Page 39 of Wolf's Vow

“Again,” Killian instructed.

I must have run full speed at that wall twenty or thirty times before I stopped hitting it. Eventually, I did though; I had to slow down considerably, but I was getting it.

When Killian shifted, I knew my training day was over. Or so I thought. When we got back to the shelters, Cody was waiting with training pads and a smile.

I shifted, put on the clothes he had waiting for me—yoga pants and a tank top—and Cody and I sparred until the sun began to set.

“Sore?” he asked me as he stepped back.

My body ached. Muscles I thought were in shape protested when I moved. “I need to shift,” I admitted wryly.

“No shift,” Cody told me as he pulled on a T-shirt. “Feeling the ache is a bonus of your hard work. C’mon, let’s go eat. I could eat a whole side of venison.”

“No shifting?” I asked as I followed him. “For real?”

He shook his head. “Wolfe prefers it if we feel the burn. If you shift to erase it, then tomorrow you won’t know what needs improving.”

Wolfe was more ruthless than I gave him credit for. “It’s not something I’ve done before,” I said instead.

“You’ll appreciate it in the morning,” he told me with a wink.

Cody of the Stonefang Packwas evil.

I tried to get out of bed, but my body protested. Every part of me ached. I’d thought no more of his instruction not to shift last night when we entered the compact food hall, where little of the pack gathered.

Cody and his wife, Thalia, sat with me while we ate a big meal of roast venison, mashed potatoes, and vegetables. I drank water rather than wine, and while the conversation was on light topics, nothing strenuous, it still flowed easily.

It had been the most relaxed I had been since I got here.

Now, all the kind thoughts I had about Cody were gone as I lay in my bed, struggling to move. The desire to shift to heal my sore body was strong, but I now understood why Cody had made menotshift the night before.

Eventually, I stood and looked at the ladder leading to the lower floor with apprehension. I didn’t think I could get a few steps down a rope ladder without falling. I did my best, but I landed hard and flinched in pain. The low chuckle behind me made me turn, and I saw Killian and Cody watching me.

“It’s a good burn, right?” Cody asked as he walked further into the shelter.

“There are parts of me that feel like I’m on fire,” I groaned, not caring what they thought of me.

Killian snorted. “The first time Wolfe told me not to shift, I didn’t get out of bed, so either you’re stronger than you think or we need to go harder on you today.”

They both chuckled when I looked at them in alarm at the thought of them training me harder.

“Tell me where you hurt,” Cody asked. He nodded once I told him all my aches and then, after a glance at Killian, they walked outside. “Come out and shift,” he called.

I’d never been so eager to shift in my life. As my wolf stretched out, my body healed. When I shifted back to my human form, I felt soothed.

“Ugh, that’s better,” I told them with relief. They had both turned from me once more while I was naked. “You don’t need to keep turning away,” I said softly. “We’re shifters.”

“And you’re our alpha’s mate,” Cody replied easily. “Out of respect for our alpha and you,” he added a little bit more quietly, “we turn away.”

I bit my lip to stop myself from saying we didn’t do that in the Hollow, but I had highlighted enough differences between us, that I said nothing, just dressed quickly.

“Same again today?” I asked, almost eagerly, and for the first time since my father had passed, I saw an almost friendly look from Killian.

“You up for it?” he asked simply.

“I know what I’m doing wrong with the turn,” I told him honestly. “I figured it out last night as I went over everything I learned. I’m anticipating the turn, not feeling it. Too much in my head, I need it to come more naturally.”

He exchanged a glance with Cody and then nodded. “Let’s go then.”