Chapter: 25

Lucian's face loomed over me, inverted, as he braced his hands on both sides of my head.

"This is just your first session," he said. "Imagine how strong you'll be after several."

I grinned, looking into his twinkling blue eyes.

I imagined it, and a rush of adrenaline flooded me. The idea of not being weak, fragile, or useless.

"What the fuck!"

The sliding glass wall was dragged open, and I sat up like a spring, my head bumping Lucian's on the way.

"Ow!"

He cupped my face, pressing his hand to the spot that had made contact. "Are you okay?" he asked, wincing.

A menacing growl pierced the air, and I glanced to the left, in the direction of the intruder. My words died in my throat.

Standing in front of me, in the space between the two training rooms, was Kieran, his dark eyes pitch black with rage.

Why the hell was he here?!

KIERAN'S POV

"No, Celeste, thumb over knuckle," Ethan reiterated for the fifth time, adjusting his sister's fist. "If you punch like that, you'll break your fingers."

Celeste huffed, her lips forming into a pout. "Whatever, I still don't know why I even have to do this."

Ethan exhaled and exchanged a mildly exasperated look with me. "We've been over this before. With all the attacks on the pack, you have to get stronger. I indulged you in the past when you refused to train, but not anymore. We even came here to train in neutral territory so you wouldn't feel inferior to other pack members."

Celeste rolled her eyes. "I don't care. Training sucks. And I have you two strong Alphas to protect me anyway."

"Babe," I said, stepping forward. "You know Ethan and I will always protect you, but it's good for you to at least be able to hold your own in the event of the worst-case scenario."

She sighed and stepped towards me. "But you mean it, right?” She looked up at me with her gorgeous blue eyes. "You'll always be there to protect me?"

I kissed her hair. She'd come back to me, and I'd be damned if I ever let anything happen to her. "Always."

"Okay, okay," Ethan clapped his hands, drawing our attention back to him. "If we can just get your stance right, Celeste, we can move on. We can't spend all day here."

"Right." She held up a fist, the thumb tucked inside her palm. "Like this?"

Ethan clenched his jaw, and I pressed my mouth together to stifle my amusement.

I moved across the room and leaned against the glass door dividing the training rooms.

"Stop, stop!"