Taken by my mate

Evadiene

I broke down what he had started and he got one that hadn’t been opened yet, assembling it beside me with my direction. I was able to do it faster the second time, meanwhile the crew that had been sent to assemble all of the equipment worked on the rigs that went in other gyms. Most returned to their workouts, but many looked back over to me and Lucas sitting on the floor. We built the machines in tandem as I corrected him, or pushed him aside when my smaller fingers made the task easier.

About forty minutes later they were both done and other men came over to lift and push them against the wall for us. They both started up quickly, like the first one, and he went to set up the one he had been working on before I waved him off.

“Let me?” I asked, bypassing all of the same set up steps I had before.

“I haven’t proven I can follow instruction yet?” He chuckled.

I was momentarily distracted with the screen, swiping icons and typing into the admin bar. “I don’t want you to follow the instructions this time. It looks like Covyn had them re-produce these machines out of stronger materials to account for wolven strength, but they didn’t correct their software for registering the increased strength and speed.”

Spencer was standing beside me now, watching me as I worked quicker than before. “Where did you learn to do this?”

I scoffed and laughed. “Please, I was basically there when code was invented. I could do a better job if I had a laptop to link with it, I unfortunately had to fry mine when I left my apartment.”

“Fried?” Spencer questioned, but didn’t urge me to elaborate. “Ask the Alpha to get you a knew one. He’s spent a lot more on these idiots-“ he thumbed toward the hun of men, “-and they’re not nearly as important as you.”

I felt the blush warm my cheeks but moved to the other machine to set it up. “Maybe I’ll talk to him tonight when we are ordering some clothes.”

I finished setting up the second one and then saw the real power of these wolven. Spencer and Lucas laid into the panels with their punches, obviously blowing my score out of the water.

I rolled my eyes. “Show offs.”

Spencer guided me from the gym after that, heading to the kitchen for lunch and then outside to eat. He was busy looking for a table or bench, though my eye was on a small spot of sun near the tree line and led the way. The grass was already dry but I would have sat down even if the dew hadn’t evaporated just to get some sun.

It didn’t take long before I was sweating and pulling the sweater off and soon after I was done my food and using it as a pillow to look up at the sky. There wasn’t a cloud for miles and Covyn had returned without even the inkling of trouble on his heals. I began to consider that I merely hadn’t seen the lightning the night before and the rest was anxiety bringing back old fears.

Spencer was telling me how they tried to schedule all of their deliveries the same day so they could announce to everyone that one day a month they couldn’t shift between eight and two. It made sense, but most of what Covyn was busy with all day was to do with coordinating all the incoming deliveries.

“How does your neck feel?” Spencer asked suddenly, dusting off his hands from lunch.

I sighed, I had been ignoring it but now I was thinking about it again. “Same as before, I could use a new distraction.”

He pondered that for a minute. “How are you with cars?”

I laughed. “I was practically there when they were invented,” I replied with a smirk and he laughed, but I was just dying for someone to ask the right questions.

In the garage it was Ellion’s car that needed work, well his or Daley’s depending who you asked. Ellion had tried to fix it himself but his arms were too wide to get out the part he needed to replace. I, however, had the perfect sized arms and knew what he was talking about.

I grabbed one of the wheeled boards to slide under the car and could see what they meant. The car wasn’t thought out well and you’d have to take apart half the engine to get to the one thing you needed, unless you had tiny hands. Spencer handed me all the tools I needed and wrapped a chord around it from above for fear that I’d drop it on myself when it came loose.

Once it came loose he started unboxing the replacement and I waited under the car. The sun was shining in on my legs and I was starting to sweat even in the T-shirt. We were alone in the garage and I cared less what Spencer saw, wriggling my T-shirt off to get the slight breeze at my skin around the tank top.

“Spencer you almost through?” I called. “I’m sweating like a pig under here.”

“Evadiene?”

The use of my name surprised me more than the voice at first. All day everyone had only called me Luna and I was starting to forget which name I was going by. I tried to angle my head to see under the car even though I knew who it was.

“Covyn! Are you all done your meetings?” I asked excitedly.

“Spencer!” Covyn growled. “Why is my Luna under Daley’s car?”

“Excuse you?” I snapped, sliding out and looking up at him. “What the fuck do you think I’m doing, having a tea party?”

I could practically see his forming erection and I remembered the tank top, no bra, and how much I had been sweating. I ignored his hungry eyes, remembering that I was upset with him and folded my arms over my chest defiantly.

