Page 47

Willow winks at me. “Not yet.”
She marches over to Carver and pulls his head down a little. She stands on her toes, whispers something into his ear, steps back, and shakes her hips as she takes her place on the bleachers.
Carver grabs his chest and sinks to the ground. “I’m gonna marry her.”
What the hell did Willow say to him?
Thomas whistles. “Back to your corners, children.”
“Ding, ding,” Carver hollers as if we’re at a wrestling match.
Jaxson flips him off before waving me to the middle of the mat. “Let’s practice the move where I grab you from behind,” he says carefully. “Are you okay with trying?”
I gulp. The last few times Jaxson tried grabbing me from behind to teach me to get out of his grasp, I tensed up and had a panic attack followed by a flashback. It took him thirty minutes to calm me down. We weren’t going to attempt those moves anymore, but I’ve been working through them with Jessa, and she gave me some coping mechanisms to help me focus. Today will be the first day I get to experiment. Besides, who says an attacker is always going to come at you from where you can see them? The Russians sure didn’t.
I shiver and take a deep breath. “I’m ready.”
“Bennett,” Jaxson calls. Bennett swaggers over to us. “Keep an eye out for any distress.”
Bennett raises his brow in question. “Oh, shit… You’re not gonna do what I think you’re gonna do, are you?”
I nod. “I’m ready.”
Bennett and Jaxson share a look I can’t decipher before Bennett moves to the side, ready to intervene if it gets to be too much. Jackson leads me to the edge of the mat on the other side of the gym.
He points to Willow. “I want you to walk toward Willow without turning around. I don’t want you to anticipate my attack.”
“Okay,” I say, breathlessly, wishing Lykos was here.
We learned right away we couldn’t bring Lykos to these training exercises. Even when I would tell him to be calm or stay, his hackles would raise, and he’d growl and snap. One time was all it took for a unanimous decision to leave him at home.
Putting one foot in front of the other, I focus on Willow’s encouraging smile. Goosebumps break out all over my body, andmy chest tightens. I clench my fists and close my eyes to steady myself when Jaxson attacks.
He wraps his arm around my neck, and I instinctively drop my chin to prevent him from putting any more pressure on my esophagus. Black spots cloud my vision, and my legs shake uncontrollably.
Dmitri’s smug face appears in front of me, taunting me. “Give up, pet.”
“Fuck you!” I spit.
I grab his forearm with both of my hands and step to the side. Swinging down with my right fist, I clock him in the nuts. He grunts and leans forward slightly. Pulling my right fist back up and crossing my arm across my chest, I swing back hard with that elbow directly into Dmitri’s face. I stumble forward when I’m suddenly released.
“Son of a bitch!” a voice behind me shouts.
The red haze eventually clears, and I swing around to see blood pouring out of Jaxson’s nose, not Dmitri’s. Everyone is staring at me, frozen in shock.
I can’t believe I hurt Jaxson like that. What the hell did I do?
“Holy shit!” I rush to him which sends everyone sprinting into action. “I’m sorry, Jaxson.”
Hudson nudges me out of the way. “Never thought I’d see the day.” He shoves cotton up Jaxson’s nose and breaks an instant ice pack. “For your dick.”
Jaxson wheezes. “Fuck!”
Willow runs up next to me. “Are you okay, Aurora?”
“Um, babe,” Carver interjects. “I think it’s Jaxson you should be asking about.”
“Not your babe,” she hisses.