by Sarah Carter
Trying to cover up her smile with her fingers, Claire says, “I mean no disrespect, Master Damien, but no, I don’t think you can.”
“I want to make a bet with you.”
Curious, Claire replies, “What kind of bet?”
“I think I can keep up with you today. If I can, what will I win?”
She shrugs. “What would you like to win?”
“A kiss!” Kayla squeals. Both Damien and Claire look at her. Kayla closes her mouth and looks away.
“I’ll be sore, so you’ll have to give me a massage,” Damien states. “Work out the tension that you created.”
Claire rolls her eyes. “And what do I win if you fail, which you will?”
“I’ll give you a massage you’ll never forget,” Damien replies.
Her eyebrows go up. “That sounded really dirty.”
“I didn’t mean it to. I was just saying that you’d enjoy it.”
“Massaging each other. That sounds like a good bet. Jackson and I made a bet once. He was my slave for an entire day. It was great.” Kayla smiles wistfully. “He was my slave in every way possible.”
Damien stares at her. “Kayla, we don’t need to know that stuff.”
“Hey, I didn’t mean it that way,” Kayla snaps. “I’m still a virgin.”
Claire just drinks her coffee. Damien turns and looks at her. “So, how long are we going to run for?”
“Not too long. Just enough to wake us and our muscles up. The exercise class will give you the best workout, and then you need to survive the workshop, too. That massage later better be good.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” Damien replies. “You have no idea about my endurance.”
Claire smiles. “We’ll see. It would be nice to have someone else besides Alex to work out with.”
“I don’t know if I’d be as good as Alex.” Damien says, raising his eyebrows. “You guys are phenomenal.”
“You have serious potential. I saw you in class yesterday. Some tweaking here and there, and you could be great.”
Kayla points at Damien. “I thought he was already a great fighter.”
“I am,” Damien replies. “But Claire is an extreme fighter. She could easily be in the guard.”
“Oooo, she could be your security.” Kayla wiggles her eyebrows.
Damien turns to Claire. “Please excuse her. She’s trying to set me up with every girl we come across.”
“That’s not true.” Kayla exclaims. “Claire just seems to be right up your alley. She’s a hot, bad girl who can kick your ass. Totally spot on for you.”
Palming his forehead, Damien sighs. “Kayla, please stop.”
“Oh, okay,” Kayla draws out.
With a snort, Claire turns around. For whatever reason, she feels a tightness in her chest. It’s not a physical thing but an emotional one, and for the life of her, Claire can’t fathom why she’s feeling anything at all. Taking another drink of coffee, she tries to clear her mind.
“Alright. I need to do this run and get my butt kicked. Kayla, we’ll meet you downstairs later. Keep Jackson out of trouble.”
“Like Jackson gets in trouble in the first place. He’s the well behaved one,” Kayla states with a smile.
Tilting his head to the side, Damien says, “True. Alright, we’ll meet you for breakfast in an hour.”
“Alright,” Kayla giggles. “Have fun.” She turns and walks out of the room.
Claire nervously takes a sip of her coffee. Damien looks at her. “So that’s Kayla. She’s usually not this hyper in the morning. We used to have to drag her out of bed.”
“She’s nervous and excited,” Claire responds. “We’re both in the same situation.”
“You talked that in-depth while going to get coffee?” Damien asks, sounding shocked.
With a smirk, Claire answers, “Yeah, and she told me so much dirt on you. I don’t know if I’ll ever see you the same way again.”
“What?” Damien yells.
“Yeah,” Claire replies, grimacing. “You think you get an impression of a guy, and then someone bursts the bubble.”
There is just a blank, dumbfounded look on Damien’s face. “You aren’t serious.”
Giggling, Claire says, “No, not at all. She only said good things.”
“Okay, I have to ask—was she trying to set us up?” Damien inquires. “Because that’s the impression that I was getting from her.”
“Yeah, sort of,” Claire mumbles. “It was awkward, but I emphasized there is no way it could happen.”
