Night Bites (7 page)

“I fireproofed the apartment while you were out. You will have to remind me to thank your demon for his little 'gift',” Alex says joining us. I cannot really tell if he is being sarcastic. He sounds pretty sincere. “I am, sincere that is.”

“So far, he has caused fire and growled and nipped at any person that has come close to him, and yet you are happy to have him here?” I ask doubting him. My eyes even narrow slightly as I glare at him. For some reason I think he is making fun of my puppy and mama bear doesn’t allow baby bear to be teased.

“What I am starting to see is that Clyde was not meant as a gift for protection. Although, I am sure he will provide plenty of that. Ben gave him to you to get you used to mothering something,” he says with a smile.

I look down at Clyde lazily grinning in my arms. “Oh shit,” I say aloud. “That sneaky, no good, low down bastard. Well, I will show him,” I state stomping off with Clyde.

I don't know how I am really going to go about doing that. It isn't like I can just abandon Clyde to fend for himself. He is just a baby after all.

I settle in front of my laptop and start cruising around websites with Clyde in my lap. I have a plan formulating, but I have other business to tend with now.

“Nothing says showing Ben like buying a puppy palace and a year's supply of doggy breath mints,” Sebastian says right next to my ear.

“No one said I was going to show him right this second and Clyde needs supplies,” I fume and continue with my purchases. Once done, I feel better about seeing to Demon Dog's needs. I will show them all what a great mother I could be, even if I still refuse to have my own children.

Clyde seems happy about my decisions, too. As far as I can tell anyway. He isn’t growling at anyone, just observing. He is probably chronicling who would be the easiest to take down amongst the people in the room. Phee would be the obvious choice for him there. We probably better get a move on toughening her up.

“Phee you ready to go through some tests today so I can monitor your physical acumen?”

“Yes,” she says jumping up and down. “I felt so bad about not being able to help when you were kidnapped.”

“That was something that just had to happen. I am already over it.” Well mostly. Once me and Sebby are back on track, I will be over it. Oh, and gutting the bastard Tommy wouldn't hurt either.

“If you guys want to head down, I will have your other student brought in,” Alex says taking out his phone.

“Sounds good. Come on, Clyde,” I say taking off his leash. In the building, I don't think I really need it. My two shadows, Sebastian and Marcus, follow behind us, while Jonas sticks around to talk to Alex. I haven't seen Smitty since we returned, which is probably good because he has a lot of glares coming his way. Also, it looks like Jake made a pit stop somewhere because he isn't back either.

We arrive at the gym and Phee, being a loopy-headed teenager, spins around marveling at the space. She cannot even see the rooms off to the side, one of which holds a huge ass pool, and she is already impressed.

“This is so cool,” she claims still trying to take it all in. I guess I was impressed, at first, but I sincerely hope I didn't act like this. “What do I get to try first?” she asks glancing at the equipment.

Light bulbs are going off in her head and I doubt she knows how to use half of the equipment. She is going to need to have a close eye kept on her so she doesn’t hurt herself.

“First, I need to get some results from speed, strength, and agility testing to see how to begin your training. There is usually a weapons portion to the test, but we already know what the grades will be.” The grades are Fail on all accounts. That is with a big F and little ail and we aren’t talking about the lager version of the word.

“Okay, so what do I do, where do you want me, where can I start, oh look at that machine, can I touch it?” she asks in a rush that is hard to follow.

“If you slow down and wait a second we are waiting for another student. I want to get you both started on the tests at the same time,” I reply noticing that Clyde has run off and is about to water a set of dumbbells. “Clyde, we only go to the bathroom outside. Don't you even think about marking those as your own, little mister.”

He scowls slightly at me, but walks back towards me without doing his business. I am not ready to take him out on a walk again, so I hope that he was just being silly. Like the adult wolves I spend most of my days around, I am sure he was just trying to mark his territory. I have to say I am extremely happy Alex hasn’t tried to mark me the same way.

