session and give us their blessing.”
She’s insane. Certifiably insane.
“You went to the elders?” Our pack elders live in a small community just outside of the main pack zone. They’re tight-knit and not exactly known for embracing outsiders.
My father smiles proudly. “Had them eating out of the palm of her hand. You should be proud, your Luna is easily loved by everyone who comes in contact with her. She reminds me of your mother.” He looks fondly at Tess, more fondly than he’s looked at me in a long time.
See?my wolf taunts me.I told you our pack needed their Luna. And not just any Luna, this one.
“I don’t like this, Tess. What if you get hurt? We don’t know where your powers are coming from or how much control you’ll actually have over them. Think of how much could go wrong.” I look from Tess to my father, hoping my words will sink it.
Instead, they both stare blankly back at me.
Tess crosses the distance between us and pushes me backward until we’re out of the training circle, my father watching on in amusement. She doesn’t look pleased with me, which stings a little considering all the care I put into making sure she was taken care of last night. I make a mental note to start locking her in the bedroom at night the way I did at first. At least then I can sleep in peace without worrying what she’s waking up and doing in the middle of the night.
“I’m sorry I left without waking you up, but you seemed like you needed the sleep, and I needed a few minutes alone to think.” She grimaces. “And then, uh, obviously those few minutes turned into several hours.” She pats my chest condescendingly. “Next time I’ll wake you, for sure.”
I catch her hand in mine before she can pull away. “Give me one good reason not to drag your ass home right now.”
“How about this one? The training is working.” She smiles at me, pride gleaming in her eyes.
“How do you know?” I ask, glancing over her shoulder at my father who completely misses the mark on being discreet as he watches us.
“There’s a lot to catch you up on, but that book…” She pauses and gestures to a book laying on the bench a few feet away. I recognize the book from the last time we looked at it. “I can read it now, and there are all sorts of details in there about my powers and my family. I’m still reading, but the one really important thing right now is that I can have complete control over my powers. It’s just about learning focus and discipline. Things I never got because my pack kept my family away from training growing up.”
“Because your old Alpha probably had some idea of what you’d find if you did train,” I mutter. After everything they’ve told me thus far, I’m pretty damn sure Old Man Overstreet knew a lot more than the Jarreaus themselves about where they came from and what they were capable of.
“I’m sure you’re right. But you’re my pack now, Dominic, so I need you to do better. To be better. Don’t stop me from training because you’re scared of the possibilities. Let me train because we know there could still be a war coming, and we should be doing everything we can to prepare.”
I could fall right into the depths of her blue eyes and never come out. The look she gives me is so open and earnest. She needs this, whether I like it or not.
“Fine. Show me what you’ve got.” I nod her back to the training circle and leave her to take a seat on the bench next to her book. It pains me to trust her to my father, but I try desperately to remember the good in him. He’s always cared about this pack and our family; I just have to look past the worst thing he’s ever done.
You don’t have to trust him,my wolf chimes in,you only have to trust her.
