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“And now I’m thinking about murder,” I deadpan to Dominic. I don’t have to explain more than that. He knows all the things I keep replaying in my head. All the things I haven’t been able to let go of.
He heaves a long sigh and leans back in the chair, wrapping his arms around my waist to pull me along with him. His desk chair has a great feature where the backrest lies back. It’s been very helpful forreasons.
We should tell everyone to take a long lunch, my wolf encourages.
We’ve already done that twice this week, I remind her. But she doesn’t care; she’s insatiable. I’m starting to worry that I may go into heat for the first time any day now. Every day, my wolf seems to get more and more desperate to rub up against Dominic any chance we get.
The last thing I want to do is be in heat and worried about that while there’s still a mysterious danger lurking around us.
Nothing else has happened since Warner’s poorly orchestrated attack, but we feel it in the air. An impending danger just waiting for the right moment to strike. I’m not sure what villain used rogues and an entire pack to try to take a swing at us, but it would be wrong to let our guard down until we do know.
Our pack is at stake. I think about it all the time.
Worry consumes all of my waking hours—hence Dominic handing over this recent project. He’s trying to take care of me the only ways he knows how. Burying both of us in work so we can distract ourselves.
Otherwise, I spend my days obsessing over Morgan, and the pack, and Tasha, and Tevin.
“What do you say we go out to the training grounds? They’ve got some new wolves out there training today. If you want, you can even show off a little. Really freak out the outsiders,” Dominic suggests. He always knows how to cheer me up.
* * *
I’m giddy from the moment we crest the hill that leads to the training grounds. Most of my training happens solo or with Dominic under his father’s watchful eye. But every once in a while, Dominic indulges me by letting me come and spar with other wolves.
I never got to see training this close up when I was younger, so now it feels like a novelty that I’m indulging in when we make the occasional trip.
Bryant perks up when he sees us coming. He’s one of the few males that Dominic doesn’t get jealous around. Probably because Bryant keeps a solid ten feet between us at all times. He’s certainly a man who knows how to stay out of trouble. He’s also a good freaking trainer. Watching him is nearly as good as seeing Dimitri in action. I can see why he took over when Dimitri was forced to step down.
“You picked a hell of a day to show up,” Bryant tells us, nodding his head toward the leftmost training ring. “New guy showed up today. He thinks he’s tough shit, so Oren’s going to have a hell of a time putting him in his place.”
I look over at Oren, one of the wolves getting ready to exit the program and join the Anchorage Lake Pack. Occasionally, the best fighters are invited to stay, especially if they come from allied packs that tend to be more peaceful during unrest. Oren is a beast in the training ring.
My gaze wanders to the other guy.
“Where’d he come from?” I ask, frowning. The guy is similar in size and muscle tone to Oren, but with a smug look that I know won’t be appreciated around here. He’s also covered in tattoos, which we rarely see. Most wolves are hesitant to mess around too much with their bodies. Apparently, this guy has no such qualms.
“He says he came from some pack out west I’ve never heard of. I have a feeling he’s actually a rogue, but he raised one hell of a fight when we tried to turn him away. Figured I’d give him a chance to see for himself that this place isn’t all fun and games.” Bryant looks pretty sure of himself that the guy is going to cave, but I’m not so sure.
I watch his body language closely as he and Oren talk. I’m sure they’re trash talking each other as they wait for Bryant’s signal to spar. The new guy looks right at home here, not at all like the nervous newcomers we’re used to getting.
If Bryant hadn’t pointed him out specifically, I would have never taken him for a rookie.
Dominic jostles me slightly with his elbow. I turn my head to him, then roll my eyes at the flat line of his mouth.Cut it out, I warn him.I’m only interested in the story there.Dominic trusts me now, but no matter how many times I reassure him, the jealousy is going to live on forever.
He grunts at me, but he does turn to Bryant and ask, “What’s the rookie’s name?”
“Paxton Glass. A real mouthy asshole.” Bryant’s attention is on the ring now too. Despite his words about the newcomer, I can tell from the way he watches him that he’s foaming at the mouth to start training him.
I saw a similar scenario the last time a new training group started. Bryant picks out the most promising of the bunch and pits them against the strongest guy he has. Oren, in this case.
The last one cracked under the pressure and ran. My gut tells me that won’t be the case with Paxton Glass. There’s something about the way his eyes take in everything around him, almost as if he’s casing the place.
Bryant interrupts me studying his new toy to tell us, “Come on, watch from close-up. This one’s bound to be a fun show.” He whistles as he starts toward the ring, glancing back once to make sure we’re following.
Dominic and I follow at a slower pace. “Do you think Oren is really going to take the new guy?” I ask quietly enough that no one’s wolf hearing will overhear me.
“No,” Dominic admits. “Oren is a smart fighter, but he hasn’t had to fight anyone scrappy. Paxton looks like he’s been around the block. My bet is he’ll know how to fight dirty without raising eyebrows.”
My own eyebrows shoot up at that. It isn’t often that Dominic shows much of an interest in any of the shifters who come to train. Most of them return to their own packs, so there’s no use investing too much time or energy into any given one of them. At least not until we know which ones are available for formal recruitment to our pack.
