Vivianna
Someone was shaking me awake, and I sat up, gasping, clutching on to whoever had woken me up from my nightmare.
I looked up to find Koit’s worried blue eyes looking back at me.
I tossed my arms around his neck and cried.
The sobs tore through my chest as I stopped holding them back.
I’d tried everything I could to keep the feelings about this accident from taking me over.
I’d let a little boy, not even five years old, die in my arms. I was able to survive because I was a mutated version of a human.
I wept for the pain that his mother would be going through, and that fact that I had no mother to mourn over losing me.
I’d fought against my wolf in wanting to scratch him to see if that would save him.
If I transformed the child, would he live?
My wolf still wasn’t speaking to me for even thinking about doing that to the child.
She yelled at me for even considering it, telling me if I tried, then she was never going to speak to me ever again.
I would be left all alone, abandoned by the one entity that had always been with me.
The only thing that truly stopped me was when I heard his little heartbeat stop.
I knew that I couldn’t bring back something that was already dead—even a werewolf wasn’t that strong.
Koit held me as I cried, rocking me gently and telling me soothing nonsense. I was grateful for him just letting me cry this out and not trying to fix the problem.
I felt another body wrap around me and knew it was my mate.
I could feel his emotions through our bond, his concern and worry overwhelming anything else he may have been feeling.
I was surprised when I realized that I was feeling what he was feeling.
That had never happened before between us.
I wanted to ask my wolf, but I wasn’t sure if she was willing to talk to me yet.
“What can I do to ease your pain?” Tav said, his face in the back of my neck.
“Just being right where you are is helping,” I said, unsure of what anyone could do to fix what happened.
“Would you like to tell us?” Tav pressed gently.
Leave it to him to encourage expressing our feelings.
Out of all the guys, he’s the one who did that the best; he had no problem telling me how he felt without prompting.
I, on the other hand, was not so good at that.
I was beginning to understand that he needed that from me, and I was going to have to work on it.
“I was going to scratch the child. I couldn’t think of anything else to do to save him, so I was going to turn him into a werewolf if I could. Now my wolf is pissed at me, for good reason, and won’t talk to me,” I said, letting out a shaky breath.
“Hmm,” Tav said in response to that.
I scoffed, peeking at him from Koit’s chest. “I told you that I was going to scratch a child, and all you have to say is hmm.”
I knew I was picking a fight because I was mad at myself, but I couldn’t help it. I wanted a reason to take out some of this aggression, and the only thing I could think of was an argument. Tav pulled me into his lap, positioning me so I was looking up at him.
“What I took from that, love, is that you were willing to do anything to save that child, even if it meant going to that extreme. Did you scratch the child?” he asked, giving me a patronizing look.
“No,” I said, pouting.
“Then why should I be worried? Your wolf will forgive you, trust me. If mine can forgive me for ignoring him for forty-nine years, yours will forgive you for this one mistake. You’re a healer, someone who wants to protect people.
I’m not worried that you’re going on a scratching spree and start the second werewolf war of Europe,” Tav teased.
“There was a werewolf war in Europe before?” I asked, getting sidetracked.
“Yes, about a thousand years ago during the middle ages. It was a large battle between us and the Danish king. We drove out the Danish and took back over control of Norway. Many years later, it became hard for us to hide in one country, so we spread out and created packs all over Europe,” Tav explained.
“Wow, I never would have guessed that the founding of Norway was a werewolf battle,” I said, impressed and feeling a little less upset.
“Now that the history lesson is over, do you need anything?” Koit interjected, reminding me that he was still here with us.
I smiled over at him, knowing he was feeling left out after helping to comfort me too. “Know any place I could find something to punch, or at least work out?”
“Do you really think Darius would have a safe house for werewolves and not have a workout room? Please,” Koit said, climbing off the couch and holding out a hand for me.
Kissing Tav on the cheek, I slipped off his lap and let Koit pull me along downstairs.
Koit came to a door at the very end of the hall and threw it open, revealing a gym filled with all the workout equipment anyone could need.
Punching bag, weight bench and weights, TRX bodyweight training bands, rowing machine, and treadmills. I must admit, I was impressed.
