Chapter 6
Abraham clapped his hands together once. “Well, that settles that.” He looked around the room, meeting all our eyes. “Does anyone have anything else they want to bring up?”
Del cleared her throat. “I’ve got a big show comin’ up next Saturday. Make sure y’all clear your schedules.”
I frowned at Abraham. “Next weekend you’re supposed to come to Raleigh.”
He looked a bit sheepish and rubbed his palms together. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that. Del has this big show, and I know she wants us all there.” He looked to his sister who nodded. “And we’re also havin’ our monthly family dinner that Sunday that you need to be here for. I was hoping we could switch this weekend for next?”
A derisive cough came from the direction of Beatrice’s seat, but I ignored it. “Yeah, sure. That’s fine with me.” It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him if he really thought I should attend the family dinner, but I bit the words back.
If Abraham didn’t want me there, he wouldn’t have asked me. It’s as simple as that. He wasn’t the type to play mind games, and I knew that wouldn’t change anytime soon.
Abraham looked around the room. “All right, thanks for your time, everybody.”
The other four women took that opportunity to vacate their seats and beeline for the door. Before Beatrice could make it all the way through, Abraham called to her.
She stopped dead in her tracks, shoulders tensing before spinning around slowly to face her brother.
“I’ll expect you to have your first session with El this afternoon. I’ll handle whatever needs your attention during that time.”
Her ice-blue eyes thinned into slits that slid from Abraham to me. I could almost feel the cold air wafting from her as she spoke, “Be out back in twenty.”
Without waiting for a response, she spun around and left the room. My stomach dropped as I turned to Abraham, hoping I could talk some sense into him.
“Do you really think this is a good idea? Beatrice hates me. This is only going to make her angrier.”
Abraham’s lips thinned. “She doesn’t hate you.”
My eyes rolled without my permission. “You’re wrong. She does, and this is only going to make things worse. Why can’t I learn to fight from one of the other girls? Or really, anyone else in this pack would be preferable right now.”
Abraham was shaking his head before I’d even finished speaking. “Beatrice is the best.”
“I don’t need the best. ‘Adequate’ would do.”
Abraham laughed and pulled me into his chest. “It’s going to be fine, El. Beatrice will teach you everything she knows, and I’ll be able to breathe a little easier knowing you’re not completely defenseless. And, this will be a great opportunity for you two to get to know each other. Neither one of you are going anywhere, so you might as well learn to get along.”
I took a deep breath and wound my arms around his waist, pulling much needed strength from him.
Maybe he was right. I wasn’t going anywhere, and neither was Beatrice. I knew the strain our hostility put on Abraham and could even see it wearing on the other sisters. I didn’t want to be a point of contention in this family and that meant I’d need to learn how to get along with Beatrice.
With a deep breath, I pulled Abraham closer. “Okay,” I mumbled into his chest. “I’ll do it.”
His lips pressed against the top of my head before he squeezed me tighter. “Thank you, El. I know it’s not easy getting along with Bea, but I promise, under all that attitude is a woman with a heart of gold. Hers is just a little deeper down than most people.”
I laughed humorlessly, and he leaned forward to place a small kiss on the tip of my nose. “You better not keep her waiting,” he warned.
I studied his handsome face for a moment before pressing my chest against his. “She said I had twenty minutes,” I reminded him.
His eyes heated as his heart thumped faster in his broad chest. “She did, didn’t she?”
My hand skated down his torso, running along the lean lines and corded muscles of his stomach. “Mmm hmm. My schedule is wide open, and I’ve got nothin’ to do.”
Abraham’s large hands skimmed down my waist to rest on my hips, tugging me closer until there was no space between us.
“But you’re the alpha. I bet there’s tons you should be doing right now.”
His nose trailed a path from my shoulder to my ear where his husky voice sent shivers down my spine. “Can only think of one thing I want to be doin’.”
He stepped forward, pushing me until my backside hit the conference table. Grasping my hips, he lifted me onto the edge and spread my legs to fit between them. His hard length nudged my sensitive center, and I moaned loudly, my breathy voice filling the meeting room.
