Her Pack by Tamara White

Chapter Twenty-Six

I practically sagbetween my two enforcers as they drag my tired body back to the house. We're so close but yet so far. They pause and readjust their arms around me, doing their best to distribute my weight evenly. I could have had one of them simply carry me back without all this drama, but I thought I would be tough and attempt to walk back.

It was clear shortly after leaving Vivienne at the clearing that it would be a lot harder than it sounded. See, once your body rests after overexerting itself, well, it becomes very hard to remember what it felt like to not be in pain.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, owwwwww," I groan when I attempt to put more weight on my feet. I slump between Jake and Rick, who hold me up with no problem. My legs are simply refusing to move of their own accord. I think Vivienne and all her training may have actually broken my body.

"My god, Dani, I thought you were some tough ass Alpha Queen, ready to take on the world," Jake grumbles, doing his best to drag me along with the help of his mate.

"Hey, it's been a while since I've trained so fucking intensely. I thought I could handle it. Clearly I was wrong," I grumble hating just how wrong I was.

Vivienne even gave me the option to start off easy, but my pride at how well my father had trained me got in the way of reason. But, she lived up to her promise of showing me the best tips, tricks and deceptions one can use when they fight in wolf form.

Rick smiles over at me, his eyes filled with sympathy. "Don't worry, Dani, just think of it like this, no pain, no gain."

His words don't bring me any joy. Why can't I train my wolf and I without the pain? That sounds like a much better way to live.  Rick seems to be oblivious to my thoughts, "Besides, after you've had a few sessions, and worked out all your muscles, you will barely feel a thing."

I stare at him in horror. "Are you trying to make me cry, right now? Threatening me with more of that torture? What's wrong with you? Do you secretly hate me?" The idea of doing a repeat of today's training is not very appealing at all.

"You did hear what Vivienne said before we left, didn't you?" At my look of confusion, he goes on to explain. "When you were rubbing down your legs, groaning about how sore you were, Viv said she wants you to meet her in the same place tomorrow. She says you need to do this for at least five more days until the moves she's shown you are instinct."

"No!" I gasp, shaking my head in denial. "No, no more torture." I groan, when I realize he's being one hundred percent truthful. "Really? She wants me to go back and do that for five fucking days?"

Jake grins down at me, his eyes filled with delight. "At least five days, Dani. You keep going like this, and it very well could be longer."

"Oh god," I groan. Five more days of this intensity? How on earth am I going to endure that? I sure hope Eli won't mind me hogging the bathtub over the next few days because I have a feeling I'm going to need to live in it.

Even now as we get closer to the house, my body is throbbing in agony. I want nothing more than to crawl into a hot bath, and let my body rest. Hell, I may just sleep in the tub tonight. It's entirely possible. I may have to keep waking up every hour to refill the tub with warm water, but it's definitely possible.

As we're coming up the front steps, Nate appears at the door. Most likely having heard the three of talking, or he heard me bitching about my pain. His eyes widen when he sees me carried between Rick and Jake, barely touching the ground.

"Dani? My god, what happened to you?" He quickly tries to take me from the guys, and I end up with my arms wrapped around his neck, my legs dangling like jelly. In no time, he's placed an arm under my knees, and scoops me up into his hold.

"Really? Your stubborn ass wanted us to prop you up the whole way back because you said you wanted to walk. When it was clear you couldn't, we offered to carry you and you refused us both. Yet at the sight of one of your mates, you let him carry you? Seriously, I have to question your mental state some days," Jake says with a shake of his head and walks past Nate and into the house.

"He's allowed to see me weak. He's my mate!" I call after Jake, sticking my tongue out at him when he glances back at me. I see the smile on his face and know he's not actually upset with me. Maybe just annoyed by my stubborn streak.

"It doesn't matter to us if you appear weak, Dani. As your enforcers, we're supposed to help you be strong. If that means carrying you when you need the help, then you should just accept it," Rick winks at me, and follows his mate in the house.

Ugh, they're right. But even now with Nate holding me, I feel pathetic. I trained one day. One fucking day as my wolf and I've been reduced to an immobile mess. Even my wolf is subdued in the back of my mind. She has practically curled up and is probably going to sleep the night away.

As much as I hate the pain from training, I am glad I went. Vivienne is right about how unmatched I am. Without adrenaline, instinct or my extra abilities, I will be screwed if I was to face off with a wolf one on one.

"So, are you going to tell me why you seem to be made of jelly, or do you want me to guess?" Nate glances down at me, as he carries me into the house.

He heads towards the bedroom, but I need a bath badly. "Uh, can you take me to the bathroom, please. My whole body hurts because I was training with Vivienne. I think it's safe to say, I'm not as in shape as I thought I was."

He chuckles softly. "Ah, I take it she finally decided to corner you for wolf training then."

"You knew she was planning this?" I ask, my voice filled with mock betrayal. "How dare you let her do this to me!"

He rolls his eyes at my dramatics. "We knew it had to happen sooner or later. It was one of the many things that was discussed while you were in your coma. You are competent as a human fighting against another in human form. But it was pointed out that every time you've fought as a wolf, it hasn't exactly been fighting but more your gut guiding you. We theorized that the only reason you were actually able to successfully kill Sonja is because you were simply so worked up that your instincts took over enough that you were able to do what needed to be done."

I open my mouth to argue, but I close it when I realize how true that is. Nearly every time I've been in wolf form, I've had to be helped, or at least have had to rely on pure luck to ensure I wasn't hurt. What if I had of been alone? Without the ability to use my will, or force people to submit to me? Would I still be here unharmed?