After a second, Damien says, “Okay, not that I’m asking you out, but…why is there no way it could happen?”
“How do I put this…” Claire sighs. “Your family would never allow me anywhere near your bloodline.”
“What? Why?”
A lump forms in Claire’s throat. “I won’t say why. Just trust me.”
“You come from a very respectable family. Your grandfather alone is a huge asset.”
“My mother is also Lana Livingston.”
“The historian?” Damien chirps. Claire nods, and he stares at her. “You have to be kidding. You’re like…perfect to bring to a bloodline.”
Claire shakes her head vigorously. “No, please. No one will ever want me. That’s why I don’t want to be here. It’s pointless.” Tears start to well up in her eyes.
Stepping closer to her, Damien says, “What’s wrong? What aren’t you saying?”
“If anyone knew, I’d be the laughing stock of this whole thing. Only a handful of people know, the closest people I have in my life. No one else can know. Ever.”
Damien touches her shoulder. “Okay, calm down, Claire. No one’s going to laugh at you. I won’t let them. Now, why do you think guys won’t want you? I can’t imagine that’s true at all.”
A tear rolls down Claire’s face. “Please, Damien. Don’t ask.”
“You’re crying. I don’t want you to cry. I won’t ever let anyone make fun of you. I can easily throw people in jail. My power is pretty serious. You can tell me if you want to, and I won’t judge you. I don’t get why a bloodline wouldn’t want you.”
With her chest tightening, Claire says, “I can’t shift.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t shift. Well, I can shift, but only to one thing, and it takes a lot of concentration. It’s like I don’t have the energy to do it.”
Looking at her thoughtfully, Damien inquires, “Do you not draw energy from shima?”
She stares at him for a second and then whispers, “I can’t go there.”
“Has anyone ever worked with you on this?”
“What do you mean?”
“Who has worked with you on this? Someone has to be able to help.”
“No one knows,” Claire snaps. “The only outsider who knows is Alex, and he only knows because I confessed to him the night we were together. That’s why I’m worried about what he’s going to say. I should have told him beforehand, but I didn’t think that was going to happen…ever.”
“I think you just need someone to work with you,” Damien states. “Given the right teacher, you could do more.”
Claire shakes her head. “I don’t want anyone to know. I would never work with someone.”
“Not even with me?”
She stops. “What do you mean?”
“I’d help you. Give me time and I would do my best.”
“Damien, you’re insane. Did you forget who you are? You don’t have time to deal with a freak shifter. You have the council, Yale, a social life. I’m just a nobody with major issues.”
Exhaling, Damien says, “I want to help you. We have a week. Let’s see what we can do.”
“You aren’t serious?”
“I’m dead serious. We’ll train in your classes and be social, but we’ll spend at least an hour a day seeing if we can get you to shift. Deal?” Damien asks.
She shakes her head. “I’m just……shocked. One, you aren’t making fun of me. Two,
you’d actually be willing to help teach me?”
“Of course. I like you. I really do. You’re such an awesome person. I don’t want you to feel like you’re alone in this. I can try my hardest to help you. I’ve helped train people before, Kayla included.”
“Please don’t compare me to her. She’s a perfect Neturu. That isn’t the same.”
Nodding his head, Damien says, “True, but this isn’t something someone should make fun of. I won’t ever let that happen. We’ll try everything we can to get you to shift. Let’s just give it a chance.”
“Wow,” Claire whispers. “Yeah, okay. Let’s do it.”
“First things first: I believe you were planning on leaving me in the dust with your running skills.”
“You know it,” Claire chirps back. As they walk out of the room, Claire grows really nervous. Her head says that he’s just going to make fun of her and tell people, but for some reason her heart says that he won’t. When they get outside, Claire smiles. “Ready?”
“Bring it,” Damien retorts. With a slight smirk, Claire turns and they start to run. “So, tell me something about yourself.”
Claire turns to him. “I already told you my darkest secret. What else do you want?”
“Favorite movie?” He inquires.
“Spirited Away,” Claire answers.
