Chapter 28

Caleb

I stayed with Luka almost the entire night, staring at her beautiful face, stroking her hair, until her sleep was less fitful.

I felt terrible. I shouldn’t have let her train so quickly with the pack when she wasn’t ready. I couldn’t let my feelings for her cloud my judgment. I wanted to bring out her strength. But I needed to protect her.

We would be doing gentle exercises again in isolation, just us, like before. As a middle ground, we would train in my own personal suite in the pack training facility, rather than the one in the mansion, so she didn’t feel completely alienated from the pack.

I couldn’t risk her being injured. It was one thing if it was my own body. However, when it was hers, I felt powerless. And as a king, there was nothing worse than not having control.

“So I guess I’m back to square one, right?” Luka asked as we entered the training facility.

“No.The goal is to make sure you don’t lose any fitness this week…”

“This week? Will I only be out for a week with my ankle? That’s such good news.”

“There’s no way to know that, Luka. It will take as long as it takes.”

“That’s what you said about letting me train with the pack.” She frowned, and her eyebrows formed a scowl.

“I know you’re disappointed…”

She lowered her head. “I just wish I had more than half of a day…I can’t believe that Olivia…”

I shook my head. “That’s par for the course for training. It’s why I was hesitant, and it’s why we’re training solo for the time being.. It can happen to anyone easily. It’s just that shifters heal more quickly when they have a…”

“When they have a wolf. I know.”

I touched her arm gently. “The point is, once you’re healed, you’ll have all the time in the world. But if you don’t heal now, you could have injuries forever…”

“I know. I just…” Sitting on the mat, her posture tensed up visibly, from her neck to her feet.

I looked at her intently. She was so tense, she was shaking.

“You’re nervous.”

“Me?” She said it a little too quickly. “No, I’m not.”

I nodded. “One of the most important aspects of training, especially when it comes to healing, is this: to stay calm.”

Luka nodded rapidly, saying she understood, but I wasn’t convinced, especially since she just grew more tense.

“Let’s get started then.” When we began with floor stretches, I approached her to adjust her positioning, which was angular and full of pent-up anxiety. When I came over, she flinched.

“Not nervous, huh? Is it your injury, Luka?”

She nodded. “Yeah. And not wanting to mess up again.”

“You haven’t messed up anything, Luka. And we’re going to go sloooowly. There’s only one thing to remember now.”

“What’s that?”

“The quickest way to mess up is to be nervous.”

“I thought you said I didn’t mess up!”

“I didn’t say you did.” I smiled. “Just how you can avoid it. I know it sounds counterintuitive, that there’s pressure to be calm. But you have to feel the movements, not think the movements.”

She looked puzzled.

“We’ll do them together. Do what I do,” I explained.

I stretched my legs into a split, extremely slowly, like glaciers down a mountain. She proceeded to copy it, but the movements were jerkier than earlier in the week.

“Here, I’ll help.”

I slid behind her on the mat, and adjusted her legs, slowly moving them downward. Her scent was bright and sweet, and I felt her body melting against mine.

“Perfect. See? Calm.”

I put my hands on her wrists, to feel her pulse. It was slowing. Good. I lifted her arms into a stretch, a balletic movement frequently used in combat.

I lightly massaged her shoulders, which yielded under the pressure, her muscles springing forward when I hit pressure points. She giggled at her reaction.

“While you’re training solo with me, waiting for your ankle to heal, we should start out with a massage. Athletic massage. I’m certified.”

She had a gleeful smile, like she was getting away with something by conceding to receive a luxury service from a king.

What she didn’t see was my own gleeful smile, also at getting away with something. I got to start my day by inhaling her scent as close as possible and having a reason to touch her body. For healing purposes, purely.

Healing for both of us.

She lay on her stomach, and I kneaded her back. She would moan involuntarily at points, which I found utterly irresistible.

I massaged her legs just above the ankle, to alleviate pressure from the broken bone and increase circulation, moving to her thighs. I was dying to move higher.

I stopped myself and ran my hands back downward, to her ankle bone. I brushed my forefinger from her calf to her feet.

“That tickles,” she said. “What are you doing?”

“Assessing. It’s healing already.”

“My muscles?”

“Your bone. It emits vibrations.”

She continued to grow more and more relaxed, until I wondered if she had fallen asleep.Not that that would be a bad way to spend the training session.

“Luka?” I whispered.

“Caleb?” You could hear the smile in her voice.

“Just checking,” I said quietly. “I have something fun for the next part of the session.”

“Your idea of fun is sometimes…the opposite,” Luka said.

I shrugged. “That’s for you to determine.”

I suddenly hoisted her up from the floor, and she shrieked. I placed her feet on top of mine, supporting her at the waist with one hand.

“You’re going to get a feel for these movements directly, from my body to yours.”

“Is this a normal part of training?” Luka asked.

“It is for you, today, right now. For anyone else?” I raised my eyebrows doubtfully.

“What if I fall, Caleb?” she asked. “And I break the other ankle.”

“I won’t let that happen, Luka.” I lifted her up and leaned her backwards, and she yelped initially. I kept her leaning backward, balanced perfectly. I could feel her breathing calming down.

I wanted to kiss her so badly. Instead, I lifted her up in a lift over my head, for her to work on her balance. In the mirror, she looked like a swan.

After lowering her, we did barre exercises to practice fighting stances. It was the most unconventional training session I had ever had, just one more strange, beautiful disruption of that world I used to know, all created by Luka.

She was gaining muscle, but also filling out her curves, revealing an hourglass figure. The healthier she got, the sexier she got. In her gray athleisure wear, far from the most stylish athletic ensemble she owned, it was even more alluring, because she was so effortlessly casual. She didn’t know how beautiful she looked, or how crazy she made me, as far as I could tell.

In our cooldown, she tripped, and I caught her firmly in my arms, wanting to keep her there. Leaving the studio, Luka’s limp was pronounced, and I saw how much it must have hurt to put her full weight on it.

I offered her my hand so she wouldn’t have to walk on it, and instead could essentially float on my arm.

We passed the usual congregation of the pack in the larger training facility, the group court, and instinctively, I loosened my grip and started pulling my hand away.

What are you afraid of, Caleb? This is your mate. You’re the king. This is your pack. You set the tone. Logan echoed my own heart.

Luka’s loosened grip sealed it. I hated the feeling of her hand leaving mine, and I clutched it even tighter. She smiled broadly, and I had trouble not smiling myself.

Inside the training studio, I saw a number of pack members pointing and whispering. Ordinarily, I would do a political calculation in my mind, weighing how it would reflect on me for the pack.

At this moment, all I cared about was Luka. Not just her broken ankle, but the broken parts of her. I wanted to help her put them back together, help her form herself anew.

Mia has a contented smile through the window, and I could tell she approved. Olivia, however, looked like she had swallowed a bug.

It wasn’t just that I was okay for people to see her hand in mine. I was genuinely proud to have her with me. Holding her hand was erotic, our skin touching, my body giving hers all the support it needed. I wanted more.

I had held myself back so much, not just today, but this week. The chemistry is inescapable. I had to try again, see if she’s strong enough to handle me. I wanted her in my bed, I wanted myself inside her.

It was time. I would try again tonight, to see if our bodies would comply. I would see if I could wake her wolf.