Outsider Series: Outsider Part 11

I sighed and got dressed, figuring a shower was pointless.

Gram smiled when she saw me. She appraised my workout clothes and said, "I see Caeden has convinced you to join him at the gym. What's next?"

"Torture," I suggested.

She patted my hand and said, "Don't worry I think you'll have fun."

"I didn't know the definition of fun was something unpleasant," I replied.

She smiled and turned towards the kitchen. "Want some breakfast?"

I rubbed my grumbling stomach. "Better not," I said sadly. "If I eat and then exercise it makes me sick," I said remembering a very unpleasant school year where I had lunch right before gym.

"Okay," she said. "Caeden should be here soon anyway."

I settled on the couch and listened to the news. The sounds and smells coming from the kitchen were not helping my stomach one bit. My stomach rumbled in response to the sound of eggs frying. I was just about to give in and eat something when I heard a light honk on a car horn come from the driveway.

I grabbed my sweatshirt off the coat rack and pulled it on. "Bye Gram," I called.

She didn't reply but I could hear her singing while she cooked.

Caeden was waiting outside in the Jeep as I climbed in he said, "I thought about bringing my bike and forcing you onto it but I figured I was already pushing my luck."

"You thought right, Mister," I said.

He chuckled and pulled out of the driveway.

An a.s.sortment of vehicles were parked at Caeden's house and I quickly recognized Charlotte's, Bentley's, and Logan' vehicles and figured Chris had rode with her brother. Caeden pulled into the garage, planted a quick kiss on my lips, grinned and then proceeded to tug me towards the house. Instead of going in through the front door we went in through the bas.e.m.e.nt door.

Caeden hadn't been exaggerating. The whole bas.e.m.e.nt was a gym. It was even equipped with girls and guys showers. Mats for martial arts littered the floor, several treadmills were cl.u.s.tered in a corner, and there was lots of weight lifting equipment.

Bentley was lifting weights, while Chris looked on longingly while she ran on the treadmill. Logan and Bryce were wrestling and Charlotte was doing a bunch of complicated aerial moves. I gulped. They were all in extremely good shape. The girls were lithe and graceful of build and the boys were all well-muscled, even Bryce who was only sixteen.

"It'll be fine," whispered Caeden in my ear.

"Sure," I muttered.

Caeden pointed to the different equipment, telling me what the various items performed, and then released me into his high-tech gym. I hoped I didn't break anything.

Caeden went over to join Bentley and I joined Chris on the treadmills.

"Hey," I said.

She smiled and said, "Welcome to the Pack."

I laughed as I started the treadmill, "You guys are like family aren't you?" I asked referring to the Pack.

"Yeah," she said sadly and gave Bentley a look of longing. She shook her head, looked at me, and blushed when she knew that I had seen. She looked back at Bentley and whispered so low I almost didn't catch it, "Is it wrong that I like him?"

"No," I said, "and he likes you too."

She laughed harshly. "You mean like a sister. That's all I'll ever be to him, a sister," she said forlornly.

"No," I said. "I've seen him looking at you like you look at him. You should go for it." I pointed to Charlotte and then Logan. "Poor Charlotte unfortunately has the hots for your brother and he is completely oblivious."

She smiled slightly when I told her about Bentley but then frowned when I mentioned her brother and Charlotte. At first I thought she didn't like the thought of Charlotte with her brother but instead she said, "Logan isn't good enough for Charlotte. He's completely ignorant about everything. It must be true, what they say, about girls being more mature than boys because Logan is only a year older than me and I am by far the more mature one. But Charlotte deserves someone who worships her. She's so kind, and giving, she's my best friend." Chris paused and said, "Charlotte needs someone like Bryce. Someone to make her laugh and treat her like a queen. I mean look at him, he can't take his eyes off of her. Gosh, she's just as oblivious as my idiotic brother."

I laughed. "Poor Bryce, poor Charlotte, poor you, and poor me."

"Why poor you?" she asked. "You have Caeden." I was amazed that she could talk with the pace at which she was running.

I sighed, "Caeden's great but it's all a bit overwhelming, don't you think? One minute I'm a normal kid and the next my whole world is turned upside down."

"True," she said, "I didn't think of it like that."

"It's hard too," I said, starting to breathe heavy as the treadmill suddenly started an incline, "having such strong feelings for someone I hardly know. I mean, I know we became friends when I moved here but it's difficult going from 'friends' to 'meant to be together forever'. It's a lot of pressure."

She clucked her tongue in sympathy and then we lapsed into companionable silence. The treadmill steadily inclined and increased the speed. I began to sweat and huff and puff.

