Kanin

Cade led me out the back door to where Trent was waiting. He wore gym shorts and a T-shirt, tennis shoes at his feet. He stood quietly, watching us come closer to him.

The back of my neck prickled. I instantly spun around to see Jax coming outside. Last time I’d seen him, he’d thrown a knife at me. In turn, I’d thrown one back at him. Mine hadn’t touched him, but his had. I had a small mark on my ear from where his blade had cut skin. My eyes took him in quickly. He wore sweats dangerously low on his hips and a T-shirt that showed off every one of his muscles perfectly. My throat went dry.

“You first, Trent.” Jax said to the bigger wolf, stepping before him.

“You might want to take a step back, Princess.” Cade instructed.

I did as he said, stepping away from the three werewolves that looked ready to fight. Cade stood with his arms crossed, his gaze intent on his alpha. Trent put his fists in the air, ready to fight.

But my eyes weren’t on them.

My eyes were on Jax, who looked just as calm as always. Somehow, he was even more so as he stood facing Trent. Anyone else might be quaking in their boots to spar with Trent. He was built like a bull, all muscle. In any regular match, I’d put my money on Trent. But not now.

Trent took the first move. His fight flew so fast it was like a blur in the wind. I thought for sure it would catch Jax off guard, but he barely flinched. He side stepped the blow easily, hitting out at Trent’s fist. Trent was sent off balance, stumbling to catch his footing. In that little time, Jax punched him in the side with a bone cracking force. Trent didn’t even seem to feel the blow. He spun around, his foot coming into the air. The alpha ducked low, his palm catching the other wolf’s ankle. Jax twisted, spinning Trent with him. The alpha pushed forward hard, sending Trent rolling to the ground. Trent used the momentum and rolled to his feet, fists flying faster with each move. I could barely catch up. I saw Trent barrel towards his alpha. I thought for sure it was over. But then Jax reached out with a single hand, grabbed Trent by the throat, and slammed him into the ground.

No one moved for a moment. Trent’s eyes flashed bright red, werewolf red. A growl escaped his lips. He was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling in short, quick gasps. Anger made his muscles tight. Cade watched as the fight died down before him. He didn’t seem fazed that Trent was on the verge of shifting right before us. He looked amused, entertained even.

Meanwhile, I was slightly terrified. I’d never seen anything like it before. It made my father’s training sessions look like amateur hour.

I watched as the alpha released his hold on Trent. The werewolf still lied on the ground, catching his breath. When he rose to his feet, a smile broke across his face. “That was a good one.”

What just happened?

Cade caught onto my confusion, “like I told you before. Sometimes it’s hard to control our wolf.”

Right. They weren’t really one in the same. One was wild, while the other was human. While the human saw their mistakes and enjoyed the fight, the wolf inside them hated to lose.

“It’s a struggle to control the urge to shift under anger and pressure like this, that’s why we train.” Cade explained. “We’re learning to control it.”

Trent stepped away from the alpha, nodding to Cade. I watched as he stepped towards Jax. The fight started quickly. Cade fought a lot like his personality. He used quick jabs and fake blows. Cade punched the alpha a few times. There were a few times that I heard the wolf laugh, his fists flying towards his alpha quickly. Jax remained straight faced and calm like usual, unfazed. Jax sent a punch flying at Cade that sent him toppling to the ground.

“Uh-oh.” Trent breathed beside me.

Something shifted in the air. Cade climbed to his feet. He was no longer smiling, which wasn’t a good sign. His eyes were no longer their playful hazel color. Instead, they were red. His wolf’s red. He flew at Jax with a blinding rage. It was no longer a playful match between friends. Cade was angry, fighting for control over his wolf.

“Cade, control it!” His alpha warned, fighting against Cade’s fury. He groaned as Cade’s fist hit him in the chest.

“Cade!” Trent yelled, trying to gain control over the angry wolf before us. It wasn’t working. He stepped towards me, putting his body between the two fighting and me. This was about to get bad, fast.

“Cade, you’re about to change if you don’t control it!” Jax tried again, but Cade didn’t seem to hear him.

Suddenly, Cade let out an ear splitting howl. He dropped to the ground on all fours. Bones cracked into place. I watched helplessly as Cade shifted before us. He was howling, his red eyes filled with anger and pain. I didn’t want to watch this.

“Trent!” The alpha called towards us. “Get her out of here, now!”

Trent spun around quickly, gripping me by the arm and pulling me away. I watched as Cade was no longer human. His wolf had taken over, all brown fur and angry red eyes. Jax hadn’t shifted though, he stood with his hands up in surrender, staring the wolf down.

