I've Been Waiting For You

Chapter 120

Mitchell ducked in time as a fist swung towards his face. He dropped his right foot back to create a stable base.

In the two days following the merging of the darkness with Markus's body, there was a period of adjustment.

Markus had decided it was time to equip Mitchell with self-defense skills.

So, now he was receiving formal fight training.

For the next two hours, he trained, hard; draining every ounce of his strength.

"No more. I'm exhausted."

Mitchell crumpled to the floor, chest heaving, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps. He was aching from head to toe.

"That's it for today. We'll do more training tomorrow morning." Kev told him.

"Are you serious?" Mitchell groaned.

"Yes," Kev handed him a bottled water. "You need to hit the training ground a bit more."

Mitchell tipped his head back, and drained a significant amount of his water in one go. "Did you guys go through this training?"

"Our training was more demanding."

Mitchell detected an undertone in Kev's voice. He refrained from being nosy, but he was curious all the same.

"We had two training sessions: one in the early morning and another in the late afternoon."

"How did you manage with school?"

"We were aware of our obligation and made it work."

"What about Markus?"

Kev didn't answer at first. He took a seat beside him on the floor, and leaned back against the wall.

"As our leader, his training had to be more demanding than ours."

"Did you know that he was a Hybrid?"

"I had no idea. Not until Susan had a vision about Markus. She told me before anyone else."

"Why keep it a secret from him?"

"We withheld the information from him for his protection."

Mitchell saw the logic in protecting Markus, given his extraordinary identity. He would have done the same thing.

"Did he tell you what happened Wednesday night?"

"He told me what I needed to hear."

"When I lived in Los Angeles, I didn't have much friends. I felt restless, like I was missing something."

"Are you happy being with him?"

"Yes, I'm happy. I love him." Mitchell's mind drifted to when he first saw Markus. "I knew he would be a part of my life."

"Lucas and Cassie will be coming over later."

At the mention of the two names, a jolt of energy went through him. He was unable to fully trust them after their attempts to force themselves on his mate.

Kev glanced at his hands, then up at his face. "I know you don't trust them, but I do believe they will do everything in their power to protect Markus."

"If they cross the line again, I'll make them regret it." He pushed himself up from the floor. "I'm going to take a shower before Markus comes home."

Mitchell left the training room and went upstairs to the bedroom. But instead of going to the bathroom, he made his way to his bag and pulled out the familiar leather book.

As he always did, his fingers traced the golden trinity knot on the cover.

He froze, feeling a humming vibration as the knot began to glow and a  warmth traveled up his right arm.

His hand instinctively flew to his forearm as a sharp intense pain took over. With a gulp for air, he leaned forward, his back bowed.

The pain held him captive for a few seconds, until he could draw a full breath again. He was still holding the book tightly in his hand.

When his gaze returned to the book, he blinked and looked closer. The symbol had vanished. A thought popped into his mind and he tossed the book on the bed.

He took off his shirt and walked into the bathroom.

"I can't believe it." Mitchell whispered, staring at his reflection. He traced the edge of the Triquetra tattoo on his forearm.

The tattoo had an intricate, interwoven design of the four elements and their associated hues.

Inked in an elegant script, a Latin word adorned his arm. A low humming in his ears before he heard a faint voice.

Can you hear me?

Mitchell's gaze swung around the bathroom, confusion written on his face.

"I think I'm losing my mind."

Mitchell, can you hear me?

"Who's that?" he asked, looking around.

You can actually hear me.

As the voice grew clearer, he recognized Markus's voice.

"Is this even possible?"

Yes, it's possible.

"Why now? We mated three months ago."

I don't know why it took so long for us to be able to communicate telepathically.

"Are you on your way home?"

I'll be there in an hour. How was your training?

"It was exhausting."

I will train with you tomorrow.

"Do I have to train tomorrow?"

I want you to be able to fight back if you're unable to use your powers.

Mitchell hadn't considered it from that viewpoint.

"Something happened to me."

I felt your pain. What happened?

"It's the book I told you about. I was holding it in my hand a electric shock-like pain went up my arm."

What else? Did something appeared on your body?

"The Triquetra knot appeared on my arm."

I'll look at it later. I have to go.

"Stay safe."

I will. I love you.

"I love you too."

Take care.

Markus's voice ebbed away into a low hum, then there was only silence. He inspected his arm a second time before stripping off the rest of his clothes and got in the shower.