Chapter SIX
“A short warm up?” said Jaime, gasping, as she rose from the forest floor. “More like an effective way to break my will to live. Shifter strength and speed or not, that was some hard shit.” Dante remembered thinking that very same thing on his first day of training. First, he’d had Jaime do some minor stretching, then eighty push-ups within a minute, followed by eighty sit-ups within a minute. He’d made her repeat each exercise five more times. “By the end of your training, you should be able to do eighty of both within the space of a minute.”
“Well, hell.”
“You can always stop here if you think this training will be too much,” taunted Dante. He knew that she’d never show weakness. “If you don’t think you can—” Jaime’s expression was serious as she replied, “Get on with it, Popeye.”
“Then, let’s get running.”
“Running?”
“We need to do a full lap of pack territory, but we’re aiming for you to be capable of doing three within the space of twenty minutes. It’s what I taught all the enforcers, and not just to build their fitness level. Whenever they’re on duty, they’re required to do a lap of our territory, checking for any breaches or problems. But being fit enough to do one lap isn’t good enough. What if there’s a problem and it requires them all to get on the job as a team? They can’t afford to sit down and rest while they catch their breath, which is why they trained their bodies to cope with more. And now you’re going to do the same, because we need to build up your strength.”
Jaime gave him a curt nod. “Yes, sir.”
His smile was devilish. “You really shouldn’t say that, Jaime. You don’t want me getting ideas.”
She rolled her eyes. “So, how about that run?”
As they did their lap, Dante told Jaime the type of things enforcers needed to check for when doing a patrol check: unusual odors, unfamiliar scents or footprints or markings, damage to the forest, signs of forced entry on the perimeter fence, or any fallen tree limbs that could cause damage to the perimeter fence.
By the time they were back at the river, she was panting like crazy and bent over as she nursed a cramp in her side. But she was on her feet, which was good. He recalled that Dominic had passed out at this point on his first day. “I know I should probably keep your first session simple, take it easy on you and just concentrate on improving your fitness level,” began Dante as he paced in front of Jaime. “But I won’t, just as I didn’t with the others. I needed them to understand that this was all about so much more than that. They need to be able to also work as a team that is so in sync with each other that they’re more like a well-oiled machine.”
“Well, my joints sure feel like they need oiling.”
“Stop whining. Your accelerated healing rate will have you feeling better within the hour.”
“In that case, could you give me an hour?”
“Will your wolf give you a break if you ask? No. And nor will I. So let’s start. One thing that every enforcer has to be an expert at is stealth—and it’s something that is very good at helping with self-control, so I’ll be teaching it to you. At a later point, I’ll be testing you on this, possibly by bringing some of the guys to help.”
“Why?”
“Because if you know I’m going to do that, you’ll be sure to take this seriously. I know you well enough to know that you won’t show weakness in front of anyone, especially your own pack.” He was right, the a*shole.
“You’ll have to be good to fool them, because believe me when I say that the enforcers are experts at this. They have to be. Let’s say that one of them does a lap of pack territory and finds evidence of intruders. They can’t just run over there and take on the problem alone. They need to alert the team and, if possible, wait. If it’s not possible, if their intervention is needed right then, they need to act. Shifter hearing can pick up a lot of things. They need to be able to move undetected, even by other shifters. In order to fool them, so will you.”
“Move undetected,” echoed Jaime, nodding. “Panting won’t help me with that, huh.” She straightened and made an effort to calm her breathing.
“That’s why we’ll be improving your fitness level and helping you to control your breathing better. No matter what, you never hold your breath.” Dante put his hand on his abdomen and gestured for Jaime to mirror the act. “First, learn to breathe from here rather than from your chest. It means you can take more air into your lungs. So, what you want to do is take a slow, deliberate breath through your nose until your hand moves as you do.” He gave a satisfied nod when Jaime followed the instruction. “It’s always quieter to breathe through your nose. If you need to do it through your mouth or need to breathe heavily, open it wide and take deep, slow breaths.” Ten seconds later, Jaime’s breathing was under control and the panting had stopped.
