Moonlight Love

6

When we were done, I understood the smile Nash gave me. It was because he was a sociopath. For the past few hours, he tortured me, having me do hundreds of push-ups, sit-ups, lunges, and even planks.

I had sweat pouring down my body, and even though Nash was working out alongside me, the only indication that he was worn out was his heavy breathing. At some point, he had taken his shirt off, and with every movement he made, I could see his muscles ripple. I also hated the fact that he had a six-pack.

"Please tell me," I said between deep breaths. "That we're done."

"For today," Nash replied. "I'll be seeing you every day to train. Once we build up your core strength, we'll move on to attack stances."

"And we can do this in a few weeks?" I asked him.

He barked out a laugh. "Probably not. That's the plan if you stay as part of the pack. Otherwise, this will all be for nothing."

I looked up at the sky feeling almost discouraged. Not only did the training exercises today kick my ass, but I could tell that Nash neither wanted me in the pack nor thought I was going to make it. Nash didn't talk to me during training other than to tell me what to do and to correct my stances. So, training went along in silence, and he would shoot me irritated glances when he thought I wasn't paying attention.

While part of me was grateful that he was training me, even if he was being forced to by Sylvie, I despised having to be near him. Not only did he have a bad attitude and could be a jerk, but I hated the way my body would respond to him. Anytime he was showing me how to do an exercise, his muscles would flex, and heat would start to spread under my skin. Then my cheeks would start to warm up in embarrassment for looking. I could only hope that he didn't notice, or just thought it was due to me exercising after so long of being in poor shape.

"Are two finished for the day?" Aunt Margot shouted to us from the back porch.

"Yes," Nash answered her, his voice sounding clipped.

"Okay," Margot said slowly. "Well, I guess we'll see you tomorrow."

Nash nodded his head at her, and not saying anything to me, he went to the front where his car was. I flipped off his retreating back, causing Aunt Margot to howl with laughter.

"My God, what did you do to him?" Aunt Margot asked me.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "What? He isn't always the world's biggest dick?"

"No, not normally," she responded. "He's usually more reserved."

"I doubt that," I snorted.

Margot waited before saying anything as we listened to Nash start his car up and drive off. "I wonder if he's mad about you hitting him yesterday?"

"I don't care either way." I shrugged.

And I didn't. Why should I care about hitting him? What right did he have to be mad when it was his fault? Well, partly his fault. He was laughing at me when I was vulnerable. I had lost my mom and buried her six feet underground, I had just been told I was a werewolf, something I never once considered was real, and he laughed at me! It was his audacity that made me angry. 

No matter that there was also a part of me that wished that this was a dream. Maybe I had crashed my car on the way over here and I was in a coma, a deep slumber that would last for eternity while my body decided if it was going to continue living or not. But when I smelled the crisp air, the faint scent of wildflowers hit my nose, and if I touched people, I could feel their skin on mine. There was no way this was a dream.

No matter that this was all insane and impossible. But maybe that could be it? Maybe it was me going crazy and I was hallucinating. I had heard of hallucinations so strong that they appeared real. Yet I had to consider the fact that if I thought I was going crazy or having a schizophrenic episode, didn't that mean that I wasn't crazy? 

I had to be at least a little crazy, despite how real this all felt. I jumped right into this life without a second thought. I didn't really question Aunt Margot or Sylvie, the woman who had apparently helped to raise my mom and aunt. I took them at their word, I put complete and utter trust that what they told me was the truth. How could I not? Margot shifted right in front of me, leaving hardly any room for doubt. Despite it being so bizarre, it felt right. 

While I may have lost my mom, who hardly kept any contact with me as I grew older, I gained a family. I found an aunt who was overjoyed for me to be back and wanted nothing more than for to stay. Then she told me that her pack was my pack, and while there were a few who questioned me joining them, most felt that I always belonged with them. And despite the fact that I haven't had a chance to truly meet all of them, I felt like I belonged in their pack, too.