The young recruit got to his feet. “Sir, yes, sir!”
“This ain’t the army, Martinez,” said Cliff Forrest, the head combat trainer for the Guardian Initiative. Forrest was the tallest and largest man Delacroix had ever seen, aside from Prince Karim, which was probably why he’d had a successful career as an MMA fighter. However, it was cut short about a year ago when he’d disappeared from the fighting circuit. There were rumors flying about, something that had to do with a dirty fight, but it was obvious he had decided to use his gifts to help with the fight against the mages. The bastard was tough on his guys, but he had to be, training these men and women for life and death situations.
“How about we make this more interesting?” Forrest’s eyes zeroed in on Delacroix and Jacob. “Let’s see if Martinez can remember his training under a little more pressure.”
Martinez groaned but got into a fighting stance anyway. “Fine.”
Delacroix got up from the mat. “Allons, mon ami.” He offered his hand to Jacob, who took it. They made their way to the center of the mats, and proceeded to pummel Martinez with everything they had. To his credit, the other Lycan fought well and didn’t leave his left side open. Once Forrest was satisfied with his performance, he stopped the exercise and dismissed them for their lunch break.
Training with the other recruits wasn’t much different from what he and Jacob used to do back in Zhobghadi. In fact, if he were to live the rest of his time, here, doing this, it wouldn’t be so bad. But fighting the other night … the blood and screams had brought back too many memories. And then, when he saw Mika hurt, it nearly drove him insane. There was that urge inside him, one that propelled him forward to take her to safety, to the only place he knew she would truly be safe.
And that’s where it all changed.
When she walked into the office that morning, both he and his wolf had taken notice of her. Mika Westbrooke was an attractive woman, and he wasn’t blind. But her acrimonious manner had turned him off, even if his wolf didn’t care.
But when he took her into the shadow, it was like she turned into the brightest star in the universe. A glow surrounded her, filling the darkness with her light. And that scent. Lord, that scent of lavender and spice haunted his every waking moment since then, as well as the feel of her plush body against his. He didn’t want to let her go, but then she scampered away from him the moment they left the shadow, and he hadn’t seen her since.
It wasn’t that she wasn’t coming to HQ. Oh no. She was there, somewhere. That scent of hers lingered in the air, and he could follow her path from the garage to the elevator, sometimes even leaving traces in the cafeteria and the central operations room. But he’d never seen her. It was as if she purposefully avoided him, coming and going only during the times she knew he’d be occupied with training or other duties.
Of course, when he couldn’t find a way to bump into her, he tried to get up to the command floor, to where her office was located. But the stupid elevator computer kept telling him “access denied” when he tried to take it up there. No amount of pleading, cursing, or pounding on the controls would make it change its mind. Access denied, indeed.
There was a way up there, he knew it. The urge was getting stronger, and his wolf was on the edge. Was she all right? Was she breathing? Did she hate him? He was acting like a couillion—a crazy person. But how was he going to know all these things if he couldn’t even see her.
“Lizzie just sent me a message. She had Chinese food delivered for lunch,” Jacob said as they walked into the locker rooms. “Want some?”
“Eh, why not?” The food at the cafeteria was decent, but after living here for a week, he was beginning to get tired of it. “I hope she ordered enough. I’m starving.”
The other Lycan snorted. “She wouldn’t have invited us if she didn’t. Eats more than I do. Let’s go before she finishes it all.”
Soon they found themselves at the central command floor outside Lizzie’s office. Delacroix knocked on the door before poking his head inside. “Oh good, he’s not here.”
“Who’s not here?” Lizzie didn’t even look up from her computer screen, face scrunched up in serious concentration as her fingers flew across the keyboard with loud clickety-clacks.
“Er, no one.” Your boyfriend, he said to himself at the same time. Well, Wyatt Creed could be her boyfriend if he ever grew some couilles and just admitted his attraction to her. Instead, the man acted like a crazy stalker, lurking outside her office and glaring and growling at any man who looked at her in the cafeteria during lunchtime. Lizzie could put him out of his misery by either going out with him or telling him to take a hike, but the female seemed oblivious to the man’s attentions. Or any man’s, for that matter, as she seemed only interested in her job and her computers.
“Ugh, when does the food get here?” Jacob grumbled as he filed in from behind. He plonked himself on the nearest chair and propped his feet on top of her desk.
“It’s on the—” Her face suddenly changed, and she bounded up from her chair. “Oh, food’s here!”
“Huh?” How did she know? “I didn’t hear a—”
A sharp ring pierced the air, and she pulled a phone from her pocket and spoke into it. “Yeah, send it up please.”
“Finally,” Jacob groaned. “I’m starving.”
With a disgusted sound, she pushed Jacob’s booted feet off the table. “I told you to stop doing that, runt.”
He stuck his tongue out at her. “And I told you to stop calling me that.”
They proceeded to call each
