Chapter 5
This was about the one thousandth times I'd been thrown on the mat, which at first hadn't seemed as hard as it did now. "Fucking hell!" My body ached, my fingertips burned and tingled with soreness. "Once again, you're not watching for when you need to block Aaden," Derek chastised me for the hundredth time. "Derek, could you do me a favor and go pick on someone else for a bit while I recoup?" His eyes lit up but he quashed it. "Unfortunately Aaden,I cannot." He said, reaching for my hand and pulling me up. "You aren't holding your body correctly. Your stance must be impeccable. If you aren't ready to defend an attack, you will go down first swipe." "I gathered that, but you're forgetting that regardless of my stance, I'm human and you're an Alpha werewolf. That's a bit unfair, don't you think?" "Aaden, you're testing my patience. Stand straight. I'm coming at you, don't hold back." He walked about ten yards away and whipped around, eyes lit red and in focus. I held my arms in front of me, steadying myself and bracing my body by my feet. He flew at me. This time, I didn't close my eyes. It's like I knew Derek, every inch of him and every emotion he was feeling. My heart beat fast, and I felt my breathing quicken. I felt like I knew what was coming, and not in the "we've been through this a thousand times way", but in a familiar way. Without thinking, and after blinking once, I twirled out of Derek's line of sight, and he missed me, and in his surprise, I took the opportunity to get him while he was down. My fist flew out, connecting with the back of his head. Fortunately, his head didn't hit the mat, because as a wolf, his instinct was to recoil and repair instantly. But he stopped, a half smile playing on his lips. "Very good Aaden. You finally understand." My heart was still beating fast, my blood racing through my veins. "Aaden?" His voice was so soothing, even in command. When he took a step toward me, I felt it, like a vibration.
"Yo! How's it going in here?!" My concentration broke as Vlad made his entrance, being the jokester he was. "Dammit Vlad, you know you're not supposed to be down here to play or joke, this is a serious place." Derek growled. While Derek went over to talk with Vlad, I began to try and work out what just happened. What the hell was wrong with me? I didn't even like Derek, why did he seem so familiar? I know I'd never met him before he and Farren had abducted me, yet it was like I was in tune with him. I glanced up and caught Farren's eyes. She was studying me intently, like she saw something. I walked over to her and sat down where she was residing on a wooden stool. "What is it?" "What's what?" she asked. "Do you know what just happened to me?" "No, what happened?" "I don't know. One second, Derek and I were training, and then the next….it's like I knew exactly what he was going to do. I understood he wasn't in it to hurt me." "Maybe it was just instinct." She said it like she was uncomfortable. "Are you hiding something?" "I don't hide things….a lot." She muttered that last bit. I laughed.
An hour later, we were resting for the first time in almost three hours. My body hated me, screaming at me to not only relax, but never do that again. I lay on the matted floor, trying to steady my heavy breathing. "Come on Aaden," Derek said, "we don't lay around here, you retire for that." "Oh come on Derek, I really can't move. I hurt too badly. Kick me if you must, I can't do anything anyway." He sighed, and without permission, swiftly leaned down and scooped me up. All at once, my body came alive. My blood began racing again, my heart took off and my skin literally warmed. He froze upon touching me. At first I thought it was in disgust, which wouldn't have surprised me, but when I snuck a glance at his face, it was anything but. He looked surprised, maybe even shocked. I felt his heart beating against my arm like a drum, his chest tightening. What the hell was going on? Uncomfortable all of a sudden, I pushed against his chest and he set me down. His eyes brightened for a half a second before he swiftly turned on his heel and sauntered away.
After hobbling back to my room, I fell face first onto my bed, not caring that I couldn't breathe at the moment. It just felt so damn good to lay down that breathing was second to it. I groaned upon remembering that I still had to shower before I went to bed, because there was no way I was sleeping after sweating for three hours. After laying there for a few minutes, I convinced myself to stand and gather my towel so I could relax in a hot, steamy and continuous waterfall. I always felt better when I was clean.
Standing in the water was the best thing I could have done for my sore feet. The water beat down on the skin of my throat, the steam drifting along my face. I shampooed my hair and let it set while I washed away the blood and sweat from training. My elbows were torn to hell and gone, but at least the rest of me was just bruised. I reluctantly climbed out after fifteen minutes, knowing if I stood any longer, I'd fall over and more than likely not get back up. Once dried off and dressed, I allowed myself to fall back into my clean sheets to sleep.