“Good, very good. An important aspect of stealth is blending. You’ve probably noticed that when they’re on patrol, the guys tend to wear clothes that are dark but never black. Black looks unnatural and outlines your silhouette, which makes you easier to see.” Jaime’s expression indicated that she hadn’t considered that. “You want to wear dark greens, dark browns, dark grays, or dark blues, but never black. You want to cover as much skin as possible and for your clothing to be tight—
nothing that rustles as you move. In the future, wear something like that for training.”
“Dark clothes that don’t hinder movement. Got it.”
“You need to be constantly aware of your surroundings. Always utilize your senses. You not only want to be careful of how much noise you make, you want to be sure you’re alert to any noises around you so that no one can sneak up on you. Also, notice the direction of the wind—you don’t want others to be able to pick up your scent.”
“So I don’t want to be heard, seen, or scented.”
“Exactly. Always be patient. Being stealthy doesn’t mean moving slowly, but in some instances it’s imperative that you do. If you’re im patient, your movements will be jerky and uncoordinated. That’s when you risk your presence being detected. Patience helps you remain silent.
Remaining silent helps you not get caught. And so we begin your first exercise in stealth. You’re going to stand absolutely still and keep your breathing quiet for an entire half hour, as if you’re merely a foot away from one of the enforcers.”
Jaime wasn’t impressed with the exercise. “You want me to just stand still and be quiet for thirty minutes?”
It wouldn’t be as easy as it sounded, but Dante wanted her to figure that out for herself. “It means no fidgeting, no shifting your weight from foot to foot, no whistling, no sighing—nothing. Each time you move or make a noise, we begin again.” With that, Dante sat on one of the patio chairs behind her and watched. Three minutes into the exercise, she cleared her throat. “You made a sound, now you’re caught.”
“F*ck.”
“Again.” Eight minutes went by and she began absentmindedly drumming her fingers on her thigh. “Nice tune.”
“Goddammit.” She released an exasperated sigh. “I didn’t even realize I was doing it.”
“I know you didn’t, and that’s bad. You need to be fully alert. You need to be fully aware of every sound you make. If you can hear you, you can damn well bet the enforcers can, too. Now, we start again. Ready?”
Jaime released the tension from her shoulders and nodded. For a shocking eighteen minutes, she managed to remain still, but then she involuntarily bent her knees a little to relieve the stiffness in her legs. Instantly she realized what she had done and cursed. “It’s a lot harder than it sounds.”
“I know.” Dante rose from his seat and went to her. “You did well. Don’t worry, we’ll do a little at each session. It’s actually something you can practice anytime. Just see how long you can go relatively unnoticed in a room, or how long you can cope with staying out of the conversation at the table. Whatever. It is important.”
“Okay, let’s practice some more, then.”
“No, we’ll try more of that at the next session. Right now, I’m going to introduce you to the art of moving stealthily. You’ve seen the way the guys and I walk: fluidly, balanced, softly, evenly—”
“And in your case, cockily.” She’d never admit that his cocky strut was sexy as hell.
He gave her a mockingly castigating look. “You have to involve your whole body, but you also need to get the footwork right.” Physically demonstrating the move, Dante told her, “Place your heel down and then roll your foot along the outer side to the ground.” Jaime replicated the move. “Like this?”
“Perfect. Walking this way makes it easier to instantly halt if you need to.”
“I would’ve thought that the best way is to walk on the balls of your feet.”
“That does help you move quickly and quietly, but you need great balance and steadiness for that. Once we’re further into your training, we’ll try it. For now, we’ll stick to this.”
“Do I have to learn that weird sneaking crouch-crawl thingy?” asked Jaime, scrunching her face up.
“Yes, because that helps you keep a low silhouette. Plus, it’s better if you’re always on your feet. That’s something we’ll work on another time. What we’re going to concentrate on now is simply strolling through the woods as quietly as we can.” Dante gestured for Jaime to follow him out of the small clearing and through the cluster of trees. “Avoid dead leaves or branches, and try to walk on anything solid like tree roots, rocks, bare dirt, or even patches of moss.” Two minutes into the exercise, Jaime—who hadn’t been doing too well and had gotten so agitated that she was huffing and growling at herself—asked, “What if the ground is littered with twigs, what do I do then?”
