21. Kezia
We had takenthe long way back to the pack, or that's what it felt like. Cannon and I had run for hours, our wolves enjoying getting the time to spend time with each other. We hunted, played, and even relaxed.
Things were so much simpler when we were wolves.
It had been the perfect evening.
The two of us walked through the town, Cannon's huge black wolf imposing in size, but even in his wolf form, his pack called out greetings to him. Some even greeted me. It was nice.
It was the opposite of how I felt amongst the Anterrio Pack. The more time I spent away from them, the more I doubted that Anterrio was the pack I belonged to.
I wasn't sure how to tell my brother that I wanted to stay here.
The black wolf opened the back door to the alpha's home, and now I knew why his boot room was so big, because he was so big. Cannon shifted, uncoiling from a crouch, and my wolf sight appreciated the toned muscle as he stretched.
He half turned and I hurriedly shifted to human, alarmed he had just caught me checking him out. Again.
A white T-shirt was held out to me, and I slipped into it while he pulled on a pair of jeans.
"I keep clothes here," he explained as he buttoned his fly. "Not always sure who is going to be in the house, and although we're shifters, I don't flash too many of my pack too often."
"Makes sense." I tugged at the hem of the shirt, which reached mid-thigh. "In my pack, we must shift before we come back into town. Everyone has their own area where they keep spare clothes." I grinned. "Bit like a deposit box in a bank."
Cannon was frowning. "Your wolves aren't allowed in the town?"
"No." Shaking my head, I tried to untangle my hair from the mess I knew it would be. "Pack Leader Bale likes to keep our two natures separate. The town is for humans, the mountain is for the wolf."
Cannon didn't comment but I could see he didn't agree. I didn't either but there were many things that I didn't agree with in the Anterrio Pack. I'd been so grateful to be allowed to shift that I kept my opinion to myself about the when and the where.
"How do you feel about everything you learned today, now that you have had time to absorb it?" Cannon looked at me over his shoulder as he spoke. He was at the fridge, opening it. I heard him rummaging around, and I got sidetracked watching the muscles ripple on his back while he did the simple task of getting a plate of cold chicken legs from the fridge. "I hope you're speechless because you're checking me out and not because you want my dinner."
Startled, I met his amused smirk.
Reaching over, I took a leg from the plate and took a seat on a barstool. "It can't be both?"
The air suddenly grew heavy between us as the heat in his eyes grew. Placing the plate on the counter, he rounded the breakfast bar. Stepping between my legs, Cannon dropped his head and kissed me leisurely. It picked up in intensity quickly, and when his T-shirt was halfway off my body, the loud clearing of a throat made us spring apart.
"Alpha, Kezia," Royce greeted us, coming into the kitchen, pointedly ignoring me as Cannon pulled my shirt back down. "Productive trip?" he asked dryly. He saw the plate of chicken and helped himself.
"I'm older than you think." The information blurted out of me, and I watched as Royce hesitated mid-chew, his attention moving between Cannon and me.
"That'll be why it smells like sex in here." He took another bite of his food. "Was there anything useful uncovered?"
"Quite a bit," Cannon told him. He picked up a leg from the plate, nudging me to do the same with the one I'd discarded a few minutes before. "We'll discuss this in the study. I needed to eat first."
"I bet you did," Royce snarked, shaking his head, tossing the bones onto another plate.
"Beta." The soft tone of the alpha's voice held a warning, and after a deep exhale, Royce dipped his head slightly in acknowledgment. Cannon wiped his hands on a towel, passing it to me to do the same. When I had, he took my hand and helped me off the stool. "You should change before we discuss this with the others."
Looking down at my bare legs, I looked up at him. "Yeah, probably, I don't think this is somber-secret-meeting appropriate."
Cannon huffed out a laugh, exchanging an amused look with Royce. "It's not a secret meeting, it's just us, Nikan and probably Doc," he told me. "But no, that T-shirt isn't appropriate. Five minutes?"
"Make it ten, I want to shower." I was at the stairs, and they were going into the office when I hurried back to the kitchen and came back with a chicken leg for each hand. "Better."
"I have no idea where she puts all that food," Royce muttered as Cannon laughed at me while I ran up the stairs to my room.
I ate the legs quickly, wrapping the bones in tissue paper when I was done. In the bathroom, as I washed my hands, I studied myself. I didn't look different.
I'd had sex. Mind-blowing, toe-curling sex.
My shift to my wolf had eased the ache of my lower body, which I'd been a little disappointed with but also grateful for because Cannon's size was maybe a little ambitious for my first try.
