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.
"Stop being so negative. Everyone is clumsy when they first start out. You'll get the hang of it in no time." Sandra walked around Janette and stood directly in front of her with her arms folded across her chest. "Here's another assignment I want you to do. Consider it a part of your training in self-defense. Stop being so down on yourself. You have the self-confidence of a peanut. Seriously. You cannot protect yourself when you don't think you are worthy of being protected." Sandra motioned to the steps of the front porch. "Sit down. Take a load off. Your two hours are just about up anyway."
Janette took off the fighting gear and placed it back in the box by the porch before grabbing her water and sitting next to Sandra. "I don't know what it is with my self-confidence. I guess I have never really had much of it. I've never really been that outgoing." She shrugged her shoulders and took another sip from her bottle.
"Well, self-confidence is a big part of self-defense. When you are attacked by someone, you need to believe that you can handle yourself. You don't want to stand there and hesitate, wondering whether or not you can do it. You just have to know that you can do it and then act upon it. You won't always be practicing by yourself like this. Eventually, I will have you sparring with other pack members." Sandra laughed loudly when she saw the horrified look on Janette's face.
"You mean I will be actually fighting other people in the pack?"
"Yes. You have to know what it's like to hit an actual person. Not only that, but you will learn how to anticipate their next move. It's not good enough to just come to my house and kick at nothing for a couple hours a day. There is so much more to self-defense than you realize." Sandra drank the last of her water and stood in front of Janette.
"Yes, you will probably get a bruise or two. Yes, you will most likely get knocked on your ass a few times. Don't worry about it. You'll get used to it. If you're anything like me, you will love it. You don't think you will but I can tell you from personal experience that being able to defend yourself is one of the biggest highs you will ever get. Not to mention what it does to your self-confidence."
"This is just all so new to me," Janette said, shaking her head in disbelief.
"I imagine it is. Another thing to think about is the amount of respect you will gain from the other pack members. They won't hurt you intentionally when sparring. They understand that you are not only doing this to protect yourself but to protect them and their families as well. I can guarantee you that they will do everything in their power to help you learn and grow."
"Sitting on the job again, ladies?" Mitch came strolling up to Janette and took her hand to help her stand. He wrapped his arms around her waist and planted a firm kiss to her forehead. "I have that feast I promised you waiting at the house. How are you feeling?"
"Actually, not bad. I had trouble with the running but I think I could get used to it."
Sandra began loading the equipment into the box and pulled it onto the porch. "Same time tomorrow morning. We will start learning blocks. Until then." Sandra went into her house and closed the door.
"Shall we?" Mitch led Janette down the wooded path and back to the mansion, where he led her to the dining area.
Janette wasn't surprised this time by the table filled to the brim with all kinds of food and the table being surrounded by numerous other pack members. What she was surprised by was the sight of her grandma and aunt sitting, waiting for her.
"Jan," Her grandmother quickly came to hug her. "I was so worried about you. Mitch told us everything that had happened. Are you okay?"
Janette saw the tears in her grandmother's eyes and hugged her back. "Don't cry, grandma. I'm just fine. Everything is just fine. Mitch told you everything? Even the part about..."
"Yes, he told us about you being turned." Rose hugged her granddaughter tightly once more. "I'm just glad that you are okay. I was so scared for you when Mitch told us what happened."
