Tangled

104 Ava: Training (I)

The best way to deal with all the confusion involving feelings?

Exercise.

Jericho watches in approval as I push myself past my limits, determined to grow stronger. New bruises appear and disappear each day as my supernatural healing kicks in. Lisa, on the other hand, is covered with them, in various stages of healing.

I’m determined to ignore everything about Lucas and Clayton for as long as I can. It’s easier to just… not deal with it all.

Healthy? Probably not.

But hell, I’m just going to settle for making it through each day for now.

An odd, itchy feeling doesn’t stop all day. Lisa smacks at my hands every time I begin scratching at my neck and shoulders. My belly looks as if it’s been clawed by a raccoon, though the marks fade within half an hour each time.

IN Ave Taning (0)

“You have to stop that, Ave. You’re driving yourself insane. The more you scratch, the more you’ll itch. Just take some Benadryl.”

“Fast healing means a fast metabolism. Benadryl won’t even touch it, and I don’t know wolf dosing. I’d have to go to a healer to figure it out.” I’ve explained this to Lisa before, but her exasperation over my scratching overcomes minor details like that.

It doesn’t bother me. I repeat myself as often as I need to. I just worry that other wolves in the pack might

bother her.

So far, Lisa hasn’t gone anywhere without me. Between the guards always nearby and Kellan’s presence every morning before training and every afternoon after, we haven’t done anything outside of our apartment. Even our food gets delivered.

Lisa’s company is amazing, but we’re both going a little stir–crazy.

That might be what’s wrong with me.

“Full moon’s coming up,” Jericho announces out of nowhere, and I almost jump ten feet in the air.

you doing?

Training

in protest as I push myself to sprint faster around the track. The itching across my skin intensifies with each stride, a maddening sensation that refuses to relent.

As a shifter who has never experienced a shift, the concept of the full moon’s power remains foreign to me. Yet, an inexplicable sense of

the forest, running almost as fast as wolves, I’ve been desperate to

a hint of it since

coming in ragged gasps. Lisa falls into step beside me, her face flushed with exertion. “What do you think

coherent response. My breath is too short and my

15:22

Training (1)

is yearning for it.

at all. Even in full–fledged wolf shifters, the moon is nothing more than an enhancement. An aphrodisiac for some, and a hair trigger on anger for the others. They’re a little more volatile, a little more inclined to drink,

why do I feel like bathing in the

just bizarre. That’s the problem. Where the fuck is normal,

across the track once more. “Faster! You think you can outrun your enemies at

The relentless itching beneath my skin keeps me from hitting a decent stride. I’m

so sore that

15:22

Training

I lived in one

changes of late are not

yearn for the moon so fiercely worries me,

fifth mile, Jericho’s right there in front of me, like a fucking unwanted ghost in my face.

like a whip, making me

lunges too?” Lisa protests, her face flushed from exertion. She still hasn’t finished her five miles.

fair. Get over it. This is

flares in my chest at the dismissive way he treats my friend. I set my hands on my hips, ready to argue, but

in my thighs almost immediately. Each step is a challenge, my muscles

Training

it. Back up with another wide stride.

burn.

in, Breathe

myself in this than it was to keep my mind from wandering unpleasantly during

strides over, his critical eye assessing my form. “Lower. Keep your knee above