CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Scarlett
The next morning when I awoke, I didn’t feel Cade’s warmth. I opened an eye and scanned the room. The sun shone through a gap in the curtains as I sat up and rubbed my eyes.
I was alone.
We’d only known each other for a short space of time, but I already didn’t like waking up without him in the bed.
With renewed determination, I slid off the bed. I wanted to go and have a shower, but I didn’t have any clothes to change into.
It was then that I noticed a set of folded female clothes on the side table with a new toothbrush. The clothes were a black shirt and a pair of gray sweats and, although they were a size too big, I wasn’t going to complain because at least they were clean.
After a quick shower, I brushed my teeth and got dressed.
I walked down the hallway and when I heard some activity inside Gary’s room, I knocked briefly on the door.
“Come in,” Gary instructed.
I opened the door and found him sitting at the desk, typing away on a laptop. Where had he gotten it? Since the scare at school, we hadn’t managed to get any clothes or other stuff from the house.
“Hi,” he greeted briefly before he turned his concentration back to what he was doing.
I leaned over his shoulder, trying to figure out what he was doing.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I’m trying to find all the information that I can about your parents,” he explained absentmindedly as he scanned the web page that came up. I wasn’t quite sure why on earth he would be doing that. He’d known my parents better than anybody else.
“Why?” I asked, unsure of what that information would yield.
He stopped and spun around to face me as I took a step backward.
“Cade had hoped that once you joined his pack that the rogues would leave you alone, but they haven’t. This confirms that they were after you for more than just the fact that you were a rogue. Blake and Cade are even more convinced the reason behind the rogue attacks is tied to your parents,” he began to explain. “So I’m trying to find out all the information that I can.”
He rubbed his temple. It was a sure sign that he was stressed. I couldn’t blame him. The fact that the rogues were working together to get me had me concerned, too. It wasn’t like I didn’t believe that Cade would fight to the death to keep me safe; the problem was that I didn’t want it to come to that.
As strongly as he cared for me, I cared for him.
“I met your parents when your mom was in the early stages of pregnancy with you,” he reminded me. “I was your dad’s best friend, but even I have no idea where they’d come from. They didn’t like to talk about their life before I met them and I respected that.”
He let out a deep sigh as his eyes met mine.
“But I can’t just stand by and do nothing while rogues plot to get you,” he said. “I love you like you were my own daughter.”
My heart squeezed at his words and I leaned down to hug him.
“And I love you like a second father,” I assured him in a whisper.
He might not be blood-related, but to me he was family. I kissed his cheek as I released him.
“We all believe that these attacks have something to do with the life your parents left behind,” he added.
“It sounds like you’re on the right track,” I said.
There had to be a reason behind the attacks and the only logical reasoning was that it had something to do with my parents. It was also very possible that my parents were murdered by werewolves and those same werewolves were after me for a reason I didn’t know.
“Have you seen Cade this morning?” I asked as he swung around to face the laptop.
“He was going to meet up with Blake this morning,” he said.
“Is Blake already up and about?” I asked, a little surprised he had healed that fast.
“Yes.” Gary looked at me over his shoulder. “It’s quite astounding how fast werewolves can heal”.
Holy crap, that was fast.
“Okay, see you later,” I said as I left the room to search for Cade.
It took me a while to find him. I thought he’d be in the compound somewhere but, after asking a few people, I discovered he was with Blake in his study at the house.
The door was closed so I knocked.
“Come in,” Cade instructed and I opened the door.
Blake, Hank, Jake and Ross looked up at me as I entered the room. Ross was Blake’s beta. They were standing around a medium-sized square table that looked like a table meant for meetings. There was a map open on it.
At the sight of me walking into the study, Cade walked forward to meet me.
“Morning,” he said as he pressed a kiss to my lips.
“Hi,” I greeted him. I pulled away from him and greeted the rest of the guys who were watching us with smiles.
“Are you ready to start your training?” Cade asked me.
“Yes,” I replied. I was surprised he was thinking about the same thing I had. I’d been blocking my thoughts so there was no way he could have known what I was thinking.
“The sooner you get trained up, the better,” he said as he looked to Hank. “Don’t be too rough with her.”
I gave Cade an annoyed look. I wasn’t that weak and I hated the implication that I was. When Cade caught my look he sighed and cupped my face.
