“Join what?” His head tipped to the side, and his eyes grew darker.
My wolf snarled, feeling threatened and challenged at the same time. I imagined it was in reaction to this guy’s wolf. He felt strong and oozed dominance.
Excitement burned through my veins.
This was exactly the kind of guy I wanted to go up against. He’d beat the living shit out of me, and I’d love every second of it.
Fighting was the only time I didn’t think of those I’d lost because of my actions. It was the only time I could feel something other than the guilt that tormented me.
“Your club. I said I want in. Me and my friend here do.” I nodded to Lee standing beside me. “What do we need to do to make it happen?”
Viking laughed. So did some of his friends. I didn’t. In fact, I didn’t even crack a smile. I kept my eyes locked on his and my jaw set. Viking’s eyes drifted to Lee. They raked him up and down. I didn’t have to look at Lee to know he didn’t seem like this was his type of thing; the guy was wearing a comic character t-shirt and chewing on his thumbnail. Still, I knew he needed to be a part of this.
“You want in this thing?” Viking asked Lee, his smirk growing. “You sure you can handle it?”
When Lee didn’t say anything, I nudged him with my elbow.
“Um, maybe?” Lee muttered. I nudged him again, this time harder than before. “Probably. I mean, yeah. Sure. Definitely.”
“Now that I’d like to see.” One of the guys seated near Viking sneered.
I cut my gaze to him. He wasn’t as muscular as the rest of the guys around him, and I was almost positive he was from Wolf Bitten. He didn’t seem cocky or overly confident. He looked like he had street smarts though. And, there was a genuine look of amusement reflected in his eyes. He did want to see Lee fight.
So did I.
“Tell us when and where,” I said, shifting my attention back to Viking. “We’ll be there.”
“That’s not how this thing works. You don’t get that kind of information up front,” Viking said, his eyes zeroing in on me. “There’s an initiation first.”
I licked my lips and allowed the smirk that wanted to form do its thing. “Okay. Well, just know that we’re in. Both of us.”
I reached out to shake his hand. He chuckled before he gripped my hand tight and shook.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Axel. Axel Stone.”
“Bryant.” He released my hand. “You’re one ballsy dude. Not many would risk walking up to me and saying they wanted in on anything I had going. I like that.”
“Fighting is my thing,” I said. It was an understatement.
“And, you are?” Bryant shifted his attention to Lee, holding his hand out for a shake.
“Lee Twain.” He reached out to grip his hand. For some reason though, he hesitated right before their palms connected. I didn’t know why. All I knew was that something Lee saw had his face growing pale. Lee licked his lips and gave Bryant’s hand a squeeze before being the first to release. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too.” Bryant’s brows pinched together. He’d caught Lee’s hesitation and could sense his anxiety, same as I could.
I slapped Lee on the back, opting to end the awkwardness shifting between the two of them and get him away from Bryant and his group so I could figure out what the hell had happened.
“All right, well, I guess we’ll see you guys around. Don’t forget, we want in,” I said as I backed away from their table, pulling Lee along with me.
“Noted, brother,” Bryant said with a nod of his head. His eyes drifted from me to Lee, and a suspicious gleam dulled their color.
“What the hell happened back there?” I asked Lee once we were outside the dining hall, heading back to our dorm house.
“What?”
I glared at him, making it clear I wasn’t playing games. “You know what I’m talking about.”
“Nothing.” He scratched his neck. “Just something I noticed. It’s silly. Really. I don’t even know why I reacted the way I did.” He shook his head as though attempting to shake away his unease. It didn’t work. I could still sense it lingering in the surrounding air.
“I call bullshit. Whatever it was freaked you the fuck out.”
“You’ll think it’s dumb.”
“Maybe, but neither of us will know for sure until you tell me.”
Lee crammed his hands into the pocket of his jeans and dropped his gaze to the concrete passing beneath his shoes as we walked. “It-it was his tattoo. The one on the skin between his thumb and index finger.”