There is a pause and then Damien says, “What’s Spirited Away?”
“Anime made by Studio Ghibli. They’ve made my favorite movies of all time. Spirited Away, Castles in the Sky, Howl’s Moving Castle, Grave of Fireflies. Now, Grave of Fireflies made me cry. I don’t cry, but I cried at the end of that movie. It was so sad.”
“I don’t know if I ever saw anything by Studio Ghibli.”
“I’ll have to show you then,” Claire replies. “Now, come on. You’re slow.” With that, she takes off running faster.
Forty five minutes later, they make their way back to the hotel. Damien bends over and grabs his knees. “Holy cow.”
“Tired already?” Claire laughs. “You still have two classes.”
He sticks up a finger. “I’m catching my breath. There’s a difference. How are you not more winded?”
“I do this every day. It’s like a morning cup of coffee,” Claire declares. “Wakes you right up. Now, come on. We have to go eat breakfast. Make it a light breakfast. Don’t need you hurling all over the gym.”
“You’re such a snot,” Damien chuckles. “I know not to overdo it before a work out.”
Claire jumps around and then bends over and touches the ground, stretching her legs. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. We’re going to see if you can keep up with me today. So, I’m going to make it as fair as possible.”
Damien laughs. “Alright. Let’s go find everybody.”
When they make their way into the dining hall, all the girls turn and look at Damien. Claire giggles and nudges him with her hip. “You’re coming in all hot and sweaty. You’re going to make the girls swoon.”
“No, that’s if I did this,” Damien retorts, as he takes his shirt off.
Whispers flourish among the groups. Claire rolls her eyes. “You’re not making it easy on your fans.”
“What?” He puts his hands up. “You’re immune to it? Not feeling the need to swoon?”
Stopping, she stares at him for a minute. He does make her pulse quicken, but Claire would never tell Damien that. “Nope. I think I’ll pass.”
“Ouch.” Damien clutches his chest.
“Damien, put your shirt back on,” a voice says from across the cafeteria.
Turning, Claire sees a really good-looking guy approaching them with Kayla on his arm.
Kayla exclaims, “Honey, this is Claire. Claire, this is Jackson.”
Jackson sticks his hand out. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I hope Damien has been behaving himself.”
“Yes, he has,” Claire replies. “Today I’m educating him on how far he can take his body without dying.”
“Claire is some sort of crazy fighter,” Kayla tells Jackson. “She’s teaching a class here.”
“What style are you trained in?” Jackson asks.
With a shrug, Claire answers, “A little bit of everything. My grandfather doesn’t stick to a certain system.”
“Her grandfather is Kaleb Hardrick,” Damien says.
Jackson’s eyebrows shoot up and his eyes widen. “Really? That’s impressive. And you’re teaching a class here?”
“Yes, with my friend Alex, who’s a guard member. I plan to show the guys here some things they probably don’t know.”
“What about us girls?” Kayla quips.
Smiling, Claire says, “You fight?”
The corner of Jackson’s mouth turns up. “She’s been learning the basics of kung fu.”
“I’m not very good at it,” Kayla whispers. “I tend to hurt myself a lot.”
“Maybe you just need the right teacher,” Claire replies. “I’ll give you some private lessons if you want.”
“Really?” Kayla exclaims.
Claire nods. “Of course. A girl should always be able to defend herself.”
“Can we do it this week?” Kayla asks excitedly.
“Sure. We can even do it today if you have time,” Claire replies. “Our exercise class is after breakfast and then later tonight is the fighting workshop. So there’s time in between.”
“Oh, that sounds perfect. I’m so excited!”
Jackson looks down at her. “You weren’t this excited when I started teaching you.”
“But she’s a girl and will know how to train me,” Kayla retorts. “Anyway, she can probably beat you up. Show some respect.”
“I can beat him up,” Claire states. “If I can take Alex, I can take pretty much anyone.”
Two hands run their way around her stomach from behind. “You can do what to me?”