Caeden left the weights and he and Bentley switched places with Logan and Bryce. Caeden took off his gray t-shirt, leaving his chest bare; his boxers peeking out above his navy basketball shorts. His body was slick with sweat, his bronze skin gleaming, a light trail of brown hair cascading down into the waistband of his pants and his well-muscled chest, arms, and abs stared at me.

For a moment I forgot what I was doing and my feet went out from under me and my face smashed into the moving belt of the treadmill. It hurt badly but what hurt more was my pride.

Everyone was silent and then burst out laughing. Everyone but Caeden. He was at my side in a moment.

"Are you okay?" he asked, gently probing the side of my face that had smacked the treadmill. I could feel a headache coming on and a b.u.mp forming on the top of my head.

I tried to play cool, "Oh, I'm fine. I do this all the time. I like to give people a good laugh."

He rolled his eyes and stated, "You're hurt."

"Yeah," I said ashamed. "I tried to warn you that I didn't like to exercise."

He helped me up and said, "I didn't realize that was due to your total lack of coordination. Let's go get you some ice."

The others resumed their activities with the exception of Bentley who switched to boxing with the punching bag. Caeden led me around the corner and up the bas.e.m.e.nt steps into the main house.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled as he dug around in the freezer for an icepack. I hopped up on to the kitchen counter and let my feet dangle over the edge.

He found one, wrapped it in a cloth, and held it to my head, "For what?" he asked.

For a moment I lost my train of thought because his naked chest stared me right in the face. I averted my eyes and made eye contact with him but that was just as bad so I settled with looking out the bay window.

"For being such a klutz," I said.

He chuckled. "You don't need to apologize. Accidents happen."

"Have you ever heard of a clumsy shifter?" I asked.

"No," he said grinning. "But you haven't shifted yet," he reminded me.

"I bet stuff like this never happened to the others," I grumbled.

He laughed and said, "No, they're all very coordinated." I frowned and he grinned, "But I on the other hand... Well let's just say riding a bicycle might as well have been climbing a mountain." He leaned down and whispered in my ear, tickling my skin with his breath, "I still don't like bicycles."

I laughed and pushed him away. "You drive a motorcycle Caeden. That's a bike."

"It has an engine," he defended, "that's different."

He removed the ice pack and gently probed my skull. It was only slightly tender now and I could tell the knot had diminished in size. "How does it feel?" he asked.

"It's okay," I said hopping off the kitchen counter. I started to walk out and head down to the bas.e.m.e.nt but his hand grabbed my wrist stopping me. He pinned me back against the counter, one arm on each side, so I was trapped. My breathing accelerated. I stared at his perfect chest and then slowly trailed my eyes up to meet his. Instead of a c.o.c.ky grin his face was thoughtful.

"Sophie," he whispered and his fingers came up to a brush a piece of hair back from my face that had come loose from my ponytail. He leaned in closer to me and my breath hitched.

"Caeden!" Bentley called from the bas.e.m.e.nt doorway. "Get your b.u.t.t back down here! You owe me a match."

Caeden chuckled and kissed my cheek. "We'll finish this later," he said with a glint in his eye. My heart raced.

I followed him back down to the bas.e.m.e.nt. Instead of getting back on the treadmill I decided to sit down in the corner where I would have a good view of Caeden and Bentley.

They didn't put on any protective gear and stood at opposite ends of the mat facing off. Bentley grinned and twisted his neck and cracked his fingers. Caeden just stood there. I noticed that everyone stopped what they were doing. Charlotte and Chris came to sit beside me.

"This is the best part," said Charlotte. "I love watching the guys fight."

Chris looked at me and said, "It's so much fun. You should try."

I rolled my eyes. "I can't even stay vertical on the treadmill so I doubt this would be any different."

Chris b.u.mped my shoulder. "Come on, you have to try so you can learn. I sucked when I first started and now I can take down my brother without breaking a sweat."

"That's because he doesn't want to hurt you," said Charlotte. "I bet Bentley wouldn't be so gentle."

Chris looked at me and leaned over to whisper, "Bentley can put his hands all over me and be as rough as he wants." She laughed and Charlotte looked at us questioningly. I just shook my head.

The boys were now circling each other. Bentley glared at Caeden menacingly but Caeden still looked calm.

"Now remember," warned Charlotte, "that we heal fast."

"Why?" I asked but I didn't need to wait for her answer.

