Their Simple Kind of Love

Distractions

  Katie's POV

All night I dreamt of James and me. We spent most of the dream frolicking through the forest that surrounds our pack. The dream ended on the edge of a cliff with James holding me in a romantic embrace, and just as he was about to kiss me, my alarm clock went off and the dream instantly faded. I groaned and opened my eyes and looked at the clock. I had to get up early this morning to go to training. Two days a week I got up two hours early to go to an hour of training with the pack's head warrior Malachi and the head trainer Devin.

I rolled out of bed and into my closet. Normally, I'd take a shower but I opted to wait and take my shower after training.

I put on a pair of grey athletic shorts and a white tank top. I put my hair in a ponytail and then headed to our private kitchen for a banana. I would eat a full breakfast after training.

I jogged down the stairs and out of the packhouse. I picked up my pace as I ran towards the training field. The scent of sandalwood as I approached the field made Zia start pacing and whining. I knew it was James before the field came into view. I heard the sounds of males already training. Once they came into view, I saw James sparring with my brother while the head warrior Malachi watched. His yellow eyes narrowed in concentration as he watches the future alpha and beta fight.

James moved so quickly and methodically. I stopped and watched him circle Tim like the predator he was. There was a shift in the wind, and James froze and looked at me. Leaving, Tim enough of a window to kick his feet out from under him. James hit the ground hard and my brother laughed.

"Dude, you shouldn't let yourself get distracted," Tim said while pulling James to his feet.

James looked towards me and a faint smile spread onto his handsome face. "James!" Malachi barked and the young alpha turned away from me to be yelled at by the head warrior.

Someone ran up behind me and smacked me in the back. I yelped and turned to my friend Freddie. Her eyes looked like her father Malachi's. She smirked at me. "Gotta watch your back, Kat."

"I-I was," I stumbled on my words before taking a breath. "You are right. Ready for training this morning?"

She patted my shoulder and looked over at the guys. "My Dad is teaching Tim and James the new moves we learned in Africa."

"Awesome," I said as we walked onto the field. "Are you going to teach me some of your new moves?"

She shrugged. "Only if you pin me." She winked and began stretching.

I followed suit and, soon we were joined by Michelle. I saw Tony go over to train with James and Tim. I found myself distracted by James when he took off his shirt revealing his muscles. My jaw dropped open and my mind went blank. I had always thought James was hot but him being shirtless never distracted me before.

"Katie," I heard Michelle say to me. She shook my arm and I jumped. My eyes were still on her brother when she smacked my face. "Katie, are you drooling over James?"

I rubbed my face and shook my head. "N-no."

Michelle and Freddie laughed. "Dude, you saw how they were last night," Freddie remarked. "The whole pack saw you two almost macking in the middle of the dining room.

"We were not macking," I snarled at Freddie. "I tripped and he caught me."

Freddie and Michelle looked at each other and started giggling.

"Frederica!" I heard Malachi's deep voice bellow from a few feet away. "If you and your friends are going to stand there and giggle then you can leave my field."

Freddie rolled her eyes and looked at her father. "Sorry, Dad. We were just about to start our warm-up."

Michelle and I nodded. "Yeah, sorry, Malachi," I said to him, and a faint smile crept onto his stone-cold face.

We started our stretches. Then we ran a few laps around the field and then the three of us, started sparring. It was Freddie and me at first. I tried my best to pin her, but with her feline reflexes, she always dodged me. She managed to pin me a few times. So I tag teamed Michelle in so she could try pinning Freddie down. Watching Freddie spar was like watching a dance. Werecats were more flexible than us. They also had ways of bending and moving their bodies in ways we wolves could never dream of. Michelle whined when Freddie flipped her. "Your turn," Michelle groaned from the ground while Freddie laughed.

"You two got rusty over the summer." She remarked as I took my stance in front of her.

"No, we just didn't have you to bust our asses," I smirked as I threw a punch at her. Of course, she easily dodged my blow and threw one at me. We exchanged a few more blows and I thought I had the upper hand when I had my arm around her neck. I was getting ready to flip her when the wind shifted and the scent of sandalwood made my wolf whimper. I turned away from Freddie and James was standing a few feet away with Malachi.

Freddie managed to wiggle herself out of my hold and punch me in the side. I doubled over and my friend kicked the back of my legs and I fell to the ground. She kneeled on my back. "You are going to have to try harder to learn my moves, Kat."

I pushed her off of me and she helped me to my feet. "I guess I'll just have to try harder next time." I glanced at James who had a look of pride on his face while Malachi's was hard to read as always.

"You are improving, Katherine. I would like to see better concentration from you though. Don't let shirtless young alphas distract you from your task." Malachi pointed at James, who was standing next to him wearing only shorts.

I turned away from him to hide my blush. I hadn't realized I kept looking over at James. That was probably the main reason Freddie was able to get the drop on me so many times. "I will do my best next time, Malachi."

