Filed To Story: Chasing the Rejected Luna's Heart (Clara & Liam) Book PDF Free
She shook her head. “I swear, I have to teach you everything. Next time you run into a vampire god on earth, you score the digits.””I’ll do what I can,” I said dryly, knowing that was the only way I was going to get out of it. “But I would rather not run into any more vampires at all.””Fair enough,” she said, nodding. “But not a very reasonable expectation in this town.””No, I guess not.” I hesitated. “Which is why I need to figure something out.”
Her head tilted slightly. “What do you mean?””I thought I could just blend in since there are like a billion other shifters here, but it’s pretty fucking clear being an unmarked she-wolf is a huge target on my back.” I rubbed the mark on the right side of my neck instinctively.
Sam gave me a sympathetic look. “Get a gun and load it with silver bullets. Works against them, too.”
That was good to know. I decided to file that away for later and hoped I never had cause to use that knowledge. “I’m not sure I can handle a gun no matter what kind of bullets are in it,” I admitted. “But maybe pepper spray or something.””You might as well just take a self-defense class. I can guarantee it would deal more good than that if vampires are the problem. Humans are one thing, but…” It was pretty much what afraid of. “I’m not really the fighting type.””No shit. That’s the point of the class.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You have experience?”
She snorted. “Hell no. My dad taught me how to break a man’s femur at the age of five. But I do know a guy.””Oh?” I asked.”His name is Marcus,” she said, taking out her phone. She typed something and a few seconds later, my phone buzzed in my pocket. “He teaches classes sometimes at his gym. Tell him I sent you and I’m sure he’ll help you out.””How do you know him?” I asked, opening the message to put the number into my contacts. He was just Marcus Gym Guy for now.”We go way back. He and Cole used to date.”
That immediately put me on edge. She must’ve seen the hesitation in my eyes, because she smiled. “Don’t worry, they’re nothing alike. It was a pretty nasty breakup, so I don’t think they even talk anymore.””That’s too bad,” I said noncommittally, deciding not to admit I thought it was probably a good thing for Marcus.”Just don’t tell Cole I sent you. He gets testy when anyone mentions the guy.””I don’t think we’re going to be chatting anytime soon, but I’ll remember,” I assured her, looking up as our first customer of the evening came in.
The rest of the night was as busy as the last one, but I had to admit, being able to walk up the steps and be home at the end of the night was a vast improvement. Sam hadn’t been kidding about the dust and boxes, but it was still a far cry from what my old studio had been. If I could make that livable, I could definitely turn this space into a home. It actually had a working kitchen and bathroom, for starters. And I could crawl into bed without feeling like I was sleeping in a petri dish, so there was that.
Unfortunately, despite how busy I had been and how much chaos this week had managed to pack into itself, I still found myself plagued with thoughts of the men I was pretty sure hadn’t even given a second thought to me. Even Liam had gone radio silent. I thought that was what I wanted, but as I lay in bed staring out the window at the waning gibbous shining through the slats in the blinds, I wasn’t sure. No matter how much I managed to fill my days with, there was still part of me that felt empty and worried it always would.
* * *
I didn’t call Marcus that night, but after three days of procrastination on going outside that had turned into outright avoidance, I knew I had to do something. I hadn’t escaped one prison only to end up in another of my own making. Not that escape was really an accurate framing of what had happened, but it helped to think of it that way.
When I called the number Sam had given me, I got the gym’s voicemail, but I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t leave a message. When I called back, I decided to try, but someone answered with a deep and gruff yet not entirely unpleasant voice. “Marcus’s Gym. How can I help you?””Hi. Um, my name is Lavinia. You don’t know me, but I’m a friend of Sam’s, and she said you might be holding self-defense classes?””Sam?” His voice got a little friendlier. “Yeah, she told me you might be calling, but I’m not really holding any classes right now.””Oh. Okay, well, thanks for your time-“”But,” he continued before I could hang up, “if you’re a friend of Sam’s, I’d be happy to work something out for you. Come by and we’ll talk. How about tonight?”
