Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.

Rina pounded her fists into the punching bag again, and again, and again.

Right, left, right. Right, left, left. Right. Right. Left.

"Whose face are you imagining?" a male voice drawled from behind her.

She didn't miss a beat as she answered, "Yours."

"Ouch!" She didn't have to turn around to know that Dorian was wearing a terribly wounded expression, softened by that smirk that had women swooning ten blocks away. "I'm hurt, Rina."
"I'm sure," Rina muttered, hitting the punching bag extra hard with a very satisfying thump.

Dorian's surfer-blond hair appeared around her left side, his tread cat-silent. He stopped to the front and right of her, and watched her with blue eyes that were as perceptive as they were pretty.

So unfair, Rina thought. Men who looked like Dorian didn't deserve pretty eyes on top of it all. She tried valiantly to ignore another pair of beautiful eyes that came unbidden to her mind. So dark, so intense. So…

Felix.

The punch she threw this time had the sandbag swinging in a wide arc, veering in Dorian's direction.

"Are you trying to brain me, sweetheart?" Dorian asked mildly, easily sidestepping the careening punching bag.

Rina rolled her eyes as she stepped away from the still swinging bag, and began unwinding the cloth bandage around her left hand. Her usual boxing gloves, a gift from her father when she turned twelve, had finally given up their hold on life. The thin and supple black synth-leather had worn out across her palms, and was completely non-existent around the knuckles by the time she'd retired them last month. She knew she needed a new pair, but she couldn't find it in her to replace such a treasured gift.

"You're getting better at controlling your anger," Dorian remarked.

In the two years since Dorian had become in charge of busting her balls on a daily basis, Rina had learnt that his praise was an uncommon occurrence, only given when it had been truly achieved. For all their casual tone, the words warmed her heart, calmed the leopard.

"Thanks," she replied.

He threw her a bottle of water as she finished unwinding the second bandage.

"Cian mentioned that you've requested extra shifts," Dorian continued, still using that casual tone.

Oh no, she thought. Here it comes.

Rina nodded. "I had some spare time this month," she shrugged.

"Which you could be using to study." The evenness of his voice didn't change, but the question was unmistakable. The leopard bristled, but Rina clenched her teeth against the urge to become defensive over this. It was nothing, really. Just a few extra patrols. A few extra chances to hone her skills, nothing wrong with that.

And if it gave her an excellent excuse not to see a certain wolf, then it was a happy bonus. Or at least, it should be a happy bonus. Or not. Or maybe…

"Rina?" Dorian's voice broke through the same broken record that had been playing in her head since Felix had dropped her back at her cabin the night before. She'd spent a restless few hours tossing and turning in her bed, trying to find a comfortable position, but her skin itched with irritation and… something. She'd finally given up on sleep, and shifted, slipping out into the trees around her home, and lost herself to the simple joy of her paws pounding the rich earth in almost silence, the wind rippling through her coat, the complex symphony of the forest dancing in her blood.

She'd texted Cian her request just after dawn, having returned to the cabin with a little more peace in her heart than before. She'd spent enough time lately mooning over a silly boy, getting lost in his kisses, and sighing ridiculously at his every glance. Now was the time to focus on her training. She was a DarkRiver soldier, damn it.

"What?" Rina snapped, a little more forcefully than she'd intended. She surreptitiously released a slow breath through her nose. Ashaya had taught her a few techniques to try control her temper.

"Whatever it is you're trying to ignore, it won't go away by doing more patrols," Dorian continued in the same calm tone, a knife flipping across his hand like some sort of acrobat.

Rina shrugged, avoiding Dorian's rather unsubtle attempts to find out what was going on. "It's a little quiet at college at the moment. Thought I'd use the opportunity to focus on –" She faltered. Was soldiering a word? "Something else."

Dorian crossed his arms across his chest, his thin t-shirt pulling tight across the shoulders, his expression thoughtful. Rina gave a mental sigh. Yes, Dorian was a beautiful man but he just… didn't do it for her. Arguably, Felix was just as perfect, but there was a certain quality to the submissive wolf that made him seem more approachable, drew Rina's leopard in despite herself.

… Take right now, for example. He wasn't even close to the DarkRiver building, and all Rina could think about was stroking all that warm, sun-caressed skin. Pathetic.

"You could have sex," Dorian's voice broke into her delicious fantasy.

A low growl built at the back of her throat, but she managed to simply raise her eyebrow and say, "Excuse me?"

Dorian's perceptive gaze kept her pinned in place, refusing her escape from the conversation. "When was the last time, Rina? I can feel your leopard's frustration."

Rina frowned. Okay, yes, it had been longer than usual since she'd indulged in intimate skin privileges, but it wasn't as if she'd had time. She wanted – needed – to be one of the best. The current political climate didn't allow young soldiers such as her the luxury of rookie mistakes. So yes, her sex life had taken a backseat to her training and studies for the past several months.

Until Felix, of course.

Rina shook herself, and headed over the side of the room where she'd thrown her gym bag. "It's not a concern."

Dorian strolled over and perched his perfect ass on the bench beside where she was crouching. "It is a concern. You're messing with the juveniles and young unmated males."
Rina scrunched her nose, but continued searching through her bag for… something. Anything. "What doesn't mess with the juveniles?"

Dorian shook his head. "Don't starve your leopard, Rina. It's not healthy for either of you."

Rina didn't reply. She slowly zipped up the bag, and sat herself down next to Dorian, taking an absentminded sip of the half-empty bottle of water. "It's… things are complicated… right now." That was putting it mildly. There was really only one person with whom both the leopard and the woman wanted to share those intimate skin privileges. But she was terrified that if she took her relationship any further with Felix, she'd be putting more at risk than she was willing. He was courting her, for fuck's sake.

Dorian sighed. "So there is someone."
Rina's head whipped towards Dorian so fast, it was amazing she didn't strain a tendon. "What?" she screeched. Oh, that was so calm and collected, wasn't it?

Dorian grinned. "Kit might have mentioned something. And then there's hints of someone's scent around you, too."

"Kit is going to die," Rina muttered, her left hand curling viciously around the edge of the wooden bench, her claws slicing out of her fingertips.

"So? Who is he?"
"None of your damn business."
Dorian shrugged, his shit-eating grin still in place. "Of course it's my business. We're Pack."

Rina couldn't help the grumpy humph at his words. She knew that the nosiness came out of love, but she just didn't need this right now. "Well, try and make it less your business. For now." She knew that sooner or later, the jig would be up, but for right now, Felix was hers and hers alone. She didn't want to share.

"So I should tell Cian to deny your request for more shifts, yes?" Dorian's shit-eating grin was back.

"I hate you," Rina muttered.

"I know," he replied cheerily, getting up to leave. "Be good for Emmett this afternoon." Emmett was the senior soldier in charge of the security detail in the city this week.

Rina stuck out her tongue at his back as Dorian sauntered to the door.

"Oh, and Rina?" Dorian called out just before he left. "Invite us over for dinner once things become… less complicated between you and your wolf."
Rina gaped at him, as Dorian gave her a wink.

The bastard was just a touch too fast to be hit by the water bottle that Rina threw at his head. His departing chuckle was quickly drowned out by thoughts about a certain submissive wolf, and if she wanted things to become less complicated between them.

She ignored the fact that in all likelihood, she'd really have no choice.