“You listen to the sounds of the forest and try to blend in. What can you hear?” Jaime released a long-suffering sigh and answered in an impatient voice. “Birds, bees, leaves rustling, animals scurrying around, the river…”
“Good. You need to blend in with those sounds. This is where the soft and even walk ends.
Sure, you still tread softly, but you don’t want your footsteps to be regular. Maybe move a few steps and then halt just like a small animal would do. Wait for the moment when the breeze picks up to move again, and then halt.”
“Huh. That means an occasional rest, too.” Jaime’s smile was impish. “I like that idea.” Dante just shook his head. “If you still manage to make a noise, freeze exactly where you are in whatever position you’re in. Remain in it for as long as you can, even if you think the person or people who’re tracking you have dismissed the sound. You can bet your ass they won’t have completely dismissed it, just as you wouldn’t if the situation was reversed.”
“What if they haven’t dismissed it at all and instead come to take a closer look?”
“Avoid combat if you can.”
That had her halting in her tracks. “Combat? You want me to fight the guys?”
“Eventually, yes. I’ve seen you move—you put me on my ass. There’s plenty more to learn, though. But as I said, you should avoid combat if you can. Stealth isn’t just creeping around without being seen, it’s about disappearing as if you were never there. I tell the enforcers the same thing. It might be honorable to stand and fight, but it can be dangerous if they’re alone. It can also endanger the team if they have some kind of plan cooked up and one of them just messed with it.”
“So how do I do a Houdini?”
“It won’t be easy with the guys, because they’re shifters and they can follow your scent, so it’s all about speed. Speed, and moving as quietly as possible so that they can’t also rely on their hearing to find you. Tracking you just by using your scent alone can slow them down and place more distance between you and them.”
Jaime threw her hands up in the air. “I can’t even walk quietly. How am I supposed to run quietly?”
“That’s where a little thing called practice comes in, baby, and you’ll get plenty of that throughout your training. Don’t lift your feet too high when you run and make sure you flex your ankle as if you’re pushing the ground backward, like you would on a treadmill.”
“What do your enforcers do if it’s not a shifter who’s tracking them, just humans? Does that mean they can just hide?”
“Yes, because I’ve ensured they’re good enough that they’re practically impossible to track.
And so will you be when you need to find cover and they’re hunting you down. You don’t need to necessarily find cover as such, but at least camouflage your shadow by standing next to a tree or maybe kneeling next to something of that height, like a large boulder or bush. All this is something you can practice in your own time. Maybe you could try sneaking up on Gabe.” A mischievous smile split Jaime’s lips. “I’m going to enjoy that. So what next?”
“Next,” he said with a feral grin, “we improve on your combat techniques.” The feral grin should have warned her that the tricky jerk meant to knock her on her ass time and time again. Clearly, he hadn’t yet forgiven her for the parking-lot incident. Jaime didn’t give him the satisfaction of yielding. No, she bore the pain and kept on moving. In spite of the grueling method of teaching, she suspected that she’d actually learned a lot more than she would have if it was just a standard lesson. Perversely, she was even enjoying it…until he suddenly stiffened and twirled.
“What do you want, you nosy bastards?”
His gaze was locked on the trees to their right, but Jaime had no idea what he was looking at.
Then, looking highly disgruntled, the enforcers stepped out of the trees.
Dante turned to Jaime. “See how they blended their silhouettes with their surroundings? That’s what I was talking about.”
“She’s still here?” asked Tao sharply. He was looking warily at Jaime.
Dante’s smile disappeared. “Watch it.”
Jaime’s wolf growled in her head at Tao’s unfriendly tone, backing up Dante.
“Come on, Dante, be fair—she nearly killed Glory.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“She could be dangerous to the pack. No, she is dangerous to the pack. And when Trey finds out—”
“He knows.” Dante’s tone was soft, low, pissed.
“You told him?”
“Of course I did. He agreed that she can stay, providing I keep watch over her.”
“You left out that part when we talked earlier,” said Jaime. The idea of being monitored constantly was a hurtful one, but she understood. She wasn’t one of those people who let pride get in the way of things.
“If you must know, Jaime didn’t want to stay. I’ve convinced her to, and she’s agreed to let me subject her to the same training that I did to all of you. We hope to improve on her self-control.”
“Will that be before or after she’s attacked one of us?”