Taking the shirt off, I snorted at my inner thoughts. First try? He was my mate, and he was my only try. Running the shower and waiting for it to heat, I quickly locked the bathroom door and then looked at myself all over. It was stupid and insecure, but as I studied myself in the mirror, I couldn't see why he'd be attracted to me. I wasn't ugly, I knew that, but I also wasn't curvy like Koda was.
My hips were narrow, and my breasts were small. Turning my leg inward, I noticed the curve of my thigh. Okay, I had nice legs. Maybe he was a leg man?
Thinking about our conversation before we'd had sex, he'd said it wasn't the mate bond that was pulling us together today, but what if it was? What if it was always the bond? Would he really want me if I was just another wolf in his pack?
The handle of the bathroom door turning and meeting resistance startled me.
A soft rap on the door, and then he spoke. "You okay? You didn't sneak down for more chicken, did you?" Wrapping myself in a towel, I opened the door, seeing his surprise that I wasn't showered. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." My smile felt fake. "I'm daydreaming, sorry."
Cannon's eyes narrowed as he listened to me. "Daydreaming? And sorry…" Rubbing his jaw, he looked me over from top to bottom before he stepped inside the bathroom and closed the door behind him. "Two words I would never associate with you saying. Now tell me what's wrong."
"Do you feel different?"
He stared at me blankly. "No?"
"So, you think the bond isn't, you know, formed?"
"Do you think it is?"
"No?" Turning away from his scrutiny, I shrugged my shoulders. "I feel different," I admitted. "But I look the same."
Warm hands rubbed my shoulders. "It's natural to feel different," he assured me softly. "I don't feel different, but I feel good." Lips skimmed my neck. "Really good. Don't you?"
My insides were doing that nervous flipping sensation again. "Oh, well, yeah. I'm… Yes."
"Get showered." His hands left me, making me feel cold. "We've got people waiting downstairs, and if I stay in here much longer, they'll be waiting all night."
Turning, I caught his eyes as he made to leave, seeing that he was serious. He wanted me. Feeling sure of myself for perhaps the first time ever, I reached up and deliberately loosened the towel. Cannon watched it drop to the ground, and then slowly, so slowly, he moved his gaze over my body, and I felt it almost as if it were a caress.
"I'll be right out," I said as I watched him lick his lips.
The alpha flicked the lock on the door. "No. You won't."
* * *
Leo stood across from me,and the longer I stood waiting, the quicker my patience was running out. We were in a large training room with several mats spread across the floor. On one side of the room hung four punching bags, and at the bottom of the space stood a bona fide fighting ring, but most of the room was open space with plenty of room to move and train lots of people at once. Another thing I liked about this room was the doors were open. There was no hiding the fact I was being trained.
I genuinely liked it here.
This room could be my favorite thing about this pack since coming here. Apart from the food hall. And the sex. It was maybe tied in place with the food hall. Sex was definitely on top for now. I felt a smug smirk and tried to ignore Leo's curious look when he saw it.
I'd had a late night. Neither Cannon nor I had made it back down to the study yesterday, and at some point—I really hoped it was quite early on—Royce and whoever was with him had left.
Sex was different in the shower, in the bed, and on the floor, and across the kitchen counter when we went down for a drink. I hadn't shifted to my wolf, and this morning, not only did I definitely feel different, but I also ached in places I never knew I could.
When Cannon woke me this morning, I'd been sleepy but ready to participate in whatever he intended. He'd already woke me twice through the night. What he'd intended though was a six in the morning training session with Leo.
Thank the Goddess Luna for coffee, because that and the promise of a fully cooked breakfast was all that was keeping me upright right now.
"You've been staring for a very long time. It's beginning to feel uncomfortable."
Leo grinned. "I'm assessing your form, your dominant side, how long you can stay still…and also how long you can stay quiet." His grin got wider. "The last one was at the request of the alpha." His gaze shifted over my shoulder, and I spun to see Cannon leaning against the main door, watching me.
"Asshole!" I shouted, and with a laugh, he raised his cup. "Wait! Is that coffee?" Turning around to ask if I could get coffee, I barely missed Leo's punch. "What the hell?"
Leo circled me. "Cannon said not to pull my punches," he told me with excitement. "Let's see what you've got, Kezia."
"Now?" I asked, my shoulders relaxing as I prepared to defend myself. "No holds barred?"
"Give me all you've got."
Finally. A real fight.
I was right to go on the defense, as Leo rushed me, and his speed was almost frightening. I managed to block his punch to my jaw with his right fist, but my side took the full force of his left one. I tried to counter but he knocked my punch away like it was nothing.
