Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

“I am not threatening,” I kept telling myself in my mind. “I am a friend.”

Shadow sniffed my fingers, and I slowly lowered my hand to the ground. To everyone’s surprise,

Shadow licked my fingertips and trotted over to me, ready for some affection. I smiled as I ran my fingers through his soft fur. He panted happily, his tail thumping against the ground with excitement, almost knocking me over.

The ground shook beneath him.

“How did you do that?” Matt asked, surprised. “Shadow doesn’t like strangers.”

I shrugged casually.

“I’ve always been good with animals,” I admitted.

When I was young, I had a dog named Caramel. I chose her name because she was the same color as caramel candy.

Matt chuckled at the name, and I couldn’t help but smile. My dog, Shadow, snuggled against me before running back to Matt’s side.

“My parents got her for me because they were never home. Caramel kept me company,” I explained.

I noticed something in Matt’s eyes as he focused on his dog. It almost looked like sadness.

“Dad is never home,” he whispered. “So, Shadow keeps me company. He protects me from bad and sneaky people. That’s why he bit the last tutor. She was sneaky and only wanted to tutor me to get something for herself.”

“Close to my father,” she said.

I raised my eyebrows.

How could a woman do something like that? The thought made me feel sick. It was hard to believe she was only using that little boy to get to his father. Who was his father to her?

“Why would she do this?”

“I’ll bring Shadow back inside so you can finish getting to know each other,” Adam suggested as he walked toward the dog, who was growling at him.

Matt smirked. “Be careful, Adam; you might end up as dog food!”

Matt gave a warning.

Adam mumbled something under his breath that I didn’t quite catch. However, he was able to get Shadow and bring him into the villa while I stayed behind with Matt.

Matt looked at me, his arms crossed over his chest as he studied my reaction.

“You have good reflexes and aim,” he said quietly. “But that doesn’t mean you are strong or smart.”

“Well,” I replied, “if you’re worried about my brain, I assure you, I’m at the top of my game.”

“I graduated high school with high honors, and now I’m a college student,” I told him. I felt a bit silly sharing this with a seven-year-old, but I could tell he was quite mature for his age.

He was struggling to trust my abilities because of my age. I said, “As I mentioned, I’m training to be a Gamma warrior. How can I show you my strength?”

He smirked and gave me a skeptical look.

I was starting to get used to the situation. I knew that meant he was up to something.

I took a step back and narrowed my eyes.

“Let’s play a game,” he finally said, surprising me.

“Okay, what kind of game?” I asked.

“Have you ever played Escape?”

Chapter 0011

Escape is a game where one person tries to break free from the hold of another. I’ve only played it with people my age, never with those much younger than me.

“Would you want to escape from me?” I asked him.

He nodded.

“I might be 7, but I’m very strong,” he said confidently, putting his hands on his hips.

I smiled and said, “I don’t doubt that. Okay, let’s give it a shot.”

Before he was even ready, I tackled him to the ground. I have to admit, he put up a pretty good fight.

I could see that he had been training hard, and it made me curious about why he put in so much effort at such a young age. It took me a moment to gather my thoughts and take control of the situation. Eventually, I managed to pin him down.

He couldn’t move. He struggled against me while I just smiled, watching him try to escape my hold.

“I thought you were stronger than that?” I teased.

His cheeks turned pink with embarrassment, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Let me be your tutor. We can work on this together,” I said to him.

As he tried to get away from me, I heard footsteps nearby. I thought it was Adam coming back. But then I heard another set of footsteps.

Matt heard footsteps and suddenly stopped. He turned to look towards the sound.

I noticed his face brighten with joy, a look I had never seen on him before.

“Dad!!” he shouted.

I yelled excitedly. When I looked in the same direction, my heart sank deep into my stomach.

His father, the man of the house, was none other than Gavin Landry.