~ Chapter Fifteen ~

Dimitri wasn’t sleeping next to me when I woke up and it took a moment to figure out why. Jessica’s loud voice travelled through the window into the alpha’s bedroom, spouting instructions for the warriors to train. I had known before I went to sleep that there was no way Dimitri would wake me up in time for training, but I still didn’t expect to sleep through half of it.

I rushed downstairs in a pair of leggings and a hoodie, and took a seat on the front porch where I could see the gathering. Nobody had noticed me - they’d drifted further away since I’d seen them through the window. Jessica moved from person to person, analysing their every movements. It didn’t look like training in Roger’s pack, it was more intense and included everyone instead of only warriors. Even Jessica dropped into a lunge as she walked, and Dimitri was deep in a spar with Dylan. I spotted Xanthe and Maeve easily, though they were part of separate groups since their bodies were so different.

“Miss Keller.”

I glanced to the side at a middle-aged man I knew as Taylor.

“Are you not participating in training today?”

“I’m not allowed,” I mumbled.

“Ah… that does not seem right. Alpha Stone is very particular about training.”

“Yes, very particular about not sending his mate into harmful situations, too.” I turned to Taylor to catch his expression; he hid it well, but I saw the tug of his lips.

“He only wishes you to live.”

“Under his rule,” I finished, salty. “I’d understand if we were at war, Taylor, but we aren’t. I’m being… *dominated* - and not in the good way.”

Taylor laughed, and I shook my head. “I wish I could see it your way, though.”

He rubbed his hands together. “You only don’t because it is affecting you and not me. If I were in your position, I would feel much the same.”

“Why aren’t you training?” I asked quickly.

“I’m injured at the moment. Not terribly, but enough to slow everyone else down.” He stuck out his leg to show me a support around his ankle. “You see?”

“When did this happen?”

“During the rescue a couple of days ago. I will be training tomorrow.”

“Oh…”

I thought about everything Dimitri’s pack had been through because of Roger - they had lost their Alpha and some had been injured in getting him back; now they had a Luna who wasn’t acting as she should, threatening to leave, instead of helping to recover the pack from the losses. I was awful… but I couldn’t put others before me when my issue was that I was being dictated by my *mate*.

Taylor noticed the thoughtful expression on my face. “If I were to give you advice, Keller, it would be that Alpha Stone is not a bad guy, he just isn’t well-versed in relationships with people equal to himself. He even has a habit of speaking down to other alphas; he can’t help it.

“In your position, I might suggest that you aid him in learning what is right, rather than scold him for what he does wrong.”

“Interesting,” I muttered, “but would that not make me one of those girls who thinks she can ‘change him for the better’?”

“I don’t think so. I think it makes you the bigger person.” He gave me a smile. “Perhaps that is just me.”

His eyes darted to the side, and I turned to see Dimitri at the edge of the warriors, watching us, Dylan doing push-ups on the ground. His eyes were narrowed.

“I believe I should leave you be, Keller.”

“You don’t have to, but I appreciate the chat. It’s nice to hear from someone who doesn’t think they’re above me.”

I gave Taylor a bitter-sweet smile, and he nodded solemnly. By the time he was inside, Dimitri had already made his way over to me. He didn’t look pleased, but I could see that he was refraining from acting like he normally would. It was a start, I supposed.

“Hello, Erika.”

“Dimitri.”

“What were you talking to Taylor about?”

I ignored him. “What does Jessica have everyone doing today? It looks quite intense.”

Dimitri looked at me for a moment, displeased, and then leaned against the railing toward the group. I stood from my seat and rested next to him, but left a small distance between us.

“Jess is focusing on strength in battle.”

“Why?”

“She thinks we’ve been lacking the last couple of months - even before I was taken.” He paused. “But with you, she’s going to work on cardio.”

“Ugh,” I grumbled uncontrollably.

Dima looked at me. “Don’t you like cardio?”

“No, I’m awful at it… which I guess is why we’re doing it. How does Jessica know I can’t run for shit?”

“I’m not sure,” Dima muttered, chuckling. “Perhaps from the run during the escape.”

I frowned. “No, I’m okay as a wolf.”

We both shrugged at the same time.

“I’m going to give you to the end of the day, by the way,” I told him casually. “I don’t feel it’s right to expect you to have made a decision while you were sleeping.”

“I want my mate,” he blurted, and I looked at him strangely. “I don’t want to lose my mate, Erika - speaking generally, rather than about you in particular. It’s going to hurt, even if we haven’t gotten very far. And I know it is so unreasonable to expect you to stay because of that, but that’s how I feel right now.”

“I’ve told you what you need to do,” I pointed out. “I can’t give you any more help.”

“Yes, I know.”

We fell silent.

“When does Jess want to train me, again?”

“Um…” He paused, his eyes glazing over. “Before lunch. It’ll be as soon as normal training ends.”

“Okay. Should you be getting back to it?”

"No, she gave me a pass to leave... special circumstances." He motioned at me; there was something about his posture that seemed timid. "Would you like to spend a little bit of time with me before you train? I would say we have about half an hour."

"What do you have in mind?"

"There is a place nearby I think you would like, but I'll have to take you there later, when we have more time. Right now, I want to take a walk with you. Just a short one, if you don't mind."

I turned to him. "That might be nice - tell me more about this place I'd like, though."

"Oh, I can't do that." He almost smiled at me.

"What? You can't tease me like that, Dima. That's just cruel."

He shrugged. "Nothing I can do, it's a secret until we arrive. You could always cancel training with Jess..." He trailed off hopefully, but when I gave him a deadpan look, he sighed. "I'll take you out right after lunch, so you don't have to wait too long."

"And right now, we're walking... where?"

"Around the mountains. Follow me."

Dimitri led me away from the house and the warriors, toward the mountains that surrounded the pack grounds. I kept a close distance, since we had a lot of space to move, and admired the landscape I had never seen before. Growing up in the woods then being trapped there for all of my life, I hadn't seen much of anything, much less a tiny mountain range with brilliant sun rays shining through gaps in the rocks. It was certainly an environment I enjoyed, even if it wasn't one I could navigate easily.

"Watch that rock."

"Be careful, you might hit your head on that corner."

"Don't jump over that, the rocks will slide and you could fall down and hurt yourself."

Hearing the genuine concern in Dimitri's voice reminded me that he *did* care for me. We'd spent a short while getting to know each other in the basement, after all, so we weren't total strangers. When I'd feared for his life, I hadn't been fearing for the loss of my mate, I had been terrified of losing *him*. But that felt so far away now, like it didn't even happen to us; it didn't suit our current relationship. I realised that, in order to unlock the side of our mateship that was personal, I'd need to find a way to crack Dimitri open. Perhaps that would increase my worth in his mind; I would be his equal.

I decided I would open my mind a little bit on our trip later, but in the meantime, I had cardio to endure.

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