~ Chapter Forty-Six ~

Dimitri was gone when I woke up, so I decided to make myself useful while I changed. I hoped Gina, who said she'd left her phone off, had turned it back on after my visit, but, of course, she hadn't. Her voicemail tone played out for me as I walked through the front door to head to the training grounds.

I sighed and dropped my phone on the porch railing before jogging over to the warriors in the midst of fighting. Jessica quickly found me in the crowd, her eyes intense with anger. "Why are you late, Luna?"

"Luna duties," I replied sourly.

"Go for a run around the training grounds then I'm pairing you up with Dimitri."

I hesitated as I stared at her, considering whether I should tell her that I didn't think we were on good terms right now. But she had turned away within seconds, leaving me no choice. I set off for a fast-paced walk around the grounds, watching the warriors fight as I went. I caught sight of Dylan excitedly sparring with Dimitri, but I couldn't stand watching them for too long.

Dylan reminded me too much of a child.

When I finished my lap, I took Dylan's place, ignoring his whines, and silently moved into position. Dimitri looked more keen for silence than I did, though I could feel how he was content that he was facing me instead of someone else. Until my first move almost knocked him on his ass. He grunted - at me - and climbed back up to his feet.

"You're not yourself," I commented quietly.

His eyes flickered to my face and back to the floor. He didn't say anything.

I sighed. "Okay." *That's how it's going to be.*

I threw myself at Dimitri, holding back nothing, and he seemed to meet my challenge. I felt his determination through our bond as he escaped my holds and performed some of his favourite moves. I was often slammed onto my back, whilst I often had him on his front, my knees either side of his waist. No one was winning and no one was losing. It was becoming tedious.

"Alpha! Luna!" Jess yelled in the middle of a move. I hesitated, giving Dimitri the opportunity to get his arm around my waist. Before I could stop him, he had me back on the ground, this time with my face almost shoved into the dirt. My feet shifted to kick him away, but he jumped to my other side and restricted both of my ankles in one hand.

"That was lazy, Luna," Jess mused as she came to a stop beside us.

Dimitri let go, and I shoved him away, finding my own feet. "I beat him earlier so it's tied now."

"I know, I've been watching the two of you. It's not useful." Her eyes scanned over the crowd. "Alpha, I want you with Taylor, and Luna, I want you with... Dylan."

"No." Dimitri's voice was low, verging on his alpha tone, and Jessica looked at him sharply in surprise.

"Why not?" she asked, all of the confidence stripped from her own voice.

"Erika isn't fighting anyone but me today," he replied sternly. He wouldn't meet my gaze, which was lucky for him, because my looks would kill him in an instant. That is, if my claws didn't beat it to it.

"Dimitri, don't you dare do this."

"Alpha, I really think it would be beneficial if she fought Dylan instead. Their styles are so different and-"

"She won't fight anyone but me," he repeated, turning away. As he began to walk toward Taylor, he said, "So if you insist that I fight Taylor, she has to go inside."

*What the fuck are you doing?* I demanded through the mind-link, holding a finger up at Jessica. She simply nodded as I rushed to follow Dimitri.

*I'm reverting.*

*I fucking see that!* I dragged him to a stop. "Why?"

He didn't answer.

"Is this because I said I don't know if I want kids? Dimitri, I swear, that's a decision I'm allowed to make, so if that's what you're so angry about..."

"I'm not- I'm not angry *at* you, Erika. I'm angry..." He trailed off, shaking his head.

"You *are* angry with me otherwise you wouldn't be 'reverting'," I snapped. "I haven't done a damn thing to you."

Dimitri finally looked into my eyes, but his were so locked up that I couldn't even see a speck of emotion in them. All I could feel from him was a sense of numbness that hid all of the rage locked up inside. "This isn't something we should talk about out here, okay, *Luna*?"

I crossed my arms over my chest. "In case you've forgotten, I have duties in this pack just like you, and now that Valerie and her family are here, I have a responsibility to make sure they are comfortable. So we can't talk about this later when it suits you. Let's talk about it now."

"Go and fucking train with Dylan, Erika. I don't care," Dimitri growled at me, snapping. He leaned down so his face was closer to mine, and I could feel the heat radiating from him. "Come to me when you're finished with your 'duties'." His top lip pulled back from his teeth in a snarl, before he stormed past me toward Taylor. A few of the warriors around us had paused, noticing the tension, but they resumed their spars the moment they caught me looking.

I turned back around to head back to Jessica, though a part of me wanted to go straight to the house and skip this stupid training session. I was so riled up, I needed to punch something that wouldn't bruise as a result. I couldn't hurt Dylan just because I was angry, it wasn't fair to him.

"Where's Maeve?" I demanded.

Jessica glanced automatically over my shoulder. "She's with one of the warriors, but I don't think you should fight her. Your mate told me-"

"I really don't care what Dimitri said," I growled. His hot temper was rubbing off on me. "Tell that warrior to go elsewhere. I need to blow off some steam and she's the only person with the right muscle mass and understanding."

Jess slowly nodded. She led me over to the pairing and split them up, leaving me to explain to Maeve why I'd disobeyed the orders Dimitri had given her, too. I couldn't believe how angry it made me that he'd gone to Maeve to tell her not to fight me, but I was already so riled up that I didn't want to think about anything else to make it worse. I was focused on releasing some energy *without* injuring anyone, and that was a challenge in of itself with werewolf strength.

My wolf was fighting to surface within me, practically thrashing excitedly around my insides. I could feel it ready to go for a run, to tear through the forest. But with all the issues we'd been having, I didn't want to risk doing something so stupid. Besides, I didn't need another reason for Dimitri to yell at me later. I could already see the fight we'd have, and it was nasty enough.

Maeve was proving to be a much better sparring partner than Dimitri. We connected well, countering one another's moves in the perfect way and at the perfect time; it felt like I could be fighting with a twin. Our scores were constantly shifting. Neither of us had been winning for long before the other clutched the title. It could have gone on forever - and I would have let it - if we weren't interrupted by a warrior up on the porch.

"Whose phone is this?" he yelled, holding up my phone.

I realised for the first time that, through all my anger, I hadn't been able to hear the ring. It must have been driving everyone else mad.

I broke away from Maeve and moved through the crowd, which all shifted for me, noticing my mood. The warrior held the phone out just as the call cut, and I looked down at the name across the top. Gina. My finger tapped her contact to call her back.

After a couple of rings, she answered, but to my surprise, she spoke before I could.

"Erika, I have bad news. I'm sorry to tell you this but... Heidi and her friends were compromised."

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