Chapter 13
Monte
Our first lesson of the day went better than I expected.
But it would seem that the video team expected to come in and have her trained and climbing after one quick hour or two lesson.
I had to stand firm and explain to them that it wasn’t going to happen that way.
There was no way I was going to put my mate in danger like that.
If she was going to truly test this harness, then she was going to have to take the proper steps to learn to climb.
I had to admit she was picking it up quickly. I’d have her scaling big walls in no time—if she could get over her fear of heights.
That was understandable. We were wolves, and they weren’t exactly known for climbing.
“Why do you do it?” she asked me over dinner. “It’s terrifying.”
I shrugged. Even though we were alone in the suite, I didn’t trust that eyes and ears weren’t there too.
It was why I much preferred being out in nature than in a public place like this.
Phones, smart TVs, Alexa, Siri, and any other number of devices could pick up everything said and send it off to God knew where for who knew to listen in.
“You know that exhilarating feeling when you’re running through the woods?” I lowered my voice to a level no human and hopefully human device could capture. “In your fur.”
“Yeah. I know that feeling.”
“Well, in a way that’s how rock climbing feels for me. It’s a similar rush but . . .” instead of saying the word skin, I just plucked at mine so she’d understand.
She nodded. “I suppose I can see where you’re coming from.”
The rest of our break was spent quietly as she contemplated what I’d said. For me, I just enjoyed being with her. Our bond was growing, and I feared there was no way to stop it now. But I also didn’t think I wanted to.
I liked being with Zoey. She was nothing like I expected her to be, at least not behind closed doors when we were relaxed and truly ourselves. I didn’t love her fake persona used in public, especially in front of a camera, but it hadn’t felt fake as we’d gotten into the lesson.
After barely an hour break, Gail knocked on the door.
“Time’s up. Back to work and let’s move this along a bit faster. We still need to get this footage into production.”
I growled softly and scowled at her. “You cannot rush this. It wouldn’t be safe.”
“Oh come on. It’s one ten-minute clip at most. We can even edit it to make it look as if she’s higher off the ground than she is. We aren’t filming an entire documentary here.”
“Then let me work with her and you can come back for the end.”
She huffed. “Unfortunately, Bryan posted a thirty second teaser and it went instantly viral. Her fans are loving the connection between the two of you already.”
“Wait, I’m in the video?”
“Of course you are. What the hell do you think we’ve been doing all day?
That was part of the agreement. And the chemistry between the two of you is the only reason I haven’t packed up and taken her elsewhere.
Those sparks are gold in this industry and really hard to fake.
You’re doing great. Now get your ass back in there and do it faster. ”
What the hell had I gotten myself into?
Logically, I knew I would be in parts. I’d even spoken to the camera like an idiot, though I didn’t expect them to use any of that and I certainly didn’t expect to be in the teaser.
What the hell had they caught on camera?
I had assumed they would be focused on Zoey, so I had been relaxed and myself just concentrating on her.
Once we settled into the lesson, I’d mostly forgotten about the cameras.
So again, what the hell had they caught, and what connection between us was in that teaser she was talking about?
“We’re coming. Give us five,” Zoey told her.
Begrudgingly, Gail agreed and left.
“You look like you’re in shock.”
“What was in that video?”
She pulled out her phone and searched for the video. We watched it together. It was a short clip of her Zoey falling off the wall and me catching her as we both laughed.
“Why would they post that scene? Are they just doing outtakes?”
She groaned. “I guess so. That’s not our normal teaser. I don’t know what Bryan was thinking.”
“I’ve never seen another person in your videos like this before.”
“There have been a few, but only when necessary to show me learning something, never like this. I’ll talk to him.”
Without another word, she got up and left the room. I did the only thing I could—I followed her.
By the time I caught up to her, she already had him cornered in the climbing gym.
“What was this all about?” she demanded.
“What? It’s pure gold. The sparks between you two are practically tangible.”
“But this is not on brand, and you know it.”
“It’s still on brand, just a bit more. It’s clearly stated that you’re learning a new skill in order to truly trial the product. That’s all.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s not all and you know it.”
Zoey was truly upset about this. Was she embarrassed to have me in the video with her?
“Zoey, you are real and relatable here. It even looks like you’re being flirty with him. Your followers are eating this up.”
“What?”
“Over five hundred thousand views in less than an hour. The internet is loving the two of you! I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Gail explained. Everyone else in the room just nodded in agreement.
“Shit,” she muttered. “Well, what’s done is done. What do we need to wrap up today?”
“I need you actually climbing. It’s a rock wall, you don’t really need this level of training to climb a stupid rock wall,” Bryan said. “Just get on with it and we’ll be out before the sun sets.”
A sharp pain shot through my cheek as I gritted my teeth trying to keep my mouth shut.
“Is that all you need for this? An indoor rock wall climb in the harness? Because if that’s the case then Bryan’s right.
You might have needed some help putting it on correctly, and it’s very much overkill for this sort of wall, but otherwise you would be fine.