I hadn’t even noticed a tattoo. Typically, it was something I scoped out on someone first thing, but only because I respected them as art.
“You freaked out because of a tattoo?” I tried not to laugh, but a smirk twisted my lips, regardless. “What was it of?”
Lee rolled his eyes. “I knew you’d think it was ridiculous. It was a symbol.”
“Relax. It was just a tattoo. They don’t bite.”
“It wasn’t the tattoo that freaked me out, not really. It’s what it stands for.” His brows pulled together. “At least, I think it was the same one my crazy uncle used to talk about. There was a story that went with it about a secret, ancient group hidden among our kind that called themselves the—”
“You know what?” I held up a hand to stop him from saying more. “You can just stop right there. Sorry, man, but I don’t do conspiracy theories.”
“All right, fine.” Lee scratched his head. “It’s just a story, anyway. Maybe that guy was a fan.”
“Enough. Let’s talk about how we just found out there’s an underground fight club and worked our way in.” A wide smile spread across my face.
“I’ve never seen someone so excited about fighting. What if you go against that behemoth of a guy, Bryant?”
My grin grew. My wolf nudged his way to the surface, and I knew my eyes had taken on his golden color. “I’m hoping to.”
“You’ve got a death wish, dude.” Lee chuckled with a shake of his head.
I laughed and shoved him. My laughter died out, and the smile melted off my face when I spotted Faith up ahead. She stood with her friend, Nora, and two other girls in the middle of the sidewalk. They were all chatting about something, except for Faith. Tension still radiated off her. When we grew closer to where they stood, Faith lifted her gaze to lock with mine. Her eyes were still distant. Something shone in the depths of their color that had my demons rushing to the surface at the same time.
She was scared of something.
I cut my eyes to the sidewalk and crammed my hands in my pockets, keeping my head down, I passed her and her group. There was no way in hell I’d ask her what had her insides trembling while her outer shell remained intact for everyone to see. No way I’d tell her I saw right through her, right down to the fear and worry that ate away at her insides.
“You should say hi to her. Or maybe sup, girl,” Lee said in a voice deeper than his own.
“Never make that voice again.” I chuckled.
“I’ll admit that was bad, but still. There’s something between you two. Anyone can see it.”
I didn’t reply. Instead, I cut into the dorm house, trying like hell not to look back at Faith. It took every ounce of willpower I had because I could feel her eyes on me.
Faith
Orientation had gone entirely too fast. I couldn’t believe it was already the second day in the semester. I hurried to the building Nora pointed out yesterday where my Strength Training class was supposed to be held. She’d had the class yesterday and mentioned more than once last night how sore she was. She’d also said Professor Blades was intense. I wasn’t shocked. I’d gathered as much during orientation when he stood behind the Wolf Bloods’ table, watching everyone sign in with his muscular arms folded over his solid chest.
What surprised me was that it had been three days since Van had sent me the text asking what I’d done. I still hadn’t r
esponded. I didn’t want to. All I wanted was for that part of my life to leave me alone.
The doors to Strength Training were wide open when I neared them. I spotted a large mat spread out on the hardwood floor. Crap. I hoped we weren’t doing some form of martial arts or karate. I sucked at both. What I excelled at was running on a treadmill, using an elliptical, and sit-ups. I could do a million sit-ups without breaking a sweat.
I paused to tie my sneakers outside the double doors. A few others attending class passed me dressed in workout clothes and sneakers, same as me. Some of the tension in my shoulders melted. I was glad there wasn’t a uniform I was supposed to wear for this class like the others.
My cell chimed with a new text from inside the secret pocket of my workout pants.
I froze. Shit. That couldn’t be Van again. Could it? My heart kick-started inside my chest as I retrieved my phone.
Faith, you can’t ignore me forever. What did you do? I can’t help unless you tell me.
