THE NORD BROTHERS

CHAPTER 12

Where the fuck is a delete button? 

Her mind had been obsessed with memories of Caleb's kiss for two whole days. The moment replayed in her head over and over again like a broken videotape, keeping her up at night to the point she was about to request someone to knock her out just to get some sleep. 

The man responsible for her lack of rest had picked up a habit of eating breakfast at the same time she did (totally not on purpose, right?), and ditching his Alpha duties to watch her train the she-wolves. 

So, in name of her sanity, she did the mature thing and avoided him at all costs. 

Him walking into the kitchen shirtless the other morning had been the last drop. Mission "Avoid Caleb" was set in full motion, involving ninja worthy moves such as hiding behind a curtain, crawling under the table, using Max as a shield and finally running out from the room very unsuspiciously. 

The worst part of it all was that the kiss had completely distracted her from the main goal - to run away from Nords. It made her want to linger, to consider, and that was not good. 

She couldn't become a mother of ten, stuck with nothing but baby duties and mate bound to keep her afloat. Mariana had always craved freedom, and the promise she once made to herself to never be trapped by pack rules again, kept rushing back with a reminder to leave Nords in the dust. 

"You're glaring at the grass." Natalie commented, her gaze tracking the lines of some baby health magazine. Her feet were propped up on weightlifting bench while she lounged in a padded chair. The women had a talent to occupy gym equipment for her own comfort while other females trained. "If I had to guess, something is bothering you, but you won't tell me because you are...well, you." 

Mariana shot her a sharp side-glare. "One of these days you won't be excused for saying that because you're pregnant." 

"Spoken like true Alpha." 

Bah. She's right. 

"Logan-speech is sticking." 

"So you're not gonna tell me..." 

"No. I will take out my frustrations on all the trainees like a true asshole." 

Natalie patted her baby bump. "Stay in there longer, pup. I need an excuse not to practice martial arts under that tyrant for longer." 

Mariana shook her head in fake disapproval, large grin plastered on her lips. "I will be needing that bench." She said, already walking off towards crowd of gather women, and a couple of men as well. 

Her little club of werewolves in training had extended rapidly in numbers. Some of her male pupils had come to mock the females until she had put them through one of her sessions - now they came to learn her tricks to a great delight of male trainers. Needless to say, she was terribly cocky about that fact.

"Warm up! Ten laps, no whining. I am here to make you all cry sweat!" Mariana shouted, her inner sadist coming forth. Torturing willing participants was a good therapy apparently. Not that she was there to slack off. The young woman planned on going through exactly the same until she was too exhausted to think about Caleb and his devine kissing skills. 

"Why aren't we training in our wolf forms?" Voice, perfectly balanced between bitchy and altogether unpleasant piped up from the crowd of werewolves. 

You got to be kidding me...not her...

Yup. It was definitely her. Vivian stepped forwards, twirling ends of her hair between perfectly manicured fingers. "Is it true what they say about rogues? You lose control over your wolf?"