Page 39 of Defiance
Disoriented and in pain, Cole could do little more than curl up in a ball, protecting his head as they took turns exacting their anger on him.
Somewhere in his mind, Logan’s words resurfaced.“You need to give back as good as you get. It’s the only way they’ll start to respect you.”Black belts or not, he was no match for a team of seasoned fighters.
But I don’t have to just lie here and take it.
Whatever happens, I’ll heal.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Cole kicked out blindly, grunting in satisfaction as his boot connected with something. Rolling onto his side, he grabbed onto the foot aimed at his ribs and twisted sharply. The resulting snap of bone took him by surprise and he let go like it was on fire.
I just broke someone’s fucking leg.
Cole knew he was stronger now, but to actually feel it for himself was a shock to the system.
“Motherfucker!” someone hissed, and Cole braced himself for retaliation, but nothing happened. After another couple of seconds, he chanced a look up—the shifters surrounding him had backed off. Clearly done with him.
He didn’t know why they’d suddenly stopped, nor did he care.
Gingerly pushing himself upright, Cole settled onto his knees, trying to remain still as his body slowly put itself back together. As handy as super-fast healing was, it was by no means pleasant. The grinding of bone as it slotted back into place made his stomach roil, nausea threatening to overwhelm him.
Closing his eyes, Cole swallowed back bile. Throwing up now, in front of his hostile team members, would be the icing on the fucking cake.
“Everything all right here?”
Cole’s eyes snapped open to find Paul standing there, staring down at him with a raised eyebrow. He knew damn well what had just happened. Cole wanted to tell him to fuck off, but that wasn’t how this game was played. “Yep.” He wiped a hand over his mouth, his fingers coming away bloody.
When he didn’t add anything else, Paul gave a quick nod and stepped away. “Hurry the fuck up, Logan,” he yelled in the direction of the changing rooms. “We’re waiting.”
Cole managed to get to his feet by the time Logan and Aaron joined them again. His head throbbed and his ribs had a dull ache to them, but nothing he couldn’t handle. Logan gave him a quick once over, and Cole caught the wince before Logan quickly schooled his features into an impassive expression.
“Now what?” Logan crossed his arms and faced Paul.
Paul grinned, all teeth. “Now we train.”
Everyone immediately partnered up, but before Cole had a chance to look for someone, Paul was in his face. “Not you.” The sneer he’d worn since Cole had walked in dropped, his expression turning serious. “You might have extensive experience in martial arts and hand-to-hand combat, but that was when you were human. I won’t have you training with my team until you learn to control your strength and adapt to your new reaction times.”
“So what do I do?” Cole glanced around the room, wondering what fresh torture Paul had in store for him.
“You watch, and you learn. Then you can practice on Logan and Aaron.” His grin returned full force. “That should be entertaining if nothing else.”
He pointed to the side of the mat, and Cole dutifully walked over to join Aaron and Logan. They spent the next two hours watching Paul’s team train. Cole already knew what the HRU did, had seen for himself on that video, but watching the members of the unit go through their paces, he couldn’t help but be grudgingly impressed.
Their stamina and focus seemed akin to what he’d expect to see in the military—just with a lot more actual bodily harm. Near-instant healing had its drawbacks as far as Cole was concerned.
While working with his team, Paul dropped his arsehole attitude and gave firm but constructive criticism where necessary. No one paid the three of them any attention, as though they forgot they were there as soon as training started, working together like a well-oiled machine.
A machine that Cole was expected to become a part of.
Standing on the sidelines, it was hard to picture this tight-knit group ever letting him in, whether their alpha wanted it or not.
Or that he’d ever want to be a part of it.
Cole swallowed past the lump in his throat.
Come on, Cole, suck it up. You need to stop thinking like that.
He’d had his time to wallow in how unfair this all was. People depended on him to see this through, and Cole had plans. Plans to help others like him. Plans that needed him to be a trusted member of this pack.
Rolling his shoulders, he let his newfound determination settle in his chest, running through scenarios in his head. Playing the role of reluctantly repentant runaway was going to take all of his concentration.
