Come Out Swinging (Reach for the Moon Book 2), Sam Hall [leveled readers .TXT] 📗

Chapter 41

“Good, good…” Greta said as I moved across the floor of the training room, Zack matching me move for move. It was like some kind of savage dance, one that caught everything in its wake, small eddies of wind forming as we kicked, punched, and struck out in increasingly complex ways. We’d initially started sparring, but something odd had happened the longer Zack and I trained together.

This had become our daily routine for over a week now. Have breakfast with Jake and his pack, call Bridge and see how she was going, go to the training room with Greta and her coven, and work on connecting with each of my mates. With some, it was all too easy.

“Yes, your connection with Zack is incredibly strong,” Greta said when we finally came to a stop. “There is something more. The way your movements echo the others…”

We each glanced at the other, snorting when we saw we had the same loose stance, standing as if mirror images of each other.

“I can…” we both started to say, his smile spreading in response. I could feel it, we could feel it, that connection. He was so fucking proud of me. I knew that anyway. Zack didn’t hide shit, not unless he thought it’d be too hard for me to handle. But beyond the incredible warmth of his gaze, I felt it, bubbling up inside me like it did in him. Me being able to move like he did, follow those same steps, keep up no matter how hard or fast he pushed himself, it settled something inside Zack that he’d been holding onto, that I hadn’t even sensed.

I worried Zack. Could I hold my own? Would I accept who I was, find my mates? Would they look after me? Would we get on? Would we be strong as a pack, making every person a priority, building each other up rather than dragging each other down? A big snarl of emotion and concerns and memories from his childhood rose and fell away, but he just grinned at me. I gazed into those warm dark eyes and knew there was nowhere else I wanted to be.

“I can feel him,” I answered belatedly. “And he can feel me. Everything, every sense, every feeling, every plan. We see what we need our bodies to do, and they do it.”

Greta nodded slowly. “That is…” She swallowed, maintaining an air of calm, but why did I think that was somewhat fractured? “That is more than we have seen with other ulva we have trained, but perhaps that’s to be expected.” She smiled gently. “You are a special pack, with other gifts. But we must continue your training. You have not reached the same depth of connection with all of your mates?”

I looked over to the other guys, standing there in just gym shorts and sneakers, skin glistening. Mason had them running laps while I worked with each man one on one. Well, every man but him.

“No,” I said, staring at him, watching him meet my eyes for seconds before looking away. “I was always going to connect easiest with Zack.” A big hand landed on my shoulder, dragging me closer, fingers tangling with my braid. My eyes slid closed for a second, feeling the double pleasure of his hands on me and how he responded to that.

“And who will be the most difficult?” Greta asked the question, but she followed everyone’s gaze, knowing the answer already. Mason’s only acknowledgement was to straighten up, square his shoulders. “Then he is who you will train with next. As dazzling as that display was, it’s not what’s needed right now. The whole pack needs to mesh.”

Her eyes flicked sideways when I shuffled my feet. Sure, some of the spike of anxiety I was currently feeling was spurred by trying to connect with Mason. He seemed to hover at the edges of our group, organising the others, making sure I got time with all of them. All but him. But that wasn’t the only thing standing between us.

“You won’t be whole without all of them,” Stevie had said. We both knew what that meant, Aidan’s golden eyes staring out of the darkness at me suddenly appearing in my mind, those full lips twisting into a smile.

“The whole pack,” Greta repeated, as if the message needed to be driven home, but she just sniffed when I didn’t reply. “The rest of you are dismissed. Your mate will work with Mason today.”

He nodded in agreement, probably because Micah and Declan lagged behind a little, as if seeking confirmation from the real authority here. Zack walked up and clapped him on the shoulder, his brother starting slightly. Mason shot him a dark look, but Zack just smirked.

“We were always gonna end up here,” he said. “Stop being a prick and let her in.”

“Let her in…” Mason’s words were barely more than an exhaled breath, but I held them, taking a step towards him, never able to hold out for long. He just stood there, looking at everywhere but at me.

Why was this so fucking hard? When his back was against the wall, when we were celebrating escaping imminent danger, that hard beta shell cracked and something, someone else came to the fore. A hot eyed Mason who made big declarations about where I fitted into his heart, who told me he… I couldn’t even think about it because once the danger was over, so was he. Everything was locked back up tight behind that impassive, calm, supportive façade. He went right back to being my beta, not my lover. I watched him grow obviously more and more uncomfortable and let out a long sigh.

“We’re going to need more time,” I told Greta, aiming for calm and rational and failing. I didn’t want to live like this, seeing rejection in any display of reluctance from him, but I couldn’t help it. Those scars were still there,