A loud thump sounded and Bentley lay flat on the floor. I hadn't even seen Caeden move. Bentley grunted and slowly stood. He spat blood on the floor and when he grinned his teeth were stained red. Bentley threw a punch and Caeden's arms came up to block him. Then Caeden punched Bentley and I heard a bone crunch. More blood dripped onto the floor.

I had thought that Bentley wound have the upper hand simply because of his size. Caeden was tall and broad with large muscles but Bentley was all those things times two. Bentley was taller, wider, and more muscular but still lean, however, Caeden clearly had more skill.

Caeden grabbed Bentley by the elbow and flipped him down on the mat. From his position on the floor Bentley kicked Caeden in the chest. Caeden grunted but then smiled in challenge.

I wanted to close my eyes, I didn't like seeing Caeden get hurt, but my eyes were riveted.

Bentley threw a particularly brutal punch that would have knocked out a normal guy. But Caeden wasn't normal and it only served to spurn him on. He grinned and did a flip in the air and did some kind of complicated kicking and punching sequence. Their fighting was getting much more structured and less street. I knew they both had to be doing some serious martial arts but I had no names to go with the moves. They were both breathing heavy but neither gave up. Someone whistled and I looked away from the fight. It had been Bryce and he turned to grin at me.

Caeden and Bentley began to taunt and goad one another. Before my eyes I could see their cuts and sc.r.a.pes heal but both had some serious injuries that were taking longer to heal. Caeden's whole left side was bruised a hulk-like green and purple and if Bentley didn't soon set his nose it would heal crooked.

They continued their complicated dance. I could tell they were both beginning to wear down. I looked at my watch and was surprised that they had been going at it for almost an hour. They both took more punches than they blocked, now, and both of their chests were heaving. Bentley through a punch and Caeden fell to the floor. He was slower than normal to get up but I quickly realized it was a show. Bentley didn't though. Bentley grinned and taunted Caeden.

Like a deadly lighting strike Caeden was up and Bentley was the one on the floor. He didn't get up.

Bentley rolled over with his face against the mat. "Match," he muttered into its blue folds.

"Say it," said Caeden with a grin. He stood over Bentley with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Ugh," groaned Bentley into the mat.

"And I want you to look at me," said Caeden, clearly enjoying this.

Bentley groaned and shakily stood. I could see a split in his lip heal before my eyes. "Oh, mighty Alpha, you are great, you are powerful, and you are unstoppable and undefeatable. You, Alpha, are the strongest wolf and I am but a weakling. You win," Bentley said. "Happy now?" he added.

"Delighted," Caeden grinned.

Bentley pulled off his t-shirt and started wiping away the blood with it. I thought Chris would have a heart attack looking at his chest. She gasped and started to breathe heavy. I didn't know how they were all so oblivious to her crush. It was written all over her face, the poor girl. I shouldn't say anything though. After all, I fell off a treadmill looking at Caeden and it wasn't like I hadn't seen him shirtless before. True, he had been covered in blood at the time and that kind of ruined the image. I preferred a slick with sweat Caeden to a b.l.o.o.d.y one any day.

Caeden came over to my side and grinned. He pulled me up off the floor and held me against his naked chest. I tried not to hyperventilate. "What was that all about?" I asked.

"I won so that was the deal," he said.

"What if he won?" I asked.

"I would've had to rub his feet," he said wiggling his nose in disgust. "So, I had to win," he stated.

I laughed and then noticed the bruises that were still on his side. I hesitantly touched his side. He shivered. "Does it hurt?" I asked.

"No," he said.

"I'm hungry," said Bryce from across the room, breaking the moment. I moved away from Caeden but he kept a hold on my hand.

"Me too," said Bentley.

"Mom, should have lunch ready," Caeden said. He picked his shirt up off the floor and slipped it over his head and then took my hand again. We filed up the steps after the others. Before we entered the house Caeden stopped on the stairs and gave me a quick, toe-tingling, kiss. He grinned and tugged me up the rest of the steps.

Sure enough Amy had prepared a feast for lunch. She had grilled hotdogs and cheese burgers and made macaroni and cheese, cheesy potatoes, and green beans to go along with it. The boys piled their plates high and I was surprised when Charlotte and Chris took just as much. I came along and got a normal, human-sized, portion and joined them. Bryce scooted over so I could have the seat by Caeden.

"So," said Bryce addressing me, "when do you turn eighteen?"

"January sixteenth," I said.

"Oh, so you've got a while yet." He said. He shrugged his shoulders. "I guess it's a good thing though. It gives you time to learn about being a wolf." I paled at the mention of my being a wolf. "Don't worry," said Bryce patting my hand. "You'll love it. It's the best feeling in the world. It's like you're unstoppable."