Chapter 3

Having been homeschooled, I missed out on bitchy teenage drama for which I was eternally grateful. Unfortunately,  one of the recruits decided to catch me up on all I had missed. 

"Oh look, here comes the rogue. Be careful Natalia, pack wolves kill rogues." 

Amber eyes flutter innocently as Lana Cole turns her back on me and my roommates and gathers

her flock of sheep around her. 

I'll show her rogue! Ember growls. The tiny upstart needs her ass beaten properly.  

I ignore both Ember and Lana, smiling sweetly to the other girls. I am determined to be the bigger person. 

The guys join us with Jaydon who quickly establishes a no-talking-while-he-is-talking rule.  

"Ok, runts. Let me see what you've got. The last person to get around the lake and back here does the dishes tonight. Every recruit for themselves! Go, go, go!" 

We all take off at a sprint, some of the guys leaving us in the dust as their long legs afford them quick strides. Suddenly that same intoxicating woody smell hits me full blast and I look around. At that moment, Lana decides to lean into me and I stumble over an exposed tree root, falling face first into the dirt as the rest of the recruits speed past me. 

"Bitch!" I mumble under my breath as I get up, a slight twinge in my leg. 

"Are you ok?"

The scent seems to surround me now and I know without a shadow of a doubt that my mate is standing behind me. I breathe in deeply and turn around. 

He's gorgeous… if it's OK to call a rugged man gorgeous. From his pitch black, messy hair, piercing blue eyes and slightly stubbled face, to those broad shoulders and muscular arms… pure perfection.  I refused to look any lower,  not willing to let him see me checking him out.  

Daaaamn girl. We got ourselves a hottie! Ember gloats.

Hush! I silence her, turning my attention back to him. 

"I'm fine,  thank you for your concern.  Please excuse me." I rush out before turning back to where the others had sped off to, willing myself to catch up so that I could beat the living daylights out of Lana. 

A soft chuckle follows me and I'm damned if I look back.  

"You're last,  Jones!" Jaydon barks as I half limp into the training grounds. "Guess you'll be doing the dishes tonight." 

Lana smirks at me before turning to one of the girls from her cabin and secretly high-fiving her. 

Bunch of toddlers! Ember growls. Don't see why you couldn't have spent a few more moments with Mr Hottie back there. We're doing dishes tonight either way. 

I'm here to train, Ember. Don't forget that. We don't need any distractions and we definitely don't need a mate. Serve our year and head back to Grampa… then we can track down those vermin who killed mom and dad and serve them vengeance on a silver platter. 

Jaydon pairs us up as we fight through an obstacle course repeatedly for the rest of the day. I can feel someone watching me and every now and then I can smell him. My mate. 

"You ok?" Ricky asks as we grab our water bottles and head back to the cabins. 

"Yeah, just a twinge in my leg. I'll be fine after a hot shower." 

He nods although I can see he's slightly concerned. I think he can sense the anger simmering in my blood. I refuse to act on it though. Lana was clearly a mean girl in school and needed a heavy dose of reality. I'm secretly hoping I'll be the one to give it to her… 

Dinner was a relatively silent affair with everyone being too exhausted to chat about anything. Even Lana and her crew focused on their food. From the guys' tables a murmer of appreciation for the food was all the noise that was made. They clearly loved the greasy lasagne that was provided. 

Slowly, everyone returned to their cabins leaving the pile of dishes in the training hall's small kitchen for me to wash up. 

"Switch off the lights when you're done here, Natalia." Jaydon instructed. "Will see you in the morning." 

He sauntered off as I began to tackle the dirty dish mountain, lost in my thoughts. 

"Hey."

The attractive timbre of his voice caught me off guard, making me drop the plate I was working on into the sink of soapy water and splashing me. 

"You gave me a fright!" I exclaim, grabbing the dish towel and patting my now soaking midriff. 

Nice one, babe.  Ember chortles. 

"Sorry, I thought you would have heard me enter." He smiles, taking the dish towel from me and picking up one of the washed plates to dry. 

"You don't need to help me, you know." I murmer, trying to control the impulse to launch myself into his strong arms. 

"I know. But I also know you wouldn't have come last if you hadn't been bumped into on purpose." 

"You saw that, did you? Just a bit of friendly competition… that's all." I reply, attacking the plate in my hands with a vengeance. 

"Woah there, sweetheart. That poor plate doesn't deserve the beating you're giving it." He laughs, taking the plate from my hands. 

Our bodies brush against each other slightly and I'm glad he has the plate in his hand as I feel a jolt of lightning course through my body. 

"I'm Liam, by the way." 

"Natalia." 

I can barely get the word out of my mouth. His presence is intoxicating and I struggle to clear my mind. Finishing up the last of the dishes, I dry my hands on the back of my pants and turn slowly to Liam. 

"Thanks for your help." I manage a slight smile, gripping my hands behind my back to hide that they're trembling. 

He reaches out and brushes a stray strand of hair behind my ear, his heated gaze seeming to look right through me. 

"I'll see you around, Natalia." 

If I could have run out of there without embarrassing myself entirely, I totally would have. It's an utter miracle that I managed to walk out calmly. I have to admit, I couldn't stop myself from looking back at him one last time before I closed the door behind me and bolted to my cabin. 

The rest of the girls were already tucked into bed so I quickly brushed my teeth and put my PJs on before hauling myself onto my bunk and snuggling under the covers. After the day I had been through, I was sure I'd fall asleep quickly.  Not so… Liam floated through my brain on repeat, his smooth voice replaying again and again. I could sense dawn approaching as I finally fell asleep, silently cursing my blasted mate for his presence in this blasted pack.