11

Warning: This story has violence and abusive themes. Read with caution and at your own discretion.

Over the next few days, Ada got into a routine. She would get up in the morning and eat breakfast. Sometimes Vincent would be there, but most of the time she ate alone. She would then carefully clean up and change the bandages on her back. She would go outside and walk with Jessie and Zack to whatever job she was doing that day.

She was feeling more and more at ease, though she still was not entirely free of the life of a rogue. This became clear to her when she was taking compost over a fallow field and Jessie and Zack were wrestling behind her. They needed to keep in top form since they were warriors for the group. At first it was fine, but at some point they got a little close and Jessie ended up slamming into Ada.

Pain shot through her as he hit the still healing wound on her back and she grabbed one of his arms, flipping him over her as she dropped a knee and she threw him over her shoulder. He hit the ground hard, a shocked look on his face as he looked up at her.

"Jessie.." Ada breathed, moving her hand which had been on his neck. She thought he was going to be mad and she jumped back away from him. Zack helped him up and they both stared at her.

"That was so cool! Where did you learn to do that? You didn't miss a beat!" Jessie asked excitedly. Ada was a little confused at first, but calmed herself.

"Just from being out there. Attacks from behind are common. If you dont learn to defend yourself from them, or learn to feel when someone is close and act, you are dead." She explained.

"Oh man! That sounds so cool! Can you teach me how to do that?" Jessie asked. Ada agreed slowly and she took a break from her work to start teaching the both of them. With the injury on her back, she could not be thrown around the way they could.

She started with showing them what it felt like when a person was really behind them. They took turns doing some of her work to be distracted and she had the other creep up on them. They both caught on very quickly and moved onto defending from an attack from behind.

She showed them how to stop an attack first, being able to feel how close someone was behind them. A quick spin and a kick would keep them back. Next came with them being close, possibly with a weapon. With this one, she instructed them in ducking and sweeping one leg around behind them to trip their attacker. Finally was if someone was on your back or grabbing you.

With this one, they were grabbed anywhere you could reach and flipped up over you. Either you stood and pinned them with a foot on their chest, or you remained down and pinned them with a hand on their throat. Either way it was effective.

It was almost time for the work day to be done and since Ada had spent most of the day teaching then fighting moves, they helped her finish her work and they all returned to the house. They said their farewells and Ada went to her room where her dinner was waiting for her.

After she ate her dinner, she grabbed a change of clothes from the closer in her room, then crossed the hall. She walked into Vincent's room, not at all surprised that he was not there. He was the next alpha, so his father was making sure that he was up to the task and he was often out late and up early.

Removing her shirt, Ada checked her wound in the mirror. There was blood on the bandage, which meant the bump she got earlier had been good enough to split something. None of the sutures were ripped so she was not going to need Emily. She just had to clean it.

As she walked into the bathroom, she heard the door open. She'd felt Vincent coming down the hall before he got there but decided to just clean the area herself. That didn't seem like it was going to happen though as Vincent followed her in.

"You smell more strongly of Jessie and Zack." His tone was accusatory. Ada ignored it for a moment.

"Can you help me?" She asked, distracting him from his jealousy.

"My stab wound was bleeding a little, but I cant reach it to clean it." She looked at him in the mirror and for a moment he didn't move. He simply stood there staring. She was topless again, as she could not possibly clean this while she was wearing a shirt.

"Vincent." Her voice snapped him out of whatever thoughts he was having and he picked up gauze and wet it in the sink, then dabbed at the blood. Ada knew he was going to say something about Zack and Jessie again, so she got ahead of him.

"They were doing some drills on their own and Jessie tripped. He bumped me on accident but I threw him out of instinct. Him and Zack had me teach them how to do the same, and I made sure they could use it properly and not just as a trick. If they keep practicing with it, no one will ever be able to sneak up on them." She explained to him.

His movements didn't slow, but a thoughtful look came to his face.

"You were teaching them to fight like you?" He asked, to which Ada nodded her head. She saw a mix of admiration and jealousy cross his face and a grin tugged at her lips. It was cute.

"I want you to teach me too." He had all but demanded. Ada turned around to face him, watching the concentration he had to use not to pull his eyes from her face.

