Challenged - Skinwalker Book 2

Chapter 23

Their late return the previous night had prevented Sierra from calling Jason, so she got up early and snuck over to the rec room to call him the next morning instead. Unfortunately, he'd gone out running with his pack, so she had to leave a message with his non-wolf aunt, Rebecca. On her way out of the rec room she paused and looked up at the schedule board. She took a marker and wrote 'Sierra - T-Training?' across Adam's lunch slot then scribbled 'find me!' beneath it. After learning that she might actually have a hidden talent in her crazy new world, she was eager to push her boundaries and see how far she could take it. She didn't know if Adam would want to give up his meal time to help her, but she couldn't see another time slot available in her day and she figured they could survive on protein bars and water just this once. If he was as eager as she suspected he was, she didn't think it would be an issue for him either.

After breakfast she pretended she was going for a run with Adele, but instead the pair headed out to the teen's secluded little spot in the woods for some more training. It was starting to come a little easier to her now, but with each improvement came more work. Adele was almost as ruthless as Kal was - but she was far less irksome to work with. When Sierra finally sprawled out on the ground afterwards in recovery, Adele perched on a nearby rock and looked at her with tentative speculation.

"What is it?" Sierra asked, curious.

"I have been helping you. Now I should very much like you to help me with something," Adele confessed in a quiet voice. Her gaze fell on her fingers as she played with the suction top of her water bottle.

Sierra sat up attentively.

"Spill it," she instructed.

"I overheard that Kal is planning a trip into the city for some specialised training," she informed Sierra.

"Yeah, your mother said I could go get some banking at the same time," Sierra confirmed.

Adele looked up at her, eyes full of hope.

"I never, ever get to do anything fun. I'm never with people my own age - I never go clubbing..."

A little smile danced over Sierra's mouth as she recognised a kindred spirit.

"You want to stay and party afterwards, don't you?" she guessed.

Adele's gaze dropped and she fidgeted awkwardly again before nodding her confession.

"Sounds like fun!" Sierra beamed. "How do we make that happen?"

Adele's eyes shot up to hers again, her face full of excitement.

"You will help me? They shall never listen to me because I am too young. But you - you could talk them into it," she mused speculatively.

"Who am I supposed to be convincing here?" Sierra inquired.

"Everyone! If you bring up the idea in the rec room and enough people support it, my mother shall be forced to permit it," Adele surmised.

"I can do that," Sierra smiled. She started gathering herself to her feet, enjoying the sight of an elated Adele doing a little jig of excitement.

They started back together and after a little while, Adele went really quiet again.

"Ok, what else is there?" Sierra asked with a knowing smile.

Adele toyed with her fingers nervously.

"There is this boy. I met him online..."

Sierra chuckled. She didn't mean to, but it slipped out before she could check it. Adele looked at her ruefully.