Abraham pressed a finger against my lips. “You’ve got to be quiet. Can you do that?”
I pulled his finger into my mouth and gave it a hard suck. His breath hissed out between his teeth, and I barely smothered a smile.
“I can try.”
He used his other hand to grip the back of my neck, threading his fingers through my hair. “Good enough for me,” he growled before crashing his full lips against mine. He kissed me like he was starving. As if he hadn’t just had me a few hours earlier.
Within minutes, our clothes were shed, and he was inside me, stretching me even further than he had last time. I did my best to stay quiet but couldn’t help the scream that left my lips when he pushed me over the edge of my first climax. He learned from that though, and when I was nearing my second, he made sure to cover my mouth with his own, capturing my moan and his name that I chanted over and over like a mantra.
A minute or two later, he finally came with a thrust, and a groan that was anything but quiet. My lips tilted into a smug grin, and I peppered kisses all over his face as he came down from his high.
When his eyes refocused, they met mine, crinkling at the corners as he smiled softly. He studied me, eyes darting around my face, seemingly memorizing each feature individually. Slowly his expression transformed from soft pleasure, to something close to wonder.
His denim gaze pierced deep into mine when he spoke. “God, I–” He snapped his mouth shut and broke eye contact, shaking his head slightly with something like a self-conscious look on his face. When his eyes met mine again, they were a little lighter and a lot less intense. “That was incredible, El.”
He leaned down to kiss my lips once more before standing up and pulling me with him. Abraham gathered my clothes and handed them to me with another soft smile. “You better get going, you don’t want to make Bea wait.”
I got dressed quietly while thoughts raced through my mind. It felt like there was something I was missing. Some pivotal point that was escaping me. It’s like that feeling you get when you think you left the coffeemaker on in the morning. Something forgotten. Something just out of reach.
I shook it off as best I could and finished getting dressed. When we were both fully clothed again, Abraham pulled me against his chest and kissed my forehead. “Are you hungry?”
I looked up into his ocean blue eyes and shrugged. “I could eat. We never got to have breakfast and we’ve had a… busy day.” My face warmed, and he chuckled.
“I know, you’re insatiable.”
I slapped his chest, and he laughed harder.
With a smile still on his handsome face, he pulled a protein bar out of his pocket and handed it to me. “I figured you’d be hungry.”
My heart melted a little in my chest as I took the bar from his outstretched hand and leaned up to kiss his lips. “Thanks.”
His eyes were soft on mine. “Come find me when your session’s over.”
He walked me out to the hallway and gave me one last kiss before heading toward his office. His thoughtfulness was still on my mind as I unwrapped the bar and finished it in three bites. Apparently, I was hungrier than I thought.
When I made my way outside, I found Beatrice already out on the lawn, eyes glued to the smartphone in her hand. Her head snapped up in my direction when I slid the back door open, and I could feel the frostiness from across the lawn.
“You’re late,” she deadpanned.
I quickly descended the stairs and joined her on the grass. “Sorry, I was… um… talking to Abraham about something,” I finished lamely.
Beatrice’s eyes narrowed as she tipped her head to the side and scrunched her nose. “Yeah, I’m sure you two did a lot of talking.” She rolled her eyes. “Maybe you can work on keeping your hands off my brother long enough to not waste any more of my time.”
My face heated painfully, but I kept my chin held high. I didn’t know how she knew what we’d been doing, but it didn’t matter. We were both grown people, and I had no reason to be ashamed.
Do not show weakness.
That same deep, dark intuition whispered the command, and I vowed to obey it as best I could.
“Sorry, Beatrice, I didn’t mean to keep you waiting, and I appreciate the time you’re taking out of your day to train me.”
There. That didn’t make me sound weak but would hopefully mollify her a little.
“Whatever.”
There goes that idea.
“Okay, strip and shift,” she commanded.
I froze in place. She couldn’t be serious. “Strip?”
