Chapter 13 - Brandon
I looked at the open ground that Asher had picked out for us to use for practice today. It was just near the outskirts of the pack border, but still inside, so I knew we would be safe. Westley had already checked the area and stated that everything was clear, so we could proceed.
The group had grown, so we had to divide it into smaller groups. I placed both men and women in each group, ensuring that the females received the same training as the males.
The groups had grown stronger, and everyone was improving, but my eyes froze on Jade, who stood in the back.
She was wearing a pair of stretchy pants and a loose yellow tank top.
Her hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail, and as she moved to stretch, I could see she’d put on weight.
Since joining, she’d gained muscle and strength.
She didn’t look like the weak woman I had seen when I first arrived.
My mind traveled back to the other night and her lips. Her fingers were hot against my skin, and I so badly wanted her. I thought one kiss would have been enough, but it wasn’t. I was hungry, and only she was going to be the one to calm it.
“Are we ready?” Asher asked as he stopped next to me with his arms crossed. He scanned the ground, keeping count of everyone.
I nodded. “Yeah, let’s see what they have in them today.”
We paired everyone up and went through a series of simple movements. I watched everyone, tracking to see who had finally got it down and who was still struggling. I corrected a few people, but found Jade didn’t need it. Her form was great, and I could see the focus in her eyes.
Although she complained about being here, I could see that she enjoyed it. She had a passion behind her hits and in her eyes. When she did do something wrong, she was quick to correct herself.
I watched her pin her partner to the ground, and a smile bloomed from her lips. I stood a few feet away, and I watched in amazement. She offered her partner a hand up, and they resumed their circle. I watched her move on the balls of her feet, her movement quick and like lightning.
I turned to the two paired in front of me. “Correct your left foot,” I said, nodding my head down, but it was too late. His partner swung their leg underneath his left foot, and he went down.
“If you don’t have good balance at your base, your top will tumble,” I stated, waving a hand at what happened. “Watch your foot placement.”
His partner smirked, smug, and I hoped it was a good lesson for the guy. I continued to move through the group, watching the rest. My eyes wander back to Jade every once in a while. She got pinned, but she was quick to get up. She pinned her partner again. They stopped to catch their breath.
The training went smoothly and concluded a few minutes later. I was just about to head over to Nora and Jade when I heard Asher calling for me.
“Oy, Brandon. Got some questions.”
I paused as he stopped next to me. “The next group is set to start in fifteen minutes. Do you want to lead the class today?
“Yeah. How do you think this group did today? I thought there had been some improvement.”
Asher scanned the crowd, his eyes seeming to think as he looked around. “Honestly, they’ve done well. I’m impressed with how quickly they got into shape.”
“Good enough to handle a hybrid?”
He frowned. “You and I both know that training will only go so far, Brandon,” Asher sighed. “We need to tell them eventually. They need to know the truth.”
I knew that, and I’d been dreading it. I knew that we could only maintain this training for so long before people would start asking more pressing questions or stop coming altogether.
“We can discuss this later at our next meeting.”
Asher raised an eyebrow. “Are you just trying to avoid having that conversation?”
“No, I’m trying to think of how I would gently tell everyone in my hometown, the town I now run, that we have cold-blooded murderers coming to kill them all.”
Asher frowned. “Sorry.”
I looked past him, spotting Nora and Jade walking toward a bike path.
“Jade, hold on,” I said, wanting to speak to her before she left. They kept walking, and I frowned, knowing she probably couldn’t hear me.
I started after them, and Asher yelled. “Where are you going? The group will be here soon.”
“Start it for me, and I’ll take over if I’m not back in time,” I yelled back, continuing after Jade and Nora. I knew I should just let Jade have the space that she seemed to want, but I felt the pull to be near her.
I rounded a tree and froze when I spotted them near a bench. They were talking close together, a smile plastered on Jade’s face. I could see they were relaxed, and I was about to turn back and head to the training area, but I spotted a man walking down the pathway toward them.
He had dark brown hair and deep blue eyes. He walked with purpose and looked attractive enough. He slowed as he got to the bench and turned toward them. Both of the girls stopped talking, and I watched as they both blushed.