My thumbs hovered over the keyboard. I wanted to tell him. Hell, I’d wanted to tell him when it happened. The problem was: I wasn’t sure he would believe me. I wasn’t sure anyone would.
My teeth sank into my bottom lip as I stared at the two text messages from him. How long would it be before he decided to give up on texting and start calling? I could block him. Delete the text messages and block him. Problem solved.
Not really, though. Not with Van.
He’d figure out a way to find me. It wouldn’t happen today, but it might soon if I didn’t respond. My wolf paced. She felt my emotions and was getting worked up. This was never a good thing.
Someone bumped into me from the side as a group of three girls entered the building.
I shoved my cell back in my secret pocket, deciding I’d handle it later, and followed them in.
The room was larger than I thought it would be. Machines and equipment lined the walls. One was as familiar to me as my bike—the elliptical. I couldn’t wait to get on it and work up a sweat. My gaze drifted to a machine beside it. I didn’t know what it was called, but I knew what muscles it targeted because I’d used it before—lower abs. That sucker would keep my abs flat as could be. It would also keep a wall to my back, so I didn’t have to worry about anyone sneaking up behind me or checking out my ass while I worked out.
I hated this class was co-ed.
I crossed to the center of the room where everyone seemed to congregate. My gaze drifted to the faces surrounding me. There were a few I recognized from my other classes, but only one sent butterflies into flight through my stomach.
Axel.
We hadn’t shared any other classes, why did we have to share this one? I was sure to be sweaty and gross daily. The thought of him seeing me that way on a regular occasion had dread uncoiling in the pit of my stomach.
I mentally kicked myself. Why did I even care?
I was swearing off guys. Which meant, him being here shouldn’t matter. It also meant that I definitely shouldn’t be staring at him, but I was. The white cotton t-shirt he wore was snug around his biceps and chest. It was just see-through enough that I could see the same tattoos covering his arms from the wrist up also spread across his chest and down to the waist of his shorts.
Did they go any lower?
Someone clapped their hands together loudly, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. I was glad because my mind had dipped to places it shouldn’t. Professor Blades stood near a door I was sure led to his office. He was even more intimidating than I remembered with his muscles bulging and his dark eyes.
“Listen up. This is strength training. I’m Professor Blades, and this is my domain. You will do as you’re told. You will be respectful. And you will do your best at everything within these walls. Understood?”
I nodded like some others while a few said, yes, sir. It was unclear which he preferred. The guy was seriously scary though, and I doubted anyone wanted to piss him off.
“Let’s warm up, and then transition into a few circuits.”
I’d been expecting this. Nora had filled me in on what her first day of Strength Training had been like. While I hoped mine would be similar, I also was disappointed we wouldn’t be using the machines. The amount of pent-up energy I needed to burn was overwhelming, and time on any of them would have helped.
“All right. Line up so I can pair you with someone,” Professor Blades said. I watched as he paired one boy with one girl, moving his way down the line. My stomach flipped. Nora had forgot to mention this. “I’ve learned from the previous classes this week that you’ll each do better with a little direct competition. Once you’ve been assigned your competition, I’ll blow my whistle and you can begin doing suicide sprints.”
I glanced at the girl beside me. She was tall and all legs. If we were racing each other while doing sprints, she was sure to beat me.
“How many?” someone asked down the line.
“More than my previous classes this week. You can thank that guy for interrupting before I finished pairing everyone.”
A collective groan echoed through the room.
Professor Blades reached me. “You and,” he said before pointing to someone, “you.”
I glanced around the tall girl beside me, checking to see who my competition was. A lump formed in my throat when I saw it was Axel.
This would be my least favorite class. Ever.
“Swap places,” Professor Blades prompted Axel and the tall girl beside me.
They switched, and I tried not to focus on how close Axel was to me now, but couldn’t. My left side tingled with his nearness. I inhaled a deep breath, hoping to calm the hell down, but all I did was inhale his sexy-smelling cologne.
