Chapter Eight - Liam

2282 Words
❤Liam “You have to learn to shift faster than that,” Cliff said to me and I nodded. He was right. I was far too slow. I needed to be a lot faster. “You are still young Liam, are you sure you want to continue?” he asked me. Ever since my father had said yes, I had been training with the teen wolves for a full month. I was far behind and I wasn’t about to give up. “I am young, that is why it will be better for me to start early,” I said with confidence. “I’m going to take a break,” I informed him as I turned around and left the training grounds. Just because I was two years younger, didn’t mean I couldn’t do it. All I needed to do was connect more with my wolf. I headed straight for the forest and found a quiet spot. I sat down, crossed my legs, and closed my eyes. “Hey Stan,” I called out to my wolf. “I’m here,” “Why am I slow to shift?” I asked. “You need to work on your body strength,” he explained. Maybe Stan was right. I knew I was taller than others my age and somewhat stronger, but it wasn’t enough. Maybe all I needed to do was work on my body. I stood up and took a deep breath before I started doing some simple jumping jacks. Arms up, legs apart, clap and repeat. I did ten jumping jacks and then I stretched. To the left, to the right, and forward. Repeat. When I felt that my body was all warmed up, I started jogging. I paced myself at first and slowly started picking up speed. As I ran, I thought about what else I could do to help my body get stronger. I wasn’t allowed in the pack’s gym yet but if I waited until dark, then maybe I could sneak in. With a plan in mind, I continued running. I didn’t push myself too hard, but I wasn’t going too slow either. When I started to feel the burn, I slowed down until I got to the river. I went straight in and submerged myself in the cool water. I didn’t stop moving as I started to swim. I took it slow and easy, making sure not to exhaust myself. A couple of slurps of the water and I was feeling good. Energized. I was enjoying myself and when the sun started to go down and the water got a bit colder, I got out and headed home. “Liam Lavoie! Where the hell have you been?” my mother shouted out as she spotted me coming up the driveway. I groaned as I continued making my way to the front door. “Oh, hell no! You are soaked, to the back!” she screamed as she closed the front door in my face. I went around the house to the back and I was not surprised to see her standing there with a large blue towel. She didn’t say anything as she handed it to me before going back inside. I carefully took off my wet top and shorts and wrapped the towel around my waist. I headed inside and went straight to the bathroom to take a hot shower. I took my time enjoying the warm water as it soothed my tired muscles and when there was a loud knock on the door, I froze. “Liam? Are you almost done?” Andrea called out and I groaned. My mother must have sent her. Andrea was just like her. Brilliant and enthusiastic. Faithful, dutiful, and practical, but then again, she was also lazy, disruptive, and tended to get angry quite quickly. “Hello? Liam?” “Yeah, I am almost done,” I shouted out as I switched off the water. It had started to cool down anyway. Opening the bathroom door, I was relieved to see that Andrea had left. I hurried down the hall to my room and dried off as quickly as I could. I got dressed in a pair of dark blue sweatpants and a light blue hoodie. I slipped on my favorite pair of slippers before heading downstairs. “I swear, he is going to overwork himself,” I stopped just before entering the kitchen as I heard my mother's soft voice. She was talking to someone, I wasn’t sure who yet, but I could guess that it was my father. He supported me whereas my mother did not. “Relax babe, he is doing fine,” my father said, and I smiled. “Besides, Cliff said that he took a break this afternoon,” “Did he? If he did then where the hell has he been?” Jewel questioned and I rolled my eyes. Why was it that she needed to know where I had been? “You said he was wet, maybe he went for a swim?” “In his clothes?” “Well, what else?” I could hear the irritation in my father’s voice and before a fight could break out, I entered the kitchen and plastered a big, bright, smile on my face. “What’s for dinner?” I asked loudly. My father smiled as he went over to the table and sat down. My mother didn’t look pleased with me, but she didn’t say anything. “Um?” “Meatloaf,” Jewel announced, and I groaned softly as I sat down at the table. Andrea came in carrying our youngest sister River. Tala and Leah were right behind her. “Did you wash up?” my mother asked them, and Andrea nodded as she placed River in the home-made chair my father had built years ago for Tala. The two sisters shared a disgusting habit of being messy eaters. The chair itself didn’t have a tray connection and that was why Andrea was struggling to push River closer to the kitchen table, causing my father to get up and help. In the meantime, my mother had dished up and plates were being handed out. “Tala!” Stephan suddenly shouted out and I jumped as the loud bang rang out. I looked over to see Tala on the floor with the chair broken underneath her. What the hell had she done? “How many times have I told you not to ride the chair?” he asked her as he got up