65
NIRVANA
“I can’t. I can’t do it anymore.” I could barely catch my breath. I had never been exhausted like this in my entire life, but today I felt it. My lungs were about to collapse. My heart pumped so hard I felt like it would explode in my chest.
I bent, my hands on my knees, breathing hard. “Mac, please? Can we just take a break for five minutes?”
“No. You’re still not fast enough.” He looked down at his stopwatch. I didn’t even see a hint of sympathy in his eyes. “Run. You still have five laps to finish, then we’re done for today.”
Shit.
He forced me not to use my supernatural speed, so I ran like human Nirvana. My knees weakened, my muscles clenched everywhere, but I couldn’t give up now.
I managed to control my emotions and wasn’t mad at McKaye. In fact, I respected him. He kept his word and followed orders from his alpha not to give me special treatment because I was their Luna.
Despite my exhaustion, I ran again into the woods, following the trails towards the vineyards. Sweat broke out from my skin again, and it was freaking hot. I felt my skin was burning from the afternoon sun, but a slight sunburn would not be the reason to give up now. Besides, this was just a warm-up. I was just warming up.
“You’re running like a girl!” he yelled at me.
“Because I’m a girl, jackass. I do have a vagina!”
“I’m bored, Vana.”
“You forbid me to run like you, and now you’re complaining? Suck it up, dickhead!” I yelled back at him. Yeah, I just called him names, and he just laughed because he was standing there while I was dying to catch my breath.
A few minutes later, he came with me in the quad bike as I turned right. “Are you thirsty?”
“Yes, I’m parched.” I stopped, breathing harder, only to show me how he emptied the water bottle to the ground.
I swallowed hard as I watched the ground absorb the water dry. I licked my lips and growled at him. “When I’m done with this training, trust me, I will remember this and get back to you, jackass.”
Instead of getting mad, he shook his head, laughed, and drove away, burning me in anger.
I breathed deeply to calm down before I started jogging away again.
It took me at least two hours to finish the fifth and final lap and meet him at the starting point.
“Tomorrow, you wake up at five. One second late, you will do ten more laps. Do you understand me?”
“Yes.” I raised my hand. “Wait. I’m going to do the same thing I did today?”Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.
“Yes. For two hours. After that, I will teach you self-defense.”
“Why can’t we start-”
“No. You follow me. That’s Alpha’s order.” He left with the bike.
“Wait. Why can’t I ride with you?”
“Because I’m your sensei,” he said with a smirk. “Walk back to the pack house. See you there.”
I cursed him under my breath. I had no choice; the sun would have gone down, and I would still be there.
God, I was parched, dying of thirst, not to mention I could barely stand on my own feet. I was sweaty, and I probably smelled like a boy’s locker.
Fifteen minutes later, I was back at the pack house and found everyone sitting in the living room, enjoying their little chat. They stopped and looked in my direction.
“What’s the matter? Never seen an exhausted, stinky woman?”
I heard them chuckle.
“Can I get you something to eat, Luna?” Zander asked.
“That would be nice. Thank you.” I climbed upstairs and went to my old room.
The door in Kailin’s room opened. “You have some clean clothes in the closet. If you need anything, link me.”
“Thanks, K. I’ll hit the shower. See you in a bit.”
After stripping off my clothes, I went under the spray. It felt so damn good as the cold water hit my skin. It took me longer than necessary. My body calmed a bit, but I still felt the pain despite my healing fast. That was how worn out I was.
I dried my hair and put on my clothes. A few minutes later, I heard a knock, and the smell of butter and egg hit my nostrils. I was quick to open the door and took the tray from Zander.
“God, you’re a blessing. Thank you, Zander.”
“No problem, Luna. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Thanks, Z. You can go. I’ll take care of her.” Kailin got in my room, and Zander went down.
I put the tray on the bed while I sat Indian style. “I’m famished. Your brother is a dick.”
Kailin laughed. “He was hard on you, wasn’t he?”
“You have no idea, and he made fun of me, insulted me, bullied me, and killed me with thirst and hunger. He emptied the bottled water on the ground instead of letting me drink it. I watched it evaporate, K. He’s a piece of shit.” I took a huge bite of the toasted bread and shoved a forkful of scrambled eggs into my mouth. Then, I grabbed a piece of pancake and took a huge bite.
“I know you’re hungry, but slow down. It would be terrible for a woman who can jump to another place but died of choking.”
“You really are alike. I’m surprised you’re not identical.”
“I never heard of identical of different genders.”
“Well, shit, geneticist. You both are bullies.” I emptied the bottled water in one drink. Then I sipped my coffee and moaned. “It feels so good.”
When Kailin smiled, I realized I didn’t even share my food.
“What?”
“I ate alone and emptied the plate. I did not even share it with you.”
“As best friends, I won’t eat your food. You’re starving. As our Luna, everyone will understand. During the old times, you and Knight were treated like royalty, had a dining room of your own, had servants, and you had your own ladies to attend to your needs. But as you can see, we’re evolving. We live and blend well with humans. They don’t know we exist. Even alphas like Knight, humans treat them alike, and sometimes, it hurts us.”
“I don’t wanna be treated as someone special. I’m maybe the luna of this pack, but it’s just me. I don’t even have a wolf.” I pointed at her. “Which reminds me, I have never seen your wolf.”
She smiled. “Wow. You wanna see it?”
“It’s you. Of course, I wanna see you, so as Knight. Do you have distinct looks?”
“My wolf has dark brown fur. Knight is gray with white and black patches under the tummy. Alpha has a bigger wolf and is scarier and intimidating, but he will recognize you and won’t harm you.”
“How would he recognize me?”
“It’s just Knight turns into a wolf. He can sniff you from far away.”
I wrinkled my nose. “It’s so weird.”
“Yeah. When we’re in our wolf form, we can see in the dark and are more hunters-like to protect our pack.”
“So you got night vision.”
“Yes.”
I sensed something outside the door. “They’re back. Knight is pissed off.”
“You sensed him?”
“Yes.” The moment I said yes, the door opened, revealing Knight with a frown on his forehead.
“Hey. What happened?” I went to him and hugged him tight.
“It’s gone.”
I stared at him. “What do you mean it’s gone?”
“Some assholes went there just before we arrived, turned the office upside down, and stole the sword.”
I could feel the anger vibrating through him as I placed my hand on his chest. “Hey. I know you’re mad, but we’ll find a way to track it down, and we’re not even sure if the blood dagger is hidden in the sword.”
He breathed through his nose and groaned. “We wasted our time. We would have the sword by now if we had been only ten minutes early.”
“I take it I’m the reason why you’re late.”
“No, sweetheart, but someone has the same interest in the dagger and might know its purpose.”
Another knock cut us in.
“What is it?”
Kaleb appeared. “Alpha, someone’s at the tasting room wants to see you both.”