Obey.

20

"How about we ditch?" Cayden was saying the following week. "Like at least once a week, we should go out and do something.

"No way! What if we get caught?" I wasn't afraid of anyone at school, but if word got back to Hunter, I shivered at the pain I knew he would cause. I could already feel the sting of my cheek from the backhand that would begin the beating.

"I want you to train with me," he was saying. "You know what we talked about last time with me. How I trained."

I gasped at him.

 
"Are you implying - I'm not an abomination, I don't need to train," I sneered and gasped a second later, holding my hand to my mouth.

Cayden looked down at the worksheet in front of him and horror filled me. What the fuck was wrong with me? He had been vulnerable with me, telling me a deep secret and here I was looking down on him, all because he hit a nerve. I was half human, it was true. It just scared me to know someone else thought so too. Hunter's rants of me being brutally gang raped by the next alpha who sensed my weak wolf, always played in my head, being pimped out to five dudes a day didn't seem appealing and it made me feel lucky I had Hunter who at least kept me to himself. It was the best an I was going to get in life being omega and all.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it," I reached out my hand but Cayden snatched his away.

"Forget I said anything, let just get back to this math problem."

My world felt like it shattered. I had hurt Cayden. I could see it plain as day on his face. I had to make it right. I knew very well words could be just as bad a punch.

"No, truly, Cayden I'm no one to look down on others. I don't even think that way. You just caught me off guard. I don't want you to think that I'm -" weak I wanted to say but knew that would imply he was.

"That's not why I wanted to train, I know who I am, it's rare, it would be a miracle if there was two half wolves in the same room much the same school," I kept my expression unreadable at his words. "It's not about that. It's about being confident in knowing if anyone fucked with you, you'd know that you could easily take them down and be on your way. It's security for just in case," his eyes wandered down to my wrist and I followed his gaze to see a large yellow and black healing bruise was visible as my sleeves had pulled up slightly.

Quickly, I covered it back up, letting my eyes slide closed. "Oh that I -"

"Save it. You don't have to explain where every bruise and cut comes from. If your excuses were true, you'd never feel the need to explain each and every one of them, like you do. You'd shrug it off." I looked at Cayden with wide eyes at his words. He saw through me and he knew. But it was true, I realized, every time he noticed a bruise, I'd come up with a cover story thinking I was slick.

When did he figure it out? I wanted to question him or deny it some more but the look he was giving me shut me up.

Was I that obvious? Then why hadn't no one noticed before?

But Cayden noticed; he noticed everything. He was always watching me. Did he sense me too? He allowed me to lie but deep down, did he know?

"Look I'm not saying you have a weak wolf, I'm just saying maybe you've found yourself in a not so desirable situation and are afraid and I want to help with that. To stop the fear. To empower you. To make sure that no matter what, when there's no one around to help you, that you can help yourself."

I didn't know how to respond as Cayden peered at me through his long eyelashes. Worry now on his face that he had said the wrong thing. I could feel the heartbeat in my ears.

Deny, deny, deny. Just keep denying. Come up with a good excuse and laugh it off.

But I wanted exactly what he was offering. To become stronger. If he's telling the truth and he did it. I saw no reason why I couldn't.

"Okay," my shoulders sagged, "I want to train with you. But not because anything is going on or anything," I added. "But just because. It sounds badass."

Cayden beamed at me. "Great! Bring gym wear tomorrow."