Chapter 12 - Jace
Mira is in the training arena with the other Omegas. Her scent is distracting me, considering she is still in her heat cycle. But I think she is satiated for the moment after our night together. If I had my way, I’d have her every night, but she clearly doesn’t want that.
“Lift your leg when you kick. I want to hear and see the effort. Don’t be afraid to fall or make a mistake,” I shout, walking between the woman and pausing to correct them here and there.
Mira is standing at the back of the class, putting in her full effort, although she’s slow and weaker than the others.
I don’t judge her for it. I was surprised when she was so harsh on herself the other day when she asked if she was allowed to train with them.
Anyone can train. No matter where you start, the point is to start.
And keep at it. That part is up to her. No one can force someone to want to be better for themselves.
However, I must say that I’m very impressed with her efforts so far.
She’s drenched in sweat, and her cheeks are bright pink, but she’s all in.
“Tamsyn, kick higher. What’s going on tonight? Focus!”
“Sorry, Alpha!” Tamsyn huffs, kicking again.
“Jess, lift your chin when you spin. You can’t see where you’re going if you keep your eyes on the ground. You too, Leona,” I say as I walk past them.
Then my eyes are back on Mira, and a smile touches my face.
“Mira, push your shoulders back when you land that move,” I call out.
Mira nods and tries again. She almost slips and scolds herself under her breath.
“Again,” I tell her. “Mistakes are the best teachers.”
She tries again and again and finally lands perfectly.
I grin at her, then wink. Her cheeks turn even pinker, and I quickly turn away. I don’t want to appear to be giving her special attention in the class. All of my students are important to me. They are all part of the pack and all deserve the same chances.
Despite giving all my students my full focus, my eyes are drawn to Mira more often than to others.
It’s difficult not to watch her. She’s gorgeous. She turns me on. She’s my Luna. I guess, at the end of the day, it would be weird if I wasn’t this drawn to her. And on top of that, I’m continuously impressed by her effort.
Class by class, I watch her struggle, but she never gives up.
She never complains, and the only time she has anything to mutter about is when she’s being hard on herself.
It’s something that bothers me, but also makes me admire her.
In her eyes, she knows she can do better, and she refuses to accept anything less than her best. In my eyes, I don’t want anyone bringing her down, not even her own thoughts.
I try to find a balance between letting her be hard on herself and telling her she’s wrong and she’s doing really well.
Our lives start falling into a comfortable, easy routine.
During the day, I don’t see her very often because she’s working and I’m busy with Alpha business.
I train our fighters and defense force. I meet with the elders to keep them up to date.
I visit the clinic, the school, and the tech lab to stay in touch with the various departments and identify areas for improvement.
Mira joins my Omega training sessions at the end of the day, then we go home together to have dinner and share our thoughts and ideas from the day.
It’s Friday evening after a particular grueling session with the Omegas. I like to push them harder on Fridays because they don’t train again until Monday and have plenty of time for their muscles to recover.
Mira is famished. Her cheeks are still glowing pink from the exertion, even after she’s showered and changed into her comfy clothes for the evening.
I pull her chair out at the small dinner table in her cottage, and she sits down, smiling.
“Thank you,” she says. I catch her scent as I push the chair closer toward the table. Still in heat, taunting me with that sweet, tantalizing honey.
Mine. Jux tugs at my thoughts.
“You did really well today, Mira.”
“Thanks, I can’t believe how much I’m enjoying it!” she says excitedly.
“I noticed,” I laugh, enjoying her enthusiasm. “Look, I thought maybe it would help you if I gave you some private lessons. You started training later than everyone else, and one or two extra lessons a week might give you that extra boost?” I suggest.
“Really? You have time to give me private lessons?” she asks, surprised.
I scoff, “Of course, I have time to give you anything you need, Mira. You are my Luna,” I tell her.
Her smile tightens a little. “Right, yes, your Luna,” she nods. “It would be good for the pack if I were a good role model.”
I cock my head to the side. I wonder why she thinks my training her is for the pack? I wanted to help her. I narrow my eyes. “Only if you want to…”
“Yes. Please. I definitely want to. And I really appreciate you taking time out of your day to help me with it,” she nods, enthusiastic again.
“Good. That’s settled then. We’ll do our first private session on Sunday.”
Mira grins, “I hope my muscles can handle it,” she says.
“They can, you’ll see how easy it is to push past barriers you’ve made in your mind. And your shifter blood lets you heal much faster than a human.”
***
Sunday morning has thick mist rolling in through the forest. It’s chilly, and when I step out of the cottage with Mira following me in her training gear, I expect her to grumble and change her mind. But she doesn’t.