I was surprised, not expecting it to be that soon, but I nodded even though it wasn’t like he could see me over the phone. “Yeah, that would be great. I have the night off.””Cool. Come by around seven. You have the address?””Yeah. Fifth Street, right?””That’s the place. Big flat gray building by the lake, you can’t miss it.””Thanks, I’ll see you then.”
* * *
Marcus wasn’t kidding about his building being impossible to miss. “Big” was a little bit of an understatement, though. This place looked more like a military compound than a training gym, and if it wasn’t for the big sign out front and all the cars, I would’ve thought I had the wrong place.
I gulped, having second thoughts already. This really wasn’t the kind of thing I was prepared for. Hell, if I’d been told a year ago I would be taking self-defense classes, let alone that I would need to, I would’ve laughed. A few weeks ago, even. But everything in my life had changed overnight, and if I wanted to keep the life I was managing to rebuild bit by bit, I knew I had to start fending for myself in more ways than one.
I wasn’t sure if Marcus just wanted to talk, or if there was a chance he was actually going to start training me tonight, so I had worn a pair of plain gray sweats and a tank top that felt okay enough in either case. I tugged on my ponytail to make sure it was secure and slipped my phone into my pocket. It was charged enough that I could call another rideshare on the way back. Not the most economical solution long term, though, and the gym was a good twenty minutes away from the bar, so I knew if I was going to do this, I would have to see about arranging different transportation. After my last run-in, I didn’t feel that much more comfortable on public transit then I did walking, but if I couldn’t find a cheap ride, that was going to be my only option.
As I entered the gym, a variety of sights and sounds filled my senses. The smell of sweat, too, though not nearly as bad as I would’ve expected.
I looked around, taking everything in. The main part of the gym was a wide, open floor plan with concrete walls and floors, save for the blue-and-red mats strewn here and there. True to what I had seen of the parking lot, the place was packed. There were different stations around the vast room, although save for the lack of walls, it was really more like an entire building. Probably was. There were concrete pillars, motivational posters along the few walls, punching bags, and weight machines everywhere. I had expected it to be the kind I occasionally frequented back home, when I wanted to make sure I looked good for certain pack events, but it immediately became apparent this was nothing like the workout facility like I was used to.
Some people were gathered around a water cooler, while others were in or around the set of boxing rings along the far wall. Others were sparring freestyle, like the two guys who were presently getting up close and personal as they grappled on the floor mat. Most of the gym’s patrons were the burly military types I had expected, but I was far from the only woman. Granted, the other women were all uber-fit and could probably snap me like a twig if they wanted to. I lingered near the front of the gym, looking for any sign of a desk or clerk to check in with. The place really didn’t seem all that formal, though. I was still trying to talk myself out of being here when someone came up from behind me and put a hand on my shoulder. I jolted in spite of myself.”Hey, you must be Lavinia,” said the huge guy coming up behind me. He had a handsome face and sunkissed skin. His dark hair was a little bit shaggy, giving a boyish charm to features that would otherwise have been sharp and imposing. He definitely looked like a soldier, though. Even more so than the others. It occurred to me that I hadn’t actually bothered to ask Sam if he was a supernatural, which was probably be information I needed to know.””Sorry, didn’t mean to spook you.””No, it’s fine,” I said, shaking my head as I turned to face him and took the hand he offered. “Just a little jumpy, that’s all. It’s nice to meet you.””Likewise,” he said with a smile that seemed genuine enough. I had barely known this guy for a few seconds, and I could already see why he and Cole had broken up. Why they had ever gotten together in the first place was another matter beyond my ability to understand.
Ever since that first encounter, Cole had taken every opportunity at his disposal to make my life harder, from assigning pointless tasks when my hands were already full-literally and figuratively-to his snide little comments. I was starting to understand why the last girl had quit so abruptly. If I didn’t like Sam so much and didn’t literally need this job to keep a roof over my head, I might’ve been tempted to do the same. “So, what brings you in here?”