follow your scent, so it’s all about speed. Speed, and moving as quietly as possible so that they can’t also rely on their hearing to find you. Tracking you just by using your scent alone can slow them down and place more distance between you and them.”
Jaime threw her hands up in the air. “I can’t even walk quietly. How am I supposed to run quietly?”
“That’s where a little thing called practice comes in, baby, and you’ll get plenty of that throughout your training. Don’t lift your feet too high when you run and make sure you flex your ankle as if you’re pushing the ground backward, like you would on a treadmill.”
“What do your enforcers do if it’s not a shifter who’s tracking them, just humans? Does that mean they can just hide?”
“Yes, because I’ve ensured they’re good enough that they’re practically impossible to track.
And so will you be when you need to find cover and they’re hunting you down. You don’t need to necessarily find cover as such, but at least camouflage your shadow by standing next to a tree or maybe kneeling next to something of that height, like a large boulder or bush. All this is something you can practice in your own time. Maybe you could try sneaking up on Gabe.” A mischievous smile split Jaime’s lips. “I’m going to enjoy that. So what next?”
“Next,” he said with a feral grin, “we improve on your combat techniques.” The feral grin should have warned her that the tricky jerk meant to knock her on her ass time and time again. Clearly, he hadn’t yet forgiven her for the parking-lot incident. Jaime didn’t give him the satisfaction of yielding. No, she bore the pain and kept on moving. In spite of the grueling method of teaching, she suspected that she’d actually learned a lot more than she would have if it was just a standard lesson. Perversely, she was even enjoying it…until he suddenly stiffened and twirled.
“What do you want, you nosy bastards?”
His gaze was locked on the trees to their right, but Jaime had no idea what he was looking at.
Then, looking highly disgruntled, the enforcers stepped out of the trees.
Dante turned to Jaime. “See how they blended their silhouettes with their surroundings? That’s what I was talking about.”
“She’s still here?” asked Tao sharply. He was looking warily at Jaime.
Dante’s smile disappeared. “Watch it.”
Jaime’s wolf growled in her head at Tao’s unfriendly tone, backing up Dante.
“Come on, Dante, be fair—she nearly killed Glory.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“She could be dangerous to the pack. No, she is dangerous to the pack. And when Trey finds out—”
“He knows.” Dante’s tone was soft, low, pissed.
“You told him?”
“Of course I did. He agreed that she can stay, providing I keep watch over her.”
“You left out that part when we talked earlier,” said Jaime. The idea of being monitored constantly was a hurtful one, but she understood. She wasn’t one of those people who let pride get in the way of things.
“If you must know, Jaime didn’t want to stay. I’ve convinced her to, and she’s agreed to let me subject her to the same training that I did to all of you. We hope to improve on her self-control.”
“Will that be before or after she’s attacked one of us?”
Jaime crossed her arms over her chest. “So you all want me to leave?” Trick and Marcus looked at anything but her, while Ryan gave her an apologetic look that said it was nothing personal.
“Jaime, honey, ignore Tao,” Dominic told her gently. “He’s just freaked out.” Tao rounded on him. “And so would you be if you’d been there last night.” He turned back to her. “In all honesty, yes, I think you should go.” He stiffened when Dante growled. “I don’t think that training her will make much of a difference. Mostly because there’s no way she’ll finish it.” Jaime arched a brow. “There’s no way I’ll finish it?”
“If anyone knows who has the potential to pass that kind of training, it’s me. I’m Head Enforcer.”
She snorted. “Yippee for you.”
“Dante doesn’t go easy. It’s tough.”
“And I can’t do it because, what? Because I’m a female? I’ll have you know that there are plenty of things women can do that men can’t.”
Tao snickered. “Like what?”
“Well, bend over in prison, for one. Multitask, ask for directions, belly flop with dignity, bleed for five days every month yet not die—”
“Have multiple orgasms,” offered Dominic. When Tao turned and scowled at him, he shrugged innocently.