I rested my cheek against Rawson's chest. “It’s okay, Rawson’s staying. You really can let go.” His nearness and voice soothed me, and my heart rate and breathing slowed enough that my rational brain kicked in. I was making a fool of myself. Not only that, we might as well be standing on a stage.
I broke eye contact with Connor and straightened up. Giving the hand on my shoulder a squeeze, I took a deep breath and turned to Rawson. “Hi,” I said and leaned up on my tip toes and kissed his cheek.
“Hi.” He smiled back, though it wasn’t his usual vibrant smile.
“He’s here to help you settle in—and train you.”
Despite the warmth of Connor’s touch on my shoulder, my spine snapped straight. “What do you mean train me? For what?”
Connor grinned, his hand dropping away. He shrugged, his neck muscles bunching. Gods, he made even that simple move look powerful.
“Well, you have moves, but they need to be sharper, more precise and more powerful.”
“Why?” I spun to face him.
He walked further into the ring, a smirk on his lips.
Rawson dipped in through the ropes and stood a few feet away, watching us with a smile.
“There’s nothing wrong with my moves.” They didn’t need to know I’d deliberately held back. It didn’t make sense to showcase all my talents in front of the potential enemies in the hall—not even to prove Connor wrong.
Connor twisted his lips, and nonchalantly shrugged one shoulder. “No, except you would be dead now if that dagger had been real.”
“You cheated!” I conceded that I sounded childish right now, but Connor always made me defensive. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. We weren’t kids now, I needed to react differently around him.
“Cheated?” He raised his brows, arrogance returning to his movements and stance in spades. “Firecracker, you might not belong to my pack—or me...yet.” He scowled at Drake. “But this body drew your attention enough you didn’t see anything else around you. Your moves might be good, but you need to learn to read your opponent’s mind, and anticipate underhanded actions, as well as being able to kick them in the balls. Once you can fight without being distracted, you might stand a chance of survival.”
My fists curled and my nostrils flared, but I remained quiet. He had a point.
Rawson stepped between us. “Ember, if you let me train with you, you’d be doing me a big favour. I get very little opportunity to practise my fighting skills these days. It’ll give us a chance to catch up, and you can tell me what you’ve been doing for the past four years.”
I pressed my lips together, not sure that was such a good idea.
“Hmm, I, too, would love to know what you’ve been doing for the past four years while I believed you and your wolf were dead.”
I thanked the Mother Wolf that Connor put his shirt back on. His mouth spread in a smile at the relief I showed. “I thought you said I’d be training with Rawson.” I sidestepped the implied question. I’d given Connor some shit for his actions since being in this prison, and I’d been dealing drugs. Gods, how do I own up to that now?
“Oh, you are…and me—and everyone else we think are good opponents for you. Okay, I’ll leave you to your secrets, for now. But tonight, in roughly eight hours, you are coming back to my cell—not going to his. We have things to discuss.” He glared at Drake, then looked at the ground and shook his head.
I rubbed my forearms with my hands while shaking my head, suddenly nervous about being alone with Connor.
“You already agreed, Em,” Connor pointed out tightly.
I swallowed hard. “I know, but I can change my mind.”
“Not this time, Firecracker. I told you. It’s too important. You need to know why I’m going to train you so hard and what really happens here.” He towered over me, his jaw clenched tightly.
I scowled, but bit my tongue, trying to understand why I was nervous of him. His alpha power thickened the air. I swallowed, knowing I’d made him angry again, but I didn’t lower my gaze.
“Both of you need to cool off. Now!”
We looked at Rawson and the surprise on Connor’s face was priceless. I began to laugh. His smile grew, too. I exchanged a look with him. It was surreal to have Rawson snap at us, but nice to remember all the times in the past he had done just