Zayd's sleep was disturbed when he felt Quinn slowly and silently freeing herself from his arms. Her
breaths were slow and shallow, as if she were afraid he'd hear them.
His eyes peeked open, watching as she carefully shuffled off the bed in the darkness that swamped
the room and stood to her feet. She was naked, and though his hands wanted to trace her body like
they did mere hours ago, he kept them to himself...not wanting her to know he was awake.
Her clothes scattered on the floor, she bent to pick them up, putting them on then tiptoeing out the
door. He knew where she was going...and she'd told him not to follow her, but he was too curious
not to.
He'd informed Garth to make it known to the rest of the pack that the training grounds were off-
limits...for he truly wanted to give her the privacy she needed to grow, but he wanted to see...at
least from afar.
Her struggles were his too, and he knew she was still struggling. She wasn't over it all yet; the
betrayal, the loss of her wolf...
He knew her heart was still heavy; dripping blood that was like tears and pumping what felt like pain
through her veins. He wanted to make it all better, to stay by her side at all times...but he also
wanted to give her what she needed; time to process and accept everything.
She needed space, and he'd give it to her, but he still wanted to be there just in case she fell and
needed someone to help her up...just incase her eyes filled with tears and she needed somebody to
wipe them.
Shuffling off the bed, he picked up his clothes, pulling them on and walking out the door as well;
following her slowly and cautiously until she stepped onto the training grounds.
He stayed a couple meters away from the gate, watching as she stood unmoving in rank two for a
while, breathing deeply.
When she finally made a move, it was to do some simple stretch exercises that positioned her body
in ways which made her look glorious and sexy.
She'd only paused once or twice to flash her hands when they stung, and then she'd get back at it.
How could she do this when she said she hadn't trained in a long time? He'd have understood if she
still had her wolf, but pulling a huge tire and then punching a five hundred pound bag back to back
was too impressive for a mere human.
But even so, he truly hoped she'd finish after this, and he thought she would, however he was
wrong. When she stepped away from the punching bag, she took a couple deep breaths before
walking her way over to the arrow thrower.
It was then that Zayd's muscles tensed and the need to stop her became more prominent than the
darkness that caged the land. His teeth clenched as he forced himself not to move. He shouldnât
stop her, she shouldnât know he was here...
But...
Zayd shook his head. No, he had to give her space, if he went out there and tell her not to, he'd
seem controlling...it'd seem as though he didn't want to see her grow...sheâd probably be angry at
him too
So he stayed behind the gate as she started up the machine, and then stood bravely in front of it as
its target.
Every arrow that came out punctured Zayd's lungs even if she sighted them. The machine was at its
lowest speed, but that didnât stop him from worrying
He took a deep breath of relief when she avoided the last one, and then she started to dig the
dodged arrows out of the ground, bringing them back to the machine. He thought the torture of
watching her torture herself was over, but she started up the machine again and then ran to stand
in front of it.
The arrows came out swifter than they did the last time...and though he really wanted to stay
hidden, he couldn't do it anymore...this was dangerous, and he wouldn't just stand around and
watch her hurt her f*cking self.
Running out into the open, he yelled out her name in anger, and she twisted towards him while
sliding against the dirt in aid of sighting one of the shots. She was moving rather slowly compared
to the speed of the arrows, and though she tried her best to overcome the sharp weapons that
came at her, one grazed her arm and more damage would've been done if he hadn't rushed to turn
it off.
She looked up at him, while groaning out in pain and hanging onto her bleed arm. Zayd ran his
hand down his face, hurrying to where she sat. âF*cking hell...I told you to train in rank one, Quinn!
Why would you put it at such a high speed? Level four? Do you wish to f*cking die?
âNo, I..."
He stooped in front of her. âLet me see your arm.â
She winced as he took her injured arm in his hands. âI'm gonna have to take you to the pack
doctor.â
âNo need...it's not deep, it's just a simple graze.â
âI don't care, you're going.â
He helped her up and instead of looking at him, she held her head down. âHow long...? How long
have you been here?â
Zayd didn't want to tell her, but at the same time, he didn't want to lie to her. âSince the beginning.â
Upon hearing that, Quinn yanked herself out of his arms and finally looked up at him with wide and
angry eyes. âI told you not to come, why did you?!"