Leo swung at me again, the initial surprise at his attack fading, while we jabbed and kicked at each other. His roundhouse kick landed firmly to the left of my ribcage, and we both heard the crack of bone, but he didn't let up. Dancing back out of his reach, I pressed my hand to my side.
Fuck, that hurt.
Leo charged at me again, and I dodged the high kick that was aimed at my head. Dropping to the ground, I bit out a curse as my ribs protested, but my leg sweep was worth it when I caught Leo's legs. He didn't lose his balance though, he merely stumbled and then literally threw himself on me, fists raining down on me, punching again and again into my ribs.
With a snarl, I grabbed the fucker's hair, and with all my strength, I brought his head down and bounced it off the floor. With a grunt, he rolled over, and I scrambled to my feet. In disbelief, I watched him flip up from the floor, and he was coming at me again.
We jabbed, punched, and kicked, and I knew my energy was fading fast. I wasn't going to last. I wasn't going to win.
Another sharp kick to my stomach, and I began to curse every martial art in the world. I didn't know what style he was using; it was nothing I'd been taught, but he was kicking my ass with it. I felt blood all over me, and my ribs were more than cracked now. I would need to shift to heal.
I'd never needed to shift after training. Not even when I beat Landon that one time.
I finally landed a right hook on Leo's jaw, and he countered with an uppercut that knocked me flying.
Flat out on the mat, I struggled to breathe.
"You done?" Leo asked me as he stood over me.
"Yup," I told him with a nod of my head, which hurt. "I'm done."
Smiling, he held his hand out and helped me to my feet. "You need to shift? You look like shit."
Glaring at him through my swollen eye, I snorted. "Hmm, I wonder why?"
"You were better than we thought," Royce spoke from behind me.
"Not as good as you think you are though." Nikan's voice made me turn to look at them both. My stomach dipped when I saw Cannon wasn't there.
"You've been watching?"
"How else can we assess you?" Royce asked casually. The two of them approached, and Nikan smiled at me in sympathy. "What d'ya think?" he asked Leo.
Pushing my hair out of my face, I winced at the pain in my ribs. "I think you broke them all," I grouched as I tentatively rubbed my side.
Leo was nonplussed. "It's what I was aiming to do." He looked me over. "I'd say advanced beginner." Nikan and Royce nodded.
"Advanced beginner?" I demanded. "You mean you don't even think I'm decent?"
"No stamina." Leo wasn't even being hurtful. He was just stating the facts as he saw them. "Your energy levels dipped early. You didn't even make the ten-minute mark." He shared a look with Royce, who nodded in agreement. "Your right side is dominant, and that makes your left side weak, so we need to work on that first. A balanced fighter is a better fighter." He scratched his ear, and I noticed he didn't even look fatigued. "The head move was good but desperate. If you'd executed it properly, you'd have snapped my neck." At my wide-eyed reaction, he smiled. "Don't worry, I can teach you how to do it properly. You didn't go for my junk," he added with what I think was disappointment. "You should have. It's a weakness to most men."
"Not you?" My words were muffled since my lip was split and swollen.
"Been punched in the nuts by Cannon more times than I can count. Think my poor balls are immune to the pain now."
Both Nikan and Royce laughed, and for a fleeting moment, I wondered what craziness I was in amongst, and then I realized I loved it.
"Where is Cannon? He didn't want to assess me?" I tried for casual, but I knew I failed.
Royce stepped closer while Nikan distracted Leo with a question about my ruthlessness to strike. I kind of wanted to know the answer, but Royce leaned down to talk to me quietly. "He left after a few minutes," he told me in a low whisper.
"Oh, right, that's okay." Was it? It didn't feel okay.
"Kezia…" Royce looked at me with disapproval. "He couldn't stay and watch you get beaten like that. It was either he left or Leo died. Which one would you prefer?"
I gulped hard. "Leaving's good."
Royce gave me a nod of approval. "That was our thinking too."
Leo wandered back to me. "All right, have you got your breath back?" When I nodded, he pulled off his shirt. "Excellent. Shift, and let's see what you've got as a wolf."
"You want me to fight you as my wolf?" I looked at Nikan and Royce with uncertainty.
Leo was already pulling down his gym shorts. "Of course, I need to see all your combat skills so I can train you to be better."
I looked between the three of them. "I've never done that," I confessed, my hand once more at my side, rubbing my ribs. Breathing was getting easier as my shifter ability healed me.
Leo hesitated briefly and then straightened, completely at ease with his nakedness. "Then we start fixing that today. Shift."
He was serious. They were all serious.
I felt for Moonstar, she wasn't present. Pulling off my tank top, I grinned, wincing as I re-split my lip. "This might be the best day ever."