Page 63 of Heartless Legacy

I take in the older man, looking for traces of my mother in him. He’s her uncle, and he’s a league member. At least this relative isn’t pushy. In the whole time I’ve been in town, never once did he come to me and demand I get to know him. He simply left word that I could come see him when I was ready.

It doesn’t creep me out that he’s here, slinking in the shadows. Is he the senior male in Hailee’s mother’s family line, or is there someone else in charge? I don’t have the mental bandwidth to pose that question right now. Until I’m ready to ask, I can pretty much pretend he and Ryland don’t exist.

I take my time reading the tribunal documents before signing. Clayton stamps it with a funky-looking seal I assume is The League’s official notary stamp. “That’s all for today.” He says, slipping the documents into a pouch and adding them toa binder. “I’ll be in contact with you once Joshua relinquishes control of Hailee’s inheritance.”

“Why would you need to talk to me about that?” I ask.

Clayton gives me a small smile and disappears back into the stack of books without answering. Ryland says, “You’ll get used to him just walking off.” He starts towards the door. “Come on, little cousin. I’ll walk you out.”

Chapter 39

Thea

Class ends, and I rush out the door, taking the stairs two at a time to reach the bottom floor. I let out a sigh of relief when I step outside. My head is on a swivel, my body tense, bracing for an attack, as I make my way toward the Athletic Building. I don’t relax until I’m inside the gym, and can see Wolfe standing with his clipboard in front of his class.

He gives me a nod of acknowledgment and continues giving the safety brief for today’s lesson. I find a place to sit, out of his way, and pull my laptop out to do some homework, ignoring the Prospectus notifications on my student dashboard, since they’re all from Finn.

A shout and grunt from across the room drags my attention away from my assignment. Wolfe’s got some student pinned to the ground, his knee on his back. I chuckle to myself. There’s always one idiot in class who takes Wolfe up on his offer to put him on his ass. It’s usually the biggest guy with the biggest mouth, who thinks his bulk is enough to overcome technique. He lets the guy up and goes back to explaining the lesson and how to properly execute the move, joining me once the students are paired off.

“You wanna go over a couple of moves?” He asks, loud enough for the group closest to us to hear. I know he’s not asking just to avoid suspicion and rumors about me being here. Wolfe loves to train, and he loves to train me. I still have phantom cramps in my biceps from his torture push ups.

I can move easily in what I’m wearing. Slowly, I climb to my feet, pushing back the rising unease. “We’re just breaking holds today.” He says, leading me away from the wall. “No takedowns.”

I nod, blowing out air and rolling my shoulders. Being tossed on my back and pinned down reminds me too much of being strapped in chains or a straight jacket and dragged to the Dr. Pyscho’s chair.

We go through a few moves, each taking turns trying to break out of the holds. Wolfe’s careful not to crowd me too much, but that doesn’t mean he’s taking it easy on me. I’m panting, beads of sweat dot my upper lip. Him. He looks like he’s been standing in a cool breeze.

“I can’t be this out of shape.” I say, heaving in a breath.

“Sure you can. You’ve lost muscle mass, you barely eat, and you haven’t worked out in nearly eight months. Struggling is to be expected.”

“I’m not struggling that bad.”

“You’re not excelling that good,” he chuckles, wrapping his hands around me again. His breath floats across my ear. “Come on LaReaux. Make me work for it.” He presses closer, tightening his grip a little more. “It’s just me and you. We’ve done this move hundreds of times before. Break my hold.”

He’s right. I’m struggling and we both know why. It’s because there’s too much space between us. I need to close the distance and press my body against his, so I can set my hands correctly.

“You’ve got this.”

I close my eyes and take that one step. Getting that one inch of space, exhale and bring my elbows up, knocking into his, forcing him to readjust his arms to tighten his grip. He lets me go and gives my arm a squeeze. “Good girl.”

He leans forward, swiping his clipboard off the mat, and heads back over to his class, leaving me to deal with my churning emotions of pride, happiness, and anxiety.

I only spent an hour in the athletic building. Wolfe made me promise to eat something before my next class, since I’m still trying to recover the weight I lost. The Rock is crowded with the second half of the lunch crowd. I’m alone. LJ’s in class and I’m not sure what Connor or Austin’s schedule looks like. A quick glance at the table where I used to sit shows it’s available. I intentionally avoid looking at the legacy side of the room. There’s nothing there I want to see.

“Pathetic.” Eloise snorts as she walks by me. I’m standing in front of the fruit section, with nothing but crackers on my plate, staring longingly at the other student’s orders from the grille. I wish I could order something, but my food aversion returned the minute I stepped foot on campus. The full kitchen in my dorm room is the only thing I miss about living in Vale Tower.

My phone chimes.

12296

G will prepare all your meals in The Rock

The message deletes itself.

Who the hell is G? Lifting my head, I look over to the order line. One of the servers catches my attention and jerks his head to the side. I just stare at him, until he makes a movement with his hand. It’s subtle, but I recognize it as a hand sign they use at the Phoenix hub and compound.

I’ve got my own chef? I don’t even question how Alexz knows I’m in here and too scared to eat. I walk over to the counter, holding onto an apple and some crackers, so I’ll have a snack for later. “What can I get you?” G, asks.

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