“Cade, calm down.” Jax said, his voice low. He wasn’t scared. “It’s alright.”

I pulled away from Trent quickly. I didn’t want to see this, but I also couldn’t peel my eyes away from the wolf. I watched as Cade’s wolf form lunged at his alpha. Jax was quick, he jumped out of the way. I watched as the wolf snarled. Jax tried to sooth him, but it wasn’t working.

“Cade!” I don’t know what came over me. I was screaming for him to stop. The wolf turned towards me, eyes filled with rage and pain all the same. He was scared, I could tell.

“Cade! Focus on me!” The alpha tried to gain his wolf’s attention back, but it didn’t work. Cade was focused solely on me.

Then I remembered that night on the road. Cade’s wolf had wanted to kill me, he’d tried to. The four claw marks on my arm was proof. What was I thinking?

“Cade!” I heard Trent yell from beside me at the same time Jax did. They sensed what was coming next.

A split second later, the giant wolf lunged. He was before me in a fraction of a second. I held up my hands in surrender. My breath hitched in my throat. A cold sweat worked its way down my back. I was terrified. The wolf stopped before me, his paws digging into the earth. I could feel his canine breath on my face. His sharp teeth swam into focus. If I didn’t do something now, I’d be dead in seconds.

“Cade.” My voice shook. “It’s me.”

The wolf growled softly, but didn’t move.

“It’s okay, Cade.” I whispered, my hands still up in surrender. “It’s alright.”

I wasn’t aware of the other two moving in closely. In a flash, Trent and the alpha lunged at the brown wolf. They tackled him. Trent landed a punch to the wolf’s head. I heard a whine escape the wolf before he collapsed on the ground.

I watched as the wolf slowly shifted back into human. Cade was left lying in a ball, clothes torn to shreds. His eyes were closed tightly, his breath struggling to return to normal. Pain etched across his features.

I dropped to my knees before him, “oh, Cade.” I touched his hand lightly, he didn’t even move. He was unconscious from Trent’s punch. My eyes watered. “Is he going to be okay?” I asked, without peeling my attention from Cade.

“He’ll be fine.” Trent reached down and swung Cade’s limp form over his shoulder. I watched as he carried him back into the house, disappearing from sight.

I stood there, dazed. I could barely understand what had just happened. I felt sorry for Cade. I couldn’t even imagine the pain he had felt.

“Cade’s wolf is strong, it’s harder to control.” Jax’s voice came from behind me. “He struggles more than the rest of us because of it.”

I wiped the tears from my face, not wanting the alpha to see my weakness. “Does that happen a lot?”

“Not a lot, but some. He usually doesn’t get distracted enough to let me land a blow like that.”

I couldn’t help but feel like this was my fault. If I hadn’t been there, he wouldn’t have gotten distracted.

“He’ll be up and around in a few hours. Back to his old happy self.” The alpha said to me. “Meanwhile, I want to see your moves.”

"Moves?” Did he mean he wanted me to fight him? I almost laughed out loud.

“I want to see how you fight.” Jax wiggled a finger at me, beckoning me forward.

“You asked for it.” I said, stepping before him. I was silently pleading that my father’s training sessions had at least taught me something.

I watched as he raised his fists at eye level, bouncing on the balls of his feet. I took his stance in quickly. I lifted my own fists. He moved forward in a blur. I leaned back, feeling his knuckles grazing my skin. I’d have to be faster.

I’d noticed how he stepped before he punched, a tell. I’d watch for it. He stepped again, and I was ready for it. I pushed out with open fists, hitting his chest. He was knocked back a few steps. I thought I saw shock register on his face, but it was gone just as quickly as it had appeared.

I blocked his foot that was flying at my face. My hands stung from the blow, but I knew he wasn’t putting his full power behind them. He punched out again, but somehow I caught ahold of his wrist. There was a fraction of a second before either of us moved. Then I twisted his wrist behind his back and pushed him forward. Somehow he’d gotten his foot behind mine and we both were sent toppling to the ground.

I landed on top of him. He’d spun around to absorb my impact, making sure my body hadn’t hit the ground. My hands were squeezing his shoulders, my body shook. Suddenly, he spun us around so he was above me. His body pressed tight against mine. He had his hands resting on the ground by my face. His legs were tangled up in mine.

Our breath mixed in the space between us. My breathing was labored, partly because of the calm wolf on top of me. He acted like he was barely winded. His eyes searched my face, unable to stop on one spot. The fire was burning in my belly. My skin prickled with his nearness.

“Are you going to kill me?” My voice came out in one rushed breath. I hadn’t meant to ask the question, specially the same one I’d once asked of Cade.

He searched my face quickly, “not yet.”