There were nearly a hundred people within the gym watching the fight.
“Why are they all watching?”
“We have to,” Jessica said. “It’s what Abel demands. This is not even a full house right here. There’s rarely all of us here at one time. He doesn’t do anything without a reason. You must defend, train, and prove yourself. No one will ever best Abel, and that’s fine, but he wants you to be able to keep yourself safe.”
Cassie’s gaze couldn’t move as she watched the smaller guy charge at the man. She winced as the larger man reached out, gripped the man’s neck, lifted him up, and slammed him back down onto the mat.
If they were human, the force of the impact would kill them.
“Will Carl be okay?”
“Carl has a fast healing ability. It’s why he was expelled from his pack. His ability to sustain damage and be right as rain within an hour freaked them out. They decided he wasn’t a wolf at all but a monster.”
“Everyone that’s here, they’ve rejected their pack in some way?” Cassie asked.
“Or they’ve gotten thrown out. We’re a mixture, Cassie. I hope you can handle that.”
“I don’t mind.” She folded her arms and winced as Carl yelled for time.
“You don’t get fucking time. No one will give a fuck if you’re on the battlefield. You’ve got to learn to keep on fighting, and not give up.” Abel charged toward the man, and Carl scurried away, and when he crossed his arms in front of him, curling up in a ball, Abel stopped.
“Please, I need time,” Carl said. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” He rocked in a ball.
“We know Carl was hurt a lot because of his healing abilities. Out of all of us, he’s the one that is taking the longest to train.”
“Hurt?”
“They would use everything they could find to see how far his healing went. The scars on his body are the ones they gave him before he was able to turn into a wolf. After that, the scars they tried to carve into his body always healed. Those are there now, but the worst ones are in his mind. So much pain for him to deal with.” Jessica looked sad, and Cassie understood why.
She herself had been starved. That had been some of the tests they had put her through. The entire pack had made it a joke. They chained her up, only allowing her freedom toward the full moon. Without any food, she’d been weak, but even still, her weight hadn’t left her. She was still the chunky girl at the end of the year.
After that though, she had spent more and more time away from her family. Seeing the look of disgust on their faces hadn’t been enough for her to sit at their table to eat dinner. The more time she spent away from the pack, the happier she was. Of course, that all changed when it came to the full moon and they all wanted to hunt.
They had treated her like a rabbit and had attacked her every chance they got, but no matter what they did to her, leaving her for dead, she always healed.
She rubbed her arms when she recalled that last hunt, and she imagined the painful reasons they’d expelled her. Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, she watched as Abel offered his hand. The power he exuded was still there, only this time, it showed kindness, which took her by surprise.
“We will continue these sessions. You understand, Carl. This is not cruelty to you.”
“I know. I need to be strong.”
“You have to be. In this world, there are so many people who will want you to fail. You cannot allow yourself to do that. Not even once.”
Carl nodded and walked away.
She watched as Abel lifted his head, scenting the air, and his gaze moved toward them.
“Who is that?” Abel asked.
She didn’t like the sudden fear that gripped her.
Abel was one of the largest men she’d ever seen, and the thought of being near him filled her with dread.
****
Vanilla was one of Abel’s favorite scents, and the moment the mystery woman had entered his gym, he’d known about it. She stood just a little behind Jessica. She was rather plump for a wolf, but she was there. His own wolf inside him gave a little growl of approval.
“Hello, sir,” Jessica said, coming forward, her hips swaying seductively. Several of his pack females had wanted to mate with him, only Abel wasn’t interested in them. He liked his women to be … sweet. He didn’t have time for women who fought their way into his bed. He wasn’t looking for a weak woman, per se, just one that didn’t look like they wanted to tear each other apart for his affection.
It was part of the wolf trait though, at least among those that had been removed or rejected from their pack. They became more primal, more in need of mating.