Shadows (Book 2 of the Zara's Wolf Trilogy) BWWM

2. Puppy-Paws

"Come on Zara, give me ten more push-ups," Keith demands. He's leaning over me with his arms crossed.

A pitiful moan rumbles from my throat as my arms give out under me and my face meets the ground for the fifth time today.

Keith sighs as he crouches down next to me. "Come on, girl. One more, and I'll call it a day."

Despite my burning, aching muscles and bruised elbow, I take in a deep breath and exhale as I push myself up off the ground with my shaky spaghetti arms before I get another mouthful of dirt.

On the bright side, the earth is cool and soothing against my hot, sweaty skin. I press my cheek against it, not caring how the dirt will look against my dark complexion.

He pats my sweat-drenched back. "That'a girl. Let's pretend you made it to seventy-five and not tell Rick, kay?"

I grumble my appreciation into the soil, thus eliciting a light chuckle from Keith.

Rising to his feet, he steps away and grabs a water bottle from our pack. He squirts a small amount into his mouth before handing it to me as I roll over onto my back.

Thank God. I squirt some water over my head and then in my mouth.

"Alright, when you're ready, shift and we'll return to base."

Base to him is the cabin to me. Might as well be home since the majority of my time has been spent out here with someone to babysit me.

At least Evan's there in the evenings and most of the nights. He always leaves in the early morning hours for a patrol run of the territory before returning to the Villages to set up tours. Starting in October, he'll be doing a few snowboarding lessons at Mount Hood thanks to the approaching winter season. However, with autumn upon us, he's become really busy giving sightseeing excursions through the red, yellow, and gold countryside. People have been flocking to the national park to capture the photographic beauty. Even though Evan's tired by the end of the day, he loves it and is always extra cuddly when he comes to the cabin.

Lowering the bottle from my lips, I pout with cheeks full of water. I hope Keith realizes that by giving me an undefined amount of time to get ready, we will be chilling out here for another half hour. I'm exhausted. He's been running me ragged ever since Rick ordered him to start training me.

Or rather, his words had been to "toughen me up" since I wasn't fit to be a pack member. Evan was denied the role because, as his mate, he'd go too easy on me. That left Keith and Alicia to train me, and Alicia has enough on her plate as alpha female. Keith, by default, thus became my trainer.

The last six weeks have been rough since joining the pack. My parents haven't been too pleased either.

Before I can swallow the water in my mouth, Keith reaches over and pokes my left cheek. I nearly spit everything all over him, but he manages to evade the spray, as if he could see it coming.

"Come on," he says as I cough and sputter, "You have one minute to strip down, pack your clothes, and shift."

He turns away from me and proceeds to remove his cargo shorts.

Begrudgingly, I turn my back to him as well and start stripping off my sweat-soaked sports bra and yoga pants. As I bend down to pack my clothes into the backpack, my legs groaning in protest, I hear the grinding of his bones as his body changes form.

Pressing my palms onto the earth, I throw my head back to look up at the treetops overhead. Not only does it stretch out my back, but it also helps to clear my mind and prepare me for the transformation of my body. I close my eyes as I bring my head back down, pulling into myself, and relaxing my mind, as Evan taught me. Calling forth the beast, my body ripples as she surfaces. As if breaking out in a cold sweat, fur sprouts from my skin follicles and spreads throughout my body. It tingles as much as it itches, but the sharp pains of my bones pulling apart, changing structure, and reforming position overpower the sensation of fur growth.