I hear voices from the hall and can smell Alex, Jonas, Jake, and a fourth smell that is vaguely familiar and can only be Sam. Good, Phee won't go nuttier from waiting to get started. I was preparing to get some duct tape out and stick her to the ground so I wouldn’t have to keep an eye on her.

“You are getting this one chance and a very short leash, mongrel,” I hear Alex say obviously not too happy with the prisoner. Try to shoot his mate and he gives you no leeway, even if you weren’t really aiming for her. Sebastian wasn’t much better, spinning his head around and all.

“I understand. I do really want to learn and never stepping foot inside the Collective again sounds like heaven to me,” Sam replies in his measly voice. Maybe his voice isn't that bad, but when you have Alex and Sebastian yapping at you all day in their deep, rich timbres, Sam is really lacking.

As they enter, I take stock of the man again. He is just as I remember him. Slightly on the small side for a wolf, probably normal size for a human, he has dull, light blue eyes and somewhat shaggy walnut colored brown hair. To me, he is pretty geeky looking without a lot of build in his arms, legs, or chest.

He may have a little bit more experience than Phee, but I am essentially going to be teaching two novices. I can just imagine the days ahead, an hour or two with them each day followed by at least an hour of trying to train Clyde. I hope I can find a case at work to stop myself from going crazy.

I focus back up on Sam's face and realize the rest of the room has gone quiet, other than Clyde's growls at the newcomers. Sam’s gaze is intent on something behind me and I can already tell I am not going to be happy if I turn around. I do it anyway, and see Phee staring back at him with the same dopey expression.

Son of a bitch. I don't know a lot about mates, being defective as I am, but that has to be the look of love at first sight.

These training lessons just got a whole Hell of a lot more difficult.

Chapter 9

Two little love birds sitting in a tree

“Shit,” I say under my breath. Trying to train Phee in pseudo combat mode is going to be impossible if Sam gets all hopped up on puppy testosterone at seeing her in danger, even when I am pulling punches.

Bring me a concrete block now, so I can bang my head against it and concuss myself silly. I think that is my only hope for not totally losing my mind. It seems my mental capacity has been on the line and in question a lot lately.

I take a few calming breaths and wish someone else would speak up. Clyde must have gotten a hold of all their tongues because nothing is happening.

“Okay. Sam this is Phee, Phee this is Sam. You can kiss and make out, or whatever it is normal mates do, after we at least get through your initial tests. When they are over we will go over some ground rules and then you are free to frolic in the wilderness,” I say trying to draw them out of the trance.

Neither one of them moves, so I walk over to Phee and shake her. “Josephina you are not here to stare at the boy all day. You want to get training remember?”

“What? Oh, training. Yes. That is why I am here. Lead on, master,” she says shaking her head and blushing lightly.

Why do things like this always have to happen to me? Some days I just wish I could stay in a coma until all the craziness in the world has been eradicated. The only problem with that is I would have to stay asleep for at least a few millennia. I wouldn't go crazy that way, but I sure as Hell would miss a lot of stuff, and it might actually be good stuff.

With her back on planet earth, I turn to Sam to see he is looking around the room in awe; much like his little girlfriend was five minutes ago. “Nice to see you again, Sam.”

“Hi, Slaughter. Thanks for letting me out of my cell for this. I can already tell that I am going to enjoy your teachings,” he replies glancing sideways at Phee. “I was starting to get a little bored staring at the plain wall all day.”

I am just sure my teachings are what he is really thinking about. At least now, I imagine he will try his hardest in the tests. He has to prove to his mate that he can provide for her and all that crap. The way our brains are wired sometimes disgusts me.

Why can't it be the girl that provides for the guy? I mean, we aren't all just a bunch of pansies. We can hunt and gather on our own. Even when there is all this equality talk, we are still the weaker species that needs protecting. It's a bunch of crap.

Feeling better after my mental purging that I hope nobody noticed, I return to the task at hand. Alex chuckles to himself, so I figure he at least picked up pieces of the rant. Oh well, if he doesn't already know it, he should.

