Bloodline [h.s.]

thirty-four.

BRIDGET GALLAGHER

There are few predicaments I never imagined happening more than once. The first time I was restrained and bound to a chair against my will, I assumed it would be the last.

Well, I was wrong.

The cool metal of Aiden's pull up bar pressed into my wrists as my fingers blindly searched for an escape from the ropes keeping my hands tied firmly above my head. The inability to comfortably stand flat on the ground made it even more irritating.

This time was a bit more voluntary than the last. I had technically been given a warning. The only reason I even felt fear was from flashbacks of last time I was in this situation.

When he said we were training, I had assumed we were doing something active like boxing or running. I wished he had elaborated on what else he had planned before I dressed in shorts and a sports bra.

"Remember if it's too much for you, we stop." He reminded me, tightening the rope. "Just say the word, and I'll untie you."

"I'm okay, but why is this necessary?" I asked, nervously pulling on my restraints.

At first, every blink sent me back to that haunting, dark room. The only light I saw that week was from the images of my father's victims on a screen. I focused on the sun shining behind Aiden's silhouette to remind myself of reality. I was not in any actual danger.

"You want to help take down Alec, and I know you won't listen if I tell you not to. If you are going to get involved, you need training. I'm giving you a crash course." He rasped as he took a step closer.

"Alec is very good at recognising fear because that is how he gages what knowledge someone has about him. You want to convince him you no longer believe what you were told when you were abducted. However, your fear will give you away the moment you lay eyes on him."

He spoke with an authoritarian dimension I hadn't seen before as he paced around the workout room. It was strange to think that he probably did a similar exercise when Kai started training him.

"I still don't understand how not being able to use my arms will make me more equipped to face him. I don't plan on physically fighting anyone." I said in hopes of him untying me.

"The etiology of fear stems from a neurobiological instinct to survive. Your brain registers Alec as a threat to survival, and the way that information is processed generates an emotional response. Learning to defend yourself will keep you at ease even when the threat isn't physical." He explained, taking another step. The subtle scent of his cologne aroused my senses, highlighting his closeness.

"I don't know if anyone has told you this before, but you're really vague." I said with a taunting smirk. This was something Nate and I bonded over recently.

"Do you really think it is a good idea to tease me, right now?" He glared, not amused in the slightest.

"I thought I was funny." I murmured under my breath.

"This is important. You need to be able to defend yourself. Do you like feeling powerless and weak every time you're near Kai or your family?"

"No."

"Then, take it seriously. It isn't a joke." He reprimanded. I pursed my lips as he continued. "Loss of motion activates the emotional state by triggering your thalamus to send information to the rest of your brain. You need to learn to escape while you're feeling threatened or afraid."