Chapter 10 - Alanis #2
“Stop staring, stop staring,” she scolded herself inwardly. “Concentrate on the training and not how handsome he is without a shirt on.”
But her body had other ideas. A twinge of heat low in her belly was a reminder that the orgasm Rael gave her was a brief respite. The pain was growing once more, aggravated by the fact that she saw his naked body and remembered what those hands had done to her.
She rubbed her thighs together slightly, attempting to relieve the increasing pain. It was going to be a long afternoon.
“Alanis!”
She turned and saw Rael running towards her. He had pulled on a shirt, which was even more distracting than being naked because it clung to his sweaty skin.
“Hey,” he sounded a bit out of breath. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to watch the training.” Alanis tried to keep her voice neutral. If that’s okay?”
His eyes roamed over her face. “Are you certain you are up to this? I think you should rest because—”
“I’m fine,” she said sharply, then lowered her voice. “I can bear an hour or two of watching people spar, Rael.”
He looked like he wanted to argue, but Silas called his name across the clearing.
“I must go,” he said reluctantly. “But if you need me…”
“I know where to find you.” She smiled in a way that she hoped was reassuring. “Go. I’ll be fine.”
He nodded and ran back to his brothers.
“He is concerned about you,” Elle said from behind.
“I know.” Alanis watched Rael return to the training circle. “But I have to show that I am not weak, or a delicate object that has to be under constant observation.”
“No one thinks that you are weak,” Elle said in a low voice. “There is no harm in looking after yourself when you have to.”
Alanis gave her a tight smile as the training session commenced. Silas raised his voice and reminded everyone to pay attention.
The first half hour went by, and Alanis was impressed.
The training was hard, concentrated, and was evidently aimed at achieving combat effectiveness.
She was familiar with some of these methods because of her own instruction with the Lumen, yet here there were differences—modifications to shifter strength and speed that rendered the maneuvers smoother and deadlier.
She was mentally putting them in her head and thinking about how she could use them. Even without the ability to shift, she could use some of these principles to her advantage.
Then she saw a woman. She was tall, fit, with dark hair, drawn up in a high ponytail. Alanis had noticed her around the pack grounds before, but had not given much thought to her. At this moment, as she proceeded around the training circle toward Rael, Alanis was listening very attentively.
She laughed at something that Rael said, brushing her hand on his arm, and her body was tilted towards his in a way that was flirtatious. Alanis could feel something ugly and hot coil up in her chest.
She was just being friendly, Alanis thought to herself, and Rael wasn’t giving her an opening. He had moved away, leaving space between them.
But this woman bridged the gap once more. She touched his shoulder, her fingers lingering. When Rael stepped behind her to adjust her posture, she leaned way too far back.
“You’re jealous.” Sara giggled from her side.
“I-I am not!” She spluttered. But Sara was right. She was jealous. Furiously, irrationally jealous. The fierceness in her chest was no longer arousal—it was now possessiveness, savage and wild.
Something within her snarled, mine. He belongs to me. Get off of him.
She looked on as the woman said something that made Rael laugh, and the jealousy grew so great that it seemed to be right on the verge of anger.
This was ridiculous. She had no claim on him except the bond, to which she had dedicated the previous week, attempting to persuade herself that it was nothing. She had no right to be envious of some member of the pack who was likely to be simply friendly.
“I’ll be back.”
“Alanis,” Elle began, but Alanis was already heading toward the training circles.
She knew that this was not a good idea. She knew that she was likely to be making the worst decision she could ever make by putting herself in the middle of the training session when she was in heat and jealous.
But she was unable to resist. The jealousy was a living, breathing thing within her that required action.
She was near Rael’s training circle when some of the members of the pack looked at her. Rael also looked up at her.
“Alanis? What are you—”
“I would like to join,” she lifted her chin. “If that’s allowed.”
“Join the training?” Javi snorted. “You can’t even shift. Just what do you intend to contribute?”
“I can fight,” Alanis said evenly, turning to look at Javi. “I have been trained. I would like to know how my abilities measure up to yours.”
“It is not amateur boxing. This is black ops training, military-grade combat skills. You are out of your depth.”
“Then I’ll learn. Unless there is a prohibition on the pack members developing their skills?”
“No rule,” Silas spoke as he walked over with August. “But Javi is right. It is tough training, Alanis. Even to shifters. And you’re…” he stopped and hesitated.
“Shiftless,” she completed on his behalf. “I know. But I am not helpless.”
“No one said you were helpless,” Rael countered. “But perhaps it is not the best time just now—”
“Why not?” Alanis looked at the woman standing behind him with a smug look on her face. “Because I am in heat? Because I may not be able to concentrate? Or because you do not think I am able to manage myself?”
“Of course not. I would never think that.”
“Then what are you saying?” Her tone went up a notch higher, and she observed some of the pack members looking at each other. “That I am to sit by and watch? That I cannot learn?”
“I am saying that it is not going to be comfortable for you, and it is going to be distracting for the men here to train while you’re here—in heat.”
Shame and anger flooded her veins. “So, I am supposed to go and conceal myself until the heat goes away? Keep in my room as if I have some contagious disease?”
“See, this is exactly what I was talking about.”
Javi said out loud. “She is unable to even have a simple conversation without losing her emotions. What is she to do in battle training?”
Alanis turned to glare at him. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” Javi folded his arms, and his face was as cold as ice. “You cannot shift or regulate your feelings. You are a liability. Rael may be content to humor you, but the rest of us have business to attend to.”
“Javi,” Rael said in a warning tone. “That’s enough.”
“I don’t think so,” Javi’s eyes narrowed. “She shows up out of nowhere and insists on being included in training, she is obviously not fit for. She lets her emotions get the better of her, which is the main reason people in the field are killed.”
Javi stepped towards her. “You are not a warrior, you are a human who cannot shift, and has no business being here. The only reason people tolerate you is that Rael chose to claim you, and to be honest, I believe that was a bad decision.”
“That’s enough!” Rael yelled. “You’re out of line, Javi.”
“Am I? Or is it that I am only saying what most of us are thinking?” Javi didn’t back down. “She is a liability, Rael. She is unable to contribute to the pack, incapable of defending herself in a proper way, and she is distracting you. How long are you going to accept that?”
“She is my mate,” Rael growled. “That means she is under my protection and whoever mistreats her offends me.”
“Then perhaps you should get your priorities straight,” Javi replied. “Because last I checked, we had more important business to attend to, which was to bring down the trafficking network, not to play house with a shiftless—”
Crack! Rael punched Javi in the jaw.
Javi stumbled and threw a punch back. The two brothers crashed into each other, wrestling.
Alanis gasped as they rolled on the ground. Silas and August literally had to drag the brothers apart. Rael was puffing, and his eyes were flaring with anger, while Javi wiped blood off his cut lip.
“What the hell is wrong with you two?!” Silas growled. “We shouldn’t be fighting like fucking children! We should be training.”
“It’s he who is not able to take criticism,” Javi spat. “I am only telling the truth.”
“You were a fucking asshole. As usual. And if you ever speak to Alanis like again—”
“You’ll what? Hit me again? Oh, fuck off.”