to help her. I wanted to help but I was glued to my seat when Jewel placed my plate in front of me. I was starving. “Can I?” I asked her and she nodded. I cut into the meatloaf and started shoveling it in. “Slow down!” Stephan yelled out when he saw me. I groaned but did as he said. “Don’t ride this one,” he said to Tala as she sat down across from me. I paid them no more attention as I continued eating. “Did Ayden call you?” Jewel asked as she finally sat down to eat. “Yes, he did,” Stephan replied, and I didn’t have to look at him to know he was annoyed. “Well, what did he say?” “I don’t know why you can’t phone your brother yourself,” he said instead of answering the question. Another fight was brewing. “I went jogging today,” I blurted out. Both of my parents looked at me, startled. “Oh? Care to explain the wet clothes?” Jewel asked and I nodded. “I was hot and bothered, so I went for a swim,” I explained. “Hmm,” she hummed out. Silence fell around the table as we all ate in silence. Tala and River were both playing with their meatloaf and Andrea was pushing it around her plate. “Why aren’t you eating sweetheart?” my mother asked her, noticing it too. “I’m not that hungry,” she said, and I quickly stood up. I had just finished eating and I could tell by the sulky way Andrea was pouting that waterworks would soon follow. It would seem that my father had noticed it too as he stood up. “Thank you, mom,” I said as I took my plate to the basin. I rinsed it off before putting it in the dishwasher. Stephan was right behind me and we both headed outside to the front yard. “She’s going to cry,” he whispered, and I chuckled softly. Andrea, the Queen of drama-queens. “What’s going on with her?” I asked curiously. “Something about becoming a woman,” he said distractedly as he looked up at the stars. I did the same and sighed. I had a lot to do before I could ever be as strong as my dad. I glanced over at him and took in his appearance. Although he was thirty-seven, his body was still strong, well-toned, and very muscular. Would I ever be that strong? “Stop staring, it’s rude,” he teased, and I quickly looked away. “Hey, dad, do you think that I am slow?” I asked him and I heard him chuckle. “Not really but Cliff mentioned that you shifted slowly,” he said. “Don’t worry about that too much, you’ll learn soon enough,” I nodded as I realized that my father wasn’t going to offer me any kind of advice. “I’m going in,” I lied, and Stephan nodded as I pretended to head inside. Instead, I went along the outside of the house and headed to the pack’s gym. Although it was still early, I wasn’t too worried about being caught. At best I’d at least have an hour before anyone came this way. I snuck in and headed towards the equipment. I decided to use the indoor cycling bike first. I started off slow and easy and then I gently tightened the chains, making it harder to pedal. “I thought I would find you here,” the sudden sound of my father’s voice caught me off guard and I miss pedaled and nearly fell off. “Sorry, I thought you heard me come in,” he said as he hurried over to me. I hadn’t heard him because all I could hear was the pounding of my rapidly beating heart. I climbed off the bike and looked up at my father. “What…are…you…doing…here?” I asked him breathlessly. “I went up to your room, to talk to you and when I saw you weren’t there, I came looking for you,” he said before walking over to a large glass fridge and took out a bottle of water. “One thing you must remember is to keep yourself hydrated,” I greedily grabbed the bottle of water and glugged down the contents. “Slowly Liam!” Stephan warned but it was too late. “Come on, lay down, flat on your back,” I did as he suggested, and the cramp started to ease. It didn’t go away but the pain was bearable. “Dad,” “Yes?” “Why did you come…looking for me?” I asked him curiously as I closed my eyes to stop my head from spinning. “I realized that your earlier question about being slow was important to you and I had dismissed it. I wanted to tell you what you could do to help yourself,” he said. “But I see that you must’ve figured it out yourself,” “Stan told me,” “Stan?” Stephan sounded surprised and I opened my eyes and stared up at my confused father. Stan was the name my mother would often use and when I had questioned her about it, she had explained that Stan was my father’s surname. I had liked it enough to call my wolf that. I explained all of this to my father. “Well, since you’ve figured it out, why don’t you and I start training and working on that lean body of yours first thing tomorrow morning?” “Sounds good,” “Great, see you back at home,” he said before I watched him walk out of the gym. I slowly sat up and breathed in and out as carefully as I could. When the pain was completely gone, I stood up and headed towards the exit. I heard a noise and I turned around. I didn’t see anything, but I heard the noise again. I went towards the sound to investigate. It was slightly dark in that corner and when I realized that it was a man standing there it was too late. He lunged forward and hit me hard on my head. I fell backward and I groaned out as I hit the back of my head on something. The last thing I saw before everything went dark was that man leaning over me. 
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