Felix

We didn't speak on the way back, and that was okay. Everett's scent on the blankets in my guest bedroom had been overtaken by my own a week ago and I'd been experiencing a kind of withdrawal ever since. Everett's car was saturated with his scent, overwhelming me. I wasn't sure I would have been capable of intelligent conversation even if Everett wanted one.

I parked Everett's car in my – our – driveway and turned to him, the anxiety I had been fighting back all morning finally taking hold of me. Our agreement was that we were friends. Sometimes Everett kissed me, which was amazing, but it wasn't part of the deal and if he wanted a kissing relationship with me now, wouldn't he have laid on one me already? He missed me enough to move in, but not enough to fully accept me. I was trying hard to be okay with that, since I was already being offered more than I thought I would have for a long time, but the hard truth was that this still wasn't enough for me.

I couldn't bring up that conversation, not yet. I had to go back to work and Everett wasn't even settled in. But when we went inside, I didn't want to have to watch him moving into my guest room across the hall. Even if all we did was hold each other, I wanted him in my room at night, in my bed.

I got out of the car and unlocked the front door before doubling back to help Everett with his bags. By the time I reached him, he already had them all slung across his lean torso. I settled for holding the door open, instead.

Everett headed for the hallway and my feet remained rooted in the entryway. I wanted so badly to be near him, but I couldn't make myself follow.

Everett came back not even a minute later and found me still standing in the doorway, the door propped open by my hip. "You okay?" he asked.

I forced a smile and finally entered the house. "Of course. But I should probably head back to work. I don't want to make Elspeth cover my class for too long."

Everett's expression fell and I wanted to take it back, but it would hurt less to have him stay with me but apart from me if I didn't have to watch it in progress. If I came home and he was already set up in the guest room, I thought I could handle it. For now. "I understand," Everett said. He walked toward me and paused an arms-length away. "What's the protocol for getting in and out of pack lands?" he asked.

"Do you have to leave today? I need to get you registered – they'll have your photo on file along with the color, make, model, and license plate of your car. We can take care of that after I get off work or tomorrow."

"It's fine. I was thinking about getting to know the area better, but it might be better to wait until you can come as a guide."

"Well, if you don't mind waiting, I'll be happy to show you around," I said. "You have a lot of pack lands left to see, too."

Everett's expression shifted, anxiety creeping back in as it did every time his transfer came up. I stepped forward, halving the distance left between us, and wondered where the boundaries were now. Hugging was allowed, I knew that much. I took Everett's hand in mine and squeezed it reassuringly. "I really think you're going to like it here," I said, "and if you don't, this doesn't have to be permanent."

His lips quirked upward. "Thank you. When should I expect you back?"

I fully intended to dismiss my students a little early today. I glanced at the time on my phone. It was just after noon. My students were given a lunch break at 11:30 and Elspeth would just be starting lessons again. I'd missed barely any class time. "I'll be home a little after three," I decided. "Will you be okay until then?"

"I'll be fine." We stood awkwardly – me because I didn't know how to part from him (hugging? Or could I get away with a peck on the cheek?). I wasn't sure why Everett was so uncomfortable, but I thought maybe it was for the same reason.

Finally, I offered Everett a small smile and took a step back, deciding to leave gracefully. In a relationship where he set the boundaries, I needed to be careful not to cross them. I was almost out the door when Felix set his hands on my shoulders to stop me. He spun me around and cupped my cheek with his hand. It always surprised me, how smooth his hand was compared to mine. You could definitely tell which one of us had a desk job.

I held my breath as Everett leaned in and pressed his lips gently to mine, pulling away almost before I could respond. "Take care of yourself," he said, his eyes soft on mine.

"I will. See you soon." I left before my hormones could get the better of me.

--

My students were in one-on-one fights when I reached the training grounds. Elspeth had pitted Thomas against Ursula and Leo against Lissa, which was a mistake. Thomas was infatuated with Ursula, so he wouldn't fight his hardest against her. When he was paired against Leo, he would do his best to impress Ursula, so they tended to be training partners. I frequently put myself into the rotation, too, just to give them some variety.

Elspeth was watching Lissa and Leo's fight intently when I approached her. She lifted both brows when she saw me. "I honestly didn't expect you to come back, and definitely not so soon."

I frowned. "I don't want to take advantage of you."

Elspeth snorted. "You wouldn't be. I'm happy to help, Felix, you know that."

And I did – Elspeth was great. She had been my mentor when I was just starting out in the training ring and I had always felt a bond with her because of that. "I really appreciate it, but get out of here. I know you have better things to do than leading someone else's class."

"I'll stay until these bouts are over. Why don't you go try to motivate Cupid over there?"

I snorted, unsurprised that she had noticed how Thomas was pulling back and making moon eyes at Ursula. I turned to them and watched as Thomas threw a slow punch at Ursula's face. When she wouldn't have dodged it in time, he pulled back his punch until it barely grazed against her cheek.

Unbelievable.

"Thomas, this is embarrassing," I called. That made his cheeks flame, but when Urusla's leg came up to kick at his chest, he let it push him back a couple of steps and didn't take a clear opportunity to pull her off-balance. This was going nowhere and I was sick of trying to goad him into action.

