The Heart of a Warrior

Chapter 38

I'm tense as I walk around the sparring wolves, observing and making clipped adjustments when necessary. I had grabbed my sandwich and all but run from the pack house, leaving Carter with the half-excuse that I had to return to training. Honestly, I'm not sure why I bothered; we both know the real reason I left so quickly.

I push that exact reason out of my mind as I continue making my rounds; I need to focus. I continue to make corrections to form and give snippets of advice to the groups of wolves fighting throughout the clearing, and, little by little, I begin to get lost in the work. By the time I make it back around to the group I started with, I'm significantly more in control. 

The afternoon progresses smoothly. The pack is making incredible progress in the short time we have, and the determination in the air is palpable. Mistakes that are made are immediately noted and corrected, and my emotions remain under wraps, locked away where they belong. 

I'm in the middle of demonstrating defensive blocks in human form, preparing for the group to shift back, when I feel it. There's only about an hour left in training for the day, but I immediately know that an hour left or not, I won't be here to help. I glance to my left and catch Colten's eye, silently signaling him to take over. With a brief "Excuse me for a moment," to my pack, I take a step back and turn to face the only person whose presence could make my wolf so enthusiastic.

Adrian, wearing only a pair of loose shorts, strides towards me, his intense gaze locked with mine. I watch the emotions burn in his eyes as he takes in my choppy locks, but there's not nearly enough surprise in them; somebody already told him. Which, if I'm being honest, is probably the reason he's striding towards me like he's about to grab me and never let me out of his sight again.

I walk the final steps to meet him. His eyes scan my face before dropping to my hand, landing directly on the nearly healed gashes marring my right knuckles. His gaze lifts back to mine, too many emotions in his eyes for me to decipher. When he reaches for my undamaged hand, I let him take it, knowing we need to have this talk sooner or later. I willingly follow him as he leads us away from the pack and deeper into the forest.

My stomach clenches at the feeling of his hand around mine as he leads me through the woods. His grip is strong, firm, and I feel as though everything I possess is focused on the exact points of contact where his hand meets mine. I try not to think about how warm his hand is, or the humming current that's traveling up my arm, or how perfectly our hands fit together. I definitely don't think about how complete the contact makes me feel. Thinking like that would be the opposite of helpful right now, especially with the conversation I'm sure we're about to have. 

Yeah, it's a good thing I'm not thinking about any of those things.

We walk until we come to a clearing about a mile away. Turning, Adrian tugs me towards him and wraps his arms around me tightly. I feel him rest his chin on my head before his lips replace it, more forceful than usual. He pulls back, and his eyes search my face as emotions wreak havoc on his. 

"What happened?" His voice is low, controlled; he's fighting the emotions threatening to drown him.

I bite my lip, quite literally biting back my immediate response of "nothing" as well as the next of "It isn't important", knowing he won't accept either. 

"It doesn't matter," I settle, "It's done now". My voice matches his, both of us trying not to unleash the hurricane of emotion brewing in his hazel orbs.

 His eyes flash, but his voice remains steady. "What happened?"

My gaze remains locked with his, and I know my eyes are emotionless as they calmly stare him down. "It doesn't matter."