Page 66 of Fallout
“She’s right,” Blaine says, keeping his attention on Will.
Will hesitates. “Parker would kill us.”
“Probably.” Blaine nods. “But it would kill him if anything happened to her and she didn’t know how to defend herself.”
Will takes a deep breath and slowly exhales. “Fine. But if we get in trouble, it’s all on you.”
Blaine smirks, turning to me. “You sure you want to learn from us, Vixen? Because we won’t take it easy on you. Your boyfriend would baby you, but we won’t.”
Will smacks him on the back. “You shouldn’t call Parker’s mate ‘Vixen.’ One of these days, he’s going to attack you for flirting with his mate.”
Blaine winks at me. “Henley knows I’m not flirting.”
I ignore their bickering as I stand up. “Why would Parker be mad that I want to learn how to fight and defend myself? Shouldn’t he be all for it, considering he’s got you lot babysitting me around the clock?”
Will turns to me. “As alpha, he will think it’s his job to protect you and look out for you. The fact that you want to learn how to fight will make him feel like you think he’s not a good enough protector. It’s a wolf thing but magnified because he’s an alpha. He won’t stop to think about it logically.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I scoff. “Parker is plenty able to protect me—I know that. I just want to be able to protect him too.”
Will’s eyes bulge.
Blaine snickers.
“Henley, do me a favor and never say that to Parker,” Will says. “Or any alpha. It is absolutely insulting that you think you could protect Parker.”
Blaine nods. “As funny as it would be to watch, I agree with Will on this one.” He pats me on the back. “Parker wouldn’t take it well.”
Just when I think I’m beginning to understand wolf shifters, something like this happens and reminds me that I’m not one of them. I don’t understand wolf shifter culture or their way of thinking.
I’m not one of them, no matter how much I wish I were. The problem is, I don’t fit in anywhere. I have a feeling I’d be just as lost, even if I were surrounded by phoenixes.
Blaine and Will lead me to the backyard. There is a nice, flat area that we can practice. At first, they just show me a bunch of hand movements. I mimic them as best as I can, but it’s clear that they’ve had a lot of practice. I do a lot of jumps and kicks and I can feel the movement in my muscles. I walk a lot and exercise, but I’ve never moved these muscles and it shows.
I lean over for a moment, letting myself take deep, gulping breaths. “I didn’t realize I was so out of shape.”
“You’ll be fine.” Blaine claps me on the back. “Supernaturals don’t get sore because of our advanced healing.”
I shoot him a look. “But what if phoenixes don’t have supernatural healing?”
He shrugs. “I doubt that. Your species is far superior.”
I gulp at the reminder.
My species is strong. Powerful. Dangerous. So dangerous that the rest of the supernatural tried to off them.
Just what were my ancestors like that they were so feared?
I shiver at the thought.
“If I am sore tomorrow, maybe you can kill me and I’ll come back to life without muscle aches,” I tease.
Blaine narrows his eyes. “You shouldn’t joke about that. If Parker hears it, he may up the number of guards he has watching you. If you think Will is bad, you should meet Will’s uncle. He’s way grumpier.”
Will has an uncle in the pack? I’m about to ask when Will steps forward, capturing my attention.
“That’s enough of a break.”
I shoot him a glare and Blaine chuckles, showing me the next move.