“Let’s go.”
“Go where?”
He levels a dark eye at me. “You agreed to take on a fight with Alicia, who happens to be a pretty good fighter.”
“You worried about me, Wolf?”
“Not particularly. I just don’t want to face Ava after Alicia destroys you.”
I roll my eyes. “She’s not going to destroy me.”
“We’ll see.”
He opens the door and motions for me to go ahead of him. I head downstairs. It’s funny, but for as long as I’ve been here, I haven’t been in Hunter’s basement. When we get to the bottom, I realize why. It's set up with all the workout equipment. I knew he worked out down here because he disappears down here every morning. I’ve just never bothered to check it out. Hunter moves a few machines out of the way, creating an open area. “Ready?” Knowing I’m not going to be able to get out of this until I can prove to the enforcer that I do indeed know how to fight, I slip off my boots. He frowns. “What are you doing?”
“They’re too heavy.” I decide to just get this over and done with. I don’t bother waiting. I just attack. It’s been a while since I've sparred, but muscle memory comes back. I start a brutalseries of attacks against Hunter. I almost land the first one out of sheer surprise, but he recovers quickly. He's a strong fighter, obviously. He’s not the pack’s enforcer without good reason. He’s fast, much faster than I anticipated, but that doesn’t bother me. I’ve trained with vampires, and they’re incredibly fast. At first, he holds back; I can feel it. But when he sees I can keep up, he starts putting in a little effort. Before long, we’re both sweating. I’m winded, but in no way, shape, or form am I out of energy. That’s at least one plus for being a vampire. After a while, he steps back. “You done?” I ask.
He walks over to a shelf against the wall, grabs two water bottles, and throws one at me. He pauses with his bottle halfway up to his mouth. “Do you not drink water anymore?”
I stare at the bottle. “Yes. Not often, but I can.” I continue to stare at the bottle, though. It’s so simple—somebody is throwing me a water bottle. And yet, it’s the first time in all these years.
“You good?”
Hunter’s voice breaks the weird moment I’m experiencing. “Yeah. Thanks.”
I don’t drink a lot of it, just a few sips. “So, how will I fare?”
“You’ll be fine against Alicia.” I nod, unsurprised. “Unless she shifts,” he adds.
I nod again. “I figured.”
“What are you going to do if she shifts?”
I shrug. “I’ll fight a wolf.”
“Have you ever fought a wolf?”
I don’t meet his gaze for this one. “Yes.” I don’t like thinking about that. But the vampires made sure I knew how to be an asset for them in every way. I can feel Hunter’s dark gaze on me, and for some reason, I tell him. “They would make me fight against the rogue wolves they’d bring in.” He doesn’t have to say anything for me to feel his reaction. I can feel that darkness heseems to give off grow thicker. “Let’s just say I know how to stay alive and keep my head firmly attached to my body.”
I meet his gaze then. “That’s how you kill vampires, right? You rip their heads from their bodies.” To his credit, he doesn’t look away.
“Most of the time, yes.”
I’m suddenly tired of being down here. “I’m heading to bed.”
I’m all the way across the room when he speaks in a low voice. “Is there anything that will trigger you tomorrow?”
I stop and turn around. “Trigger?”
He nods, his dark eyes fastened on mine. “Make you lose control?”
It takes me an extra second. “You mean lose control and try to drain her?” He nods.
My answer is swift. “No. There is nothing in the world that could make me do that.” Then, for some reason, I’ll blame it on being tired, I continue. “I’ve never fed from someone before. I’ve only ever drunk blood bags.” I don’t know why I felt that I needed to share that little tidbit, but I did. And I can’t find it in myself to regret it.
Chapter Eight
Sherese