“I just don’t like the thought of you getting hurt, even if it’s for training,” he said as he kissed me again.
“I’ll be okay,” I assured him as I pulled away.
I knew that Cade allowed everyone, including women, to train, but was it too much to hope that he’d changed his mind and he was going to allow me to fight?
He could read my thoughts because he shook his head at me.
“I still won’t allow you to fight,” he told me. “This training is to ensure you are able to protect yourself.”
Would we ever be able to agree on this subject?
I followed Hank out of the study and to the compound gym. On the way there he asked questions about the type of training I’d been doing with Gary.
“This training will be different and, in conjunction, you will need to do some weight-training to build muscle,” he informed me.
“Okay,” I said, following him into the gym.
“Even though you’re stronger than most humans, you are no match against a male werewolf,” he told me as he walked me to the weight machines.
“By building up your muscle, we can increase your strength slightly,” he began to explain.
“It still won’t be enough for you to take on a male werewolf, but that’s why our training will concentrate on speeding up your reactions. The faster you can get away, the better.” He gave me a serious look.
I could see he also wasn’t keen on the idea of me fighting the rogues alongside them. I wasn’t going to try and argue with him because Cade’s mind was the one that needed changing, not Hank’s.
Four hours later, or what honestly felt like forever, I landed with a thud on the gym mat. Winded and in agony, I rolled onto my side, trying to keep from screaming out in pain.
“Have you had enough yet?” Hank asked as he bounced on his feet, waiting for me to get back up. I looked like I’d been at it for hours but Hank had barely broken a sweat.
He was brutal and ruthless with his training. I’d trained on the weights until I couldn’t feel my arms or legs anymore. Then he’d proceeded to kick my ass on the gym mat for the last couple of hours.
I squeezed my eyes closed for a moment to try and wrestle with the aching limbs. I wanted to get back up and fight again but my body had other ideas. Every muscle screamed out in pain.
Breathing hard with the sweat dripping from my face, my clothes drenched in sweat, I lay on the ground unable to get back up.
“I think we are finished for the day,” Hank said as he bent down beside me. It was hard not to show how defeated I felt at that moment. There was no point in arguing with him. I was done for the day.
“What the fuck!” I heard Cade shout as I turned to watch him hurry to me. He was very angry. When he reached me he dropped to his knees beside me and looked over me with concern.
“I told you to go easy on her,” he said angrily as his eyes lifted to clash with Hank’s and he growled at him. Hank leaned back from fear of his alpha.
“I know, but she wanted to keep going,” Hank replied, lifting his hands to show Cade that he wasn’t to blame for the state I was in.
“You’ve been at this for four hours?” Cade directed the question at me in disbelief. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. I watched as he tried to control the anger trembling through him.
“It’s okay,” I said as I gently reached for his hand and squeezed it.
His eyes opened as he looked down at me.
“No, it isn’t.”
His jaw tightened as he stood up and bent down to pick me up. My muscles ached in protest at the sudden movement.
Honestly, I was too tired and sore to argue so I lay my head against his chest. With me firmly in his arms, he strode out of the gym and toward the house.
It wasn’t long before he entered his bedroom and laid me gently on the bed. The softness was so inviting that I was determined never to move again.
Yep, I’ll just stay here, all sore and sweaty.
Cade disappeared into the bathroom and I heard him turn the water on. Five minutes later the sound of water stopped and he walked into the bedroom.
“I’ve run you a bath so you can soak,” he instructed as he stood beside the bed. I looked up at him like he was crazy if he thought I was going to move anywhere.
“Come on, you will feel better,” he encouraged.
“Fine,” I relented, knowing he wasn’t going to back down and he did have a point. A nice warm soak in a bath would ease some of the aching in my muscles.
He helped me into the bathroom.
“Shout if you need anything,” he told me before he turned and left me alone in his bathroom.
Slowly, I stripped down and eased my body into the bath with a sigh. It felt so good as the warmth from the water began to make me better.
That night, Cade was over-protective and kept checking on me when I went to lie down after my bath. He brought me my food to the room so I didn’t have to try and get to the kitchen.
Gary popped in a little later that evening to check on me.
“I heard you took a beating today,” he said with a teasing smile as he sat down on the bed.
