Chapter 281
I had just about dozed off when I heard a knock on the apartment door and decided I needed to investigate. Part of me hoped it was Brandon because I missed him and just wanted to get the conversation over with, but when I saw it was Elliott, I was relieved. I let him in and fell into one of his bear hugs before he even said anything.
It was all I could do not to cry. Not just about Brandon, but about everything. I knew he would listen to all of it and probably even have some wisdom to impart about most of it, but I still didn’t feel right talking to him about his own son, so I fought back my tears and let him think that the hug was necessary because of the procedure. At least that’s what I told myself. I’m sure he could probably see past that if he wanted to, but he seemed just fine holding me for as long as I needed him to, like any good big brother would, and I think it had to have been at least five minutes with me in his arms and the pair of us just standing in the doorway.
“Tired?” he asked as I stepped back, finally letting him go.
“Exhausted.”
“That was a rough hunt last night, lil girl. I don’t blame you.”
I had nothing to say, so I only nodded.
“I just wanted to come and check on you. I guess Brandon’s not here then.”
“No.”
He raised an eyebrow at me, but he’s really not the meddling type. “All right. Well, you go get some sleep. Call me if you need to talk, though. About… anything.”
I knew that was probably hard for him to say, but he meant it. “Thanks.” I took a deep breath, remembering how much I’d missed his scent of leather and the same cologne he always wears back when I couldn’t smell it for all those months when he was gone, and I was tempted to melt into his arms again but knew I might never get a nap if I hugged him again.
He pulled the door open and backed into the hallway, and I watched him go, thinking maybe I should get Brandon up here and tell him everything, but I was tired, and nothing I had to say would likely make sense under the circumstances. So I didn’t. I could always do it later—it wasn’t like there could be two nights in a row like the one before. We weren’t even going anywhere.
I dragged myself back into my room and tossed myself down on the light blue comforter I’d picked out when I had moved in a few weeks before. My room at home looks nothing like this. It’s like something a fairy princess barfed up, and this is more college chic. I always imagined if I lived in a dorm room it would be something like this. I was still staring at the landscape painting on the wall when my eyes closed of their own accord, and I was dead to the world for the second time that day.
By the time I woke up, I only had ten minutes to get my booty to training. If you’re late, Aurora is ten times worse than usual. A missing sneaker one day during my first full week of training had led to my discovery of why people call her Roar. I barely had time to brush my teeth and throw my workout clothes in my bag before I headed out the door, straightening my ponytail as I went.
I had just crossed the street and was hustling past the new recruit apartment building when I almost ran into a guy on the sidewalk. I had never seen him before and wondered who he might be, but I was in such a rush and not quite awake yet, so I hadn’t put it all together. The fact that he was wearing gym clothes indicated he might be going to the same place as me. “Are you lost?” I asked, watching him look around with a puzzled expression on his face.
He must not have heard me coming because he turned around quickly, lost his balance, and almost fell. Luckily for him, I have lightning fast reflexes and grabbed ahold of him before he ended up sprawled on the concrete.
“Oh, uh, yeah,” he stammered as I let go of him. “Just looking for the gym.” He gave me a sheepish grin, and I noticed he wasn’t too bad to look at. He had a shock of reddish blond hair that came down over his blue eyes. Tall and lanky, he had at least a half a foot on me. I had no idea why he would’ve been looking for the gym, though. I knew everyone in our group and had never seen him before.
“Lucky for you that’s where I’m headed,” I said with a little giggle at his nervousness. “It’s this way.”
He looked down at my duffel bag like that should’ve been a dead giveaway and said, “Cool. It’s my first day.”
“Really?” I asked, not sure why I was surprised by that since I didn’t recognize him, but then I remembered exactly who he was. With a nod, I said, “You must be Dax.”
“Yeah. How did you know?” he asked as we began to walk to the gym.
Recognizing we were about to be late, I kicked it into high gear. I realized he’d just Transformed, but he was able to keep up with my shorter legs. “Because the rest of the new recruits have been here for a couple of weeks, and Aurora isn’t taking anyone else until the beginning of March—with the exception of you.”
“You don’t say?” he asked clearly surprised at this information. I wondered exactly what they had told him. This whole world was brand new to him, and he had to be in shock. At least I had gotten to ease my way into it. A few days ago, he knew nothing about any of this. “What makes me so special?”
His question had me giggling again, though I wasn’t sure why. There was something about his wanderlust that made me feel a little free, almost like a kid again. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “But you impressed someone somewhere.”