“Well?” The word came challenging but he used his foot and slid me back under the car as Spencer came over.

“You let her walk around like that all day?” He demanded.

“Again, excuse you?!” I scoffed trying to slide back out but he held his foot on the end of the trolley.

Poor Spencer was incredibly confused. “In some pants and your Tshirt? I mean she had your sweater on this morning but it’s hot as balls now and I hardly think letting the Luna get heat exhaustion would be a good sign of me watching out for her.”

“I’ve only had the shirt off while I’ve been under the car you ass!” I shouted, “but if you’re going to start bitching and trying to control me, I believe I have a three thousand dollar show number I could bust out.”

“I already burned it,” he snarled.

“What!” I yelled, sitting up suddenly and wacking my head under the car. “Owe.”

He pulled the trolley out, concern replacing his earlier issues but my arms were still folded over my chest. “Are you alright?”

“Fine,” I muttered but his eyes were wide and he picked me up quickly into his arms. “What are you doing?”

“You’re bleeding,” he gasped, bringing me to sit on the table.

I looked over my hands and arms but then I felt it run down from my brow beside my eye. “I’m sure it looks worse than it is. Faces always bleed more than they should,” I muttered, going to wipe at it when Covyn caught my hand.

“Don’t do that,” he scolded me. “Your hands are filthy, and you humans are so prone to infection.”

I groaned at the word. Human. He never even asked if I was human. What was worse was that he never let anyone else ask either, always speaking for me.

“It’s fine,” I said again, batting his hand away but Spencer brought over some damp paper towel and handed it to Covyn, who dabbed at the blood. “Or everyone ignore me. That’s fun too.”

I saw Spencer at least acknowledge that I had spoken even if he didn’t say anything. I knew he was afraid of Covyn barking back but I wasn’t.

“What’s got your knickers in a bind,” I bit back towards him.

“Long day,” he muttered. “And then I hear that my Luna is assembling gym equipment and fixing cars?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“We have people for that, and what if you got hurt. Wait, you did.” He dabbed at my forehead again but I was already laughing.

“I only got hurt because you said you burned my $400 Cassidy original. Those crystals were real you know.” I glared at him. “And don’t say ‘I can replace it’, that you would just burn one of the dozen things I own is the problem, but it also would have prevented me from walking around without a bra or underwear for the last few days if you had just had them cleaned like a normal person.”

I could see this small fact made him cringe and his eyes wandered to my chest. I recrossed my arms.

“Are you going to stop fussing so I can finish fixing Daley’s car?” I asked after he had returned to pressing the tissue to my head.

“We have people for that, and frankly I’m disappointed in your personal guard for allowing this.” He growled at Spencer and I smacked him.

“I asked, offered, and all but begged. I’m more capable than you give me credit for,” I rebut, ready to start yelling at him.

He ran a hand up my back and kissed me. The sparks warmed me but I resisted the urge to put my hands through his hair and pull him closer. Instead I pushed him away, pulling the damp towel from his hand to check if it was still bleeding.

“I’m just worried about you,” he said softly. “If I could lock you inside myself so I knew you’d always be safe I would.”

His words worried me and I looked at him with more concern in my face than ever before. “Would you cage a bird and never let it fly in the name of safety?”

He scoffed at me. “Of course. If it was hurt or killed it’s life would end, flying would be the least of the concerns.”

I tried to keep the tears back. He wouldn’t know why they hurt me so much, and I wouldn’t be able to explain it to him. I swallowed down everything I was feeling, pushing it down into my stomach where the pain would only take away my hunger.

“But you would never see what it could do?”

He pet my hair back and kissed my forehead. “Birds fly Evadiene. Everyone knows what they can do.”

My heart broke and I turned away from him so he wouldn’t see my face. “I want to finish the car,” I said softly.

He shook his head. “We have mechanics, the bleeding has finally stopped.”

I spun around on the table and hopped off the other side. “Fine, and when they can’t reach it and Daley has no car I will remind you how I was ten minutes from being done. I’m going to your room.”

“Our room,” he corrected but I flipped him the bird as I stalked off. “Wait, you need the key.”

I pulled the second copy from my pocket and held it above my head as I continued on my path. “I installed the locks!”

I heard a growl behind me but I didn’t turn to regard him. He wanted someone helpless and docile, and that had never been me.