“When you’re training, and you’re helping others, how do you keep control of your strength? How do you stop yourself from hurting them?” she asked.
He knew she feared her strength. “You learn to hold back. You’re the one in control, Cassie, no one else.”
“I don’t know. Sometimes when I get angry it’s like the wolf takes over.”
“She does. I’ve seen her, and she does it to keep you safe. You’ve not embraced her. You’re too scared, and you need to learn to fight that part of you, to embrace her. I can help you, train you, teach you.”
“Will you be mean to me?” she asked, biting her lip.
He chuckled. “I won’t comment on your food and if it’s oversalted or not.” He cupped her face and kissed her lips. “But it’s important that you learn a certain level of control. Especially as you’re always around the pack, and if they say something to piss you off, you want to be able to handle it.”
“Then train me. Teach me.”
“All right. I can do that.” He would do that. She was his mate, and he wanted her by his side with the pack.
Chapter Eight
It was too cold, but that didn’t stop Abel from ordering her into the water. Cassie wore a pair of running shorts and one of his shirts, and they’d started a trek into the forest at the back of his home. She knew from experience that most packs were based near a forest or woods, or some open land of some kind. They needed the earth, the freedom to roam, and to not feel completely locked up by the restraints of the city.
“How are you liking it?” he asked.
“It’s cold.”
“Oh, come on, Cassie, you’re a wolf. You can’t feel the cold.”
“If you’re so smart, come on in and join me,” she said. She didn’t know why she’d agreed for him to help her deal with her anger problems. Right now, he was the main source of her anger, and it pissed her off that he was making her do this.
“Okay.”
She had thought he’d complain about being in the cold.
He stepped right in front of her, arms folded, looking calm, collected. “What’s the problem?”
“You can’t feel that?”
“It’s cold, Cassie. Get over it. Stop obsessing on that. Focus.”
She wrapped her arms around herself, and he reached out, taking her arms and keeping them outstretched. She was too cold.
“I’m freezing.”
“I know, but you won’t die from the cold. Our wolves run hotter. You can handle a certain level of pain and, of course, fear. Close your eyes.”
“I could be pulled under. I can’t close my eyes,” she said.
“You’re a strong wolf, Cassie. You’ve got this. The current isn’t even affecting you. Trust me.”
Gritting her teeth, she stared at him, seeing that he had indeed closed his eyes.
She didn’t like being open or exposed to the raging current, but close her eyes she did. At first it felt way too dark and scary. All she could hear was the rushing of the water, and that scared her.
“You’re the one in total control. No one can take you away. You’re strong, Cassie. Feel that strength, feel that wolf.”
With her eyes closed, and the water rushing around her, she heard the sounds of the forest around them. The rustling of trees, the insects in the earth, the fish beneath her.
“You can feel it?”
She felt so calm, so composed, and then she sensed it. Without opening her eyes, she caught Abel’s wrist as it was about to push her down.
Opening her eyes, she stared into his blue ones, and didn’t panic. She held his wrist, feeling his strength and how calm and controlled he was.
He pulled his hand away and smiled at her. “See, it’s not hard to do.”
He stepped away from the water, and this time, she reluctantly followed. She didn’t want to leave the water, but she followed him to where he had a towel waiting for her.
“How did you know what to do and how to do it?” she asked.
“My dad.”
“He taught you?”
“Yes. After we left the pack, he didn’t have much of a choice but to teach me how to control myself. The rage that simmered beneath the surface.”
“Did you want to leave your pack?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No. The alpha was a damn good one. For a long time, I couldn’t bow down to him or submit. Even as a child it was something I couldn’t do. He could have demanded my removal then. He didn’t. He allowed me to stay, even though I continued to disrespect him. Of course, I made it known that I meant no disrespect. In fact, I greatly admired him. I just couldn’t submit to him. As I got older, he knew what I was, and still, he allowed me to grow in his pack until I was of an age that it was too dangerous. I knew he was upset about losing me and my family, and he even offered his hope that I find a pack of my own.”