Again, Thanks MythOFreak for editing. Hope you all enjoy this chapter even though it's shorter than the others.
*
"Janette, you gotta get up, baby." Mitch brushed the messy strands of hair from Janette's face as her eyes fluttered open. He smiled down at her and kissed her lips. "I know you're tired but it's already six in the morning and you told Sandra you would be at her place by seven, remember?"
"No, it's too early," Janette whined as she snuggled even closer to Mitch's body and tucked her face into his neck. "I'm so sleepy and my body aches from head to toe. Can't I just reschedule or something?"
Mitch chuckled in her ear. "I'm afraid not, love. Don't worry. Sandra knows what you have been through and I've instructed her to take it easy on you until you are fully recovered. Come on. Get up. I'll get you some breakfast and coffee. Meet me downstairs in ten minutes." Mitch stood up from the bed to get dressed and smiled when he looked down and noticed Janette's sleepy eyes gazing lustfully at his naked form. "Not now. Maybe later when you are done training. I promise it will be worth the wait. Now get dressed."
Janette forced her exhausted body out of the ridiculously comfortable bed and trudged over to her closet. She tugged on a pair of light gray sweat pants and a white t-shirt followed by a clean pair of socks and running shoes. She walked to the bathroom where she quickly brushed her teeth and ran a comb through her hair before twisting it into a sloppy bun on the top of her head. She frowned when she leaned in to examine herself in the mirror. "Well, don't you look like hell," she said, rubbing her eyes with her fists. She splashed some water on her face to wake herself up before turning and heading out of the bedroom and downstairs to the kitchen.
"Well now, don't you look cute," Mitch said adoringly. "I've never seen you with your hair in a bun. It's almost librarian-ish. Very sexy." He pulled Janette into a deep kiss, letting his tongue tease hers before pulling away. "Half a whole wheat bagel with cream cheese and a side of strawberries. Eat up, you're gonna need it." He motioned for her to sit at the table and placed the plate in front of her along with a mug of steaming coffee.
"Only half a bagel? Am I on a diet?" she asked, winking at him teasingly.
"I can tell you from personal experience that you don't want to eat too much before a session with Sandra. You will only wind up with a stomachache or vomiting. Either way it's not a good idea." Mitch took a sip of his coffee while intently watching Janette bite into a plump strawberry. He wasn't sure why but he found it quite arousing. "When you get back, I will have a huge feast awaiting you. Don't you worry."
Janette noticed Mitch staring at her. "Jesus, Mitch, it's just a strawberry. It's not like I'm sitting here seductively eating a banana or something," She laughed and rolled her eyes at him before taking another bite of her bagel.
Mitch chuckled to himself but stopped when he remembered Janette on her knees in front of him in the woods the night before. He cleared his throat and sucked down the rest of his coffee, trying to get the image out of his head.
"Ya liked that, did ya?" Janette asked, wiggling her eyebrows at Mitch.
Mitch smiled and shook his head. He made a mental note to try to guard his thoughts a little better from now on. He placed Janette's dishes in the sink when she finished eating. "Come on. You ready?"
"Not really."
"Too bad. I'll walk you over there."
They headed out the back door arm in arm into the dark woods. The sun hadn't even come up yet but Janette noticed that she could see perfectly clear. Almost as though it were midday. "I don't think I will ever get used to these changes, Mitch. It's just too weird."
"Nah, you'll get used to things soon enough. It won't take long. Pretty soon, you'll experience your first shift. I'll be right here with you every step of the way. Don't be scared. I bet your wolf is absolutely beautiful, just like you."
"It's not so much that I'm scared, Mitch. It's just that I really don't know what to expect. I still don't know what to think about everything that has happened to me. To us. Everything seems to be happening so fast, it's dizzying, really." She grasped his hand in hers. "Before I met you, I never thought my life would be going in this direction. I've always thought my life would remain quite boring, as usual. I never thought I would find anyone who means as much to me as you do."
Mitch leaned down and kissed Janette softly. "Neither did I. We're here."
Janette looked ahead to see Sandra waiting patiently in her front yard, tiki torches lit and the box of gear sitting next to her on the ground. "Good morning!" she said in a chipper voice.
Janette groaned to herself. It's too early for this, she thought.
"I'll see you in two hours." Mitch kissed her once more before turning to head back down the wooded path.
"Did you sleep well?" Sandra asked, motioning for Janette to sit on the ground to start stretching.
"Yeah, I did actually. Jeez how long have you been up, anyway?"
"I'm usually up by five every morning. I've always been a morning person. If I sleep in too late, even just until 6:30 in the morning, I feel sluggish for the rest of the day."
Janette silently followed Sandra's lead and stretched the best she could without injuring herself.
"Okay, I hope you're ready for this," Sandra said as she stood and stretched her arms above her head. "Just do the best you can and try to keep up." With that, Sandra took off in a light jog heading straight into the woods with Janette following her. They ran for about half an hour, stopping several times so Janette could catch her breath.
"I don't know how you do this every day." Janette leaned over and tried to catch her breath. She accepted the bottle of water that Sandra offered her and began gulping it down.
"Not so fast," Sandra warned. "Only take small sips. You're going to make yourself sick."
After a brief rest, Sandra walked Janette through the punches she had taught her the night before and then added in a few kicks, being sure that she got each one down before moving on to the next.
Janette did as she was told, kicking repeatedly until her legs felt as though they would give out. "I feel so clumsy sometimes." Janette kicked the air in front of her again just as Sandra had instructed her.
