Page 6 of One Hour

Cold Blood

Tara,

Don’t go to school.

I know I can’t stop you from going to school. It’s the safest place for you right now, especially with Miles out there. But you haven’t even left yet, and I already miss you. I need you to understand what you’ve become to me. You’re more than my girlfriend. You’re more than a crush. I love you, Tara. You’re my family. I cannot lose you. Not ever.

I don’t want to stay and lead here, but I’m going to. For Jack and Fee. But also for you. Because if we’re going to be together, I need to make you safer for it, not do things that will only put you in more danger. I will find Miles and when I do, I’m going to kill him. Not just for betraying me and the rest of my family, but for hurting you. Threats like him cannot be allowed to remain free. And I want a world where you and I don’t have to look over our shoulder all the time. When we’re not fulfilling our responsibilities to our family and our friends, I want it just to be “us.”

I hope your time at Wood Point goes quickly. I will call you when I can. But even when I can’t, just know I am thinking of you every single second of the day.

Always,

Wes

Cold Blood

Chapter Six

Alex and Tara’s first training session

Alex

I adjusted my iPod speaker in my ear and leaned back against the wall while I waited for last bell to ring. Why did they always stick me with the hard cases? Being top of my class and ranked the best student-trainer, I’d had a few rough ones, but this took the cake. Tara freaking Godfrey, half-Hunter, half-Werewolf, here at Wood Point. And out of all the trainers they could’ve assigned, they had to pick me.

The bell rang, cutting into the hard guitar strains of Fuel in my earbuds. I cut the power and slid it into my pocket, wanting only to hurry up and get this over with. I had better things to do than train a brat with doggy blood.

Finally, she exited the classroom, a dark-haired girl in tow. Cambria … what was her last name? She’d only been going here a few months. Her mom drank. A fact that made me steer clear. I had enough liquid baggage in my own family tree.

“Finally,” I muttered. “You ready?”

She blinked at me as if she’d forgotten who I was. Probably hadn’t done hard PT a day in her life. “Yeah.”

I rolled my eyes. This was going to be a long semester.

I took her to the clearing. I hadn’t wanted to. It was one of the few places I liked due to the fact no one else ever came this way. But I didn’t want my friends seeing this, either. I would hear about it enough as it was.

I took her through stretches, doing my best to ignore her and concentrate on the pull of muscle as I extended my arms toward the ground. She mirrored my movements without further argument. When I extended my arms above my head, she did the same. Her body elongated and despite the toned surfaces, the edges were soft. Her hips dipped inward and then sloped up to her abdomen and then her chest …

What was wrong with me?

I forced myself back to business. “Before we can get into technique or positions, I need to see you move,” I said. The words sent my thoughts in the wrong direction, and I shook myself.

Concentrate.

“Move how?” she asked.

“Attack me.”

“Seriously? Are you sure?”

I tried to keep the smirk off my face. She had no idea who she was up against. “I’m sure. Come on.”

When she came at me, I was ready. Or so I thought.

She moved like a worm. Writhing and wriggling and making it impossible to keep ahold of. I wasn’t worried about her hurting me—her attempts to do so were easy enough to block—but I couldn’t seem to pin her, either.

I felt her demeanor shift. Her knee came up just as I realized her intention. There was no time to block.