Page 44 of Shackled to the World
They were plotting something.
She narrowed her eyes, but no matter how hard she studied them, she couldn’t pick up anything through their connection, and none of the assholes cracked under her glare. Worry churned in her gut, but she didn’t have a choice. Her instincts warned her that if she waited any longer, the Logan who came back wouldn’t be the same boy who left.
“I want to get some more practice in before we leave.” She gave a pointed look at Camden and Xander. “Since you guys were up all night patrolling, you can stay back and either rest or work on whatever secret plans you want to make for tonight.” She glanced at Terrance and Mason. “They can escort me.”
A muscle ticked in Xander’s jaw, while Camden rubbed a hand across his face. They both looked at each other before nodding. She wasn’t sure how she felt about them not arguing with her. Her bullshit meter was pinging, but she refrained from calling them on it.
For now.
She’d wait until after they got Logan back.
And then she’d kick their asses for worrying her.
Without waiting, she grabbed the cold toast off her plate and headed for the door. The ferret scampered off the cupboards, slipping into her backpack seconds before she picked it up. Swearing erupted behind her when they realized that she was leaving now. Chairs scraped, and she smiled to herself as Terrance and Mason scrambled to catch up while she headed out the door.
Terrance reached her first, and she spoke before he could ask. “You’ll be staying behind. Since I’m not connected to you, I don’t know what would happen if you travel with us into the afterworld.” She lifted her hand to stave off his protest. “But I want you to get your own team in place. As soon as we find the compound where they’re being held, the guys will call with a location, and then you’ll need to ride in with the cavalry. While someone else might be able to handle it, I think you have a better understanding of the urgency. Can you do that?”
She was asking him to wait to rescue his brother.
She wasn’t sure she would be able to do the same if he asked her to wait to find Logan.
His shoulders slumped and he stared at the ground for a few paces before nodding. “While I want to be there to breach the compound, I understand. My brother—”
“We won’t leave him behind.” Then she glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. “Though when I find him, I might give him a talking-to for running off like that.”
Terrance laughed as he flicked his sandy blond hair out of his face, then gave her a tired smile. “You and me both.”
As they made their way toward the arena, Mason was a silent watchdog at their backs. She was very conscious of more eyes than usual watching her, and it made her skin crawl. She wanted to go back to being anonymous, but she very much feared that ship had sailed on her first day of school.
They walked out onto the field, and she took off her sweatshirt, leaving her in a tank top, then bounced on her feet to warm up her muscles and nodded toward Terrance. “Let’s work off some of that frustration.”
He gave her a dubious look, then shrugged and peeled off his shirt, leaving him standing in pants and a very form-fitting, ribbed tank top. Her brain did a mental pause at seeing him stripped down, and she shook off her thoughts as he sauntered toward her, his face losing all animation as he went into beat-the-crap-out-of-you mode.
While he wasn’t built like Xander or Mason, his sleek lines showed enough muscles to promise his opponents that he knew what he was doing. She managed to evade his first punch, bending backward, but missed the wind-up fist that hit her ribs with enough force to knock the air out of her with an oomph.
Using the pain, she smiled at him and swung out her foot, catching him behind the knee. Instead of going down, he did a backflip, and she narrowly missed being kicked in the face with the heavy, metal-tipped shit stompers he wore.
After twenty minutes of exchanging blows, her body aching deliciously, she danced out of the range of his swing and smiled. “Are we done with the warmup?”
He blinked at her, then gave a bark of laughter. “Are you trying to get me killed?”
He glanced behind her, and she followed his gaze to see Mason was barely holding himself back from a complete shift, ready to stomp the smaller man into a puddle of goo. Annora rolled her eyes at Terrance. “We both know you’ve been taking it easy on me. If I’m going to learn how to fight my own battles, I can’t have you holding back.”
Terrance studied her with his calculating brown eyes. He wore the cute neighbor next door look well, but his open, friendly face was a mask that hid a devious mind. After a moment, he lifted his chin and gave her a come-get-it wave. “Then show me what you got.”
With a mischievous smile, she let the darkness take hold of her.
One second she was in front of him, the next she appeared behind him, nearly knocking him on his ass with a blow to the kidneys. By the time he whirled, she already ghosted away, appearing a foot to the right, swinging her fist into the side of his neck.
He grunted at the impact and staggered, barely straightening before she appeared in a crouch in front of him, sweeping his feet out from under him. He landed with a meaty thump, grunting at the impact and stared up at her in consternation.
Then a grin split his face. “You’re on.”
While she was getting better at ghosting without jumping into the afterworld, it took more concentration. After an hour, she was slowing, and her coordination suffered. A crowd had grown. While some people cheered in the beginning, the stadium had grown quiet while they sparred.
Only when Mason stepped onto the field did she and Terrance break apart.
The wolf had speed and strength on his side, while she had surprise.
