Alex couldn’t help but wrap an arm around her shoulder. “I’m sorry they didn’t include you, but since you couldn’t shift, it would have been hard for them to play with you.”
“I know. The first time it happened, I was about six and ran home to my mom, crying about how mean my brothers were to me. That’s when we hadthe talkabout the differences between male werewolves and female werewolves. To this day, I don’t think it’s fair.”
“Life isn’t fair.”
Tawny chuckled. “Very true. So Liam, how did you become a trainer?”
CHAPTERFIVE
“My story is quitedifferent from Alex’s. I loved school, in part because I was the star athlete and a top scholar. My hidden werewolf talents were a great help in playing high school football,” Liam said. “I had speed, strength, and agility.”
“Werewolves aren’t inherently smarter than humans, though,” Tawny said.
“No, but my dad was a lawyer. Anything less than excellent was not acceptable. So I studied. A lot. I learned that the more I prepared, the more I liked the success.”
She smiled. “I get it. You were driven by ego.”
Alex laughed. “Tawny sees right through you.”
“Maybe,” he said.
“How did you two meet?” she asked.
“It’s not a nice story,” Alex said.
Tawny dipped her chin and stuck out her bottom lip. “Please? I won’t judge.”
All people judged. “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he said.
She smiled. It was a nice sight. “Thank you.”
“There are things I’m not proud of. Let me start by saying my dad and I were very close. Being the only men in the family, we had to stick together. When I was seventeen, he was in a wolf fight and was killed.”
She sucked in a breath. When Tawny placed a hand on his arm, it helped lessen the pain that always came when he thought of his father.
“Do you know why your dad was in that fight?”
“We believe he fought a clan who was into human trafficking. Of course, no one came forward to say what really happened.”
“Continue with the story, Alex,” Liam said.
“Needless to say, I went into a severe depression. My school work suffered, partially because I was more determined than ever to become the best fighter. But once I succeeded, I kind of got mixed up with a crowd that wasn’t the best. I drank too much, even for a werewolf, and did drugs, but with our metabolism, it didn’t have a big effect. That was when I met Daniel Scott.”
“Am I supposed to know who that is?” Tawny asked.
“No. He is Rider Scott’s cousin who had an addiction problem. Rider moved from Florida to Canada to help Dan with his drug problem. That’s when Rider decided to start a business teaching werewolves and non-werewolves how to fight effectively. That’s when he hired both Liam and me.”
She turned to Liam. “I can see why Alex would want to become an expert fighter. He didn’t want the same thing to happen to him that happened to his father, but what about you?”
The fire was dwindling, and since Alex had finished telling Tawny about his background, he gathered a few more logs and placed them on the fire. They were still a little wet, but the heat from the existing fire should dry them out enough to allow the logs to burn.
“Like I said, I wanted to be the best at everything, and that included being able to defend myself. I had a natural inclination to strategize during a fight.” Liam then grinned.
“So it really is all about ego with you, isn’t it?” Then she laughed.
“Okay, Miss vet assistant. You can’t tell me that you don’t always strive to be the best you can be.”
Tawny glanced to the ceiling. “I suppose I do. Being a Granger implies you will be successful. Mind you, we have a few relatives who might not appear to be over-achievers, but they are in their own way.”