Jaime crossed her arms over her chest. “So you all want me to leave?” Trick and Marcus looked at anything but her, while Ryan gave her an apologetic look that said it was nothing personal.
“Jaime, honey, ignore Tao,” Dominic told her gently. “He’s just freaked out.” Tao rounded on him. “And so would you be if you’d been there last night.” He turned back to her. “In all honesty, yes, I think you should go.” He stiffened when Dante growled. “I don’t think that training her will make much of a difference. Mostly because there’s no way she’ll finish it.” Jaime arched a brow. “There’s no way I’ll finish it?”
“If anyone knows who has the potential to pass that kind of training, it’s me. I’m Head Enforcer.”
She snorted. “Yippee for you.”
“Dante doesn’t go easy. It’s tough.”
“And I can’t do it because, what? Because I’m a female? I’ll have you know that there are plenty of things women can do that men can’t.”
Tao snickered. “Like what?”
“Well, bend over in prison, for one. Multitask, ask for directions, belly flop with dignity, bleed for five days every month yet not die—”
“Have multiple orgasms,” offered Dominic. When Tao turned and scowled at him, he shrugged innocently. “What?”
“All right, all right,” said Tao, his hands raised in a placating gesture. He turned to Jaime.
“Look, if you think you can handle it, by all means try it. I’m looking forward to you proving me right.
But don’t expect me to be okay with you staying here. You’re a nice girl and everything, Jaime, but you’re also a danger to the pack, and I can’t endorse you being here.” With that, he and the other enforcers walked away. Her wolf relaxed slightly, though Jaime doubted that she would have done so if Dante hadn’t been so close and his scent hadn’t been surrounding her.
“None of the pack trust me anymore, do they?” She already knew the answer to that.
Dante placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “It’s not that. They’re just all in an overcautious mind-set right now because Taryn’s pregnant and Glory’s being a pain in our ass. Plus, most of them were there when Trey’s mom turned rogue. They’ve seen what a rogue wolf can do, and it hurt them all when Louisa had to be killed. They don’t want to have to go through all that again.”
“They shouldn’t have to. Why do you insist on me staying? You said Trey wants me monitored constantly. You’re Beta, you have enough to do without watching over me.” He cupped her chin. “Yes, I’m Beta. This is what Betas do.”
“You look after your wolves’ well-being, I know. But what about their well-being? I’m a danger to them.”
“Only if you stop fighting.”
“Answer me honestly. Do you really think putting me through this kind of training will make a difference?” She refused to even begin hoping.
“I know it will,” he replied with total conviction. Why was he so sure? There was no other acceptable alternative to him than that Jaime was safe and well.
Although Jaime wasn’t totally convinced, she wasn’t put off by the idea of training. She’d known without Tao warning her that it wouldn’t at all be easy. But neither was fighting her wolf.
Dante was right; she could admit defeat and, in effect, quit, or she could strengthen herself and continue to fight. “I hope you’re right.”
“I am.” He hung an arm over her shoulders. “Come on, let’s go move your stuff to my room.” She stopped dead. “What?”
He frowned and shrugged. “I guess I could move into your room instead. But my bed’s bigger.”
“Whatever gave you the impression that we would be getting into any bed together?” Her body and her wolf were fine with this potential arrangement, unsurprisingly.
“Gabe told me about the nightmares. He said they freak out your wolf and then she tries to surface. Don’t worry, I won’t take advantage of you being next to me in bed.” Though he’d be so very, very tempted, and rock hard the entire time. The sound of his cell phone ringing disturbed him from teasing her further. “Hello.” In response to Trey’s request, he answered, “Give me five minutes.” After he ended the call, he told her, “Trey wants me to take a look at some paperwork. Choose where we’re staying—my room or yours.”
“Well, since your bed’s bigger, I guess your room.”
He smiled. “Good. I’ll walk you to your room. I want you to get your things together. When I’m back from the office, we’ll move your stuff to mine. Okay?” Reluctantly, she nodded. Admittedly, there was a part of her that was both curious and excited about sharing a bed with Dante. However, another part of her was absolutely terrified, because she wasn’t good at ignoring temptation. As said temptation didn’t return her interest, it would be pretty damn messy if she jumped on the poor unsuspecting victim.
