Chapter Nine
“Wake up Sleepyhead!!” Bréagha growled and punched out at the hand that was trying to shake her awake. She heard a curse and smiled, thinking she had been victorious against the thing trying to disturb her peace.
“Oh no you don’t! Wake up you, lazy bones!
” She felt a feather against her face this time and growled again.
She swiped out at the thing being brushed against her face.
She caught it and pulled, causing the person behind it to stumble against the bed where she could then punch out against them again.
“God damn it, Bréagha!! Wake up!” She grinned and finally opened her eyes. Aiden was rubbing his jaw where her fist had connected beautifully.
“You should know not to wake me up, Aiden. You are surprisingly dull witted. You think you would’ve learned your lesson.
” She stated as she pushed herself up, brushing her unruly hair out of her face.
She held her hand out to the steaming cup of coffee her friend picked up from her bedside table where he had placed it safely before he had tried to wake her. Proof that he knew what he was in for.
“Not sure you deserve this, but the Sentinel Elders want us down at the training grounds in 15 minutes and you need to wake up.” Bréagha took a deep drink of the coffee that he had made perfectly, as usual, half coffee and half cream.
Equal amounts of caffeine and sugar to wake up her entire body.
It took a minute or two before his words fully sank in.
“15 minutes? And you waited until now to tell me!?!” She threw her quilt and sheets off her legs and bounded out of bed.
She ran to her closet; pulling out workout pants, a blue flannel shirt and a graphic tank top, this one with a turtle in a race car bypassing a rabbit, with the phrase work smarter not harder over the two in an arch.
She hurriedly began to dress. Aiden walked over to the window that overlooked the front of her house.
He smiled when he heard a thump and then her cursing behind him.
She had more than likely got tangled in her pants as she tried to put both feet in at the same time.
Some things never changed. He turned back to her when he heard the water running in the bathroom.
He looked down at the watch Killian gave him this morning.
“Five minutes now!” He chuckled when he heard another thump and curse.
She always tried to do the flamingo-stand to put her shoes on when she was in a hurry and always failed.
He shook his head and walked over to the bathroom.
She was looking around the sink, in the drawers, on the floor frantically.
He sighed and handed her a pony-tail holder.
She grinned up at him as she pulled her hair up in a hastily done messy pony.
“Alright! All done!”
“Great, now we’re late,” grumbled Aiden, and she grinned at him unrepentantly.
“Then get your lazy butt in gear! Let’s go!
” She ran out of the room and Aiden sighed before heading after her.
Grabbing her arm and leading her to her backyard, through the wooded area and out past Killian’s team’s manor house.
They jogged across the clearing towards the mountains.
There at the base of it was the Sentinel’s training center.
There was an elaborate obstacle course, archery dummies, as well as other areas for sword work, a shooting range, hand to hand arenas, and a few she didn’t recognize.
Aiden led her towards the obstacle course where she saw Killian’s team, the elders, and a few other men. When they joined the group, Drago smiled and reached out to cup Aiden’s shoulder to give him one of those fatherly shoulder clasps.
“Right on time! It’s good to be prompt.” Bréagha glared at Aiden.
“I thought you said we were late!” He grinned unrepentantly, his hands in his back pockets.
“If I hadn’t, you would’ve taken longer. How do you think I ever get you to things on time? The bar opens at four Bréagha, but we were always there by three.”
“No, we weren’t! It was always four.” She argued.
“I changed all the clocks.” He admitted, causing Drago to laugh and give him another hearty shoulder clasp.
Bréagha was about to argue more but Colin walked up with another man, this one just as large as Killian, with dark hair past his shoulders and dark eyes.
He had a wicked grin, and Bréagha couldn’t help but grin back.
“Bréagha, this is Jaxx, Killian’s brother and Colin’s other son.
He’s the leader of his team, which consists of Mason,” Drago pointed to a man off to the side with warm honey eyes and short brown hair.
The man in question waved. “The surfer boy is Travis.” Travis was indeed a quintessential surfer type with long wavy blonde hair and bright blue eyes.
