would be staying in. The woman instructed him which room to take Jane, then turned again to her and said, ?I hope you are happy during your stay here. If you need anything, don?t hesitate to come speak with me.?
Jane smiled and said, ?Thank you for your hospitality.?
?She seems really nice,? Jane whispered to Dirk once they had traveled down the hallway out of earshot.
?She is very nice,? Dirk agreed. ?She loves each and every member of the pack like family. Kasimir does too, but she shows it much more than he does. His position tethers him to a fač˝ade that doesn?t show emotions, stress, or weakness. All the officers own a side of themselves similar to it, but some of us turn it off when it?s not needed. However, an Alpha is always about business.?
Jane nodded understandingly.
Chapter 7
Dirk led her down the hall past the elevator and around a bend. The hall was dark with only the light of the sconces on the walls and no natural light. Some may have thought that it was spooky, but Jane rather enjoyed the charm of the place. Even the halls were formally decorated with Persian rugs, hand crafted furniture and paintings.
?This is Fritz?s room,? Dirk explained as they passed a doorway, then a little ways further, he pointed to another door and said, ?This is my room.?
Jane didn?t respond, being too busy examining the place. At the end of the hallway, Dirk opened a door and stepped inside. Jane followed him and found that her bag was already waiting for her on the bed. Dirk walked across the room and opened a door, gesturing inside as he said, ?Nadja probably chose this room for you because it has an adjoining bathroom.?
Jane peeked inside and found that it wasn?t huge, but it was large and decorated in the same manner as the rest of the castle. So was her room. There were beautiful fabrics on the bed and over the window and more of the handcrafted wooded furniture. The room seemed eloquent. Jane wasn?t sure if she could feel comfortable in a place that seemed so classy.
?Are you ready to go to the training arena?? she heard Dirk ask from behind her.
She nodded, then followed him back into the hall. They journeyed back through the hallways they had entered and into the elevator. Once in the elevator, they passed the ground floor, on to the basement.
The elevator doors opened to another dark hallway. Dirk led her out and to the right, toward a door. He reached his hand out to push the door open and Jane giggled, even though her stomach felt like it was in knots as she wondered what sorts of tests she was going to be put through.
Dirk pulled back and the door that had been slightly ajar fell shut. He looked at her with a puzzled expression and asked, ?What?s funny??
Jane smiled back at him and said, ?I was just thinking that it seems odd that your pack seems so formal and polite to a certain degree, but not once since I?ve met you have you upheld the old tradition of ?ladies first?.?
His brows narrowed as he thought for a moment, but then he smirked and said, ?Well, what kind of gentleman would I be if I sent you out ahead of me, into a room full of wolves??
She laughed, ?Well, I guess you wouldn?t be, but I?ve yet to encounter a group of wolves.?
He chuckled and explained, ?It is customary for the dominant male to lead others for safety purposes.?
Jane shrugged, ?Okay, I guess that makes sense.?
Dirk pushed the door open and Jane followed him, each step making her feel more and more on edge. The outer edge of the room was full of exercise equipment and in the center were numerous mats on the floor, on which people were wrestling, kickboxing and sparing. Thumps, grunts and panting echoed off the walls as skin slapped against skin and people struggled to catch their breath. It looked like an extremely large gymnasium and even had bleachers along the sides that had been pushed in to make room for the equipment.
?Lou,? Dirk shouted in front of her. She watched, waiting for one of the men to respond but none did. Instead, a woman approached. She had a pretty face, but she wasn?t really curved like a woman. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail and the tight training clothes she wore showed an athletic figure. She was