Moon Touched (Zodiac Wolves: The Lost Pack #1)(36)
He let me go, and I fell to the ground. What the hell? I thought and scrambled away. How was I supposed to learn how to break out of holds like that when I couldn’t even think? Why did he have this effect on me?
To my dawning horror, that wasn’t the only hold we were going to practice. Kaden dug the heel of his boot in my back. “Up,” he said, and I pushed myself to my feet again. “That was an easy one. Let’s see if you can get out of this one.”
We went through various holds, each one pressing his body closer than comfort to mine. They didn’t catch me off guard like the first one had, but I was still disturbed by the way my body responded to him. He didn’t show any signs of being as winded or sweaty as I was, and as I struggled against his holds, I half-expected him to just give up on me.
He hadn’t yet, but I was pathetically weak at the holds, and it felt like just another defeat. It was clear I had a lot of work ahead of me, and I expected him to pass me off to another trainer. As I tapped out of yet another hold and Kaden sighed, I waited for those words exactly. Instead, he just said, “That's enough. Meet me here tomorrow after lunch and we'll continue."
“What?” I asked. “You’re not tired of my incompetence yet?”
“You have a long way to go, but you’re not entirely hopeless,” Kaden said and headed toward the house without another word.
High praise indeed. I let out a long breath while my entire body ached, and I was glad Stella had gotten me those cold compress packs. I had a feeling I'd need them tonight.
Chapter Fifteen
I trudged to the edge of the forest, surprised to find Kaden waiting outside the house with Stella. I’d expected him to melt into the forest itself and reappear when he was ready to glower or menace again, but he just nodded to me as if he hadn’t just spent the last couple of hours watching me struggle to fight him.
“Stella is going to be taking over your wolf training,” he said. “She’s one of the best natural hunters and trackers in her wolf form that my pack has ever produced.”
By the way Stella was bouncing on her heels like an excited child, I suspected she had practically forced Kaden to let her be my teacher. If their relationship was anything like mine and Wesley’s, then Stella probably had Kaden wrapped around her finger. I started to smile before the grief hit me once again. It still hurt more than anything else knowing Wesley was gone. I spent most of my time trying to avoid thinking about it because it hurt enough that I had to stop and catch my breath.
I closed my eyes briefly, trying to breathe past the pain in my chest. One of the easiest ways to get past sadness was to transform it into anger. I shoved all of my hurt and pain into the thought of getting revenge on the Leos who took him away from me.
When I opened my eyes, I wasn’t blinking back tears anymore. I was calm, collected, and I met Stella and Kaden’s eyes without issue. Kaden nodded to me and walked away without saying goodbye. At this point, I wasn’t even offended. Clearly, that was just how Kaden acted. No one else seemed to have a problem with it.
“Come on,” Stella said, motioning me to another part of the forest behind their house. I followed her through the trees, looking around. I still wasn’t sure where I was, and even Stella in her increasing kindness refused to tell me. I’d given up guessing and had resolved to wait until they trusted me enough to tell me. It wasn’t like I needed to get back home or anything. My home probably no longer existed.
Stella stopped in a patch of forest that looked like the rest, with trees all around us. “This is where the pups come to learn how to be a wolf and pack hunt. But we’ll be alone today.”
“Because you don’t trust me?” I asked dryly.
“No, because they’re in school,” Stella said, giving me an odd look. “I know Kaden comes off as a bit heavy-handed, but we are trying our best to make you feel welcome.”
I nodded and ducked my head, feeling just a bit ashamed. Stella had been nothing but nice to me, and even Kaden hadn’t threatened to kill me in a few hours. Though that might change at any moment.
“I’m going to stay in human form while you shift," Stella said. "We’re not pack members yet, so I won’t be able to communicate with you in wolf form. Now take your clothes off."
I hesitated just a second before stripping my clothes off. It wasn’t as bad, being around one person, but I still angled my body away from view. Maybe someday I’d be able to just rip my clothes off and leave them in piles, but today wasn’t that day.
“Shift now?” I asked Stella.
She nodded, and I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the pain. It wasn’t as bad this time, but it seemed to take forever, each bone reshaping slowly enough that I felt like I was being pulled apart at the seams. Finally, after what felt like a few long minutes, I settled into my wolf form and swished my white tail back and forth experimentally.
Stella beamed at me. “Wow, look at your beautiful fur! So rare to see such a pure white color. I can tell you’ve only shifted a few times. Don’t worry, it’ll get easier and faster the more you do it. Never as fast as an alpha, though. They’re the only ones who can do it instantly.”
I’d seen how fast the alphas could shift, including Kaden, and I envied the ease with which they did it. Even so, my wolf form was pretty damn amazing. In fact, it was just about the best thing in the world, especially when I wasn't running for my life. I crouched down and sprang into action, sprinting around the trees. I wove through them as easily as if I’d trained for it for years, my wolf body responding much quicker than my human one would have. The clumsiness I’d felt with Kaden disappeared. Stella’s laugh followed me as I circled her and then dove into the grass, rolling around. My body moved so easily, so quickly. It was incredible.