34. Kaycia
Chapter 34
Kaycia
R aquel cracks her neck and strips off her leather jacket so she stands in just a black sports bra and leggings. Before tossing the jacket aside, she reaches into the pockets to pull something out. For a minute I panic. Even though I’ve watched Raquel shift into an adorable raccoon that begs for belly rubs and marshmallows, I know that she’s tough and much stronger than me. Seeing her back and arm muscles flex under the dark tattoos that curl across her tan skin only reminds me of that fact and makes me wonder how the hell I think I’m going to be able to defend myself if wolf shifters come after me.
My nerves ratchet up even higher, sending sweat tingling under my arms and slicking my palms when Raquel turns around to reveal a handful of zip ties and a roll of duct tape.
“You ready?” she asks with a devilish smile.
“Uhhh…what?” I glance between the supplies and her raised brows.
“Shane told me you needed some instruction on defense. I figure you need to know how to get out of a bind just as much as how to throw a punch. What do you want to start with?”
“Walk me through my options,” I say nervously.
Ten minutes later, I’m lying on my side on the grass with my hands zip-tied and my mouth taped shut.
“What the fuck, Raquel?” Shane’s shout echoes across the open space near the pond while Max’s guffaws add harmony.
“And you weren’t worried about Raquel! When has she ever ‘been good’?” Max chortles.
“Watch and learn,” Raquel insists, arms crossed over her chest as she studies me.
Within a few moments, I’ve scurried to my knees, lifting my arms overhead and swiftly bringing them down so that my wrists are in front of my stomach with my elbows flared at my sides. The force of the movement breaks the zip ties and I rip the tape from my mouth with a wince.
“Can we not do the tape again, please?” I ask, rubbing my raw skin with my fingers. “Ever.”
Shane approaches wearing a deep frown. He takes my hand and tenderly traces the red lines around my wrists from the zip ties. We’ve practiced several times and my skin is sore, but my confidence is higher than before we started.
“What next?” I ask.
“Let’s do a couple of defense moves in case someone grabs you. Now that the guys are out here, they can help. Max, come up behind me and grab me like you’re going to abduct me.”
“Nope,” Max replies. “Not just nope, but fuck no. I’m not giving you a chance to kick me in the nuts or bust my nose.”
“It’s for practice, you dick,” Raquel insists. “Fine. Shane, you man enough to do the honors?”
Stepping out of the way, I watch as Shane nods. Within a blink, he’s moving quicker than I thought possible. He charges toward Raquel, wrapping an arm around her waist and forcing her arms against her sides. He grabs her ponytail tightly in the opposite fist. Raquel growls and her eyes briefly flash gold before she bends her knees, dropping low as she slams her head backward into Shane’s nose. He grunts but holds on as she wiggles and drops her weight to loosen an arm, striking back with her elbow into his stomach, then his groin. To finish, Raquel lands a brutal stomp to Shane’s instep. If he wasn’t wearing boots I’d worry more, but he lets go and holds his nose which drips with blood. Just as Max had anticipated.
“Gods damn it, Quel,” Shane groans, tipping his head back. Crimson coats his lips and chin before he can staunch the bleeding.
“You wanted me to show her!” she retorts with a sly grin, smoothing her hair and re-tightening her ponytail.
“You could have just walked her through it instead of beating the shit out of me.”
“Told you,” Max says with a sideways look at me.
“Are you okay?” I ask, swallowing my nerves. Everything happened so quickly. I fear that my mind will go blank as soon as someone grabs me in real life. Raquel moved so fast, like her muscles knew exactly what to do, instinctually adjusting for Shane’s moves.
“I’m fine,” Shane answers, wiping the back of his palm across his bloody face. The flow has stopped, his shifter healing kicking in to mend him quickly. “Quel, walk her through it.”
For the next half hour, Raquel explains the movements and reasoning behind each one. How to know when to hit with an elbow and when to dig in with fingertips and nails, when to drop your body weight, and when to risk a head butt. She shows me how to use a hammer strike with my keys wrapped tightly in my fist, and how to hit the weak points of the human body.
The entire time I wonder, How can I possibly defeat a shifter with any of this?
After the verbal lesson, Raquel tells Max to try it out with me.
“Don’t go easy on me,” Max tells me, not worried about a broken nose or sore groin like he was with Raquel.
“Back at ya,” I answer, sounding far more confident than I feel.
When Max’s arms circle me, pinning my arms to my sides as Shane demonstrated with Raquel, a low growl disrupts my focus. Shane’s eyes are an unchanging, luminous gold, and his teeth are bared at Max. Forcing myself to ignore him, I try to break loose, elbowing and stomping, but Max holds tight. His hot breath tickles my hair and panic begins to set in when I can’t get free.
“Remember what I told you!” Raquel shouts. “What do you do when they come at you from behind?”
Heart hammering, I try to remember the movements Raquel showed me. I’m embarrassed by the whimper that escapes me as I struggle, thrashing around while Max’s grip holds firm. I continue to wriggle, my confidence eroding. I’m not convinced he’s even using his full strength. After another few seconds, Shane slams into us, dragging Max off me and tossing him aside like a rag doll. The guttural snarl that explodes from him as he stares at Max has me taking a step back, eyes wide.
“Fuck, Shane!” Max shouts. “ You asked us to help!” He stands, brushing his hands on his jeans and shaking out his hair.
“Shit. Shit ,” Shane mumbles, looking chastened and running his hands over his face. “Max, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”
“You good?” Raquel asks me. She stands close to my side with her body positioned between the guys and me. Shane breathes deeply, calming as he approaches us, but Raquel is focused on me instead of him.
“Yeah. Yes. Yes, I’m fine.” Breathless and frustrated, but fine.
“You’re in deep, aren’t you?” Raquel whispers to Shane when he’s close, eyes still on me. Shane just nods.
“Shane, you good, man?” Max asks, approaching slowly and not making eye contact.
“Yeah.” Shane answers. He swallows and inches toward me, eyes on the ground in contrition. “I’m sorry, Kaycia.”
“What happened?” I ask, still confused by his outburst. I look between each of the shifters, but no one seems to be as surprised as I am.
“He’s bonded to you now. He won’t be able to stand seeing you in trouble, no matter who’s doing it,” Raquel explains. “It happens to most of us when we fall in love, but it’s worse in wolves. Territorial bastards.” She looks between us with a mischievous smile. “Sorry if you haven’t discussed the big ‘L’ word yet, hope I didn’t ruin the romantic moment.”
“We have,” I say to Raquel, but ask Shane, “Why didn’t you tell me this might be an issue?”
Shane takes my hand, stroking his thumb over the back as our fingers entwine. He still looks like a child who’s been scolded. “I didn’t realize it would be. I haven’t experienced anything like this before.”
Max and Raquel pretend they’re not listening, picking up Raquel’s jacket and the supplies she brought, but they’re entirely too quiet to be believed.
“Okay, then you teach me,” I tell Shane.
“I think we need a break. Let’s have lunch and then we can work on something else.”
“Deal.”