Aspen Juniper Veata has only ever known Beacon Hills to be a quiet and dainty town. Herself, along with her best friends Scott McCall and Stiles Stilinski, had gone unnoticed by their peers in high school for as long as they could remember. Aspen ha...
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The sting of concrete against the back of Aspen's head sent a jolt of throbbing pain up her spine. Her back instantly arched, her face screwed in pain. She let out rough, belated coughs, air trying to make its way into her wheezing throat. The dusty air resembled glitter as it hovered over her face in the light coming from the window.
"You are possibly the worst I've ever trained," Derek quipped from where he stood above her, his figure looming in front of the glass panes that dominated the upper wall of the abandoned train station he called his home. The morning light outlined him and blocked out the rays from blinding her.
Even rolling her eyes sent a sting up Aspen's head from where she lay on the concrete floor where Derek had thrown her. "Thanks for the encouragement," she croaked, her chest rising after another cough.
"Up. Again." Derek demanded, moving away to stand where they had been sparing.
Erica was perched on a table, legs dangling as she bit into a bagel with strawberry cream cheese. Amusement danced in her eyes as she watched Aspen lay her arms over her head and cross her legs. "I think I'll take a break." Aspen breathed her suggestion.
Isaac's soft chuckle traveled to Aspen's ears like a melody from where he stood at the threshold of the abandoned train. His tall, broad figure leaned against the open door, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked down at Aspen, head tilting to the side to catch her eye.
"Having fun down there, sweetheart?" Isaac questioned with a teasing, amorous smirk.
Aspen's expression hardened with an unimpressed smile. She elevated her hand, lifting her middle finger on display in response to his snarky remark of her current predicament.
It had been four days since Aspen came asking Derek to train her. The first night she walked down the murky steps of the train station, the three werewolves had rushed back inside. They were lounging around the space ever so casually. She had avoided Isaac's gaze as much as she could. But he was daring her to look at him. They hadn't spoken, not a real conversation at least. Aspen was beginning to think she and Isaac were becoming strangers. They shared so much, yet in the end, it never resulted in anything. Never amounted to anything more than unspoken feelings. Just more conflict. Even if Aspen wanted a moment with him, it was either too awkward, or Derek would pull her away for more training.
She wasn't quite sure how to tell Scott and Stiles that she was training with a rival pack. It's not like she wasn't going to. She was just trying to prolong it as much as possible.
Every morning she would rise before the sun could beat her and drive to Derek's den. She brought breakfast and always made sure to get everyone's order before arriving. Erica, as she described, was "a slut for bagels with strawberry cream cheese." Boyde surprisingly had a sweet tooth, always requesting a sweet vanilla latte with sugary cold foam and a breakfast sandwich. Aspen always made sure to slide in a sugar cookie. Isaac would shoot her simple text, like 'black coffee.' to which Aspen would respond 'typical' as a reference to when he once said he favored dark chocolate due to its bitter taste.
