This room didn't have any machines. It was full of weights and a huge mat for only God knew what.
Evan turned to me and nodded. "Good. You listened."
"You may want to warn her about being aware of her surroundings." The Coach headed toward a desk in the back of the room. "I caught her by surprise; and I wasn't being quiet at all."
"Yeah, she's got a lot to learn." He shook his head and sighed. "Is your shoulder healed?"
"Yeah, it's fine." I had finally healed by Wednesday morning. Thank God for quick healing shifter genes.
"All right." He pointed to the mat. "At least Kai had you build up some strength, so that should bode well for you. Let's begin with some basic stances. Coach, I'll need your help."
"Okay." He put down his drink and headed over. "What do you need?"
"Grab one of the punching bags." He pointed to a bag laying against the wall.
"Got it." He walked over and picked it up.
"Why is he here?" It struck me as odd, and I couldn't get past it.
"Well, one … Technically, it’s his gym, but the main reason is that he's the only one who can fight against me if I need to do a demonstration." He shrugged as the coach carried the bag over to us.
The coach placed the bag in front of us. "There you go."
"All right. So, watch me." He got into a fighting stance where his hands were in front of his face.
"Wait. Don't we need boxing gloves?" I glanced around, expecting to find some.
"We're wolf shifters, not pussies. Come on." He pivoted on his toes and punched the bag, making it fall into the coach.
The coach pushed it back upright.
Okay, so he was here as his helper. That was kind of interesting.
"Now, it's your turn." He waved his hands in front of his face. "Get in a fighting stance, and pivot with your right foot as you swing your punch outward. Remember to lead with your elbow."
It all seemed to run together, but I did the best I could. As I punched the bag, it barely moved. "What the hell?" I'd expected at least a small swing or something. It was like I didn't hit the damn thing.
The corners of Evan's lips tilted upward, or at least, I thought they did. His expression was always a mask of indifference. "It just means we have a lot more to make up for than I realized. Again."
I wasn't sure how long I kept hitting the damn thing, but it felt like days at this point. My arms were like gelatin, and the only thing I worked on today was punching the damn bag. He did have me rotate between my left and right side, which I wasn't sure if it was better or worse.
"You have to make it tilt on the edge before you can leave today." Evan met my eyes, challenging me.
Even though I'd never taken kickboxing before, I knew humans could move the damn thing. Why the hell couldn't I? I lifted my arms back up, ready to take the damn thing down. I didn't care if I had to go all Tarzan, straddling it to make it go down. I wasn't sure how much more of this I could take, and technically he didn't tell me it had to be with my arms.
I took a deep breath and steadied myself. I pulled deep down within and connected with my wolf. She purred in response. As I struck out, I pivoted on the bottom of my foot and led with my elbow. When my fist connected with the bag, it fell over to the ground. What the hell?
"Hot damn." A proud smile filled Evan's face. "You did it."
The coach shook his head and grabbed it, lifting it to stand it up. "How the hell did she do that? She had almost the same force as you."
"She channeled her wolf." His smile didn't falter when he stared into my eyes. "Your wolf is way stronger than I gave her credit for. Good job. You're done for the day."
He was breathtaking when he smiled. Not that I wanted to act on it, but I hadn't realized just how handsome he actually was until now. "That's it?"
"Yup, you channeled your wolf to knock the bag down." He nodded his head.
"Wait. Why didn't you tell me to do that in the first place? And how can a human knock down something like that when it took me all day."
"You didn't tell her this was made specifically for a gym full of wolf shifter football players?" The coach smirked and shook his head. "Damn."
"She didn't need to know. She had to get frustrated in order to figure the rest out." He reached over and patted my arm. "Besides, you need to learn how to fight with your wolf, and you needed to figure it out on your own. Now go on and get out of here. You’ll want to take a hot shower; you'll be hurting in the morning."
I wasn't sure what else to say, but the information hit me to the core. I'd grown up around more humans than wolves, so I never had to fight someone stronger or bigger than me. It took being here before I figured it out.
As I walked out the door, I heard the coach mumble to Evan. "She shouldn't be that strong. That's damn near impossible unless she was one of the elite alphas."
I shut the door as I tapped into my wolf. I could barely make out Evan's response.
"Yeah, something doesn't seem right, but I'll get to the bottom of it."
Maybe having Evan train me was a bad idea. He could figure out my secret. I had to go talk to Liam now.
Chapter Five
My body felt like it was numb—that's how damn sore I was, and I hadn't even made it halfway back to the dorm. Maybe Kai was right; I could've used a couple more months of weight training.
As I approached the dorm, I heard some voices that made me pause.
"You know it makes more sense for him to be with me, not her." Amber's overly entitled voice filled my ears.
"No, no I don't." Bree's voice was stiff and unyielding. "She cares for him."
"Oh, that's bullshit, and you know it." Amber's voice was fierce.
I stepped into the trees, moving slowly until I was able to see both women through a hole made by some branches. I was still a good fifty feet away.
"No, it's not." Bree's pink face made her blue eyes stand out more. "Unlike you, she doesn't give a damn about his position or that one day he'll be powerful. She's genuine and cares not only about him but me too."
"How has she been able to manipulate the two of you?" Amber threw her hands in the air. "Maybe I could expect it from you, but not Liam. He's always been able to call people out on their shit."
"Someone sounds jealous." Bree stood tall and, for once, let her strong wolf shine through. "You do realize there are three other heirs you could try to..." She huffed and rolled her eyes, "negotiate with."
"It is business." Amber scoffed and clenched her hands into fists. "If you start letting your heart rule, then you're weak … a nothing."
Dear God. Had they all been raised this way? It was so foreign to me after what my parents had instilled in me.
"No. I think we've all become weak because we've removed the heart from the process." Bree shook her head and narrowed her eyes. "Something that Liam and I are starting to realize with Mia in our lives. So instead of fighting it, accept it. She's part of our family now and won't be going anywhere."