Chapter One Hundred and Two
Catherine stared at the specimen that was her mate. Graham had been expelling his stress over the last few weeks through body crushing workouts and it certainly showed in the sharp lines of his abdomen, the bulge of his upper arms as he stretched and the chords of muscles that flexed down his thighs and calves. The lines of ink along his right side twisted and pulled as he worked out the sore muscles from his sparring session with Mark.
She narrowed her eyes. “Are you trying to distract me?” she asked.
He gifted her a challenging smile. “All’s fair, right Baby?”
“I thought you said mates can’t spar?”
“I did, but you don’t seem to care much for taking instruction,” Graham pointed out.
“Your lycan side won’t allow you to hurt me,” she argued.
“No, it won’t, but I have no intention of hurting you.” Graham took a few steps closer until there was only a small space between them. “Just teaching you a lesson.”
She quirked a brow up at him. “Oh yeah? Let’s see it then, Teach,” she goaded.
Graham smiled. Before she could blink or even register his intention, Graham shoved her in the center of her chest. Catherine gasped as she was flung back against the mat. She landed on her butt and several people nearby snickered. She looked up at him, mouth agape.
“Why do we train without shifting?” he asked.
Her anger flared. She picked herself up from the mat and took several steps back. She staggered her feet, preparing for a second hit. She held her fists out, ready for him now.
“So you can know how to fight without it blah, blah, blah,” Catherine paraphrased Lucas’ earlier teaching.
Graham crossed his arms over his chest and did a small semi-circle around her. “Hmm, maybe. Or maybe because when you shift, you’re giving yourself over to instinct thousands of years in the making.”
Graham suddenly cut inward. He didn’t even need to touch her. She was so caught off guard by the lack of warning registered by her body and her gift, she stumbled backward and landed on her ass again. He leaned down, his posture one of easy dominance.
“When you shift, you don’t need practiced maneuvers. You just need to give in. Just like you did the other day. Remember?” Catherine went to open her mouth but then shut it. “Exactly. Your primal side took over for you. You didn’t even need to think. Sure, in a few years maybe we can have you spar with someone in your varying forms so you can become better attuned but right now, I’m not worried about that.”
Catherine pushed herself to her feet. She searched the air for his energy but it was so intertwined with her own, she couldn’t see his next move. She decided to go on the offensive. She took two steps and launched herself at his back. Graham took hold of the hand that was about to plunge her claws into his neck, twisted and pulled. Catherine fell over his shoulder and landed on her back.
Without hesitation, she jumped back up and tried to hit him with a few quick jabs. He raised his palms up and deflected each hit. He dropped his arms, to fend off her knees and feet as she tried to move him backwards. She extended her claws again only for him to grab her wrist, spin her out and then back against his chest. He held her there in a tight grip. Heat coursed through her body where they touched. She felt his pent up energy vibrating under his skin. With his free hand he tapped her temple.
Remember to not think so loud, Baby, he spoke to her mind.
She growled and forced her lower hand forward. He grunted as her claws sunk into his abdomen. He glanced down.
“Ow.”
She smirked and pulled her hand away to do it again. This time he spun her out and let her continue spinning until she was disoriented. He knocked her knees from behind, collapsing her to the floor.
“How many’s that, Lucas?” Graham asked. She crawled forward until she was able to get her feet under her. She took a few quick steps, stood up and spun.
1/3
“Four,” Lucas informed him. The smirk on Graham’s face told her he knew exactly how many times he’d knocked her to the ground.
“I told you to use your gift, right?” Graham taunted.
The energy sparked and jolted but his smile only grew. He held out his hand and beckoned her forward. Catherine moved. As she sent various punches and kicks his way, she analyzed the air around them. He was a far different fighter than both Lucas and Theo. He never made an offensive move. His constant deflections, cuts and ducks sent her energy into the void around them. Every time she managed to graze his skin though she felt the strength he carried get transferred into her own nervous system. Graham ducked and pushed her shoulder, sending her into a tailspin that threw her to the floor.
“Five,” Lucas yelled.
Catherine stared across the mat at her mate. She shoved herself up with shaky arms. She cracked her neck and inhaled deeply. She blew loose tendrils of hair from her face and raised her fists. She needed energy and she knew she would need to take it. Catherine rushed him. His eyes widened at her surprising tactic. He squatted his knees and waited for the impact.
At the last second she sank to the floor and slid beside him. She hopped up behind him. He spun and caught her wrist and she smiled. His brow furrowed. Her hand twisted to lock around his forearm and she flipped. He grunted as she twisted his arm into an unnatural position. She twisted further and brought him to one knee. Catherine locked her arm around his neck, released her hold on his wrist and locked both her arms together. She reached out with the tips of her fingers and, without being aware of how she knew to do it, touched his temple.
Catherine gasped as the rush of energy transferred through her fingers, along her hand, up her arm and to her heart. She tried to place the foreign feelings racing along her nerve endings. Her body heated, the surge of energy doing things to her she did not expect. His energy now coursing through her wanted to do one thing and it was certainly not fight.
“Fuck,” Graham whispered on a groan.
Catherine fought to remember where they were, not in their bedroom surrendering to lust, but on a training mat… at the pack training center… in front of an audience. It was true they hadn’t been intimate since their reaffirming encounter after Dominic showed, but she was still not prepared for the onslaught that was his pent up arousal. The fact that it spiked while she succeeded in bringing him to his knees, threatened to unleash her own. Worried about what would happen if she let this continue, she pulled her fingers from his temple. She blinked and then she was on the mat staring up at her mate’s black eyes hovering above her.
“Why do we not shift during training?” he asked, his voice far too gruff for the setting. He swallowed and she bit her lip in response.
“Because our primal side is there to protect us as a last resort,” she answered in her own breathy voice. His eyes slowly rose up from where they’d been locked on her teeth sinking into her lip.
“Why should you train without using your gift?”
“For the same reason,” she answered, sighing in resignation. “So you agreed with Lucas this whole time?”
He gave her a barely-there smile. “Tomorrow you’ll go back to training with Lucas until you can take him down eight times without using your gift. Then it’ll be Lucas and…”
“Theo and then you again,” she finished with a roll of her eyes.
His blackened eyes traveled down her flushed body. “No, I think we both know that’s not a wise choice,” he rumbled. His hand dropped and brushed against her ankle, sending a shiver of electricity through her spine.
“Mmm.”
“So what’s the deal?” Lucas asked, snapping them out of their daze.
Catherine’s head fell back against the mat.
“We’ll just pretend today didn’t happen,” Graham answered. “She’ll be good and listen from here on out.” Catherine glared at him and he winked.
“Can I get that in writing?” Lucas asked, making the girls around him giggle. He waved his hand dismissively at them and walked off with an annoyed glance.
Graham held his hand out to help her up. Graham stood up after her and brushed his thumb across her cheek. She didn’t realize how starved she was for his touch until that moment. She leaned in to him and raised her face for him. His thumb moved under her chin and he brushed his lips over hers. He stiffened.
213
Chapter One Hundred and Two
Catherine glanced up to find his eyes looking far off. He sighed and looked down, his brown eyes warming her up.
“Muriel is here.”
Surrendering to Destiny
