Adea
Gamma Darci was still eating as we made our way out of the kitchen. Gabe ran by my side as Leo chased after us. He caught up to us as we made it through the lobby. Leo glared at me as Gabe walked between us.
“We’re supposed to be protecting her, not chasing her, Leo,” Gabe said.
“We were having a little fun, weren’t we, Luna?” Leo asked. He leaned his upper body forward and held eye contact.
“We were having fun, but not only am I stronger than you, but I’m also faster.” I stuck my tongue out at him as I teased him. Served the big blockhead right.
I left them standing there while I opened the door. Gabe and Leo followed me as I headed away from the packhouse and headed toward the training field. My gaze shifted to Leo as he gave Gabe not-so-subtle glances when he thought he wasn’t looking.
I didn’t know what happened over the weekend, but from what I saw at breakfast, something did happen. If it was spicy, Gabe would have come and told me, wouldn’t he? I made a mental note to get to the bottom of it. As soon as I could get him alone.
On the way there, we met a few others from training. I spied Zoe, the only other girl in Tier 1 with me as she walked with a couple of guys in Tier 2. Her short curly hair bounced as she walked. She held the guys’ full attention until she smiled at me; her dimples flashing. The guys with her greeted me and continued on.
A lot has happened in the last week; training, the competition, and the Luna Ceremony. I wondered what everyone thought now that they knew I was their Luna. I hope it didn’t get in the way of training together. I needed the experience of fighting against others.
Life had been a whirlwind of events and I was thankful for a weekend alone with Ethan. I was thankful for the break and now, I was ready to focus on getting stronger. My dreams reminded me of what was coming if we didn’t stop Shane. I needed to be stronger if I was going to be able to protect anyone.
The field came into view as we turned in. We made it early but there were already a lot of people here. A group of men was stretching on the field, three men were running laps, and a few were sprawled out on the grass.
Gabe and Leo will be training today but they are still on guard duty. They would be taking turns sparring; one watching me while the other spars. It felt like they were on babysitting duty and I couldn’t help feeling like a child. I knew the thought was silly but I couldn’t help but think it.
“I’m going first,” Gabe called over his shoulder as he headed towards the group of men stretching. Leo nodded and I watched as my best friend started doing lunges. I looked beside me to find Leo pulling his shirt off and throwing it to the floor. He stretched and his muscles rippled as he interlocked his fingers behind his head. He smirked at me and I didn’t fight the need to roll my eyes.
“Like what you see, Luna?” He asked.
“Nope, not at all.”
“Could have fooled me,” he said nonchalantly, but I could hear the sarcasm. It was there clear as day. He pushed his chest forward and I heard a pop followed by a groan. “Yeah, that felt good.”
His hands dropped to his side as his eyes followed Gabe’s movements. I followed his gaze and recognized a guy from Tier 1. He held down Gabe’s feet as he did sit-ups. Every time Gabe sat up, they came nose to nose and I smiled. Leo cracked his neck beside me and I arched my eyebrows.
Could he be more obvious?
“Do you like Gabe?” I asked.
He cocked his head to the side in thought. He was no longer upset as he mulled my question around. It wasn’t difficult to answer. He leaned to the right and his shoulder was close to my left one.
“What not to like?” Leo asked, his eyes were lit up with excitement.
“Are you seriously answering my question with a question?”
“I don’t know, Tiny, what’s it to you?” He asked. I sighed. If this conversation wasn’t about Gabe, I would have been over it.
“Do you like my best friend or not?”
Leo stood straight and ran his fingers down his imaginary beard. I was close to punching him. Would it be considered training even though we hadn’t started yet? There weren’t any rules prohibiting my guards from sparring with me. I smiled wickedly at that but didn’t make any moves, yet.
“If I answer your question will you answer one of mine?” Leo asked. This time he was serious as he stared at me. There were no jokes and I wasn’t sure how to feel about this serious Leo. Was this the Leo that Gabe got to know? Was the animosity between the two of us only because of the day he lost to me?
“I don’t see why not,” I said hesitantly.
“So yes?” Leo pressed.
“Yes, I think I can answer one of your questions in exchange for answering mine.”
“Done,” Leo shrugged. “Yes, I like him. He’s the first person that’s been nice to me since I got here, maybe even before. Plus… he’s hot.”
I nodded, pleased with his answer. I couldn’t help but smile at the last bit. What question would he ask? I couldn’t think of anything he would want to know.
“My best friend is hot,” I confirmed. This was probably the only time I would agree with him; not probably, it definitely was.
“Who was the last Gamma and why would the mention of him cause Gabe to shut down on me?”