Warrior (Relentless #4)(121)

I looked from my mother to my sire. “I thought you had a smooth courtship.”

My parents had met in the Australian Outback in seventeen eighty-nine. She’d been on an expedition to study the weerlak population there, and he was with the unit sent to back them up. They mated less than two months later.

The two of them laughed.

“I knew the moment I met Mikhail he was the one, but I refused to have anything to do with him at first. He thought the expedition was too dangerous for me, as if I wasn’t a trained warrior. I told him to go away and come back when he was ready to see me as an equal.”

“I stayed, of course,” my sire added, laughing. “I was determined to keep my mate safe. All I did was entertain my unit and the expedition members. The more I pressed, the more Irina resisted. It took me a while to learn that pushing her was getting us nowhere.”

She leaned over to kiss his cheek. “And I’m so glad you figured that out, my love.”

“How is it that you’ve never told me this?”

It was somewhat comforting to know that even my devoted parents’ relationship had started out rocky, although maybe not as rocky as mine and Sara’s.

My mother lifted a shoulder. “It didn’t seem important. Once you complete the bond, none of that matters.”

“I have no idea what Sara feels about us or if she even wants this bond. Tristan said she’s hurt that I didn’t tell her, and I don’t blame her.”

I rubbed my chest where a familiar ache had started up again. “She won’t see me, and she’s asked to train with someone else. The last thing I want is to pressure her, but how can I fix this if I can’t talk to her?”

“Sara’s had many changes in her life these last few months, and from what you told us, she’s resisted most of them,” my mother said. “But you’ve been there for her through all of them, and it sounds like she cares for you. Be there for her now, and give her time to work out her feelings.”

“Don’t push her to talk about your relationship, because that’s the surest way to send her running,” my sire added. “But let her know you aren’t going anywhere. Sometimes, a woman just needs to know that.”

“Mikhail’s right. Just be patient. Sara will talk to you when she is ready.”

“I can do that.”

“I know you can. Now go get some sleep.” My mother smiled. “And, Nikolas, I can’t wait to meet my new daughter.”





*


The door to the training room was closed when I approached it, but I knew Sara was already inside. I’d talked to Callum earlier, and he’d agreed I was a better trainer for her. I decided it was best not to tell her about the change in trainers because I didn’t want her finding a way to get out of it.

She needed me as a trainer, even if she didn’t want to admit it. If she went back to working with Callum, it would be a step backward for her. She had only just begun to connect with her Mori and to tap into her power, and Callum couldn’t help her with those things. I just had to convince her I was right.

Her back was to the door when I opened it. I hadn’t seen her since Saturday night, and I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed her until this moment.

Her smile faded when she saw it was me. “I’m waiting for Callum.”

I shifted into trainer mode as I shut the door. “Callum and I talked, and we agreed that I will continue to train you.”

“I didn’t agree to that. I’d rather work with –”

I took a step toward her, and she backed up. Her physical withdrawal was like a punch in the gut.

“Don’t do that,” I said quietly. “I would never hurt you.”

“I know. I just think it would be best if I trained with some other people.”

“No one here can teach you anything I can’t.” I saw in her eyes that she knew I was right. But that didn’t stop her from shifting nervously from one foot to the other. I hated to see her like this, and my resolve slipped. “We both know what this is about.”

She looked away from me. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“We have to talk about it sometime,” I said gently.

“But not now. Please.”

Her pleading tone made my chest tighten, and I backed off. “Let’s train then.”

“Okay.”

Her relief was apparent, and I tried not to let it bother me. At least she hadn’t refused outright to train with me.

“What do you want to work on?” I asked her.

A gleam entered her eyes. “I want you to teach me how to fight. I can have all the demon strength I want, but it’s totally useless if I don’t even know how to throw a punch correctly.”

I started to object, to tell her she wasn’t ready for combat training, but she spoke before I could.

“Listen, I have to learn to protect myself. I’m supposed to train to be a warrior, right?” A flush rose in her cheeks. “If you’re going to get mad every time I mention it, this is not going to work. I’d rather not waste my time.”

“You need to condition your body and spend more time getting used to working with your demon before you learn fighting techniques.”

“Can’t I do both?” she asked hopefully. “The bad guys aren’t going to wait for me to catch up with everyone else. Couldn’t I learn some moves and do that other stuff at the same time?”