“Yeah, werewolf training is a lot harder,” I told him. It was true. The training that Gary and I had been doing was a walk in the park compared to what Hank had put me through.
“But you’re still going to do more training tomorrow,” he said. He knew me so well.
“Of course,” I added with a weak smile.
“I know you’re determined, but I think I’ve finally met someone with more determination than you,” he revealed.
“Who?” I asked, arching an eyebrow.
“Cade,” he answered. “I don’t think he is going to allow you continue with the training.”
“What makes you say that?” I asked.
“That’s what I heard him say to Hank before he hit him.”
My jaw dropped open in surprise.
“Cade hit him?”
Gary nodded his head at me.
“Why?” I asked, not able to understand how Cade thought Hank was at fault.
“He said he should have known better.”
“I’ll talk to him,” I said. I’d overdone it today but that hadn’t been Hank’s fault, it had been mine.
“You find out anything yet?” I asked while fiddling with the edge of the blanket where a thread had come loose.
“No, not yet, but I’m still looking,” he assured me. I don’t know if it was the look or the tone of his voice, but something made me lean forward to hug him.
He was scared for me and I loved him for it.
The next morning I changed in to my gym clothes. My body was still sore and stiff, but I felt much better than the day before. I was glad Gary had gone to get some of our clothes and stuff yesterday. There was no way I was going to school dressed in sweats and a shirt that belonged to someone else.
“Where exactly do you think you’re going?” I heard Cade ask from behind me.
I turned to see him standing with legs slightly apart and his arms crossed over his chest.
“I’m going to train,” I said like it was nothing important as I sat down on the bed and shoved my feet into sneakers.
“No, you’re not,” he told me in a firm and unyielding voice as he stood blocking the only exit out of the room.
“Look, I admit I overdid it yesterday and I promise I won’t make the same mistake again,” I tried to reason with him. He was concerned about me and, while I appreciated it, I didn’t want him to feel that I should stop training.
I needed to train like they did in order to be able to fight alongside them and that was never going to happen if I didn’t persevere with the training and show that I was capable of doing what they were.
His jaw twitched as he studied me for a moment.
“Fine, but I’m going to be there,” he relented with a frustrated sigh.
I smiled for a moment. He was learning to back down on certain things and I appreciated it.
I stood up and walked over to him. My hands touched his chest as I raised myself up onto my tiptoes to press a kiss to his mouth. He tilted his head down to mine as his arms encircled me and held me as we kissed.
It was a good thing I was a werewolf and could heal quicker than humans, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to train again today.
A look of surprise appeared on Hank’s slightly bruised face as I stepped into the gym with Cade following behind me.
“You’re back for more?” he asked, not quite believing I was going to punish myself further.
“Yes, I am,” I said as I stood with my hands on my hips. Although any movement still hurt slightly I wasn’t going to show it. I didn’t want them to look at me as if I was weak. If I had any chance to fight, I had to show them that I was determined and capable.
Hank looked to Cade and I saw Cade nod his head.
“All right, let’s get started,” instructed Hank as he walked over onto the sparring mat.
Cade leaned against the wall, watching Hank and I spar. Every time my body hit the mat, Cade closed his eyes and rubbed his temple. He was struggling with having to watch me get hurt in any way.
Luckily, the sparring had helped my body warm up and my muscles no longer hurt as much.
It was pure determination that got me through the next hour. Like Hank had said previously, I would never match his strength, and he was right. Even with increased weight training, it still wouldn’t increase my strength to that of a male werewolf. If I had any hope in being able to hold my own, I needed to learn to increase the speed of my reactions to defend myself.
Sweat dripped down my forehead as I waited for Hank to make his next move. I hit the mat a few more times, but I was starting to get quicker. I felt my confidence starting to grow.
Cade watched anxiously from the sidelines.
As Hank moved forward to try and grab me, I moved out of his way. His fingers didn’t reach me and I pushed him using his momentum to lose his footing and land on the mat with a thud.
I’d done it and I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face when I saw the look of disbelief on Hank’s face as he rolled onto his back to look up at me.
I turned to look at Cade. He smiled at me and looked at me with a look of pride that made my heart feel like it was going burst with feeling.
I could do this. I knew I could.
Hank got back onto his feet, but this time when he looked at me there was a little respect in his gaze.