Page 45 of Wolf Bound

"Oh please," Harris or Baron jeers. "You don't know the meaning of the word civilised!"

Standing on the sidelines and watching these shifters interact with each other brings the largest smile to my face. You can feel the comradery and bonds between them as if they were almost tangible. There's not a moment of silence as each of them throws in their teasing two cents at each other.

I lean into Alaric's side with a content smile. This is what family should be. This is what a family should look like. I haven't seen much of the pack, but I can tell that Marcus has tried to break a beautiful thing by sowing discord the way he has. A wolf needs their pack, and these shifters are no different.

"Okay, okay!" Alaric puts his hands up to silence the playful bickering from his team. "I brought Talia today to join our training. She's extremely new to all of this, so we're going to take it slow. Selene, will you partner with Talia today?"

The smallest female wolf smiles and nods at me in confirmation. She has been the quietest of the team so far. Her dark, almost black, eyes have just watched her teammates with a smirk. My peryton peaks out at her to judge the danger we may be entering into. I reassure her with a gentle mental nudge, reminding her that Alaric wouldn't put us in actual danger. With a snuff of agreement she settles back down inside our meadow peacefully.

Despite my reassurances to my peryton, anxiety still fills my chest as I walk over to Selene. I meant what I said about Alaric not putting us in danger, I just can't shake the feeling that I'm about to fail. I'm not a fighter. Maybe mentally I'm strong enough, but my magic and my body are that of a passive healer, not a warrior.

"We'll take it slow," Selene whispers to me, her voice far more hoarse than I expected. “Just let me know if you need me to show you any of the moves multiple times. There’s no rush to get everything right the first time.”

“Thank you,” I respond quietly, thankful for her calm understanding.

The rest of the team is partnering up around us while Alaric pulls out a few items from a nearby shed. He tosses dark blue mats into the center of the circular arena and some wooden weapons shaped like guns, knives, and something that looks like a short, fat sword.

“We’re going to do some basics of self-defense today to help Talia feel comfortable with it all. So spread out in pairs and grab one of the mats and wooden weapons,” Alaric instructs, sending a quick wink of encouragement my way.

“Go easy on me,” I joke to Selene with a nervous laugh. “I’m not much of a fighter.”

“I promise to help you find your fighting spirit,” Selene responds. “No one will ever touch you again. If I can learn to fight, so can you.”

I simply nod in response, the hoarseness of her voice clicking into place in my mind. My healing energy rises to the surface in response to my instincts around what she’s been through, but I push them back down. One day I can offer her my services as a healer, but it’s not up to me to decide if she wants to be healed.

We quickly get down to business and it’s clear that I am way behind the pack. They move with grace and efficiency that I could only dream of possessing. Selene is calm and patient throughout, not minding that being partnered with me means she doesn’t get to truly practise at all today.

To my surprise all of the others on the team pause their training at different times to come over and offer tips and tricks to help me grasp the basics of disarming an enemy as fast as possible. Each one of them has a unique way of approaching the same situation and I can easily see why Alaric chose them for his security team.

By the end of the two hour training, I’m drenched in sweat and smiling from ear to ear. I still don’t think fighting is truly for me, but I have a much better understanding of how to defend myself if someone else enacts violence first.

The cool wind blows the loose hairs that have come out of my ponytail around my face and dries some of the sweat coating my brow.

“You did really well today, Talia,” Selene commends me and pats my back as I breathe heavily in and out. “Hit me up if you want to practise some more.”

“I will. Thank you, Selene. You’re a really good teacher,” I compliment back. She nods and turns away as Alaric comes up beside me.

Pulling me into his arms, he kisses me deeply. My toes curl as his lips claim mine and I cling hard to his shoulders. I forget we have an audience until one of them coughs deeply and chuckles as I jump away from my mate.

“Oops.”

“They’re adults, they can walk away if they don’t like it.” Alaric brushes a piece of hair behind my ear. “You did so good today, kitten. I’m so fucking proud of you.”

“Thank you for bringing me here today.”

“Anytime, kitten. Now, let’s get you back to the house so you can get ready for dinner tonight. Helen will skin me alive if I make you late.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Penn

Atext pops up on my phone from my mom, reminding me yet again that dinner starts at six. It’s four forty-five and this is the seventh text message she has sent me today. To say mom is obsessed with this dinner, is an understatement. Actually, it’s more that she’s obsessed with my mate and honestly, I can’t blame her. I’m fucking beyond obsessed with Talia, myself.

I send her yet another confirmation that I can read and I do know when dinner starts. Mom responds with an eye roll emoji, making me laugh out loud. I send back a kissing face to let her know I still love her.

A small knock sounds at my door as I put my phone down. Tightening the towel around my waist, I walk to the door, hoping it’s a pretty teal haired woman waiting for me. If it's one of the other assholes living here, my poor little heart will be crushed.

The door creaks open and I smile at the goddess given gift standing on the other side of it. She's standing in a fluffy purple bathrobe that doesn't even reach her knees, and anxiously twirls a piece of her hair between her fingers.

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