The sound of skin hitting leather drew my attention to the back corner, where I found Darius working on a punching bag.
He had headphones in his ears, so he had yet to notice us, but I was happy to enjoy the view.
His bare back glistened with sweat, his muscles bulging as he put all his force into the workout.
His form was perfect, but there was something wild about it.
Under his skin, I could feel his alpha energy, free from his constant control.
Interesting—even the uptight asshole needed to let his beast out.
Koit coughed, pulling my attention back to him.
“I’m gonna let you do your thing; if you need anything, Darius is around,” Koit said, winking at me.
“You’re not even going to ask me if I’m feeling up to this or try and stop me? I mean, I did get hit by a car not too long ago,” I reminded him.
“Are you feeling up to it?” he asked as he quirked an eyebrow.
“Surprisingly, yes. I feel a little stiff, but my cuts have closed up, so I think I’m good,” I said, checking myself over.
Koit shrugged his shoulders as if that was answer enough. “Who am I to tell you that you can’t work out? You know your body better than any of us, so why should I question it if you feel you’re good?”
“My, that’s refreshing not to have some man ask me if I can handle myself or not,” I said, smirking at him.
“I’ll call you when dinner is ready if you’re not done by then.” Koit blew me a kiss before he left the room.
I wandered over to the treadmill, wanting to warm up before I got into my normal workout.
I was still learning how to manage this new body, and I definitely needed to respect the fact that I’d done some major healing.
Stretching out my legs, I noticed the sound of the punching bag had stopped.
Not wanting to get into it with Darius, I ignored it and turned up the speed so I was moving at an easy jog.
Soon after, I could hear manly grunting from behind me.
I looked up and found that I was facing a wall of mirrors, giving me a perfect view of Darius lifting weights behind me, my mouth watering at the sight of his arms as he did his curls.
When my gaze flicked up, I found that he was watching me.
I blushed at being caught in the act, but what I wasn’t ready for was the heat in his eyes.
My pulse pounded in my ears as my wolf nose picked up his scent.
The spicy scent of frankincense and sandalwood filled the small gym, driving my need.
The primal urge that was raging in me was nothing like it had been when I’d mated with Tav.
No, this was wholly Darius—commanding, confident, and passionate.
As our eyes held each other’s gazes through the mirror, I fought to keep from jumping off the treadmill and jumping him right there on the gym floor.
I knew the only way to end this torture was to break his gaze, but I wasn’t going to lose to him. He knew it, too, and smirked at me.
I growled low, then snatched and yanked out the emergency shut off key as I jumped off the treadmill.
I backed up, never breaking my gaze. Once I was standing next to him, I stopped.
I could feel him tense next to me, ready to see what I was going to do next.
I jammed my elbow into his gut, causing him hunch over, breaking the power struggle.
“That was a dirty trick and you know it,” Darius grunted as he stood back up, glaring at me.
“Are we really going to start this again?”
“It wouldn’t be an issue if you didn’t need to win every time.”
I laughed. “Hi, have you met yourself? I wouldn’t see it as a challenge if you didn’t turn it into one.”
“Only because you refuse to follow the rules.”
“Hold on, that’s a load of bullshit. I’m an alpha in my own right. I don’t need to bow down to you just because you’re male.”
Darius growled and stepped into me. “I don’t want you to bow to me, I just want you to listen to me. I am doing everything I can to keep you safe, but you keep doing shit to put yourself in danger.”
I bristled under his attack; I’d vowed once I got out of that monastery that I wasn’t ever going to let another man rule over me. “You know what your problem is? You demand from people. If they don’t act like your perfect little soldier, then they drive you crazy. That’s why you don’t like Koit.”
“That beta needs to know his place, respect the rule of his alpha.”
“He does respect Rik, he just doesn’t respect you!”
Darius’s hand snapped out faster than I could avoid, grabbing me on the back of my neck and pulling me against him.
“You may not respect me, but you’re gonna need me, Viv, whether you like it or not. I’m the only one who can truly keep you safe when we leave this safe house.”
“I already have three other males lined up for that job, Darius.”
“Stubborn, infuriating woman,” Darius muttered before his lips crashed against my own.