Nate reaches the bathroom door and I reach out to open it so he doesn't have to loosen his hold on me. He guides me in the room, and places me delicately on the vanity and turns to run me a bath.

"You know, since you've shifted, you are going to need to continue training so your body builds stamina. Soon, the pain will become normal, then eventually the pain will disappear when your body learns what's supposed to be its new normal state."

"What? You really think this is normal?" When he gives me a look that says yes, I realize that's why Vivienne wanted me to go back to her. "So that's why I have to keep training with her for a few days."

"Most likely," Nate nods, turning the bath on while I watch, my legs swinging slowly over the side of the vanity. "Before you shift, you could have increased your endurance, but I guess your Dad never expected you to shift. He may have made things easier, more human for you. For us though, we were trained similar to you before shifting, then after we had our wolves, we knew that to become stronger we had to work harder. It's like muscle memory when training in human form, you do it so much that your body knows what it's supposed to do and when it's supposed to. Your training is just teaching your wolf the same things you learnt while human."

"Is that why my wolf is quieter? She's just as exhausted as I am?"

"Yep. I went for days without directly connecting with my wolf while we went through training. The only time I heard from him was when it was time to shift and train. A week after we finished training though, he was back to normal."

I nod, accepting that she won't always be so quiet. Though, maybe it's a good thing for her to be a little subdued. She can't push a heat on me if she's exhausted. Which gives me more time with my mates without that added pressure.

The bath is half full, and slowly filling with a light layer of bubbles. A soft rose fragrance permeates the room, and I sigh, feeling relaxed with the scent. "Did you add essential oil to my bath?"

Nate turns around, a slight tinge of pink to his cheeks. "Well, yes, but I'd appreciate it if you kept that between us."

"Why?"

He sighs, his cheeks flaming brighter. "Because it's from my personal stash. And if Pete knew I had a fascination with essential oils and the effect on the body, he'd never let me live it down. So, it's best he doesn't know."

"Aw, I think it's an adorable thing to be interested in."

Nate walks towards me, and presses a quick kiss to my lips before suddenly lifting me off the counter. I yelp at the sudden move, but relax in his arms. He sets me on my feet, his eyes intense. His hands grip the hem of my shirt and rise it up, and over my head until it's completely off and then he flings it to the corner of the room by the door.

I let him take off my pants next, his eyes on mine the whole time he undresses me, making it an even more intense feeling between us. Once I'm naked before him, I fight not to cover myself out of self consciousness.

He takes me by the hand and leads me to the bath, and helps keep me balanced as I climb in. I hiss out in surprise with how hot the water is. It's not enough to burn, but definitely not what I was expecting.

"Sorry, I should have warned you about the temperature. Most people tend to have ice baths for sore muscles, but the hot water is better at helping blood circulate. Once your body is used to it, it will feel like heaven, I promise."

"Isn't this pointless if I'm just going to have to train again tomorrow?"

"Not at all. The last thing you want is for you to be in too much pain tonight, that you don't sleep and have a horrible day tomorrow. The bath will help you relax and have a peaceful night."

"I haven't even had dinner yet, though. I didn't get more than a sandwich for lunch either, so you're going to have to tackle me if you plan on denying me food," I tell him honestly, sinking into the bath.

The water scalds me a little, but not enough for me to be in pain, it's just a foreign feeling.

Nate watches me settle back in the bath, and smiles. "Don't worry, I wasn't planning on denying you food. In fact, I had planned to bring you dinner in bed. The more you use your muscles tonight, the more it will hurt later in the night."

"Ugh, won't I just heal in a few hours anyway?"

"You will, but there's something about our body that is different when it comes to training, it makes our bodies heal human slow. Like our brains override the need to heal somehow. Which is why Vivienne needs you to train every day, possibly twice a day if your body heals too quickly. She needs to get your own body to recognize that you're trying to build up stamina."

"Damn, I really hope it doesn't end up being twice a day. I barely survived today."

Nate sits down on the edge of the tub, his eyes filled with pride. "I think you'll be fine. Just imagine how much happier you'll be knowing you can defend yourself without worry in both human and wolf form." He sighs, his eyes roving over me in longing. He abruptly gets to his feet with a forced smile. "Well, I should go and get your dinner ready. I imagine you're going to want an early night."

He quickly moves to leave, but I call after him. "Nate, you don't have to go. You are more than welcome to join me. This tub is big enough for both of us."

Nate has frozen with his hand on the bathroom door. His blue eyes have darkened and I can smell his desire filling the room. My eyes flick down, and I smirk in satisfaction when I see the evidence of his arousal clear as day.

"Are you sure, Dani? I don't have to. I was going to shower after I'd organized your dinner. I mean, I'm not saying that I wouldn't love to join you, but I don't want you to feel like it's expected or anything."

"Nate," I growl, interrupting his rambling. He slams his lips shut, and meets my gaze across the room. "Just please, stop worrying about what you think I want, and actually listen. I want you to join me, okay. So will you please stop overthinking this?"

His head bows, and for a second, I think I was too harsh on him and he's going to leave anyway. But I'm proven wrong when he lets go of the door, and walks back towards the tub, stripping off as he does.

When he's right there, his belly button level with my eyes, I grin and move forward, grabbing a sneak peek just below his navel. It definitely doesn't disappoint, that's for sure.

Nate climbs in behind me, the water sloshing, some of it spilling over onto the floor as he gets comfortable. When he's situated, he wraps his arms around my waist and I lean back, resting my head against his chest. Now this is relaxing.