Lost in Translation

Chapter 26: Strikes and Gutterballs

———Anthony———

Friday, May 31st, 2019

Once again, I was regretting coming to morning training, although not for the usual reason. Felix was apparently otherwise occupied today, and Sarah was filling in for him. I was standing ramrod straight in a cold sweat next to Ben as people stretched and made small talk around us, paranoid out of my mind that Sarah would catch on, and I could not deal with that shit right now.

Marcus was also, uncharacteristically, also here. He was laughing with James as he tried to get him to teach him dirty words in Russian. Kat was quieter than usual, and the frost between her and Sarah was palpable even from halfway across the field. Val was standing on the other side of Ben, halfway asleep. Every few seconds, she would start to nod off and almost fall forward.

Thankfully, most of the training session was just on strength building and cardio, since Sarah was filling in. The only partner stuff we did was some light boxing drills that didn't require a lot of touching. Val and Kat partnered together, and James snagged Marcus before I could say anything as he avoided my pointed look, leaving me with Ben. I'm sure I would have come off as suspiciously awkward to Sarah had Kat not been near me, as Sarah seemed determined not to look her way. I was starting to think I might be in the clear once training ended, but it was naive to be that hopeful.

"I haven't seen you at training in years, Chickadee," Sarah said with a smile as she approached us. "I'm surprised."

"Yeah, well, I don't mind the training. I just wish it wasn't so early," I mumbled. Val yawned as if on cue, but I don't even think she was aware of our conversation with how tired she was.

"Plus, we figured a group activity was a good way to help Kat get acclimated to the pack," James added with a smile and a fleeting glance in my direction. My ears turned red, and I felt Ben shift his weight awkwardly beside me. In my anxiety about trying to keep my tenuous bond with Ben from Sarah, I forgot Kat was the original reason why I agreed to wake up ungodly early for half of my summer.

"Ah, yes, you mentioned that before... You kept up well," Sarah added, nodding in Kat's direction.

"It is not so hard," Kat said with a frown. Sarah's neutral expression hardened, and Marcus shot me an alarmed look, as though I had any kind of track record of calming Sarah down.

"Well, I know I'm beat," James said cheerfully. "Y'all sure do work everyone hard here. Although, I might have abused my privileges as the alpha's son to skip out on more than my fair share of training."

James successfully diverted Sarah's attention with talk of the two packs, and I made a mental note to thank him later. Marcus stared at him in wonderment. I was similarly surprised to see someone disarm her so easily, but I was better than Marcus was at not drawing attention to it. After what felt like an eternity of trying not to puke out of anxiety, Sarah gave a polite goodbye to everyone, stopping to give me a shoulder pat and Marcus a fist bump before heading out.

"Uh, y'all wanna get lunch?" Marcus asked. "I'm starving."

"I will eat lunch," Kat said quickly. Her speaking was still a little halting or stilted, but her listening had significantly improved since the start of the summer.

"I was up till like 2 am working on a commission. I'm going to head home and take a nap," Val said through a yawn.

"I've got an afternoon patrol shift, unfortunately," Ben said with a grimace.

"I could eat," James said with a questioning look my way. I nodded in affirmation. Val and Ben headed off together as the rest of us made our way to the cafeteria.