“Oh, good, at least I won’t overheat so much today!” she exclaims, not showing a flicker of hesitation.
I grin. That’s exactly the type of attitude I admire.
Instead of taking the Jeep to the arena, I jog there with her as our warm-up. We’ll head home for our cool-down.
Halfway there, Mira pauses and presses her hand into her side. She’s breathing hard.
“Stitch?” I ask. She nods, swallowing and grimacing. “I’ll…be…ok…in a… minute,” she says between breaths.
I step closer to her and press the palm of my hand against her ribs, right over the area she’s rubbing. “Take a very slow, deep breath. In. In. In. Hold it.”
I feel her pulse beneath my hand. The blood in her veins. The stretch of her lungs.
“Slowly let it out. Slow. Good girl. Again.”
Standing with her in the open morning air, she takes several deep breaths.
“Oh wow, that worked so well,” she says, her body relaxing again.
“Now you know what to do next time,” I say, clearing my throat and stepping away from her, my body hyped up and my wolf agitated by her scent.
“Race you there?” she grins, a cheek flash in her eyes.
“Race?” Before I have a chance to ask her if she’s joking, she’s taken off at her version of full speed and is sprinting for the tree line.
Laughter bubbles from me.
She is fully aware that she doesn’t stand a chance against me, but I love the games.
Sprinting after her, I catch up in a matter of seconds. She squeals in frustration and pushes harder. I stay right at her side, encouraging her, not letting her stop until we get to the edge of the arena.
Mira collapses against a tree, gasping for air, grinning, glowing, and happy.
For each of our private sessions, we jog there and back again. And over each session, she is getting stronger and better.
It’s been two weeks since we started adding in extra training, and I’ve already noticed massive improvements in her.
That, and we’re getting on better at home.
She’s letting me closer to her, dropping her guard a little around me. We have our routine apart. But when we’re together, things are relaxed, and I really enjoy being around her. She seems to enjoy being around me, too.
It’s another Sunday training session.
Her shoes scuff against the soil. She groans and pushes hard into my hand.
“Good, now spin and lift your elbow, you’re aiming for my jaw,” I tell her.
She huffs, jumps, and spins. Her elbow skims my jaw as I lean back just in time.
“Fuck,” I laugh. “That was much closer than last time!”
She grins, proud of herself.
Mira bends down to pick up her water bottle, taking a few long sips. She lets out a breath and shakes her head, holding up her hand. “I realized something,” she explains, setting the bottle down again.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“You told me to kick off my left foot, like this. Then to use my core to push myself higher, right?”
“Right,” I agree, knitting my brows.
“But, if I first put my weight onto my thigh, and kick off from there, using my quad to push me up, I get higher.”
“It’s not the right way to do the move,” I remark, confused why she’s trying to tell me how to do something I trained for years to perfect.
“Well, it’s the right way for me to do the move,” she tilts her head to the side and puts her hands on her hips, challenging me to correct her again.
I narrow my eyes. “I see,” I smirk.
This isn’t the first time she’s questioned me or made me explain exactly why something has to be a certain way.
Again, I am amused by her confidence around me. A confidence she doesn’t seem to have around anyone else. She’s feisty and cheeky and doesn’t step back even though I’m her Alpha.
I like it.
I like her strength, and I want to see more of it.
“Watch,” she declares boldly, taking a few strides away from me. “Look how I distribute my weight and where my power comes from,” she demands.
I fold my arms across my chest and nod. “I’m watching,” I grin.
She moves into position, squats, kicks off, leaps up higher than before, and spins to land neatly with her elbow raised and her knees bent. The entire move is executed with grace and perfection, and my wolf practically snarls in approval.
Jux prances, delighted by his mate's agility.
My body purrs, and my cock stirs, and when she turns to face me to gauge my reaction, I quickly have to hide my desire.
“Brilliant, yes, I see exactly what you mean. You should do it like that from now on,” I declare, turning away from her to grab my water bottle because I need something to distract myself.
“You think it’s better that way?”
“Yes, I do. Everything was perfect,” I agree a little too abruptly.
My cock is half erect, and I’m struggling to control my thoughts. Her scent suddenly seems ten times stronger, and Jux is going crazy.
Behind me, I hear Mira doing the move again, and I groan silently. “Sorry, I have to cut this session short. I just remembered I need to respond to some requests the elders sent through late Friday. It's due tomorrow and I completely forgot about it,” I say.
“Oh, that’s ok. It was a great session. Are we jogging back? You can run ahead, I know I slow you down,” she grins, glowing.
“I’ll see you back at home,” I nod, smiling tightly, hoping she doesn’t notice how I haven’t turned my body toward her.
“See you at home,” she calls out as I hurry away.