Page 75 of Greer's Change

“Hell yeah. If Yara is there, I’m begging her to train me for real.” I chuckle, wrapping my hand in his and beginning to drag him toward the building Rage is housed in. “She’s eventually going to crack.”

“Wear her down, darling.” Reign chuckles. “Gods, I love you.”

“Love you too.” I skip my way down the hallway, contemplating what I can tempt her with.

She’s a panther shifter.

They eat human food. I’m going to bake her brownies if asking politely doesn’t work.

The guys have given me lessons over the years, but they’re used to fighting like men. Yara is basically my size, and I’ve seen her take down monsters four times larger than she is.

Also, when the guys try to train me, it always ends with us fucking.

Not that I’m complaining, but I’m determined to become a legitimate badass before I reach one hundred.

Novak growls as Yara tosses me over her shoulder. Who knows how it happens, but my ass hits the mat, and a second later, my shoulder and head bounce against it.

“Dammit,” I grumble, taking the hand she offers.

“It will get easier. You just need to keep practicing. And don’t let those fools teach you.” Yara laughs.

“Thisfoolwill be happy to remove your head if you keep being so rough with my beloved,” Novak hisses.

Finally back on my feet, I jab a finger at Novak. “Stop threatening my trainer, or I’ll ban you from watching my sessions.”

Yara snorts. “I need some water. Give your maker a kiss and settle his frayed nerves. You’re doing well.”

It’s a lie, and we both know it, but I’m committed to my goals. I’ve literally got all the time in the world to make them a reality, and I’ll keep working at it until I get it.

She heads off to grab her water bottle, and I use my speed to zip to Novak. He standsjustpast the blue line of tape Yara put on the floor. It’s his no-pass line, because he’s ridiculously overprotective…in a way that makes me feel incredibly loved and cared for.

He lifts me before I come to a complete stop, and I wrap my legs around his backside. Stepping back a few feet, he takes a seat on one of the benches.

His huge hands brush my hair away from my face. “It’s very hard to watch you be continually knocked down, but I’m very proud of your ability to keep getting back up.”

I beam and loop my arms through his. My fingers dig into his hair at the base of his skull. “I’m going to be just as capable as the rest of you before you know it.”

He smirks, brushing his thumb over my lower lip. “I love you so much, pet.”

Grinning, I push my lips to his for a quick, respectable kiss. “I know. Just wait—one day, I’ll be the one saving one of your lives.”

Novak laughs, and his face brightens. “I believe you’re capable of anything you put your mind to.”

Another Two Years Later

As it turns out, without Cole stalking me, we don’t run into a whole lot of life-or-death situations.

Um, none.

Not one has come up in the last few years, but I did finally pass my self-defense class with Yara.

Then I moved on to hand-to-hand combat with Leon. After that, I did a few classes with one of the boxers in town, but he was human, and I punched too hard, which broke his nose.

I felt terrible, even baked him brownies to apologize, but he refused to see me again. Not that I can really blame him.

I’m satisfied that if the need were to arise, I could protect myself or my guys if they were incapacitated for any reason.

Bartending is what I did for years before my change, and once the bloodlust became manageable, I started working in Chaos. However, the bouncers are really good at their jobs. One of these days, though, I’m definitely going to get there in time to show off my skills.

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