“Okay my students, let's start with some speed testing. I want you to run around the track three times at full speed so I can get your times. Once we have those done, I will be placing objects in your paths and may have some of the guys help provide distractions while you run around another three times to see how they affect your times,” I instruct.

“Phee, I know we were going to do this alone, but I don't want you to be intimidated from doing your best. When I started out in this type of stuff, guys beat me in most of the categories, so don't get discouraged.”

Hey, I actually said something halfway nice and caring-like, instead of just screaming, “run” at them.

“No worries, Nyx. I got this one,” Phee says winking at me before taking her place at the starting line.

Good, that is exactly what I want to hear from her. With that attitude, the next hour of her life, which I plan on making hell, will possibly be livable. Things aren't looking so good for lover boy, who has taken his spot beside her and is having difficulties looking anywhere but at her.

I collect my stopwatch and am ready to get started. “Okay, on my mark,” I say moving to stand directly behind them. “Ready. Set. Go.”

Phee takes off and Sam is stuck for about two seconds before he takes off after her. Thinking it is a game Clyde runs off in pursuit. I think about calling him off, but what better way is there for me to find their best times than having a Hellhound chasing after them. After the first lap, Clyde gets bored and returns to my side.

Too bad. They both made a first lap time that is pretty commendable. The second lap looks to start out at the same pace, but I notice a drop in speed as they realize Clyde isn't behind them anymore. Phee is still out in front, but not by far. Sam is working his hardest to catch up. That's it lover boy, you show her what a big, tough man you really are. Sorry, the rant wasn't as over as I thought it was.

By the third lap, they are both starting to drag. They have speed, but they don't have stamina. It is the first thing to go on my mental list of notes for improvements. On my list, I add a Taser, in case I need to separate them sometime in the future. In the end, Phee crosses the finish line at three minutes flat and Sam is right behind ten seconds later.

Not bad for the mile and a half. We should easily be able to get them down to the two and a half minute range, either by working on the stamina or getting Clyde to chase them the whole time.

“That's a good start you two. I am sure you both noticed you started to lag by the end. That is something we will need to work on. I will give you a couple seconds to catch a breath and then we will start with the obstacles.”

I move to place a few weights and hurdles into their lanes. Collecting our observers, I line them up around the track and give them beanbags to toss at the students as they run by.

“You don't have to toss them every time and I want you to vary when you toss them. You know, throw it when they are coming up on you, right in line with you, and after they pass you. I don't want them to expect the hit,” I instruct.

With everything and everyone in place, I head back over to Sam and Phee who are whispering between themselves. We can all hear them clear as day, so I don't know why they bother. They must want the illusion of privacy. They are going to have to learn to do the mushy stuff on their own time. Around me, it is only going to make me have them run more laps. Lucky for them, this is just a testing session.

“Okay guys, this is going to be a lot tougher. You are going to fall. There is no doubt in my mind. If either of you don't, I am going to have you skinned to check for robot parts. Agility comes naturally for us in our wolf forms, but it takes hours of work to get it drilled into our human brains.

“This will help me figure out what coordination activities will help you hone your skills. It will be another three laps around and whatever you do, don't get complacent. Each lap will be different, I will make certain of that. You can take your places,” I order.

They both quickly get in their spots and I give the command to go. Out of the gate, they are both looking good. I give Clyde a little glance and see him asleep at my feet with his belly in the air. The humanoids must have bored him to sleep. He is making some cute little snoring sounds.

Looking back at the action on the track, beanbags are being tossed aside, but their speeds have really diminished. Sam is out in front of Phee and, as I was afraid of, he seems to be batting some of the beanbags down that are targeting her.

Stupid testosterone.

Shortly after the start of the second lap, Phee takes a tumble on a hurdle. Wanting to see what is wrong, Sam turns around and is hit in the head by a beanbag Alex throws. It catches him off guard and down he goes.

Good, that will teach him. She isn't in real danger, so he needs to let her do this on her own. He lies there for a second, but Phee is quickly back up and works to complete the lap. They each have another fall, but finish up around the seven-minute mark.