Chapter 59 Too Fast To Hide
Maddie Pov
Sports prep drills started the next morning at six AM. Everyone on the track team had to be at the field before sunrise. Coach's orders. No exceptions.
I dragged myself out of bed and got dressed in the dark. My roommate was still sleeping. Lucky her. She wasn't on any sports teams. She got to sleep in like a normal person.
The field was already filling up with students when I arrived. Everyone looked tired and grumpy. Nobody wanted to be awake this early. But Coach stood at the center of the field with his arms crossed looking like he would personally murder anyone who complained.
"Listen up," Coach yelled. "We have two weeks to get ready for Silverthorn. Two weeks to become the best team this school has ever seen. That means brutal practices. That means early mornings and late nights. That means no slacking off."
Everyone groaned quietly but nobody dared to complain out loud.
"Your team captain will be running today's practice," Coach continued. He gestured toward someone standing next to him. "Calix Hawthorne. What he says goes. You follow his orders without question. Understood?"
My stomach dropped when I saw Calix step forward. Of course. Of course he was team captain. Of course I would have to deal with him every single practice.
"Understood," everyone said together.
Calix looked at the group with cold eyes. "We're starting with warm up laps. Four miles. Anyone who can't finish gets extra laps tomorrow."
Four miles. For a warm up. People started muttering in disbelief.
"Move," Calix barked. "Now."
Everyone started running. I fell into the middle of the pack and tried to keep a steady pace. Four miles wasn't that hard for me. My wolf gave me extra endurance. But I had to be careful not to run too fast. Not to show too much strength.
Calix ran alongside the group watching everyone closely. His eyes scanned over each person evaluating their form and speed. When his gaze landed on me I looked away quickly.
"Pick up the pace Vale," Calix called out. "You're falling behind."
I was not falling behind. I was right in the middle of the pack. But I didn't argue. I just ran a little faster.
After the laps we moved to sprint drills. Calix set up relay teams and made us run back and forth across the field. Over and over. Faster and faster. Until everyone was gasping for breath.
"Faster Vale," Calix yelled when I ran my leg of the relay. "You're holding the line back."
Anger flared in my chest. I was running as fast as I could without exposing myself. What more did he want from me?
I gritted my teeth and pushed harder on the next sprint. My legs moved faster. The wind whipped my hair back. I crossed the finish line well ahead of my teammates.
Too fast. That was too fast. I had moved faster than a wolfless person should be able to move.
I looked up and saw Calix staring at me from the sideline. His jaw was tight. His eyes were hard. He had noticed. Of course he had noticed. He noticed everything about me.
But he didn't say anything. He just turned away and called out the next set of runners.
We trained for three more hours. Calix pushed everyone brutally. Extra drills. Harder exercises. Longer sprints. People were collapsing from exhaustion. Some were throwing up on the side of the field.
But nobody quit. Nobody complained. Because Calix ran every single drill with us. He did every exercise. He pushed himself just as hard as he pushed everyone else.
By the time practice ended everyone was completely destroyed. We all stumbled off the field like zombies. Barely able to walk. Barely able to think.
"Same time tomorrow," Calix called after us. "Don't be late."
I grabbed my water bottle and started walking toward the locker rooms. My legs felt like jelly. My whole body was shaking from exertion.
"Vale," Calix's voice called out behind me. "Wait."
I stopped walking but I didn't turn around. I just stood there waiting for whatever he was going to say.
"You need to be more careful," Calix said quietly. He moved closer until he was standing right behind me. "People are watching you. Questioning you. You can't afford to stand out."
"I'm not trying to stand out," I said. "You're the one who keeps yelling at me to go faster."
"I'm trying to help you," Calix said. His voice was strained. "If you're too slow people notice. If you're too fast people notice. You need to find the middle ground."
"Maybe if you stopped watching me so closely I could," I snapped. I finally turned around to face him. "You're making it worse. Everyone sees you staring at me. Everyone sees you singling me out. You're drawing attention to me."
Calix's jaw clenched. "I'm trying to protect you."
"By humiliating me in front of everyone?" I demanded. "By making me look weak and incompetent? That's your idea of protection?"
"Better weak than exposed," Calix said. "Better everyone thinks you're struggling than everyone knows what you really are."
"What I really am," I repeated bitterly. "Is it something you're so ashamed of that you won't even acknowledge our bond?"
"That's not what this is about," Calix said.
"Then what is it about?" I asked. "Because from where I'm standing it looks like you're punishing me for existing. For being what I am. For making you feel things you don't want to feel."
Calix stepped closer. His eyes flashed gold for just a second. "You have no idea what I'm feeling."
"Then tell me," I challenged. "Stop hiding. Stop lying. Just tell me the truth for once."
For a moment I thought he might actually do it. I thought he might finally be honest with me. But then his expression went cold again. Distant. Closed off.
"Get some rest," Calix said. "You'll need it for tomorrow's practice. It's going to be twice as hard."
He turned and walked away before I could respond. Left me standing there alone on the empty field with my heart pounding and my emotions all over the place.