The Werewolf Hunter

Lessons

Walking into the gym, the only person that is here is Gabe. He is throwing a few jabs at a suspended punching bag. He is shirtless and had on baggy gym shorts and running shoes. This man is ripped, soaked in sweat and looking extremely hostile. I cleared my throat, realizing he won't stop punching the bag so maybe he hasn't seen me yet. Gabe turned around pulling earbuds out of his ears. “Hey, Jake told me to come here.” Well now it makes sense why he couldn't hear me come in. Gabe just smiles at me, walking to a bench and putting his earbuds away, and downing a bottle of water.

“I know, he told me. It's my job to bulk you up a bit. You can't be slow being the only human here. Let me get a good look at you so I know where to start.”

Gabe began to walk over to me, and I was immediately brought back to the time he attacked me in my bedroom. Taking a few steps back to keep a distance between us, Gabe stopped and straightened his posture.

“Look, I know I overstepped in our last encounter. It won't happen again. Whether you believe it or not, the Alpha is not one to mess with. I am not afraid of him but I do obey him. And he made it very clear that you are his girl. From this point on, you can be yourself around me and I'll do the best I can on teaching you skills to be able to protect yourself. Whether it's with arms, legs, even words. This is your open space. But do not overstep.”

I wanted to call out his bullshit but I felt like he was being genuine. I can usually spot manipulation from a mile away so unless he is a complete sociopath (which is possible) he is telling the truth. Relaxing my shoulders as well as my breathing, I walked forward.

“Okay, but I still don't trust you, one wrong move and you will lose your balls.”

“I hear you loud and clear. Today we will start with being able to throw a punch, we will work on puncturing balls another day since it seems like you have that one down.”

We both smirked. And he walked me to the punching bag. He reached for my wrist but I yanked it away, worried it was a trick. Grabbing my arm with force, he straightened it out and began to wrap my knuckles with cloth.

“This will help with the pain and so you don't sprain your wrist. Don't fight me, I'm not the enemy. And if you behave we will end every lesson with a run. I can tell your dying to stretch your legs the second you walked out of the house.”

He watched me? How long has he been lurking behind the scenes just watching me? Whatever, I'll just have to keep an eye out for stalkers.

We spent the next two hours working on my form and continuously throwing jabs. It was mostly repetition, reminding me of back home when Rachel, Becca and I would work on our form at the gym. We would run through the scenarios over and over again until it was muscle memory. My arms were burning by the end, but it is definitely worth it. I need to bulk up for when I make my escape, I will probably start training on my own time as well. Gabe actually is a great teacher. He really focuses on form and explains why it's important.

Gabe walks me out of the gym and tells me that I can go for a run since I didn't act up, but he will be with me the entire time, not just so I don't run off but because there were some werewolves that can't control themselves yet and that I needed to be on watch for that. I get so excited, running is where my happy place is, other than my comfy couch at home, which now has been defecated on since it's a nightmare to even think about. I just feel freedom when I am running. Gabe told me it was ok, just stay near the trails and that he will be right behind me. I looked at him, standing behind me, he just grinned and moved his hand into a shooing motion telling me it is ok.

I couldn't help but smile when I turned to face forward and began to put one foot in front of the other. Starting off with a fast jog, I started laughing while making my way down a dirt path towards the woods. My leg didn't even hurt. I couldn't even feel the stitches pulling if it is pulling.

People were definitely watching but I didn't care. It has been such a long time since I have been running without someone chasing me. Well, in a sense Gabe is still following me but nonetheless. My serotonin is skyrocketing. I could hear Gabe barely jogging right on my heels, so I stepped it up a notch when we hit the tree line. I was in full sprint, which was fun since I have never been through this path before so it's all new. I looked behind me and Gabe was smiling. He was keeping up pretty well but I can tell he is surprised that he actually had to try and keep up with me.

After about four miles of weaving through trees and jumping past roots sticking out of the ground, I slowed my pace to catch my breath. I eventually slowed down to just a walk and Gabe was still right behind me.

“No wonder it was so hard to find and then catch you the other night when you ran off. You're a runner. That explains so much." He laughed through his heavy breathing.

I didn't find this humorous at all. Is he taking my kidnapping as a joke? I escaped, I got out, and he thinks it's funny. I looked at him in slight disgust and just shook my head, walking away from him. Realizing his mistake, he caught up with me.

“Sam, wait, you know that's not what I meant.” He reached for my arm again. Grabbing my elbow and swinging me around to face him. I am so tired of these men putting their hands on me. As I was spun around I balled my fist and swung, making contact with Gabe's face. My message was received when Gabe stumbled back holding his face, and I was quickly reminded why I needed to take lessons from him.