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I sat on the bed and stared at the door Damien had just walked through. My hands shook a little as I raked my fingers through my hair. I felt so stupid for blurting out I love you last night. He probably thought I was crazy. We barely know each other. He’s cold and distant. Why would he feel anything like that? I pulled my knees up to my chest and hugged them tight.
Footsteps came down the hall again. The door opened and Damien walked back in.
He closed it behind him and looked at me with that blank face.
I shifted on the bed and furrowed my eyebrows. “What are you doing back?”
He crossed his arms and leaned against the door. “I forgot something.”
I raked my fingers through my hair again. “Okay. What?”
He shook his head once. “Not that. I saw your face. You’re still thinking about last night.”
I felt my cheeks heat up. “No I’m not.”
He stepped closer. “You are. I’m not upset about last night so get it off your mind.”
I gasped and stared at him. My mouth fell open. “How do you know what I’m thinking?”
He shrugged. “I could barely sleep with your thoughts all in my head.”
I gasped louder and covered my mouth with my hand. “What? You can hear my thoughts?”
He nodded once. “Not all the time. Just the loud ones. Like last night. You were screaming in your head about how stupid you felt.”
I shifted on the bed and pulled my knees tighter. “That’s not fair. You never told me you
could do that.”
He uncrossed his arms. “It’s part of the bond. Gets stronger with the pup.”
I furrowed my eyebrows. “So you heard everything? About how I regretted saying it?”
He looked at the floor for a second. “Yeah.”
I raked my fingers through my hair hard. “That’s embarrassing. I feel exposed.”
He looked back at me. “Don’t. It’s not a big deal.”
I nodded slow but my chest still felt tight. “Okay. If you say so.”
He stepped closer to the bed. “And I’ve been thinking about training you. Not to fight but to defend yourself in case of Successfully unlocked! e.”
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I looked up at him and nodded quick. “Yeah. That sounds good. I felt so helpless when
they grabbed me.”
He crossed his arms again. “Meet me in the bedroom by five. We start then.”
I furrowed my eyebrows. “The bedroom? Why not outside or something?”
He shook his head. “Here’s fine. Less eyes.”
I nodded again. “Okay. I’ll be here.”
He turned toward the door. “Good. I’ll see you later.”
He opened the door and walked out without looking back. The door clicked shut. I sat there staring at it, heart still racing from everything he just said.
I checked the clock for the tenth time. 4:47. I raked my fingers through my hair and paced the bedroom again. My stomach flipped every time I thought about training with Damien. I couldn’t sit still. I just wanted to be next to him, even if he was cold and bossy. I wanted to see him focus on me, even for an hour.
At exactly 4:59 I grabbed a hoodie and ran downstairs. Damien was already waiting in the small training court behind the packhouse. He stood with his arms crossed, face
blank.
“You’re early,” he said.
I shifted on my feet and smiled. “I was ready. Let’s start.”
He nodded once and stepped into the middle of the court. “There will be
repercussions for the attack. When the time comes, I want you to be able to defend yourself. No running off like last time.”
I nodded fast. “Okay. Teach me.”
He grabbed my wrist gently. “First, someone grabs you like this. What do you do?”
I tried to yank away. “Pull?”
He shook his head. “No. Twist your wrist toward their thumb. The weak part. Like this.” He showed me slow. “Try.”
I twisted. My wrist slipped free. I grinned. “I did it!”
He almost smiled. The corner of his mouth twitched. “Again. Faster.”
I did it three more times, laughing when I got it right. “This is actually fun.”
He showed me how to elbow someone in the ribs. I practiced on the air, then on his padded arm. I missed the first two times and hit his shoulder instead. “Oops. Sorry.”
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He corrected my stance. “Elbow up. Shoulder down. Again.”
I tried again. This time it landed solid. “Yes!”
He showed me how to knee someone in the groin. I practiced the motion, giggling when I almost lost balance. “I look ridiculous, don’t I?”
He watched me. “You look determined. That’s better than nothing.”
I kept practicing. Every time I got something right I looked at him, hoping for that almost-smile again. He never gave it fully, but his eyes stayed on me the whole time. After twenty minutes he checked his phone. “I’ll be right back. Someone’s mind-linking
me.”
I nodded quick. “Okay. I’ll keep practicing.”
He walked off toward the main house. I stayed in the court alone, repeating the moves. My mind kept replaying that tiny twitch at the corner of his mouth. His smile would be beautiful if he actually did it. He should smile more. It made my chest feel warm thinking about it.
I tried the elbow strike again. Then the knee. Then the wrist escape.
Everything started to blur. The court tilted. The ground felt soft, like quicksand. I tried to run but my feet sank. I scraped at the dirt, panic rising fast. “No, no, no.”
I sank deeper. The dirt pulled me down. I clawed at the ground, gasping for air. My fingers dug into something soft. Wet.
I gasped loud and snapped back to reality.
I was on my knees in the training court. My hands were covered in blood. A tiny,
lifeless pup lay in my lap. Its eyes were open, staring at nothing. Blood soaked its fur.
I screamed.
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