"I know you will." He looked at his daughter. "And Frederica quit showboating."

Freddie sighed. "Sorry, Dad." She hung her head.

"Hit the showers, and I'll see you both on Thursday," Malachi ordered and walked away from us.

I walked over to a table beside the field where coolers of water and Gatorade were kept. I picked up a bottle of water and drank it down. I hadn't noticed that James had followed me.

"Hey," He said from behind me causing me to jump and nearly choke on the water.

I elbowed him. "Hey, yourself." I snarled.

"What?" He laughed. "I just wanted to compliment your training today."

I snorted. "I sucked. I couldn't even match Freddie and pin her."

James laughed. "No one can match Freddie, Katie. Freddie is Freddie. Try to concentrate on beating yourself and not Freddie. There is a reason why she is going to be my head warrior when her father retires." He explained while drinking a red Gatorade.

"Does she know you are making her head warrior?" I asked him.

"Yep. She is our best after her father, so it only makes sense." He smiled.

I looked into his hazel eyes while Zia almost purred in my head. We leaned into each other and almost kissed when of course my idiot brother interrupted. "Hey, James- eww, were you trying to kiss my sister again?" Tim snarled.

James pulled away from me and, Zia whimpered in my head. "No, I-I, uh, we were talking, right, Katie?"

I nodded with my mouth hanging open. "Uh yeah," I threw my empty bottle in the trash. "I have to go shower and then get ready for school," I said out loud.

James frowned and shot a glare at Tim. "Well, I guess I'll see you later. I don't know how much later. My Dad is making me sit in on Alpha business all day."

I sighed. "Well, I'll see you when I see you." I glanced at my brother. I wanted to punch him for interrupting James and me. I turned and began walking away from the field.

"Bye Katie," I heard James almost whisper.

I had to fight myself from turning back and running over to him and kissing him. I shook my head. 'Why am I imagining kissing James?' I said to myself. 'He is my friend.' I swear Zia laughed at me.

I jogged back to the packhouse and ran into my room. I quickly hopped into the shower and relished the feel of the hot water on my already healing bruises. A few would still be visible at school but I would be fine by tomorrow. I walked into my closet and stared at my clothes. I decided to wear a pair of grey leggings with a pink and white blouse. I brushed my hair and left it down. I stuffed extra clothes for Wendy into my backpack. I decided to make breakfast for myself and walked into the kitchen.

Wendy was sitting at the table staring at half a grapefruit and a hard-boiled egg. She was dressed in a black business suit. Something more suited for forty-year-old lawyers not seventeen-year-olds in high school.

"Morning, Wendy, "I greeted her while getting some eggs and bacon from the fridge. "Want some bacon?"

She sighed. "Yes, but my Mom would flip if she caught me eating it. She had a cow last night because I ate too much BBQ." She explained sadly.

"Damn, your Mom needs to quit thinking you are fat or going to get fat," I mumbled while frying the bacon. Marilyn was thoroughly convinced if she forced starved her daughter that James would be interested. I had seen the girls James had gone out with in the past and none of them were super skinny. Zia growled as I thought of James's old girlfriends. 'What are you growling for?' She didn't reply.

I fried up extra bacon for Wendy and then made a couple of fried eggs for myself. I sat at the table across from Wendy. "Take some bacon."

She hesitantly took a piece of bacon and bit into it just as Marilyn walked into the kitchen.

"Wendy Diana Clancy, what did I say about bacon?!" She shouted in her shrill voice.

Wendy dropped the bacon and sighed. "Sorry, I just wanted a bite."

Marilyn was dressed in a tight black skirt and white button-up shirt that was barely holding her breasts back. Her cold brown eyes narrowed at me. "Did you give her bacon, Katherine?"

"Maybe."

Marilyn scoffed. "I knew it. You are trying to sabotage her." Marilyn squealed.

"Sabotage?" I knitted my eyebrows in confusion.

Marilyn poured herself some coffee and added entirely too much cream to it. "Yes, sabotage. You know Wendy is James's mate and you are jealous. So you are trying to make Wendy fat by giving her bacon so that James won't want her."

"You are so deluded, Marilyn. Have you ever tried having your head examined," I said to her? My eyes flicked to Wendy, who was trying to stifle a laugh.

"You are the deluded one thinking James would want the likes of you." She sneered.

I rolled my eyes at her. "Whatever, Marilyn. Keep your head up your ass."

Marilyn walked over to the table. "You are a disrespectful little leech. It's no wonder your mother died."

My blood ran cold and I was about to say something when Tim walked into the room. His blue eyes were narrowed at Marilyn. "What did you just say to Katie about our mother?" He snarled.

Tim looked dangerous wearing a black t-shirt, black pants, and black boots. His black hair was slicked back as he stalked towards our stepmother.

