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Cole nodded again, leaning down to kiss my temple. “Do your best, baby.”
With that heartfelt goodbye, Cole left the training facility, leaving me in River’s capable hands. Turning back to face him, I saw he’d been watching our exchange with a knowing smile.
“He cares about you a lot,” River observed.
“He does,” I replied, my voice filled with affection. “Sometimes a bit too much, I fear, but I know it comes from a place of love and concern. I’m sorry he got kind of intense with you there for a few moments.”
River chuckled softly. “Believe me, that was nothing. I’ve seen way worse—got the scars to prove it, even.” He hesitated for a moment. “I don’t mean to pry, but what was that bit about feeling bad about not being a shifter?”
I chewed on my lip and glanced over my shoulder. Cole was already in the car and pulling out of the parking lot.
“If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s more than okay,” River said.
“Actually, it would be good to get the opinion of a neutral third party…if you don’t mind keeping the information to yourself.”
River nodded. “Come on, we’ll walk while we talk,” he said, gesturing back to the sprawling warehouse behind him.
I nodded, joining him at his side as he started the tour. As we walked across the turf’s plush padding, he pointed out the first of two obstacle courses.
“We use these mostly for the non-shifters, helps with agility and decisive action. You afraid of heights?” he asked.
“No,” I said.
“Cool, how about we talk while we go through the stages of the course?”
“Sure.”
The obstacle course looked like something in a game show where people had to climb and jump before scaling a ladder and hitting a giant button. Truth be told, it looked kind of fun with all the rope ladders, netting, and climbing frames. From what I could tell, the towering structure stood about twenty feet above us and extended another ten feet at the top, where it ended at a zipline down to another wooden platform closer to the ground.
I watched as River started climbing the latticework of rope. I followed him, grabbing the crisscrossing bands of rope.
As we reached about halfway up, River called back to me, “So, can you talk and climb at the same time?”
River didn’t even sound the slightest bit winded. Meanwhile, I was already panting just from the demand on my core muscles.
“Yeah,” I said through a rough breath. “So, uh, after all the hullabaloo from last night, I told Cole I was thinking about becoming a shifter.”
“Yeah?” River asked, looking back at me. I had my foot stuck in one of the squares of the rope. “Slow down, see what your foot is doing—yeah, like that. Okay, get your footing…nice! Here.” He offered me a hand after coaching me through the delay, especially since I’d wasted a lot of breath on a little panicked wiggle in the ropes.
“You don’t have to, I can handle it.” I panted.
River shook his head. “It’s no trouble. Accept help when it’s offered freely,” he advised. “No need to run yourself ragged when someone’s willing to help you.”
I paused for a moment, mulling over what he’d said. When he wiggled his fingers a little more insistently, I finally grabbed his hand. He proceeded to lift me almost completely to his level with no sign of struggle whatsoever. The only hint that he was exerting any energy was the faint press of his lips.
Once I was firmly in the rope lattice, River continued talking as if it took nothing out of him. “So, what did Cole say when you told him?”
“He said no,” I said.
River nodded, gesturing for me to continue ahead of him. I started making my ascent again.
“That’s your choice, isn’t it? Or at least, shouldn’t it be?” he asked.
“I guess so,” I said as I continued climbing. “But it’s not like he’s saying not to because he’s trying to control me or something. He just doesn’t think I should do anything out of insecurity. Especially something so dangerous.”
“Understandable, sure,” River said. “I mean, why do you want to become a shifter? Is it just because of him?”
I was quiet as I continued to climb, thinking about the answer to that question. Even with my little head start, River overtook me pretty quickly. He pulled himself onto the wooden platform above me before leaning over the edge and offering me his hand again. “Almost there, just another push,” he encouraged.