It didn’t take her long to pack some of her stuff together to take to Dante’s room. She figured that she didn’t need to pack and move everything. It would be easy enough to go back to the room at some point if there was anything she needed that wasn’t basic stuff.
She had expected Dante to be a little put out at the sight of her things lying around his room.
Instead, he seemed kind of…self-satisfied. Her wolf, though still Dante’s number-one fan, wasn’t too pleased about the move. She liked being in a space that smelled heavily of Dante, but she didn’t like losing her own personal, private space. As a matter of fact, neither did Jaime. There was also the none-too-small matter that spending a lot of time with Dante would mean that she was in a perpetual state of arousal—something which he would be well aware of, unless she could find some nose plugs somewhere. In fact, two pairs of nose plugs would be nice. That way, his amazing scent wouldn’t be constantly teasing her and her wolf.
God, this all had the making of a disaster. Especially when she knew just how gifted those hands were, and especially now that her state of arousal had hit critical levels.
Huh…it occurred to her then that it was Saturday. And there was one thing she had planned for tonight. Operation Calm Libido. Oh yeah, that was what she needed. With some luck, she might actually bag herself a guy for the night, and that would help her function like a normal person around Dante—who wouldn’t be happy about her leaving pack territory.
Yeah, well, he would simply have to be unhappy, because there was no way she would let any person control her. Jaime had her own mind, and she knew how to use it. She was aware that she’d be in some serious trouble with Trey for ditching her guard, but Jaime’s motto was that it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission. There was a chance that Trey would count it as a strike against her and banish her, but she knew that was going to happen sooner or later anyway.
She’d seen the looks the enforcers gave her earlier; she’d seen the wariness and distrust in their eyes. That same wariness and distrust had been in the eyes of the rest of the pack at lunchtime and at the evening meal. Only Dante, Shaya, Dominic, Gabe, and Hope had treated her just the same as before. Trey and Taryn had been absent both times, and Jaime strongly suspected that Trey was purposely keeping his mate separate from her. She understood that, she understood all their reactions, but it still hurt. It was truly only a matter of time before Trey changed his mind and slung her out. Why not just get it over with?
So while Dante and the enforcers were having a meeting in his office with Nick Axton—that cruel son of a bitch best hope he didn’t see her anytime soon—she quickly changed into her black halter-neck dress with the neckline that dipped all the way down to the front clip of her bra, showing a little cleavage. Little black dresses were always winners, she thought.
Then, remembering the stealth tips Dante had taught her earlier, she scurried out of the caves and down to the parking lot. She hopped inside her Chevy and cursed as she saw that the keys were gone from their usual place behind the visor. Dante. He really was set on her not driving her baby, wasn’t he? A*shole. She had a spare set of keys, but they were in her room.
Not willing to be discouraged by anything, she instead took the Toyota Highlander and zoomed out of pack territory, waving pleasantly at Cam, who was gaping at her from the security shack. Oh yeah, he’d be on the phone to Dante within seconds. No doubt she’d be subjected to a huge lecture from him when she got back. But that was only if Trey didn’t disconnect her from the pack before then
—something which was a strong possibility.
“No Trey today?” asked Nick from the chair across from Dante. They were the only two sitting. Tao, Marcus, and Ryan stood behind Dante while Nick’s Beta, his bodyguard, and one of his enforcers stood behind him. Whereas Nick’s demeanor was usually relaxed and friendly, it was much more formal today. Dante had a pretty good idea why Nick had called for a meeting.
“He’s keeping Taryn occupied so that she doesn’t know there’s a meeting of any kind,” explained Dante. “He doesn’t want her under any form of stress, though he can’t seem to work out that his overprotectiveness is what’s stressing her out.”
“I spoke to Glory about what happened. According to her, she did nothing more than try to use the restroom. She said that Jaime rounded on her, warned her away from you, and said she was going to teach her a lesson for spreading rumors about you.”
Dante had to give the female credit for her creativity. She even had her Alpha believing her.
No, Dante thought as he studied Nick more closely. Nick didn’t believe her. But he wasn’t happy about what had happened. “And what do you think?”