I thought you wanted to actually learn to climb. ”
I wasn’t addressing the others. My question was directly given to Zoey, but Gail interjected to respond.
“She doesn’t really have time to learn how to climb. Just the basics. We’ve already wasted too much of her time. This is one item for her to review. She gets dozens of these a week.”
I glared at her and she clearly understood that her interruption was not appreciated, or maybe my wolf was just too close to the surface and subconsciously she sensed it, because she held up her hands and took two steps back.
Zoey, however, wouldn’t even meet my eyes.
“Zoey?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.
“Gail’s right. Let’s just get through this video and move on. I’ll try climbing this time. Bryan, get the cameras ready. We’ll wrap this up as quickly as possible.”
The girl I was starting to feel close to morphed into someone I barely recognized as the cameras began to roll.
I took a step back, unsure of why I was even still there as Zoey said a few words and then climbed the wall as if she’d been doing it her entire life. A small part of me was proud of her, but an unsettled feeling had set in that I couldn’t quite shake.
Still, I couldn’t make myself leave.
She climbed to the top and rang the bell before turning to celebrate and begin her descent. Her foot slipped and she lost her balance with the wall. My stomach lurched as she dangled there helplessly with no idea what to do.
Without hesitating, I sprang into action. In under a minute I was connected and scaling the wall to reach her.
“Just relax. I’m coming up to get you,” I told her in a confident but soothing voice.
It didn’t take long for me to reach her.
I’d could have climbed that wall blindfolded I’d done it so many times.
But when I got to her, I saw the tears and terror in her eyes.
My instinct was to grab her and climb us both down, but I was still aware of the cameras on us, maybe even more so after that teaser.
“Monte, help,” she cried.
“Zoey, you’ve got this. Remember what we practiced. What’s the first step?”
Her horrified eyes nearly broke me.
“I can’t. Help!”
“You can do this.”
“I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Step one, Zoey?”
“St-stay calm,” she managed to stutter.
“That’s right. Stay calm. Take a deep breath for me. It’ll calm your nerves and help with the nausea.”
She did by inhaling through her nose and exhaling through her mouth.
“Okay. What’s next?”
“What?”
“Step two. What’s step two?”
“Uh, find the wall,” she said more confidently.
“Good girl. You’ve got this.”
She reached for the wall and managed to grab hold of one of the climbing holds.
“That’s perfect. Now pull yourself to the wall and tell me step three.”
“Get upright.”
“Show me.”
It took her a bit, and I could tell she was a little frustrated having to work so hard at it, but she got it, and I couldn’t have been prouder of her.
“Now what?” she asked more confidently.
“Start your descent. I’m right here if you need me and I’ll talk to you.”
“The whole room is sort of spinning right now,” she whispered.
“I know it feels that way, but it’s not. When you start feeling that sensation, pick a point to focus on. The rest doesn’t matter. Let it fade away for as long as you can see it and if need be, pick another spot.”
“Got it,” she said, but she was staring at me.
“You’re good?”
“Yes. What next?”
“Now we begin our decline.”
I walked her down one step at a time. Her eyes never left mine. I smirked.
“What’s so funny?”
“When you pick a spot to focus on, it should always be a constant, unmoving, unyielding spot. For future reference.”
“Exactly,” she said.
My heart swelled as I stared back at her, trying not to read too much into what she’d just said.
We reached the bottom successfully and the room started clapping.
I gave a little bow before walking away and leaving Zoey to finish her video.
“You looked like a hunky superman flying in to save the damsel in distress,” Gail teased.
I groaned. “And that’s why we take lessons slow. She wouldn’t have needed me at all if you hadn’t rushed her.”
She gave me a knowing look. “I think we both know that’s not true.”
My jaw dropped and before I could even think to respond, Gail walked away.
I should have left. I was only there as a trainer, and the assignment appeared to have come to an early end. I would have loved to have a few days to teach her the true art of climbing and seeing joy, not fear, on her face when she took her first climb, even if it was just an indoor wall.
Instead, I just stood there watching her in action. She wasn’t exactly my Zoey when she was in work mode, and I had to admit that she had certainly put a lot into this. It wasn’t the egotistical fluff I had assumed, knowing she was an influencer.
I had to admit I was really impressed by it all.
Would I want to be a part of it day in and day out?
Hell no.
But I hadn’t really minded being in front of the camera teaching her something I love. It had been a little fun even.
Admittedly, I had been thrown off seeing myself through the videographers eyes in that teaser, and I was still a bit unsettled on how upset Zoey had gotten over it. But I supposed that was the separation part of fantasy and real life.
It was something I was just going to have to get used to.
That thought had hit me like a brick.
I gave it a moment to sink in. I tried to think of tomorrow, next week, next month, even next year without Zoey in it and I couldn’t. There was no longer any vision of my future that I could imagine not being by her side.
How the hell had this happened?
Mine, my wolf reminded me.
I just stood there in shock, feeling overwhelmingly helpless and nodding like a fool.
I had a mate whether I wanted one or not.