This Dark Wolf (Soul Bitten Shifter #1) - Everly Frost Page 0,49

the garden, relaying everything my wolf sees—everything I see—back to my human form.

Helen also promised that she wouldn’t tell Tristan that I was ready until I asked her to.

I’m not ready to leave Hidden House yet.

Soon. Just… not yet.

Now, Jace might find out that I’m a whole lot more ready than Helen has been reporting to Tristan.

A sense of trepidation fills me by the time we reach the gym. The only way I can avoid being discovered is if I keep my distance from Jace and make sure he doesn’t suspect I’m in control already.

Reaching the gym, we find the room magically rearranged. The boxing ring has been replaced with an open area with large, wooden targets standing in a row. A large rack holding a myriad of different-shaped knives sits at the front of the space nearest to the door.

The card mage twins meet us in the doorway as we arrive. They’re disgruntled and sweaty, wearing their gym clothing.

“We were using the boxing ring,” Lydia says, gesturing to the now-empty space. “Until it disappeared and the room rearranged itself.”

I suck in an apologetic breath. “Sorry, ladies.”

Lydia rolls her eyes. “Well, I guess it’s time for our mid-morning snack anyway,” she says, winking at me.

“Are you sure it’s not afternoon?” I ask, with a completely straight face, testing her ability to tell the time.

She rolls her eyes at me. Over the last two months, the twins have become much more cognizant of time and space, so much that they’ll sometimes remind me when I’m late for something.

“I’m certain,” she says.

Beside her, Luna is fixated on Jace, her sage green eyes widening and her cheeks filling with color. I’ve learned that Luna’s blush is not a sign of embarrassment, rather that she’s accessing her power.

Lydia notices too, startles, and gives Luna’s arm a firm tug toward the corridor, but Luna refuses to budge. She pulls her playing cards from her pocket, a deep crease of concentration forming in her forehead. I catch the startling image of a weeping wolf on the card she holds.

Jace returns Luna’s stare with a calmness I wasn’t expecting. “Don’t worry,” he says to her, a hint of bitterness tugging at his lips. “I know what you’re going to tell me.”

Just when Luna moves as if she’s going to throw the card into the air, Lydia grabs her sister’s hand, covering the cards and stopping her.

“Not today, dearest,” she whispers to her sister. “It won’t end well.”

Luna’s eyes soften as her luminous gaze passes across Jace to her sister.

Lydia gives a long, low sigh at the silent conversation she has with her sister. “I know,” she says. “But no good can come of it.”

This time, Luna doesn’t fight her sister’s wishes.

“We’ll be on our way.” Lydia slips her arm through Luna’s and guides her away.

I exhale, suddenly realizing that I was holding my breath, uncertain what Luna might say.

The pause in the doorway has forced us to stand much closer together than I want us to be. As soon as Iyana strides away from Jace and me to take up position on the right-hand side of the room—a safe distance from the knife targets—I hurry away from him as quickly as I can.

I stop in front of the knife rack, keeping Jace in the corner of my vision, satisfied when he stays at a distance. Studying the knives, I consider my options, uncertain which blade to choose, but not because I’m uncomfortable. Already, I’m feeling more at home around these weapons. The difficulty is that there are so many to choose from.

I pick up the blade sitting directly to my right, gripping it and getting a sense of its weight and balance. It has a basic black handle and a sharp point while the edge itself isn’t sharp.

“Those are good to start with,” Jace says, lifting his voice so I can hear him across the space. “You’re less likely to hurt yourself while you learn.”

I stop myself before I huff. Hurt myself. Right.

He points at a spot near the knife rack about six feet from the first target. “Stand there. Right foot a little forward. Back straight. And relax.”

I glare at him. His barked orders aren’t exactly conducive to relaxation.

“Hold the knife by the handle, blade to the sky. You’re going to try for a full rotation when you throw it,” he says.

Taking a deep breath and attempting to relax, I follow his instructions and pitch the blade as hard as I can at the target. It