Chapter 15 - Asher
It’s been a week since the meeting, and Hazel started her training.
She was learning how to feel her power and pull it out.
Jade and Nora were helping her with that part in the mornings while Chelsey worked one-on-one with her, researching and helping her understand the connection to the dark energy in the evenings.
Hazel often came home tired, or I found her napping in the living room after hours of training. I knew her body was adjusting and that sleep was the best thing for her. Especially when Brandon asked what she was dreaming about.
He wanted her to keep track of where she was and try to pinpoint why she kept going back to the same spot. He said there had to be a reason she was seeing it.
I unlocked the front door and found Hazel sitting at the island with a microwaved dinner. She looked half asleep as she took a bite of the meal, her body hardly moving.
“Hey,” I said as I slid my shoes off and hung my jacket up.
Her head turned, and I could see dark circles under her eyes. She looked exhausted.
“Hi.” She gave me a half wave, scoping another bite into her mouth. “Where were you?”
“I was scouting while the guys got some rest. Are you okay? You look tired.” I was tempted to say she was overworking herself. I understood wanting to learn as quickly as she could, but I knew that this was all at once.
She nodded, looking back at the dinner. “Yeah, it’s just been a long day. I didn’t sleep well, and we were busy at the clinic. I was planning to come home and rest, but Chelsey asked me to stay late to do some studying. I just got home a few minutes ago.”
I frowned. “Why don’t you head to bed then? You look exhausted.”
She paused, and I watched her body tense up.
She swallowed slowly. “Because I don’t want another nightmare.
” She rubbed at her eyes. “I know that it helps, and that I should be using it to learn stuff, but…” She looked at me.
“I just want to sleep. I wake up from them, and I can’t go back to bed.
I don’t even know how many hours I’ve gotten over the last week.
The only time I do is if I take a nap for a short time or… ” She paused.
“Or what?”
She looked back at her dinner. “When you shared the bed with me.” She took another bite. “I know I shouldn’t complain…so please just ignore me. I’m just frustrated and tired. I’ll be fine.”
I sat down next to her. “Training not going well?”
She shook her head. “No, not really.” She licked her lips.
“Chelsey is giving me all this information, and I can’t retain it.
Gabriella won’t even talk to me since the meeting.
Jade and Nora have been helpful, but I’m not new to this.
” She looked at her hands. “I had magic before, and I was starting to use it, so I don’t understand why it’s so hard now. I just feel like I’m failing.”
“Hazel, it’s like learning a new trick.”
“I know,” she whispered. I could see just how exhausted she was.
She was tired deep down to her bones. She looked like she just wanted to throw her hands up and give in.
“It’s just so much stuff all at once, and I can’t even rest. At the end of a long day, you look forward to crawling into your bed and sleeping.
But what if your bed isn’t a place to relax?
But rather a place you're scared to go?”
She pushed her dinner away and rubbed at her eyes. “I’m sorry. I just… I’m tired. I don’t mean to complain. I want a good night’s sleep, and I know I’m not going to get it.”
I reached out, pulling her into my arms. She sagged against me, her head heavy on my chest. “You’re not failing. You’re learning. It’s okay to get upset when things are rough just as long as you keep trying.”
She wiped at her eyes. “I know. I just…it’s been a crappy week. I’m scared to go to bed.”
I pulled her up and turned us down the hallway to my room. She looked at me, confused. “What are you doing?”
“Taking you to bed.”
Her face went red, and I pushed my door open. “For sleep, Hazel. Get your mind out of the gutter.”
I walked toward my bed, laying her down on it. I flicked my lamp on and turned to find a pair of PJs.
“Asher, you don’t need to do this. I can sleep in my own bed.”
“You said you don’t want any nightmares.” I threw the covers over her. “And if I can help with that, I will. So, get comfortable.”
I crawled in the other end and pulled her close to me. I felt her curl back, her fingers wrapping around my arms. I could hear her heart beating and the way her breaths were even.
“Thanks,” she whispered.
It wasn’t long before I could tell she had fallen asleep. Her body relaxed, and she looked peaceful. I kissed her forehead and allowed myself to fall asleep.
I woke up to the bed being empty. It was still warm, which told me she had just gotten up not too long ago.
I slipped out of bed and headed down the hallway to the kitchen.
I found it empty, along with a little note from Hazel.
She had headed out for her morning training and wouldn’t be back until later.
I spent some time running errands in the morning before heading to the training ground. I found Jade there with Hazel. They were sitting together facing one another in the dirt.
I got out of the car and headed across the ground. Jade held her hands out to Hazel. “Deep breaths and just allow your muscles to relax. You want to feel the energies around you. Let your body sense the difference between yours and others.”
“That seems easier said than done,” Hazel grumbled.
“How’s it going?” I asked, stopping just a few feet away. Jade looked over at me and smiled. “It’s a work in progress.”
“It’s going shit,” Hazel said.
“It’s really not,” Jade quickly added. “Everything takes time. This is just like anything else. Practice makes perfect.”
“I know….I just wish I were getting somewhere with it.”
“This is your first week.” Jade pulled herself up. “I think that’s enough for today. We can pick it up tomorrow.”
“No, can we try a little longer?” Hazel asked. “Please? Just a few more minutes?”
Jade nodded and remained seated. I watched as Hazel closed her eyes, her eyebrows knitting together. The space fell quiet.
“I feel a pull,” Hazel said, her eyes snapping open. “In the woods.”
“Where?” Jade asked.
Hazel looked around and pointed to the south. I quickly dug for my phone and yanked it out. I pulled our map up and walked closer, showing it to her. “Can you point where?”
Hazel slowly nodded and pointed to a location. It wasn’t a spot we had ever checked because it was several miles outside the territory. It was a spot we needed to check.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I feel something there.”
I called Brandon, and we set up a team together. If Hazel was feeling a pull, I wanted us to follow it. If she were connected to them, she could tell us where they were. She could tell us stuff we wouldn’t know.
Brandon and Kaleb arrived a few minutes later. They took a team into the woods soon after arriving. Hazel paced as we waited for them to return. She walked up and down a path, her eyes glued to the woods.
I don’t know how much time passed before they appear. They came back toward us and shook their heads. Her shoulders sank.
“It’s a dark area, but there was no sign of hybrids there. Just looks like an abandoned space. We saw no need to look further.”
Her face fell. “So, I was wrong.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re wrong. Maybe it was further out. Just keep training.” Brandon patted her shoulder and walked past her. She turned to me, and I could see the hurt in her eyes.
“Hey, he’s right. You weren’t wrong. You’re still learning.”
“I was so sure,” she said. “I really thought I was leading them somewhere.”
“I believe you.” I gave her a smile. “Just keep training. You’re going to get better.”
She slowly nodded, and I bumped her elbow with mine. “Or you could just give up. Take on a different life. Maybe run away.”
She rolled her eyes but cracked a smile. “That’s a bad joke.”
“It got you to smile.” I looked into the woods. “You have to keep your head up.”