"Crap" I sighed as I collapsed, yet again, onto the grass. My body was aching and I could barely breathe. It had been 4 days and so far the only thing I had done was run. And run. And run. I thought I would be learning to kick ass, but instead Logan was wasting my time with all this useless running and he wouldn't even tell me why.
Logan rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed by my weakness. It was easy enough for him, he just sat there watching me all day!
"My muscles are sore, leave me alone!" I cried.
"They're too stiff; you've not been stretching properly. Come on, I'll help you." Logan walked over to where I was lying and knelt in front of me. "You need to take care of your legs." he said as he took hold of my right thigh. His hands were very warm.
He pushed my leg forward so that my knee was against my chest and my foot was up in the air. Once the initial sting died down to a dull ache I became aware of how close Logan was to me. His body was pressed against mine, his face only inches away. I could feel his breath against my face, and his fingers pressing into my thigh.
Before I was able to blush too fiercely, Logan let go and carried out the same procedure with my other leg. I ignored the sweat that was trickling down my forehead and occupied myself with studying Logan's face. His eyes looked like chocolate in the act of melting as they stared back at me. His wavy brown hair was still slightly damp from his morning shower and I had to fight the urge to run my fingers through it.
I couldn't help but compare him to his brother. They were both very attractive, but as I looked at Logan I noticed that his features seemed more defined, probably due to his age. His jaw was strong and square, all signs of baby fat gone. God, I really shouldn't be thinking about him this way, but who can resist an older man?
I still couldn't get over the feelings that Damian and Logan were stirring up inside of me, I was usually so apathetic. Never before had a man affected me like this.
"Jesus, are you even paying attention to me?" Logan snapped, breaking me out of my reverie.
"Oh sorry, spaced out there for a minute."
He sighed and got up. "Alright, you can keep running now."
"What?" I yelled disbelievingly. "Come on! All I've done this week is run, I'm tired of running! How exactly is this supposed to help me fight a werewolf? I want to learn how to fight."
"Fight a werewolf?" Logan laughed. "Humour me, you're at the mall and you encounter a werewolf. What do you do?"
"Umm, shoot him with silver bullets?" I felt the answer was pretty obvious.
"Where are you going to get a gun, let alone silver bullets?" he inquired. Okay, I guess he's got a point there. "And don't even bother suggesting cutting off his head because not only would you need some type of sword, you'd also need inhuman strength." He added.
"Umm..." I was totally confused at this point.
"Think about it. You see a werewolf, what do you do?" he asked again. Suddenly it all clicked into place.
"I run."
"Exactly. You run. You can not overpower a werewolf Max, so if me and Damian aren't there to help you, all you can do is run and hide."
I understood where he was coming from, but I still felt bitterly disappointed. Logan seemed to notice the change in my mood and his expression softened.
"I'm sorry if I've been hard on you, but I'm trying to keep you safe. Don't worry though, I will indulge you. We'll teach you some basic self defence in case you encounter a human attacker. Besides, the exercise will help build up your stamina." I felt a grin split my face and Logan laughed at my response. "Come on, let's go inside." He said, still chuckling slightly.
The next day, Damian made my day by announcing that I would be starting my self defence lessons.
"I'll be teaching you in the defensive stance, while Logan will teach you offensive moves." He told me. He then took my hand and led me downstairs towards the gym. We walked past all the fancy equipment towards an empty room with mats all over the floor.
"This is the fighting room, we'll be spending a lot of time in here" Damian grinned at me and winked. I was so happy that he was leading my first session, his light-heartedness and great sense of humour would ensure that I had fun even when I was getting my ass kicked. Logan would surely only make snide comments and make fun of me.
"One thing you must always remember is to keep your arms up, in order to protect yourself." He advised. I put my arms up and balled my fists, imitating the kind of fighting stance I had seen on TV. Damian smiled at me but repositioned my arms, implying I was doing it all wrong. Oh well.
"Secondly, "he continued. "you'll want to stay on the balls of your feet, shifting your weight from foot to foot. This will make it easier for you to keep your balance, and jump if your opponent attempts to kick out your feet from under you." I did as I was told. "That is now exactly what I'm going to do." He said, and before I had time to even process what he said, his leg connected with my ankles and I fell flat on my ass.
I felt really embarrassed; I hadn't expected I'd be so bad at this. At least I was with Damian, and Logan wasn't here to witness my shame. He was fiercely protective of me and I knew I could trust him with anything, but that didn't stop Logan from having a bit of a mean streak. He knew how to make me squirm. Just as I thought this, the devil himself strolled in.
"On the floor already baby?" Logan laughed as he took a seat in a corner. "Don't mind me, I'm just here to supervise."
"Crap" I muttered as Damian helped me up. This was going to be a loooong day.
