“Well, this should be interesting. You sure we shouldn’t turn back and forget this whole thing?”
He hesitates and then shakes his head. “No. You need to learn, and this is the best, safest place to teach you. Come on. Gym’s in there.” He points to the building.
People don’t realize I’m human until they can smell my scent, because when I get out of the car and meet Wulf in front of the hood, there is a collective gasp from everyone around us. All eyes move from Wulf to me, and mouths drop. “Right,” I grumble. “This was definitely a smart idea.”
Next to me, Wulf chuckles quietly. “Just don’t be afraid, Nora. Our kind can smell fear, and we can’t resist preying on the weak.”
I shoot him a sideways glare. “If you’d just show me to the gym already, I won’t be weak anymore.”
I get another laugh. At least one of us is in a better mood now.
Like Wulf promised, there are plenty of other people using the gym’s training facilities. There are people training all the way from pre-teens to guys that could pass for grandparents. All of them seem in stellar shape. My friend Ren, a gay incubus from the FUA office, is going to kill me for not bringing him when I give him the details of all the bare muscle I’m seeing.
Thankfully, Wulf leaves his T-shirt on with his sweatpants. It’s still skintight and shows all his muscles, but that’s not what I’m worried about. Less skin means less risk of reading his thoughts while he’s teaching me to defend myself. Wulf’s one of the few people that knows about my abilities. I appreciate his attempt to respect my boundaries.
“Okay, first things first. We need to warm up. Start with a couple laps around the gym to get your blood pumping, and then we’ll stretch and get loose.”
Ugh. I hate running. But I’m not going to complain about the first order my new trainer gives me, so I head over to the small track around the edge of the gym and start into a slow jog. Wulf joins me but takes off at a much more aggressive speed. At least he’s not one of those trainers that stands around barking orders but doesn’t participate. Those kinds of coaches annoy me.
After one loop around the gym—in which Wulf has already lapped me once—Wulf falls into step beside me. When he speaks, he doesn’t sound winded at all. “Is this the fastest you go?”
I’m embarrassed, but at least my cheeks are already red from the exercise. “I’m not much of a runner. Never had a treadmill, and I’m not stupid enough to try to jog on the streets of Detroit—day or night.”
Wulf sighs. “Okay, we’ll need to work on conditioning first. The most important part of self-defense is being able to get away. You’re human and female. Most times your opponent is going to be larger and stronger than you. Your best bet will always be to run, if you can. You need speed and endurance training.”
“Understandable.” I’m not one of those girls that’s too proud to accept my reality. I want to know how to fight if I need it, but I’m completely okay with running when the situation allows it. Better to run than die.
“I’ll talk to Terrance about getting you a good treadmill. I want you to get up to six a day as quickly as possible.”
“Six laps at one time?” My eyes bulge. “I’m not even going to last three right now.”
I know I’m in trouble when Wulf smirks. “Miles, Nora. Six miles a day. These laps are only a quarter mile. I want you to do four today, even if you have to walk some of it.”
“Six miles a day…” I’m already huffing, and I haven’t even completed a half-mile yet. “I knew this was a bad idea. You’re going to kill me.”
“This is a better idea than I first thought. You need this, Nora. It’s your lack of being in shape that might get you killed someday. Not me.”
“If you say so.”
Wulf chuckles. “It won’t be as bad as you think. Now pick up your pace, run your third lap as fast as you can, and then you can walk the last one.”
At that, Wulf winks at me and takes off at a sprint. Well, I think it’s a sprint. It’s probably only a jog to him. Six miles a day… Yeah right, he’s not trying to kill me.
I’m a good sport, though, and I did tell him I was eager to learn. I don’t want to prove myself wrong on the first day, so I do as I’m told and run a lap as fast as I can. I can hardly breathe by the time I hit the last lap. I’ve never been more grateful to walk in my life. Wulf is there again as soon as I slow down. “Put your hands on the back of your head. It’ll make it easier to breathe.”
I startle at the voice, because it isn’t Wulf’s. Looking closer, I realize this man looks very similar to Wulf but is a little older and friendlier looking, and his eyes are blue instead of green. Otherwise, they could be identical.
Still, Wulf or not, I do as he suggested and put my hands behind my head. He’s right—my lungs open up. I greedily suck in huge gulps of air. A sharp pain lances my side, and I groan. “Damn. I’m the most out of shape girl on the planet,” I pant between gasps.
Wulf’s look-alike doesn’t argue. Instead, he frowns as he studies me head-to-toe with a critical eye. “We do have our work cut out for us, but don’t get too discouraged. Everyone starts somewhere.”
“We?” I ask, then state the obvious. “You’re not Wulf.”
The man grins at me. It’s a gorgeous smile. “Rook Winters. I’m Wulf’s grumpy older brother.” He winks to let me know he’s kidding. “And yes, we. If you got my brother here, then it must be serious. And if my baby brother’s finally found a female, you bet your ass I want to get to know her.”
I blush and look at the ground as I keep walking. Where the hell is Wulf? A glance across the room tells me he’s busy talking to some man. They’re standing close, speaking quietly, and they’re both looking my direction.
“That’s Alpha Toth,” Rook says, following my gaze. “He’d like to meet you, too, as soon as your training session is over.”
The alpha? No pressure, huh? Oddly enough, though, he doesn’t seem as intimidating as either Wulf or Rook. If I had to guess, I’d say both the brothers are dominant over the alpha, but that doesn’t make any sense.
“So, how did you and Wulf meet?”
Rook’s smile has me blushing again, even though my relationship with Wulf is completely innocent. “It’s not what you think,” I say. “There’s nothing going on between Wulf and me. He’s my boss at the club.”
“You work at Underworld?”
His surprise, though understandable and expected, is still insulting. “Yes. I just started last week. Terrance took me in as clan and thought my working there would be safe for me because he and Wulf could keep an eye on me.”
“Ah.” Rook’s smile turns to one of understanding. “You’re that human.”
I roll my eyes. “Yes. I’m that one. And I’m not dating your brother. I just work with him.”
“But he offered to train you. He brought you to the compound. He’s never done that for anyone before. I can’t even get him to come home.”
I try to hold my poker face. Wulf hadn’t told me that. Now I feel bad. Not enough to stop training, unless he asks me to. But I do feel a little guilty making him come home if he really hates it so much. I shrug. “He probably just feels bad that I was attacked on his watch last night.” I point out the bruises around my neck and watch, with mild satisfaction, as Rook’s eyes widen. “I was pretty shaken up after being strangled over the bar, so Wulf offered to teach me a little self-defense. That’s it. Nothing else is going on.” I smirk when he frowns. “Sorry to disappoint you.”
“Me too,” Rook says. “My baby brother could really use a good woman to make him settle down.”
“Ha!” I doubt that’s going to happen any time soon.
Rook startles at my laugh, but then chuckles. He understands his brother better than I do. He’s wishful thinking, and he knows it. He decides to change the subject instead of arguing the point any further. “So you were attacked over the bar last night? How’d that happen?”