"Are you sure you want me to teach you?" She asked, and he looked confused. "I wont go easy on you. Just because you're my mate does not mean I wont make sure my lessons are drilled into your head." She pointed out. He nodded his head.

"Okay. But it will have to wait for this to be fully healed. Emily would put us both in a bed if we did any kind of training and this ripped back open." She pointed out. He stiffened.

"You will continue to train Zack and Jessie though?" His concentration was forgotten. The thought of her with two other males was setting off alarms in his head. She just stared.

"They train with each other. I tell them what to do and how, and they do it themselves. I never touch them." She pointed out. He was still tense at first, but the longer he looked in her eyes the less he could hold onto that anger. Finally he sighed quietly, his eyes moving from her face. His body tenzi g as they did, landing in her bare chest.

Vincent moved forward and his hands move up, his fingers gently caressing her bare stomach. Ada shuddered at the feeling of his touch, a heat blooming from that spot and spreading through her. A tingeling sensation followed where his fingers touched and she breathed out a sigh.

Vincent was suddenly closer, his body nearly pressed against her own as his hands explored more of her exposed skin. His fingertips danced over her sides and his palm slid flat across the small of her back. She let out a breath as she relished in the feel of his hands and the heat of his closeness. His scent filled her lungs and she found herself getting lost in his presence.

That is until his fingers brushed the still healing stan wound in her back. Her body tensed and she hissed in pain. Her hands pushed against his chest and he didn't resist as she moved him back a step. He apologized, but Ada knew he was not thinking. They were both lost in that moment.

Vincent put a bandage over the wound and helped Ada get her shirt back on. They went to his bed and he pulled her against his chest, burying his face in her neck as he held her close.

The more time she spent with him, the more she wanted to be around him. Doing her worked helped her to forget the longing, but it was always there. She knew he felt it too, but they were still forced to be apart most of the time. This was the only time they had for one another, and it was quickly becoming not enough.

Though she had no way to prove it, Ada felt that Vincent's father was purposely keeping them apart as much as possible. Almost no one trusted her, and she knew it was going to lead to problems down the road. Still, she had Vincent and it seemed that Jessie and Zack might be on her side as well. It was nice to be around others and not have to worry. She had someone watching her back now.

In the morning, Ada woke to Vincent's hands up the back of her shirt. She was facing him in the bed, the two of them pressed against one another.

Her dark eyes roamed over his face, a gentle sigh escaping her lips as she lifted a hand and gently stroked his hair. It was a little grimy, but she didn't really care. She ran her fingers through it, feeling his arms tighten around her body. A small smile crept onto her face and she closed her eyes, leaning into him.

It was another ten minutes before Vincent finally woke up. Ada carefully controlled her breathing and her heart, making it seem as if she were still sleeping. She could hear his heart pick up speed though as he slowly dragged his hands across the skin on her back. He leaned his face forward and pressed his lips to the skin on her chest.

"We have to get up, Vincent." She said to him, though his arms remained locked around her and he shifted in the bed so that he was half laying on top of Ada.

"Not yet. I'm not ready to let you out of my arms." He growled softly. Ada sighed gently, but relaxed into his arms. It seemed that he was dozing off again when there came a knock on his door and it opened. Zack walked in with a tray of food and put it down.

"So you two getting out of bed any time soon?" He asked, a grin in his face. When Vincent didn't reply, Ada answered.

"Eventually. His dad will come for him eventually. " She pointed out, Vincent freezing for a moment before he let out a grumbling sigh and released his hold on Ada. She sat up and began to eat.

"He wont be able to keep interfering forever." Zack reassured them both, but clapped a hand reassuringly on Vincent's shoulder. He nodded and Zack walked out of the room. With him gone, Vincent moved up behind Ada and wrapped his arms around her again. He kissed her neck softly, causing her to shudder.

"You are headed right back for trouble." She warned him, amused.

"It would be worth it." Vincent replied, letting his teeth drag across the skin where her shoulder and neck met, bringing another shudder out of her.

"Not if it's your father who comes in here and sees you with your hands all over me." She pointed out. He kissed up her neck slowly and it took everything in her not to moan.

"My hands are hot all I would have all over you. That would be a shock for him. I think he forgot how strong this feeling was. Wanting your mate so badly and not being able to have them. Needing to feel their skin and taste their kiss." His grip on her tightened and she shuddered.