I growled and pulled off my shirt, then inserted myself into their fight. "Ursula, go observe Lissa and Leo," I said, catching one of Thomas' weak punches in my hand.

Thomas' eyes widened as Ursula ran off immediately. "Uh, hi, Teach."

I rolled my eyes. "This is getting out of hand, Thomas," I said. "I need you to take this training seriously. I really thought the attack during your first patrol would have straightened you out, but here you are, wasting your time and Urusla's." I swept a low kick behind Thomas' legs, sending him crashing to the mat. I straddled him and gripped at his arms, bringing them easily over his head and anchoring him there so he had no choice but to look at me and to understand just how easily he could be brought down.

"I am taking it seriously," he said, his eyes wide and fearful.

"No, you aren't. You're barely fighting Ursula. You're never going to improve fighting like that, and neither will she. Do you want her getting hurt out on patrol because you didn't have the nerve to really attack her in practice?"

Thomas' eyes widened further and he squirmed beneath me, trying to break out of my hold.

"Answer me," I demanded. I'd been going too easy on him for too long.

"No, I don't want her getting hurt."

"Then you have to push her," I said. I released him and stood. "Now, attack me."

I fought through several bouts with Thomas, using different fighting styles each time. He got a couple of good hits in after a couple of matches and I finally started feeling like he was taking this seriously, not just fighting to impress Ursula. There was a fire in his eyes I had rarely seen before.

"Ursula, get back in here," I called. She obediently stood before Thomas. "Fight him like he's attacking our borders," I told her. "As long as you don't damage him permanently, nothing's off-limits."

Ursula cast an uncertain gaze my way. These were normal training rules, but in the past I had let my students hold back just a little more. We rarely had broken bones after a day of fighting, rarely had anything that took more than an hour to heal. No more. It was time my students started taking this seriously – all of them. Not all of them would go on to work as defenders for our pack, but if they did, they needed to be prepared.

My mate was here, and he was counting on me to keep him safe. The training I did here was a huge part of that.

Ursula slipped into a defensive stance, her arms held out in front of her, ready to attack. Thomas still had a determination in his gaze that he'd never worn before when facing against Ursula, and I could see how nervous that was making her. She was taking this seriously, and so was he.

Thomas lunged forward and Ursula danced back, circling around him and pouncing on his back, her arms going around his throat. Thomas gripped at her arms, trying to pry them away while he spun around to try and throw her off. Ursula clung to him and squeezed tighter. Thomas' face started going red and I thought that would be the end of their match until he loosened his knees, dropping to the floor and rolling so Ursula was underneath him. The force of their fall jarred her into letting Thomas go. He lurched to his feet and spun, trying to pin her while she was still on the ground, but she rolled away and stood up.

The two stood facing each other, breathing hard, bracing for the next move. Thomas launched himself at her, swinging a hard punch at Ursula's face. She jerked out of the way, but he still clipped her cheek. Ursula stumbled back and Thomas took the opportunity to knock her off-balance, landing her on the ground and pinning her down, her hands anchored to the floor with his own, his legs holding down her thighs, and his lips at her throat. If he wanted, he could extend his canines and rip into her.

"The match goes to Thomas," I announced, relieved. If this hadn't worked to light a fire in Thomas, I would have had to transfer one of them out of my class. I had never had to transfer anyone out before, a point of pride with me, but I would if it meant everyone ended up better prepared in the end.

Elspeth clapped my back and said quietly, "Nice work."

The feeling fulfillment that washed through me was almost as good as being back home with Everett.

When it was finally late enough in the afternoon that I could dismiss my students, I asked Thomas to stay back. He nodded apprehensively and we stood in silence while his classmates trickled out. I didn't miss the concerned glance Ursula sent his way.

The two weren't mates. We could identify our mates when we reached sexual maturity, which tended to be a little earlier for females than males and which was different for everyone. These two were definitely old enough that they would know if that connection existed between them, so unless they were mated and hiding it from everyone, Thomas' feelings for Ursula weren't going to go anywhere. I felt a little less bad for him, seeing the sympathy in her gaze and knowing that she cared.

"I'm sorry," Thomas said once we were alone.

I waved him off. "I didn't ask you to stay so you could apologize. I actually wanted to say that you did great work today. I always knew you had more fight than you were giving me, and it's good to finally see it."

That only made Thomas' blush darken. "Thanks."

Thomas was a sweet kid. He had a big heart and a ton of potential. I didn't think he would work as a fighter for the guild full-time, but I would be surprised if he didn't sign on as a reserve fighter to be called upon when there was a need. "That's all I had to say. Unless there was anything you wanted to talk about, you can go."

Thomas turned away, then hesitated and turned back to face me. "Thanks for pushing me," he said. "I don't like to hurt people, especially not when they haven't even done anything to deserve it. That's what makes training so hard. I don't know if I ever would have fought so hard without you as my teacher."

My heart warmed. I loved my job. "You're welcome. Just don't make me push you like this again tomorrow, okay?"

Thomas laughed. "Okay. Bye, Teach."

The instant Thomas was gone, I was out the door, sprinting home to my mate.