Page 25 of Dark Cravings

"Imprinting is essentially love at first sight. Obsession, at any rate. But it's not something wolves do. Only vampires.”

"Why not?" I asked.

"I don't know," he said in a tone of exasperation. I could see why he wasn't the one who trained the new recruits. "Why do you freaks do or not do anything? I know about killing you. Everything else is out of my wheelhouse."

"Right," I sighed.

"A friendly word of advice?" he asked in a way that was anything but friendly. "Spare your little canine heart the break. The only person Castor is capable of loving is his sister, and sure as hell not a wolf.”

My face grew warm. "I'm not in love with him," I muttered. Obsessed, sure. But if it wasn't already obvious, I certainly wasn't going to volunteer that information.

Arrow scoffed. "Sure."

I hesitated. "Why does he hate us so much, anyway?"

Somehow, I was relieved to know it wasn't just me.

Arrow blinked. "Man, he really doesn't tell you anything, does he? Your kind slaughtered their parents."

"Oh," I murmured. "I guess I should've figured it was something like that." I paused. "Did they ever catch the wolf that did it?"

"Wolves plural," he corrected. "And no. They were part of a mega pack east of here. With a few notable exceptions, they keep to themselves. Your kind is enough of a nuisance one-on-one, but in a pack, you’re a real pain in the ass."

"Oh," I said quietly. "Yeah, I guess I can see that."

“Enough chit-chat," Arrow said, nodding to me. "Time to get back to work. Fortunately for you, a day of training with me is equivalent to a week with Castor."

I groaned, preparing myself as much as I could. "Lucky fucking me."

ChapterEleven

EDDIE

The day following my training session with Arrow, my body was so badly bruised and beaten that I could barely even drag myself out of bed. Something told me that wouldn't be a sufficient excuse to Castor, though.

When I arrived in the training room and found Castor waiting for me, I was so relieved that I let out a deep sigh. "You're back."

He looked as impossibly beautiful as ever, with his dark hair slicked back away from his face and a tight black tank top showcasing his lean, muscular torso. After getting a glimpse of his pants, I had to admit, Arrow was right about one thing—he had a great ass, and there was no denying that.

"I take it you didn't enjoy training with Arrow," he said in a knowing tone, looking me over. He snorted. "And I see he went easy on you."

I stared at him, unsure of whether he was joking or not. I decided I would rather not find out. "Where were you?"

Irritation flashed in his eyes, and I realized the question that had seemed innocuous enough to me had crossed some invisible line between us. Then again, Castor did seem even more formal than most of the other hunters.

"Go over and pick out a weapon," he said, jerking his head toward the racks across the room and ignoring my question entirely.

"A weapon?" I echoed. Considering I felt like I had been making little to no progress in hand-to-hand combat, I was surprised he was willing to do that. "You think I'm ready?"

"It's not that," he said in his usual matter-of-fact tone. "But with the shape you're in today, there's no point in even trying. It's only going to frustrate us both, and there's a good chance it will take you out of commission entirely."

"Oh," I mumbled. So much for that twinge of optimism.

I walked over to the weapons rack and studied the offerings. There were plenty of blades to choose from, but as eager as I was to try them out, the thought of actually hurting Castor was a deterrent. I felt bad enough for punching him that time, even if he had literally forced my hand. Instead, I chose a wooden staff, which was heavier than it looked.

"Interesting choice," he said flatly. He didn't tell me to put it back, though, so I took my place standing in front of him and waited for him to make the first move. I hesitated when I realized he wasn't going over to the weapons rack.

"Aren't you going to use one?"