The Twins

Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

NAOMIAfter my little talk with Noah, I voluntarily stood at the sidelines and watched the rest of the practice. My core was pulsing—aching—for me to touch it. I couldn’t wait to edge myself tonight, but I had business to take care of first.

When everyone left, Makayla smiled at me from across the yard. “Could you teach me how to do a takedown? I think it’s the thing I struggle with the most since I’m so much smaller.”

I stared over at the pack house to see Noah and Jax standing inside of a lit room, freshly showered. Jax was leaning against a desk, talking to Noah, who was sitting at his desk. That must be their office. Perfect. I knew where I was going to touch myself tonight.

“Taking down a larger opponent is easier if you know how to manipulate their body weight and use it against them,” I said. “Here, try this.”

I slowly approached her, grabbing her arm and flipping her over my hip. She landed on the ground with a thud. She was a lot lighter than I’d expected, lighter than I was. And much, much weaker.

When she got up, she grabbed my wrist and repeated my movements, tossing me over her hip as well. I landed lightly and promptly stood up.

“Good. Now, let’s try while moving.”

For the next hour, she continued to throw me. Over and over and over, I would hit the ground and immediately stand back up. Training with the Lycans was paying off. All those long practices with Isabella, being thrown over and over by Oliver, had really benefited me with this.

And I honestly wanted to pass my knowledge on to Makayla.

Being the smallest in the pack must suck, especially when you were in one of the strongest packs in the world. In Makayla, I saw a bit of myself when I’d first started, and I wanted to make her strong enough to compete against all of these other high-level wolves.

After a couple of hours, she leaned against the tree, drenched in sweat and breathing ragged. She gazed over at me. “How are you not tired?” she asked.

I smiled and sat next to her. “I’ve been doing this for a while.”

“When will I get there?” she asked, pursing her lips. Her eyes were big and blue. “I’ve been training with this pack since I was twelve, and I have barely improved. Nobody …” She paused for a moment. “Nobody in this pack usually wants to work with me,” she whispered.

In the corners of her eyes, I could see tears, but she didn’t let them fall. She curled her knees into her chest and frowned. “Sometimes, I feel like I’m useless to them. I’m the weakest link. I know it, but Noah and Jax say otherwise.”

I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and leaned my head on hers. “You’re not useless to them. You just need to learn how to use what your moon goddess gave you.” I could see a sliver of the moon in the dark sky. “You’re small. Use that to your advantage. You’re fast. Use that to your advantage. Fit in those small spaces, run faster than the rest of them, act quick, think quick.”

She smiled, pushing her tears away, and nodded. “Thank you.” Her voice was quiet.

I grabbed my bag and rummaged through it for another shirt since mine was covered in sweat. “Anytime,” I said, mirroring her smile.

After a few moments of silence, she turned to me. “What are you doing for the rest of the night?” she asked.

I scanned the property, eyeing the twins still in their office. Howls echoed through the woods from the right. Then, I looked around the forest, seeing a few lights glimmering through the trees from the pack town.

“Do you want to come to The Beast Tavern with me tonight?” she asked. “They’re having a happy hour. You can meet a few pack members.”

Noah glanced through the window at us, those dark eyes directed on me.

I smiled and nodded my head. “Sure, I’d love that.”

The Beast Tavern was an old building, painted a light blue and surrounded by bushes of glowing white moonflowers. The outside looked soft and inviting, but as soon as I stepped in, I was enveloped in a bustling bar with handsy, drunk wolves.

Some of the men looked over at me. Eyes dark, dangerous, and daring.

I smiled at them, lifting my eyes just enough to linger on each one of them. Trying to determine if they were worth my time or not.

Makayla walked to the middle of the bar, where there were two empty seats. “Two Gin Starlights,” she said to the bartender.

He placed two glasses on the table and filled them with alcohol. “Alcohol after practice is probably not the best idea,” she said. “But it won’t hurt on the first night, would it?” She smiled cheekily at me.

I laughed and shook my head.

A wolf that I had trained earlier with us leaned over the bar and gazed at me. “Fill a third,” he said to the bartender. When the bartender came back with a full glass, the wolf clanked our glasses together. “To Naomi.”

I took a sip of my drink, the sweetness hitting me immediately. From the first sip, I could tell that it was bound to make me drunk. Just this one hit me so quickly.

Makayla smiled at me. “Isn’t it good?” She took another sip of hers, her eyes becoming hazy, and grabbed my wrist. “I’m going to go dance. Wanna come?”

I chuckled and shook my head. “Go ahead.”

Once she disappeared through the crowd, I smiled. She was something else. She seemed like she was going to be fun to be friends with and fun to work with—as long as she actually did as I instructed.