GRAY
“Pair off!” I call out, and the trainees on the field start scrambling. It’s another early morning of training, and I’m eager to see what these recruits can do. “Spread out. We’re going to do a little bit of sparring today.”
The trainees follow my command, breaking off into groups of two and distancing themselves from one another. Theo steps up on my right side.
“Let’s see what you’ve got!” he says, clapping his hands together. The recruits just stand there for a minute, looking around at one another. Theo claps his hands again. “One of you attack while the other defends. Hand to hand combat, let’s go!”
Without wasting another moment, the pairs begin to circle one another. I start walking through to observe, careful to avoid any stray kicks or flailing limbs as the trainees spar. Some of them are better than expected- they take down their opponent quickly. Others look like they barely have a clue how to fight.
The flash of a long blonde ponytail catches my eye and I spot Fallon, positioned across from a guy twice her size. She’s wearing a tiny pair of shorts today and I can’t help but steal an appreciative glance at her perfect ass. She’s got a t-shirt on again, but I bet her tits are fucking perfect, too.
No. I can’t think about her like that.
As hot as she is, she’s twice as frustrating. I’m still pissed at the stunt she pulled yesterday; talking back to me in front of the other recruits. I immediately realized that she’s definitely not my type. I pictured her being sweet and submissive, but that girl is all alpha female. Sure, she’s hot, but she’s also more trouble than she’s worth.
Fallon lunges toward the guy across from her, and just as he’s about to block her move, she catches him off guard by juking to the left. It throws him off balance just long enough for her to duck down and sweep his feet out from under him with a leg. For a second, I think he’s going to land on her, but she’s quick- she tucks and somersaults out of the way, springing back to her feet and balling her fists in front of her, bouncing.
Atta girl.
I have to admit, I’m impressed. As mouthy as she is, I assumed she was the type that fought with her words instead of her fists.
Apparently I’m wrong.
Fallon’s partner groans, struggling to push himself up. It looks like the fall knocked the wind out of him, and he takes a moment to gather himself before he charges at Fallon, fists cocked.
Again, she’s too quick for him. She ducks out of the way at the last second and he nearly loses his balance and falls over. Her lips spread into a self-satisfied smirk as the guy turns back around to face her, now seething.
I make my way closer to them.
“Perhaps you need more of a challenge,” I suggest, looking to Fallon and cocking an eyebrow.
She gets this adorable deer-in-the-headlights look, but quickly buries it takes a step backwards, settling her hands on her hips.
“Oh yeah?” she asks. “You want some of this, sir?”
Game. On.
I shake my head. “Tsk, tsk. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to cop an attitude with me again.”
“No sir,” she says, feigning innocence and putting her hands up.
Her tone is still dripping with sarcasm. I can see right through her; she’s challenging my authority again. My temper flares and my wolf claws to the surface, but I shove him back.
“Good girl,” I cluck, knowing full well that my patronizing tone will insult Fallon’s alpha nature. I know I’ve succeeded when her eyes flash silver, her wolf showing.
I’m surprised how quickly she’s able to shove her wolf back down, and she doesn’t respond- she instead raises her fists and begins bouncing back and forth on the balls of her feet, ready to spar.
My lips twitch into a half-smile as I position myself across from her, crouched slightly and ready to defend. She comes at me fast- faster than I expected- but I’ve got years of training on her. I duck out of the way and she skids past me.
When she turns to face me again, I can see that she’s flustered, but focused.
“Is that the best you’ve got?” I challenge, and she flies at me again, drawing back her fist to deliver a left hook.
Again, I’m quicker. I maneuver out of the way at the last second, and in doing so, I catch her bicep with my hands. In one swift motion, I flip her body over and she lands on her back with a thud.
I’m not worried about injuring her- shifters heal fast- but we still feel pain. She winces a little, but she looks more angry than hurt as she pulls herself back to her feet. I’m surprised when she puts her fists up and starts to bounce, ready to try again. This girl has even more fight in her than I’d thought.
She comes at me again, and I use the same move to take her down to the ground for a second time. This time, the impact is harder, and I bet it knocked the wind out of her. She lies there for a moment, panting.
I stand over her, folding my arms across my chest. “Looks like you’ve still got a lot to learn,” I taunt. I offer her my hand to help her up, but she just scowls at me, picking herself up off of the ground and brushing off her shorts.
I turn away from her, giving her original partner a nod to step back in and continue. I swear I can feel her eyes burning into my back as I walk away, and I can’t help but grin. She may have won the first round, but I’ve just evened the score.