“I was just looking for some directions. These pathways lead every which way,” he said, offering them a smile.
“Understandable,” Jade said with a smile in return. “If you just keep following the pathway, you’ll get back to the training grounds, and it’s right next to the parking lot.”
The man nodded his head, his hands deep in his pockets as he stood there. I watched the way he looked the girls over, and it twisted me up inside. I especially didn’t like the look in his eyes as he looked at Jade.
I felt anger as I stared at him, suddenly wanting to punch him into next week. I hated how he stood closer to them and how Jade seemed genuinely interested in what he was saying.
But then I felt the hair on my arm rise. He stood close to the girls, and as he pulled his hand out slightly, I could see how long his nails were. But he shoved his hands back into his pockets.
I moved closer, suddenly not trusting him. I didn’t know him. Couldn’t put a face to the name, so he might not even be from our pack.
I wasn’t taking the chance, so I walked toward them. I opened my mouth to call out to Jade, but then I saw the man smile more fully. He had sharp fangs that poked out clear as day, and as he moved his hands out of his pockets, I saw the sharpness of his nails. He was a vampire.
But I see the way that his hands start to flex and his fingers start to shift. He’s not just a vampire but a hybrid.
“Jade! Nora! Move back to the training ground!” I yelled as I bolted forward, shifting into my wolf form.
The man shifted and swiped his hands. The girls moved, the bench gave back, and they flipped backward.
They both tried to get to their feet, but I was already ahead of them.
I slammed into the man, and we both tumbled into the grass ahead of the bench.
I shoved him away and took in his form. The hybrids looked like monsters from a story.
They were twice as large as wolves were, but their fur was thin, almost see-through.
You could see their veins popping underneath, and how pale their skin was.
They might have been bigger, but they moved more slowly.
Their limbs were long, giving them a gaunty look.
He lunged at me, snapping his mouth directly at my throat. I moved, missing him, and quickly jumped on him, shoving him hard into the ground. A growl fell from his throat, and he shoved, moving me off him.
I fumbled back a few feet and tried to shake the hit off me. He ran at me, and our bodies collided hard. We smacked into a tree, and I heard the crack sound as it gave way. We both lost our footing, tumbling even further back into the woods.
He continued to snap at me, shoving me further and further into the trees. I hated it, yet I understood why he was doing it. He was shoving me further and further from my pack, just like how wolves hunted in the wild.
We collided again, and the sounds of teeth chomping and fur ripping filled the air. I could hear yelling, but kept my attention on the hybrid. As long as Nora and Jade ran back to the pack, they were going to be okay.
I heard steps behind me, and I turned my head, expecting another hybrid to jump at me.
But before I could react, the hybrid lunged, slamming me hard into the ground.
My body was pinned, and his mouth hovered over my face.
The hybrid roared, and I tried to move, but he was using his muscles to hold me down.
I felt his teeth sink into my shoulder, and I howled out in pain as it radiated through my entire body. I hooked my hind legs between us, and I shoved myself free, feeling the bite was going to leave a mark. It stung, and I turned to check my surroundings, knowing I had heard footsteps.
“Hey!” A voice broke through the silence, and I snapped my head in the direction it came from, finding Jade standing there. She held a rock in her hand, and I looked back toward the hybrid to see that she’d already thrown a rock. She was trying to get its attention.
Why was she here? I told her to go back to the training ground! He wouldn’t go there because there were so many people. He wouldn’t stand a chance by himself.
I watched as he started to charge after Jade, and fear coursed through me quickly. Jade couldn’t shift. She had no real way of protecting herself. Not against him.
I moved quickly, putting all my power into my muscles as I collided with him. I sent him flying into a tree. The ground shook, and Jade stood utterly frozen, white as a ghost, as dust kicked up in front of her. The hybrid had gotten just a foot in front of her before I hit it.
I had a minute. That was it. I shifted back into my human form, grabbed her hand, and pulled hard on her. “Move!” I snapped, yanking her with me. If we ran for it, maybe just maybe we could make it back to the training ground.