Oh, sweet Jesus.
Having him as my competition was not going to be good. I needed distance between us. Which was exactly what I planned on doing.
Axel was going to eat my dust.
I prepared to launch forward, looking at Professor Blades, waiting for him to blow his whistle and signal the start of our suicide sprints. Once he did, I bolted forward. I was at the first line we were supposed to touch with our fingertips and back to our original starting point in seconds.
Axel was right beside me.
Damn him. He could keep up with me easier than I’d thought. I pushed myself harder when I made it to the next line we were supposed to touch. Still, Axel kept up. He wasn’t showing any signs of slowing, but then again, neither was I. Being Wolf Blood meant we had great stamina, thanks to our vampire side. And, I was about to tap into it more than I ever had as I pushed myself even harder. Axel did the same. We continued pushing ourselves until Professor Blades finally blew his whistle, signaling the end of our suicide sprints.
Thank, God.
“Well done, everyone.” He nodded as he eyed us all one by one. “Let’s break for five and get some water.”
I leaned over, placing my hands on my knees to catch my breath. My legs felt like Jell-O. My heart pounded, and I couldn’t dim the smile that twitched at my lips even if I tried. This was exactly what I needed. An extreme workout to release some of my pent-up energy.
“You’re fast,” I said when I noticed Axel watching me. He was bent over too, struggling to catch his breath. “Faster than I thought you’d be.”
I shouldn’t have said anything to him, but I couldn’t help it. The words fell from my brain to my lips beyond my control.
“Same goes for you.” He stood to his full height and then lifted the edge of his t-shirt to wipe away the sweat from his face. The action revealed his chiseled abs and tattoos. Holy shit, he had a nice body. My lungs did a weird thing that had me making a strange gasping noise. I averted my eyes before he glanced at me and spotted a few other girls eyeing him. One mouthed the word lucky to me.
Why did she think I was lucky? Because I was paired with him? I would have gladly been paired with any of the other guys, because being paired with Axel was torturing my libido.
I made my way to th
e water fountain and found a place at the end of the long line. Next class, I’d make sure to bring my own water.
“When you’re finished getting water, I want you back over here in the center of the room,” Professor Blades said. “We’re done with suicide sprints for today. What I’d like you to do next is a friendly push-up challenge.” His eyes gleamed with excitement, but they didn’t brighten. Not even a smidge. They remained scary dark.
Why couldn’t it be sit-ups?
I hated push-ups. Even so, I was down to give Axel a run for his money. There was no doubt he could do more than me, but I’d at least make him work hard for his first few sets. He’d already learned not to underestimate me in the sprint challenge, after all.
When my turn finally came for the fountain, I barely had time to take a sip before Professor Blades announced our break was over. This pissed me off, but I wasn’t about to argue with him. Instead, I made my way back to where Axel stood. He took a long swig from a bottle of water. When he finished, he held it out to me.
“Next time, you should think about bringing your own. It did say something like that on the side note beneath where it listed workout clothes and sneakers as the attire for this class,” he said with a smirk.
I rolled my eyes as I took the bottle from him. I wanted to deck him, and kiss him.
Damn, I needed help. He was pulling me in so many different directions it was insane.
Professor Blades clapped his hands together. “Push-up challenge time. Here’s how this works—I set a timer and you see how many you can get. Your goal is to beat your partner.” A shit-eating grin spread across his face. It had me thinking he thought of push-ups as torture, and the idea of torturing us made him smile.
I cringed.
Axel beat me at the push-up challenge, but I creamed him when we did sit-ups next. Shortly after, Professor Blades had us run laps around the room. Then we settled in for mixed martial arts. He claimed martial arts was way better than the yoga crap Professor Trinity taught in her Meditation and Spiritual Release class. I wasn’t sure I agreed.
Wolf Blood: Lunar Academy, Year One Page 5