Little Red

Chapter 20

The next few days are monotonous. I wake up, train, shower, and sleep.  Samuel and I have only been going back to the indoor gym.  When questioned, he claims that it's to allow me to get hone my skills with the various weapons, but I know he's not telling me the entire truth.  Despite his reasons, I feel more accustomed to using the metal staff when we spar, and I'm starting to feel like myself again - the Ara that lived in Blood Moon.  At this point, the lack of social interaction doesn't even bother me as much, and in an ironic way, my life is virtually the same.

Given our new routine, I haven't seen Theo and Shauna in days.

Today is my first day back on the training field, and if I'm being honest with myself, I'm excited for the change of scenery.  When Samuel and I approach the the group of warriors standing idly around, Theo spots us immediately and waves me over with a familiar smile.

"There she is!  Little Red!"  He calls happily, folding me into a hug.

I cringe at the old nickname and Shauna rolls her eyes at his silly behavior.

"Look who's back.  We thought we'd have to hunt you down."  She remarks, throwing her elbow up onto Theo's shoulder to lean on him.  Despite their similar heights, they're an odd fit standing beside each other.

"Yeah, where have you been, anyways?  We tried asking around for you but no one knew who we were talking about."  

From the corner of my eye, I notice another warrior walking by our trio.   As he passes, he nods to Samuel.  His face is familiar, and it isn't until we lock eyes and he repeats the action, that I realize he was one of the warriors at Blood Moon.  The wheels start spinning in my head as pieces come together, and I suddenly wonder if Demitri has sworn those who were there to secrecy.  It would explain why everyone here treated me like a stranger after arriving.  If I'm a secret, it's well-kept.

That thought strokes the fire always burning within me into an inferno.  My mate is hiding their Luna away while he openly fucks another woman, and none of them are doing anything.  The familiar pain that I've lived with for so many years, always a dull ache, becomes sharp as a knife wound.  Memories fight for my attention, threatening to swallow me with wounds from my past.

"Earth to Ara?"  Theo waves a large hand in front of my face.

Plastering on a tight smile, I beat the past back behind the locked door in my mind.  It takes effort to forget it and dial back into our previous conversation.  I explain my hand to hand training with Samuel at the fitness center these past few days, occasionally glancing at the silent man in question.  His expression is blank as he watches us, and that cruel part of me wonders how much of Samuel's words and actions were real, and how much is part of this role he's playing for his alpha.

"You're so lucky!  We've been out here in the humidity for the past few days - you should've seen Shauna's hair!"  Theo laughs, throwing his arm around her.

She elbows him in the side hard enough to make him wince and pull back.  He places his hand on his ribcage with a betrayed expression.

"What you really should've seen, is the way Derek flipped Theo straight into the mud.  Six times."  She remarks, giving him a prideful grin as she skims her hand down the long, thick braid she's sporting.

"Okay, maybe we shouldn't talk about the past few days..."

Derek calls us to cluster together so he can pair us up, and taking a quick survey of the faces around us, I notice Victoria isn't here.  I don't know whether to feel relieved that our next clash won't happen today, or annoyed at the thought of what she's doing and who she's doing it with.