He gave them a chin nod and Bréagha grinned. “The last one over there, is Bracken.”
“Hey, saved the best for last!” Bréagha turned to the last member of the group.
He had shorter hair than Travis and Jaxx, but it was long enough up top that it swung into his face.
He had bright green eyes that sparkled with mischief, and Bréagha’s grin widened.
Oh, they were going to be best of friends, she could tell.
He stepped closer and gave her a big hug.
His grin widened when he heard a distinct growl from Killian who stood back with Liam and Cathal.
He looked over at the other team leader and winked.
Liam and Cathal both groaned and shook their heads.
Bracken was going to get his ass handed to him and there was nothing to stop it.
“Okay, now that introductions are out of the way let’s get movin,” hollered Drago who had moved to a platform overlooking the different areas.
They all joined him except Jaxx’s team, who moved to the obstacle course.
They waited for the signal then took off like a shot when Colin whistled and started a timer.
“Now Bréagha we need to see what you can do, what areas we need to shore up and start testing your limits,” Drago stated as he looked down at a list on his clipboard.
“I think we’ll let you run the obstacle course first, to see strength and agility.
Then we’ll do a hand-to-hand sparring session with Aiden, since I’m assuming you’ve done at least some training.
” He broke off and looked up for confirmation.
He looked back down at the list when she nodded in the positive.
“Then move to weapons. Have you done any training with weapons before?”
“I have a concealed carry permit so am decent with a handgun and a rifle. I played around with a bow and arrow for a bit but got bored. The crossbow was a lot of fun. Aiden tried to get me to do the staff, which he favors, and swords, but they were a little too gangly.” Drago nodded and made notes, seemingly excited that she had tried quite a few.
“You were bored with the bow and arrows because you got too good too quick,” retorted Aiden from his place next to Cathal watching the other Sentinels.
They all hooted and hollered at the other team, calling them names and generally ribbing them as they made their way through the course.
Aiden gleefully joined in. “She was hitting the bullseye every time within a couple hours of picking the set up.”
Drago raised his eyebrows at that. “Were they stationary targets?”
“Some were. Then I took her to one of those places where targets pop up and down and move across the space while you are moving on a platform. Every single one obliterated. Bracken, you are fugly! Fuzzy wuzzy, pick up those sticks you call legs!” Bréagha giggled as she saw Bracken flipping Aiden off as he ran across rolling logs that looked to be hanging above a swamp.
“She got bored after that. She did that well with a crossbow too, and any gun she picked up. If there’s a bullseye, she’ll take it down. ”
Aiden finished his explanation, not once looking over at Drago or Bréagha, his full focus on the team running the obstacle course. But Killian watched Drago and Colin’s faces. They were just as impressed as he was with Bréagha’s skills.
“Huh, well we’ll have to put her through her paces and see for ourselves.
” Drago finally said. His words almost drowned out by the jeering coming from Killian’s team.
He smiled and shook his head. “Okay, Bréagha, looks like the guys are just about done. Do you want to run it alone or have Killian’s team go with you? ”
Bréagha had been studying the other team as they made their way through the course and was fairly confident, she could handle it.
The logs gave her a moment of pause just because she didn’t want to find out what was in the water below them.
But the walls, razor wire, and even the fire rings seemed like fun.
“I can run with Killian’s team. If they don’t mind following in my wake.”
“Oh, ho…. she speaks big for such a small woman,” chortled Cathal. He jumped down from the platform and ran towards the starting line. “Let’s see who follows in whose wake, little girl!!”
Bréagha shot Drago a grin before she jumped down after the team and joined them all at the starting line.
Colin finished writing down the times for the other team, wiped the timer back to zero then whistled for them to start.
The beginning of the course was a straightway interspersed with obstacles that would fly in from the sides or pop up randomly.
Drago watched Bréagha closely, grinning as she passed Cathal quickly, and laughing outright when Liam and Aiden were both taken down by the same flying log that Bréagha soared over without breaking stride.
Bréagha hit the first wall too hot so lost a couple seconds falling back and coming at it again. She made up time quickly.