I whiz through the trees as we play one of our favourite warm-up games before getting into cat and mouse.
Take it easy,Caleb’s voice echoes through my head.You need to keep your energy. Don’t burn yourself out.
I’m good. I feel good.
Still, don’t need to rush, pups.
My eyes roll, and I start to slow down. I know he’s right, but having this amount of stamina is fun to play with when I’d always be at the back and struggling. Even my wolf is bigger and more filled out—Caleb’s wolf definitely enjoyed seeing me shift the other day when his eyes dilated to the size of saucepans.
After training, I have goosebumps all over my skin, and feel on top of the world. My chest might be tight, but it’s electrifying. A pack training session that I didn’t actually hate for once.
That’s progress.
Jaxon invites Caleb’s pack over for drinks, which I know means taking Caleb away to chat. As we head towards their pack house, I feel an arm sling over my shoulder, and I freeze as I glance up at Leon before taking a breath.
Nina steps to my side and grins. “Long time no see, Evan.”
“Hey, guys,” I greet them.
“You’re really shining out there,” Leon says sincerely. “How is it over at Caleb’s pack?”
I freeze for a second. “Uh, yeah, it’s good.”
“What happened?” Nina asks with curious eyes. “We’ve heard lots of different things.”
My skin crawls at their words because I didn’t think anyone would be talking about me. I’m a nobody. A silly little Omega with no family. Why would anyone even consider talking about me?
“Oh…what have you heard?”
“That you got into a fight with Jaxon.” Leon squeezes my shoulder casually before releasing me.
I laugh. “A fight with Jaxon, really?”
Leon hums. “Yeah, but Jaxon denied it.”
“What else?”
“That Caleb stole you away,” Nina says as she grabs onto my arm. “People think you’re together.”
My heart stops inside my chest. “What?” I laugh hesitantly.
“I know!” Nina exclaims. “Crazy, right?”
“Ha—yeah…so crazy.”
When I glance at Leon, he’s studying me, like he can see right through me, and I try not to squirm beneath his gaze.
“So what really happened?” he asks, tilting his head at me curiously.
“Uh, well, I’ve been struggling with training, and since Caleb’s pack is training new trainers, I said I’d be a test subject,” I say with a fake smile. “Just made it easier to move there for the time being. And it’s been working.”
Leon pokes his tongue into his cheek. “Huh. Funny, we didn’t get asked to move over, considering we also need extra training.”
Oh, Goddess.
“Yeah, I don’t know.” I shrug. “Ask Jaxon. How have you guys been?”
Nina says everything's been fine before being dragged into a different conversation. I can feel the weight of Leon’s eyes on the side of my head.
