“I was out yesterday,” I said quietly, wincing internally at how defensive I sounded. “And the day before.”
“I know,” he said, standing beside me and watching the pack train. “It was a nice day for a long run. Especially on the ridge.”
I thought he was making a general point and then realized he’d been with me. “You followed me?”
Cody didn’t look away from the pack. “You’re the alpha’s mate. He sent you here to be safe, not slide off the mountain.”
Because Ihadslid down the ridge when I lost my footing, and it had taken some desperate scrambling to regain a foothold. “Ah.” I chewed my lower lip. “Was hopingthatparticular moment had been between just me and the ridge.” I looked across at him. “You didn’t want to help?”
He shook his head once. “You had it under control. Your wolf is fast.”
We stood silently watching the training. It was routine, almost simple, but some elements caught my interest, and I found myself paying closer attention.
“You can join them if you want,” he said softly.
“I—” I swallowed. “That would be okay?” I asked him, unsure. “Killian?—”
“Is a great teacher,” Cody said, meeting my gaze. “He only shouts half the time.”
Before I could answer, Killian called across the space between us. “If you’re done yammering, you can both come learn something.”
Cody grinned at me, jogged across the grass, got in line, and easily fell into the practice routine. I hesitated and then thought, why the hell not? I had nothing else to do.
I joined the line at the back and watched for a moment, and then, with my eyes on the shifter beside me, I copied their movements. My body was slow at first. It had been a while since I trained with the pack, but soon, I was following the commands as easily as the shifters around me.
“Alright,” Killian called. “Everybody shift and run.”
Clothes were dropped where the shifters stood, and, slow to react to the command, I was one of the last to shift. The pack didn’t wait; everyone was running across the large open space, following Killian, but I caught up, enjoying the stretch, and soon I sat at an easy pace behind the big shifter.
Killian started to push a little harder, and I kept pace behind him. When he pushed harder, I did too. Soon, I realized it was only him and me out front, and I laughed with glee when he really went all out.
BecauseI kept up.
When we reached the boundary, he swerved suddenly, and I lost my balance as my body tried to copy the swerve, losing momentum and ultimately space between us. I ran as fast as I could to gain back the space, but Killian was in front of me, and I had no choice but to accept the fact I wouldn’t make up the distance.
We got back to the training area, and most of the pack was already dressed. I shifted, feeling the burn in my legs and my breathing ragged, but I didn’t shift again; instead, I pulled on my clothes and pushed back my hair.
Killian walked over to me.
“Your speed is impressive,” he said with no mention of the words we’d exchanged the other day. “But you need to learn to use it better. Running in straight lines is good, but your speed should be one of your weapons. You’re slight; a bigger wolf will hurt you if they catch you.” He smiled suddenly. “Ifthey catch you.Let me train you,and I’ll make sure they never do.”
A peace offering or a beta looking after his alpha’s pack. Either way, it beat being in the shelter alone.
“Sounds good,” I told him. “We start tomorrow?”
Killian was still bare-chested, wearing only shorts, and he looked over at Cody, who was grinning. “Nah, we start today.” Killian pushed his shorts down, and his wolf was in front of me.
I looked at Cody, who made a gesture to do the same, and without protest, I took my clothes off and shifted. Like last time, Killian didn’t wait; he started to run, and I quickly followed.
We ran the same way as before, only this time he slowed before the boundary. His brown-furred wolf towered over me, but his nudge was gentle as he ensured he had my attention. He ran full speed towards the barrier, and then in a move so slick, his wolf pivoted and was running back. He hadn’t slowed down.
When he joined me, he got me to follow him, and then at the boundary line, his wolf walked through the steps that made the pivot smooth and seamless. He did it over and over until I nodded that I got it. Killian shifted, turning his naked body slightly away from me.
“You ready?” he asked me, and I nodded my head. “Okay, run back thirty or forty yards.” He paused when he saw me look over my shoulder and back at him. “Tell me you can measure distance,” he said with almost a groan. When I shook my head, he took a breath. “I’ll add it to your training. For now, I’ll yellstop, okay?”
I trotted away, and when he called for me to stop, I did. I turned and ran straight at the boundary, the pattern ofpawprints clear in my head, and I did everything he told me, and crashed into the barrier. There was no gentle nudge that time, just me bouncing off the shield like I’d hit a brick wall at full pace.
I yelped as I fell but was quickly on my feet.
