The New Apprentice

Before I begin, I just wanted to say that I'm really sorry for not posting lately. I haven't been feeling the best lately, physically or emotionally so I'm sorry if this chapter isn't the best that it could be, but I'm trying. More importantly, I would really like to hear from you guys. I've had one person add my book to their collection so, yay! Thank you so much for that by the way. I really appreciate that. It really did make my day when I saw it. I want to know what you guys are thinking though, cause I need some positive reinforcement and thoughts too. Anyway, I'll get back to it.

Cade sat in the driver's seat of the black Honda Accord while Nathan rested in the backseat and Charlotte was curled up in the front passenger seat. It had been a couple of days since they had started on their journey after Marcus and she had told them repeatedly that she really wanted to learn how to defend herself and learn their ways. Cade and Nathan both had wanted her to stay awake from any fights period, but she was relentless. She made good points though, saying that if they ever separated from her and she got in trouble that she needed to be able to fight off her attacker and get away. Biting, scratching, and yelling would only go so far until she could be bound and gagged and thrown into someone's trunk or worse.

Cade had managed to talk her into being somewhat of a secretary at first before she was upgraded to being in the field position like they were, on the pretense of her needing to start 'from the beginning' before advancing to fighting. Even though she'd pouted adorably and almost brought both men to their knees to make her happy, Cade had firmly took her shoulders and said a hard no.

She hadn't really spoken to either of them very much the past couple days, instead, she had watched and listened intently to their code words to figure out what they were saying and talking about so she would be able to follow with no hesitation. Cade knew she was more than just a fragile human, but he couldn't quite bring himself to train her to fight yet. Nathan just didn't want his baby sister in harm's way at all, so he refused to train her anyway.

As Cade looked over at her sleeping form, he realized that he wanted to make her happy anyway. They were in an abandoned lot beside a warehouse and an open field for the night and without a thought for how angry Nathan would be, he reached over to shake her awake. Her dark eyes opened blearily and he put a finger to his lips before she spoke and nodded his head for her to follow him.

They made sure to shut the car doors quietly so they didn't wake Nathan up and he led her to the open field silently. He turned to her when they got a decent enough distance away that he wouldn't hear them but they could still see the car.

"You wanted to learn to fight, so I will teach you to fight," he said quietly. Her eyes lit up in excitement and his heart did a weird bump from the look she gave him. "We'll start with some self-defense moves in case you get cornered." She nodded enthusiastically and he showed her some moves for her to try, giving her some pointers on her positions and the force needed to do the moves. He had to admit that she was a fast learner, but she needed to get her strength up to pack more of a punch.

She had been doing a variety of the moves against him when he caught her in a new hold with her wrists pinned in front of her and her back to his chest. She was breathing hard and he could see that she was getting tired, but this move was another important one. "Usually, when a vampire has you in a hold like this, it's all over," he demonstrated by pulling her hair that escaped from her ponytail out of the way of her neck before tilting her head slightly and leaning down to press his lips against her exposed flesh, signifying a bite. "But before they can get a chance to bite you, in that split moment, you can use this move to get away. Open your hands and turn them palm down," he instructed, still leaning against her backside as he watched over her head while she did what he told her, trying to ignore the intoxicating scent of her sweat and the shampoo she uses while teaching her, "good, now with as much strength as you can, push you arms out and down to be released." She didn't hesitate and got out of the hold swiftly before turning to him triumphantly with a beautiful grin on her face.

"How's that?" she asked breathlessly, her chest rising and falling with each ragged breath that escaped her. He gave her a grin, secretly proud of how fast she learned and nodded.

"That was great, a little more practice and you can eventually take your brother down," he teased. She rolled her eyes and scoffed at him.

"Way to be modest, coach," she quipped back. They headed back to the car in comfortable silence so that they could get some sleep.

"We'll work more on it tomorrow night, we're going to have to find a way for you to get some more muscle strength. Against a human, you'll do fine with more practice, but with vampires our strength is much harder to match." He told her softly.

"Do you think I can do it?" She stopped and looked up at him, her dark eyes gleaming at him in the light of the full moon. He heaved a sigh, he wanted her to succeed and with some help he knew she would, but he was also wary of her ever going against any vampires as a human. He didn't really want to think about what that meant right now. He didn't want to think of her as anything other than how she was right now; her skin flushed with color from their work out and her breathing still erratic from the exertion, her heart still beating hard from all the work. He liked her how she was now, almost all of that would be gone if she was turned. She wouldn't have the flushed skin, made vampires barely had much color to their skin after they were changed, and while her heart would still beat, it wouldn't be the normal pace of a human's, it would be at a slower and steadier pace all the time, and her breathing would never really change when she worked out like this. It would always be the same and he wasn't sure he wanted to take that away from her.

"I think with my help, you will survive," he answered her before they got in the car and she curled up again, smiling softly because she'd gotten what she wanted out of him. He waited till her breathing was evened out before waking Nathan for his shift.

They switched places, Cade letting him know that they'll be leaving before the sun came up, giving him about four hours of rest before they were on the move again. He decided that it didn't matter as long as Charlotte would be able to defend herself and that he had been able to get her in his arms again after they'd first met. He lay back on his arms and closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of the night that lulled him to sleep quickly.

Alright guys! This chapter is a little shorter than the rest cause I'm so tired and drained. I hope it still made you guys happy though. Please comment and let me know what you think if you get a chance. Have an awesome night and let me know how you guys all enjoyed your 4th of July celebrations!