Narrowing her eyes at him, Claire says, “I can kick your ass. Anyway, Kayla, Jackson, this is Alex, one of my nearest and dearest friends. He’s also my fighting partner and co-teacher.”
“Hello.” Alex waves his fingers. He looks down at Claire. “Did you go for your morning run already?”
“Yeah. Damien went too,” Claire replies. “It was nice.”
“I figured you would’ve come and gotten me,” Alex says. “We usually run together.”
Dramatically, Claire covers her mouth. “Oh, no. I cheated on you.”
“Shut up, Claire.”
She raises her eyebrow. “Are you done?”
Alex only rolls his eyes in return.
“Okay. It’s nice meeting everyone, but I’m starving. Can we please eat?” Kayla asks.
Nodding, Claire says, “Let’s go. Got to fuel up for the day.”
They all walk to the food line, and Kayla says, “So, I’m thinking of doing your exercise class.”
“It’s hardcore,” Alex says. “Just warning you.”
“She’ll be fine. All she needs to do is give it a try.” Claire grabs a plate of fruit and some cottage cheese. “Everyone can give it their best effort.”
Kayla grins and grabs some pancakes.
Claire grabs her hands. “Oh, no. You’ll get sick if you do that and then work out.”
With a frown, Kayla replies, “But I love pancakes.”
“I don’t want anyone vomiting,” Claire states. “Try something lighter.”
“Bummer.”
Jackson rubs Kayla’s back. “You’ll be fine. So, what are you going to work on in the training workshop today?”
Alex starts to tell him. They spend the rest of breakfast talking about different fighting styles. Claire laughs a little because Kayla looks lost. Finally, when they finish eating, Alex claps his hands. “Alright. Class starts in half an hour. I hope to see you all there.”
“Yup,” Damien replies.
“I’ll meet you there,” Claire declares. “I need to go email Ben.”
“Yeah. I talked to him this morning. He was worried.” His gaze drifts to Damien.
Claire groans. “Whatever. I’ll go message him right now. See you guys in a little bit.”
“Wait. I’ll come with you,” Damien interjects. “I want to change.”
“Okay. Let’s go. See you in a bit, guys.” She waves.
Alex just glares at Damien, and Claire clenches her jaw. Right now, she just wants to kick Alex in the shin.
Damien puts his hand on the small of Claire’s back and they start to walk. When they get to the room, Claire takes out the computer. She opens Ben’s email. It reads
Are you nuts? Damien has the worst reputation possible! Please, be safe. You can stay with Alex. He said as much. I’d feel better if you did. At least then I’d know that no one was trying to get into your pants.
Claire bursts out laughing, and Damien turns to her. “What’s so funny?”
With a snort, Claire answers, “My brother thinks it’s a better idea if I stay with Alex, because then he knows no one would be trying to get into my pants. Wow, is he off-base.”
“Well, obviously my reputation is worse than I thought.” Damien sighs. “Would you rather stay with Alex?”
“No.” Claire shakes her head. “I don’t even want to talk to him. The proximity would force us to talk about the drama and I’d rather avoid it instead of being trapped in an awkward situation.”
“You should talk to him.” Damien takes his shirt off, and Claire tries to not stare at him. Damien puts on a tank top.
Shrugging, Claire replies, “I respect your opinion.”
She turns back to Ben’s email. The rest reads:
I know you aren’t happy about being there, but you have Alex. Try and make the best of it. Maybe you can make some friends. No offense to Master Damien, but I hope it’s not him…in his bed…or anywhere else for that matter. I know you’re a smart girl, but he’s a good-looking guy.
I can say that because I’m secure in my sexuality. Anyway, he wouldn’t be my type if I were gay. None of that matters, but he’s known for his sleeping around. I don’t want you to get sucked in. If he tries anything, kick his ass. I want you to stay virtuous until you’re at least 40, maybe 45. Okay?
I think grandfather would agree. It would deter you from your discipline…that’s the theory I’m sticking with. Alright, I’m done lecturing. Have fun and I’ll wait for your reply. Love, Ben, your over protective brother.