"I didn't say anything to her that she doesn't already know." Marilyn shrugged and tried to leave the kitchen.

"No, I heard you say 'It's no wonder your mother died,' what were you implying by that? Huh?"

Marilyn scoffed. "Don't worry about it Timothy," She brushed past him and turned to Wendy. "No bacon, Wendy." She glared at me and then left the room.

"That bitch is so deluded and fucked up it isn't funny," Tim snarled. He poured himself a bowl of cereal and sat next to me. He stole a piece of my bacon and ate in silence. Moments later, our father walked into the kitchen.

My Dad was dressed, similar to Tim. "Why are you kids being disrespectful to Marilyn this morning," he asked while pouring himself some coffee?

"I didn't do anything, Dad," I replied. Tim just growled while eating his cereal.

"You tried to sabotage Wendy's diet by giving her bacon," Marilyn appeared behind my Dad.

I rolled my eyes. "No, I didn't," I mumbled.

"Katie, Tim, I know you both don't care for Marilyn but at least attempt to show her respect." Our Dad told us.

My brother shot up out of his seat with a growl. "Fuck that cunt, Dad!" He yelled.

"TIMOTHY!" My father roared. "Apologize for that."

"I REFUSE TO APOLOGIZE TO THAT TWO-FACED, STUCK-UP, CUNT!" Timothy roared at our father. "That cunt keeps talking shit to Katie. Talking shit about our mother. And you stand there like a fucking pussy and let her!" Tim screamed while our Dad's face got red. He started to say something but Tim just stormed out of the kitchen.

"TIMOTHY! GET BACK HERE!" My father roared and started to leave and turned to me. "Get to school, Katherine, before you are late." He snarled and left the room calling for my brother.

I stood up with my dishes in my hand. I set them in the dishwasher and left the kitchen and ran to my room to grab my backpack. Michelle had texted and said she would be driving this morning. I ran out of my room and down the stairs. I met up with Michelle and Tony out in front. Michelle was already sitting in her old white Toyota Corolla while Tony leaned against it.

"So what the hell was all the yelling on your floor?" Tony asked as I squeezed into the backseat.

"Oh, just my Dad and Tim getting into it," I replied as he got into the front seat.

"My Dad was freaking out," Michelle mentioned as she started driving.

I sighed. "Marilyn started shit like always and it bothered Tim. So he and my Dad got into it."

"That stupid bitch." Tony mumbled.

"Marilyn, got into it with my mom last night," Michelle mentioned. "I guess Marilyn was mad about you and James almost kissing at dinner."

My mouth fell open. "We didn't almost kiss. I tripped and he caught me."

Tony snorted. "Yeah, that's what that was, Katie." He looked at Michelle who giggled. "Like the rest of us haven't noticed the way you two have been gawking at each other lately."

I folded my arms. "James is like my brother. We look at each other the same way we have always looked at each other." Except for how I drooled over him this morning at training. Or how I noticed his scent before I ever got to training. Or who could forget how colorful his eyes were. I got caught up in imagining James's eyes and muscles that I didn't notice Michelle saying something.

Tony smacked my knee and I jumped. He laughed. "Earth to Katie. What are you thinking about that has you drooling?"

I touched my chin and sure enough, I was drooling. "Nothing," I mumbled and looked out the window. "I just have a lot on my mind."

"Like James," Tony mocked.

"Shut up Tony." I snarled at him.

"Yeah, shut up Tony," Michelle wrinkled her nose.

I shook my head and we rode the rest of the way to school in silence. Michelle parked the car and I rushed into the building. I headed to my locker and nearly ran into Ben Hudson.

"Hey Katie, you smell good this morning," He said while trying to sniff my hair.

I pulled away from him. "Uh thank you." I snaked around him and walked up to my locker. He leaned against the other lockers and moved a strand of hair from my face.

"So what are you doing this weekend? Anything special?" He asked. I glanced at him and his grey eyes were looking me up and down.

I shrugged. "I haven't made plans yet. The first weekend of school and I'll probably just veg in front of the TV with Michelle."

"So boring. You could come to my party. I am having it in one of the houses in my pack. You are invited."

I flicked my eyes at him. The last time I attended one of his parties I ended up losing my virginity to him. "I'll think about it," I mumbled. "If I go I won't be touching alcohol."

He laughed. "Oh come on don't ruin the fun." He stroked my arm making me shudder. "I promise I won't do anything to you that you don't ask for."

I grabbed my books from my locker and stuffed them into my locker and then slammed the door. "I'll see you later, Ben," I mumbled and tried to walk away from him. He grabbed my arm and pulled me into his chest. It felt all kinds of wrong and I squirmed to get away from him.

"Oh don't squirm. You know you like me, Katie." He kissed my cheek and then let me go. "Saturday, nine pm. Be there," He smirked and walked away.

The bell rang and I found myself running down the hall to my first class. Luckily the rest of the school day went by without any other drama.