“I think…that you’ll lie for Jaime no matter what she did.” Dante didn’t deny it. He had strong morals and a fierce sense of right and wrong, but he’d sacrifice both to protect his wolves. He especially would for Jaime, but he didn’t want to think on why. “Doesn’t mean I’m lying when I say she merely responded to another female provoking her.”
“Responded is putting it lightly, don’t you think? I’m surprised Trey hasn’t banished her.”
“If you’re going to question our Alpha’s decision,” rumbled Dante, his tone low, “you really don’t want to do it in front of me.”
Nick gave a curt nod. “Okay, I overstepped my boundaries. But Jaime caused a lot of damage to Glory. It took four sessions to heal her, though it’s fair to say our healer operates in a different way than Taryn and so it takes longer. I might not have a particular fondness for Glory, but she’s still part of my pack. She’s still under my protection.”
“And Jaime’s under mine. She told me the things Glory said to her. Not only did she lay claim to me again, but she repeatedly insulted Jaime and threatened her. I won’t punish Jaime for responding to a threat, or for feeling a need to defend her own Beta. It’s what we do here—we take care of each other, look out for each other. I told you at the diner that if Glory continued to make a claim to me then she’d be dealt with. Well, she’s been dealt with.”
“And the way she was dealt with doesn’t bother you? The way Jaime lost all control doesn’t bother you?”
Dante’s patience was wearing thin now. “She didn’t lose all control or she’d have shifted—
which is something you know. But what I fail to understand is why you’re so interested in Jaime.”
“I’m just surprised she hasn’t been banished. Hey, don’t get me wrong, I can understand if you’re all hesitant to ask her to leave, but you have the other members of your pack to think about.
What if Jaime was to feel provoked by one of them? Would it be fine to you if she was to attack, say, Shaya in the same way that she attacked Glory?”
“Well, neither Shaya nor the other females are any of your business, so…” Marcus let the sentence trail, shrugging.
Dante couldn’t help but notice the way Nick fisted his hands so hard that his knuckles turned white. “Jaime is none of your business either. I don’t have to justify anything to you, and I won’t. If Glory didn’t want to get her ass kicked, she shouldn’t have dished out her attitude to Jaime. It’s as simple as that.”
Ryan grunted his agreement while Marcus said, “Yep” and Tao said, “Exactly.”
“No, there’s nothing simple about it,” objected Nick. “Maybe some of your pack could stay with mine for a while, just until you’re sure Jaime’s under better control. The mated pairs and the females, for example.”
“Why would you care about what happens to the people in our pack?” asked Marcus. It sounded like a simple inquiry, but Dante had known Marcus long enough to know when he was toying with someone.
“We have an alliance. Packs who have alliances help each other out.” Nick shrugged as if to emphasize the simplicity of his offer.
Marcus tilted his head. “Well, Cam and Lydia might be happy to leave. Grace won’t, which means Rhett won’t. Greta wouldn’t move from this place unless Trey did—which won’t happen.
Hope won’t leave because she’s become quite attached to Gabe, who I’m pretty sure will fully intend on remaining with his sister.”
“What about Shaya?”
“Shaya won’t leave Jaime or Taryn. Or Dominic, for that matter. They’ve become quite close.”
Nick’s face hardened. “I see.”
“I’m pretty sure they’re off somewhere together now, actually. If anyone was to try to harm her, Dominic would protect her with everything he has. She’s in very good hands.” Dante’s eyes danced from Marcus to Nick. Although the Alpha hadn’t picked up on the fact that Marcus was—for some reason—playing with him, he still looked like he was about to explode.
“Anything else?”
Nick shook his head. “If you change your mind about any of your pack staying with me for a while, let me know.” Sharply, he rose from his chair.
“I appreciate the offer and I know that Trey will too, but it won’t be an offer we’ll take you up on, especially when the cause of all the trouble is in the very place you’re proposing I send some of the pack.”
“Yeah, Shaya would kill her,” said Marcus with a smile. When Nick’s gaze shot to him, he nodded. “She may be a submissive wolf, but she knows how to take care of herself better than most people. I suppose we can thank Taryn for that. The pair of them used to train together, and Taryn knows her stuff when it comes to combat.”
Hearing his cell phone ring, Dante fished it out of his pocket. Cam. “Hello. What? ” Motherf*cker.