Beatrice’s grin was snide. “If you don’t want to ruin those fancy clothes of yours, you’ll have to strip.” She eyed me from head to toe with obvious disdain. “If you’re too much of a priss to take your clothes off in front of me, you could always go hide behind a tree and shift.”
She was giving me an out here, but I knew it was a test. If I left to shift in private, she’d win this little battle of wills. It would prove to her that I really was what she called a priss and help justify all the faults she found in me.
There was really only one choice here.
I straightened my spine and reached for the hem of my shirt, pulling it over my head and tossing it to the side. Bea’s eyes widened for a split second before her scowl was back in place, and she got busy taking off her own clothes.
Once I was naked, I wasted no time willing myself into a wolf. My bones cracked and shifted into place, leaving me standing on four feet instead of two just moments ahead of Beatrice.
“Huxley!” she hollered once she was fully shifted.
A rustling of leaves in the nearby woods preceded a large wolf that bounded across the clearing toward us. I didn’t recognize him, but his brown eyes were friendly, and I noticed he smelled a little like aloe.
“What’s up, Bea?”
“You up for a sparring session?”
Huxley’s tail twitched. “Always.”
Beatrice speared me with a look out of the corner of her eye. “Stay out of the way and watch. That’s all you’re doing today.”
I rolled my eyes but did as she said, walking about ten feet away from them where I figured I’d be safe.
The two wolves circled each other. Huxley was almost twice Beatrice’s size, but I sensed no hesitation from her as she moved purposefully around him with her tail straight in the air. I wondered how she’d possibly find an upper hand in this fight, until I watched her make the first move.
Beatrice shot forward lightning fast to nip at the back of Huxley’s leg. Her teeth found their mark as the larger wolf yelped and hopped away, favoring his other three legs. Beatrice didn’t give him any space to relax though as she darted forward again, aiming for his other back leg.
Huxley wasn’t fooled twice though, and leapt toward her, his huge frame tackling her and turning the two of them into a rolling ball of fur. Beatrice quickly disentangled herself and darted away from Huxley’s snapping jaw.
The two circled again before Huxley made a move. He went barreling toward her, but Beatrice danced out of the way and nipped at his injured back leg again. Huxley whined in pain before turning and surging forward.
Around and around they went, with Huxley using his size and brute strength, and Beatrice using her speed and agility. It was only another few minutes before Beatrice had successfully injured both Huxley’s back legs, forcing him to move a lot slower than his lumbering frame had before. With one more well-timed leap, Beatrice had her teeth around his jugular, and the fight was over.
“I give,” Huxley panted from his position on the grass.
Beatrice immediately withdrew from him, and sat a few feet away, barely out of breath. Huxley climbed to his feet and gave his whole body a shake.
“Remind me not to spar with you again,” Huxley groaned as he limped back into the woods in the direction he’d come in.
A cough-like laugh erupted from Beatrice as she called after him, “You know you love it!”
A sound something like a “humph” came from Huxley’s direction, but that was the only response he gave.
I turned to look at Beatrice, seeing her through much different eyes. She was actually kind of terrifying.
“Thank you,” she responded smugly, and I realized I’d said that last sentence out loud. “What did you see?”
I thought hard before answering her, knowing she wouldn’t appreciate a flippant response. “You used your size as an asset instead of a liability.”
Beatrice raised one furry eyebrow. “Anything else?”
“You didn’t try to fight him on his level, instead you cut him down slowly until he left an opening wide enough for you to capitalize on.”
She was silent a moment as she watched me. I kept my spine straight and my chin high the entire time. Finally, she nodded. “Good. You can shift back now, we’re done for today.”
A few loud cracks later and she stood before me, naked as they day she was born. I averted my eyes and focused on my own shift. When I was a woman again, I quickly pulled my clothes back on while Beatrice strode toward the house.
“I’ll meet you out here tomorrow at noon. Don’t be late again,” she called over her shoulder before disappearing inside the lodge.
A small smile flitted across my lips as I realized I’d survived my first training session with Beatrice, and I might have even impressed her too.