FALLONGray’s a prick. I knew this summer was going to be tough, but I thought that the training would be the grueling part, not dealing with the asshole alpha running the place. He proved today that he definitely has it out for me. If I was smart, I would try to behave, get in his good graces. But I’ve never claimed that I’m smart.At the end of our training today, we were directed to a posting of a schedule for patrols. They’re throwing us right in; we’ve been assigned to rotations for night patrols of the six-pack’s borders. Patrols are run in pairs, so they’ve assigned pairs of recruits to each pair of squad members running the patrols each night. I’ve been paired up with a trainee named Vienna, and we get to shadow Brock and Casey. Our first patrol is tonight.After I rush through dinner, I grab a quick shower, change, and head down to the field to meet my group for patrol. It’s dusk, and the training arena has taken on an eerie glow in the fading
GRAYBrock’s walking into the barracks as I’m walking out, and I almost run right into him.“How was patrol?” I ask as I dodge out of his way.Brock runs a hand through his long wavy hair, leaning against the doorframe. “Quiet. Nothing out of the ordinary.”I nod. He looks whooped- and I’m reminded how glad I am that I don’t have to run night patrols often. I only jump in when the threat levels are high, because my wolf gets all worked up in response and won’t let me sleep anyways.“How’d the recruits do?”Brock smirks, like he knows why I asked the question. Sure, I knew Fallon was assigned to patrol with him, but that’s not why I’m asking. I mean, not the only reason. I have to keep tabs on all of the trainees.“They were fine.” Brock’s always short and to the point.I nod again, then clap him on the shoulder and head out through the doors to the arena. I don’t want t
FALLONI waited until everyone else went to lunch before I snuck away to take a shower. I just wanted a little bit of alone time.No dice. As soon as I open the door to the locker room, I see him. That fucking prick, Gray, standing beside the bench in a towel and looking like a sex god. Seeing him shirtless for the first time, he doesn’t look how I expected. He looks better.Small beads of water still cling to the broad muscles of his chest and his six-pack abs. The towel hanging from his waist dips down below his Adonis belt, the v-shape beckoning. Shit, is my mouth hanging open? I snap it closed, then take a step into the locker room, the door swinging closed behind me.I’m hoping that Gray didn’t catch my appreciative reaction to seeing his body, but a little smirk crosses his lips that tells me otherwise. I’m immediately irritated that I’ve just unintentionally inflated his ego further.“Well, well,”
GRAYI have to stay away from her. Fallon is a distraction, and I can’t afford any distractions right now. Not when we know the shadow pack is on the move. The next day, Brock and Jax are back in the mix so I decide to sit out one-on-ones and observe. It sucks. I’ve got a lot of pent-up frustration that I need to get out, but I don’t want to wind up in a one-on-one with Fallon. I’ve got to actively avoid her. I somehow manage to do it for the next few days, working off my energy by shifting and running in the evenings after I take care of my pack business.Theo has picked up on the fact that I’m acting a little strange lately. I tell him it’s nothing, but he knows I’m lying.“At least come have a beer with us,” Theo urges. He’s standing in the doorway of my room in the squad barracks, leaning against the doorframe.It’s the end of the week, and both the squad and the recruits have Sunday’s off from training. A lot of
FALLON“I can’t believe they’re actually giving us a day off!” Vienna squeals, rifling through the little closet at the end of her bunk. “How about this one?” she asks, pulling out a skimpy red dress on a hanger and holding it up in front of her.I nod my head in approval. “Definitely that one.”Vienna grins from ear to ear, trotting by me to head into the locker room to change.When we heard that we’d have the day off tomorrow, all of the recruits were ecstatic. We’ve been training hard all week, so we’ve definitely earned a reprieve. Vienna invited Boyd, Davis, and I to come out with her and her friend Hannah. Apparently Hannah is from Goldenleaf, the town near the squad complex, and said that the squad usually goes out to a bar there on Saturday nights to let loose.I guess good news travels fast, because Brooke showed up in the recruit’s barracks soon after, asking if I was going out. I’m so excited t
GRAYI agreed to come for one beer, and somehow that turned into five. Or was it six? I’ve got a nice little buzz, so I’m not sure on the count. I don’t know why I ever agree to coming out for one when I know it’ll lead to staying out all night, but I’m relaxed for the first time all week. I guess Theo knew I needed this.I’m heading out of the bathroom when I see her walking toward me, looking like a goddamn smokeshow. Fallon. She’s all dressed up in a little skin-tight skirt and tank top, and seeing her like this makes my blood rush right to my dick.She’s looking down, so she doesn’t even see me stop and stick my arm out, pressing my palm to the wall to block her path. I know I said I’d avoid her, but I’m a little buzzed and she looks so damn good, I can’t help myself. She looks up at the last minute, surprise playing on her face as she skids to a stop right before clotheslining herself on my outstretched arm.I l
FALLONHe’s here. I swear I could feel it before I even saw him- the little hairs on the back of my neck stood up and my wolf started pacing. But right after we locked eyes, he turned his back to me. Avoiding me again. Maybe my initial assessment was spot-on, he’s just a jerk with a big ego. Maybe his little display of dominance in the shower was just his way of showing me that he could have me if he wanted me. Maybe this is just his newest form of torture, and he’s getting some sort of sick pleasure from driving me crazy.I down the rest of my drink.Brooke appears, back from the bathroom, and she grabs my arm, tugging me away from our friends. She’s digging her fingers into my arm as she pulls me, and I jerk my arm back.“What the hell?” I demand, scowling and rubbing the offended skin with my other hand.Brooke leans in close to whisper. “What’s going on with you and the alpha?” she hisses.
GRAYI shouldn’t be doing this. I know better. But Fallon is so fucking beautiful, and so fucking responsive. She’s fucking perfect. I start stroking her pussy slowly through her panties, and her body melts into mine. “Y… yes,” she whines, undulating her hips with my movements. Her breath is coming out in cute little pants, and my wolf is going crazy with need to claim this sweet little female.Mine.I try my best to hold him back, though the tether of my control is close to snapping. Everything about Fallon feels so good. Her body against mine, her breath in my ear, the scent of her arousal. My vision blurs.Then I remember why I followed her outside in the first place, and I bring myself back to reality, stilling my movements. She whines a little as I stop stroking her through her panties.“Who else are you giving this up for?” I growl, tapping her pussy with my fingers.“