4 - Soon, Little Lamb

I left the dining room as soon as I could while Tyler stayed to mingle or something. He seemed like he wanted to make friends. Good for him, I suppose. I just wanted to get away from Liam. However, it wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped. After hours of tossing and turning, I finally fell asleep and dreamed of none other than Liam West. The way his eyes seemed to follow me, the sound of his voice whispering naughty things in my ear or what his mouth would feel like on my skin.

A knock on the door woke me up. I sat up, feeling flushed and my heart racing. I’d never had dreams like that before. Yes, I did sometimes dream about guys I liked or boyfriends, but they were always sweet and never, ever spicy like this.

“Miss Emma!” the servant called from the door, bringing me back to the real world. “It’s time to get up and get ready for your training.”

Training? Oh right. I shook my head. “Okay, I’m up,” I called out to them.

“Perfect. Breakfast is on the table in the dining room when you’re ready.”

I blew out a breath, still feeling the effects of my dreams. “This is crazy,” I said and went to get ready.

After a long, cold shower and breakfast, one servant took Tyler and me to a large ballroom-like room where Katie and Alex were waiting for us. There, Alex explained the hierarchy of the pack, while Kelly talked about controlling our wolves. Apparently, our wolves would speak to us like a voice in our head once we got used to our new abilities.

I wasn’t sure I was a fan of a voice in my head. Kelly also recommended we spend a half hour every morning and night in meditation to connect with our wolves better. Out of the two, I preferred Kelly over Alex. She was, at least, nice about everything, while Alex clearly thought he was better than all of us, and had no problem being smug about it.

My stomach twisted as we left the house and went to the enormous backyard where Liam would teach us how to fight. Thankfully, Kelly and not Alex, was joining us. Perhaps I could use her as a buffer against Liam.

As soon as I saw him, my body flooded with warmth. ‘Think of Kevin,’ I told myself, and again the desire shriveled up and died.

“Hey,” Kelly said as she saw Liam and waved. “Hope you don’t mind if I tag along. I thought maybe I could help.”

“Help,” he said, sounding almost surprised.

“Yeah. Help. I can fight pretty good,” she said, sounding a little irritated.

He shrugged and said, “Fine.” Liam turned to us. “Have either of you any training? Self defense, karate, or anything like that.”

“Nope…unless you count Call of Duty,” Tyler replied with a grin that fell from his face when Liam shook his head.

“That’s a no for me too,” I said, looking more at Kelly than Liam.

“Then we’ll be working on stance then,” he said and looked at Kelly. “Show them.” Kelly turned herself to an angle, her hands curled into fists, lifted to her chin, which was pointed down, and her feet were about shoulder width apart.

“This,” Liam said, nodding to her. “Is the basic starter position for defending and attacking.” He explained how she was protecting herself, yet ready to react to whatever her opponent might throw at her. “Now, you try it,” he said.

“Go ahead,” I told Tyler, and he mimicked Kelly’s stance. It looked silly to me.

“Both of you,” Liam insisted.

I copied how Kelly stood, trying hard not to feel like an idiot. Liam walked over to Tyler, looking at him up and down. He pushed on Tyler’s arms so his fists were higher. Next, Liam nudged his shoulder, but Tyler didn’t move. “Good start,” Liam said.

My heart stuttered as he walked over to me. ‘Think of Kevin,’ I told myself as I stared ahead. Liam walked around me, looking me up and down. I swore my skin burned where his gaze touched. ‘Kevin. Kevin. Kevin,’ I repeated. In a blur of movement, Liam knocked my feet out from under me and I fell on my back. Tyler burst out laughing as I stared up at the sky, trying to get air back into my lungs.

“What the hell?” I demanded as I sat up and glared at Liam, who stood in front of me with his hands on his hips.

“Pay attention,” he said, his deep voice coming out more gravely with his apparent disapproval, and held out a hand to help me stand.

“Why couldn’t you just say that instead of knocking me down like that.,” I snapped and stood up on my own, ignoring his outstretched hand. “Asshat,” I mumbled, dusting the grass off me.

“Do it again. Get in stance,” Liam told me as if I had said nothing.

Irritated and feeling stupid, I brought up my fists and copied Kelly’s stance. He walked around me, but this time he stopped behind me. It made the skin of my back prickle with nervousness. I hated when people stood behind me. Liam’s foot tapped my left foot. “Move this foot out a little more. Your stance needs to be wider.”

Once I adjusted my foot, Liam suddenly laid his hands on my hips and pulled. I sucked in a breath as I crashed into him. He clicked his tongue in obvious disapproval. “Your stance needs to be stronger so that nothing can knock you off balance,” he said, his breath brushing against my cheek. “Now do it again,” he said, still holding my hips, but giving me a little push to stand upright.

My face warmed, but I felt a burning sensation where he had held me, as if his handprints seared into my skin. I once more stood like Kelly had and this time, Liam placed his hand against the base of my neck. A shiver ran down my spine at his touch. He gave me a little push, which I resisted, but fell back against him when he grabbed my neck and pulled. His face was next to mine as he said in a soft whisper, “Soon, little lamb.” Before I could say anything back or react, Liam pushed me back to a standing position. In his normal voice, he said, “Better, but you’ll need to practice.”

Liam walked around me in a way that his back was to Tyler and Kelly. His eyes held mine with a predatory glint and a wolfish smile on his lips, promising something dark and wicked.