Page 21 of Alpha Gray

Brooke nods in understanding and a long pause settles between us as we walk.

“So what are you going to do?” she finally asks, wide-eyed.

“I don’t know.” I stare down at the path, kicking at the dirt. “Just see what happens, I guess.”

Brooke stops suddenly and her movement jerks me back a little since our arms are still linked, causing me to skid to a stop, too.

“Fallon, I know you,” she states, matter-of-factly. “If you really want something, you won’t stop until you get it.”

I smirk a little, because I know it’s true.

“But just be careful,” Brooke continues. “Don’t lose sight of why you’re really here. What you’ve really wanted all along.”

Her words sting a little, because she’sright. I’ve been so distracted by the whole Gray situation that I haven’t been throwing myself into training like I should. All I’ve ever wanted is to be a fighter, make the security squad, and this is my one shot.

“Are you girls coming or what?” Davis calls from up ahead. Brooke and I turn to see that our friends have all stopped and they’re looking back at us, waiting.

I take a deep breath. “Yeah!” I call back. I tug on Brooke’s arm to keep walking.

As we continue down the path, closing the gap between ourselves and our group of friends, I give Brooke’s arm a little squeeze.

“Thanks,” I whisper. “And don’t worry, I won’t.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Gray

On Monday morning, the recruits are bright eyed and bushy tailed, eager to resume their training. I cast my gaze downwards as they file onto the arena where Theo, Brock, Jax, and I are waiting. Reid had some pack business come up, so he’s back in Stillwater- his pack’s town- for the day.

I spent all day yesterday kicking myself for what I did at the bar on Saturday night. I should’ve just continued to steer clear of Fallon rather than allowing my beer buzz cloud to my judgment. But now that I’ve had a taste of what it’s like to touch her, I wantmore. I can’t get her out of my head. Those big blue eyes, those breathy little moans… it’s enough to drive any man crazy.

I swear my heart stops when I catch sight of her walking onto the field this morning, wearing my favorite pair of little workout shorts with her long tan legs on full display. Even in shorts and a t-shirt, she’s a fucking goddess. She catches me staring, though this time, she’s the first to look away.

It’s probably for the best.

The trainees circle around, and once they’re all gathered, I clear my throat to speak. “Good morning, recruits!” I begin.

They’re all looking past me curiously at the giant whiteboard on wheels that we’ve rolled out onto the field- but Theo, Jax, and Brock have positioned themselves in front of it so the recruits can’t yet read what we’ve written.

“Welcome to your second week of training,” I continue. “Last week was a chance to get your feet wet, but now, the real training starts.”

There are a few murmurs from the crowd, but everyone stands at attention. I turn back to the guys and they move away from the whiteboard. Theo steps forward and rubs his palms together eagerly.

“So as you can see, we’ve paired you up for training going forward,” Theo announces. “We’ve been watching you, assessing where you’re at and what you can improve on.”

I chuckle to myself as I watch the recruits craning their necks to see what’s written on the whiteboard behind Theo, eager to see who they’re matched up with.

“Get a good look, because these will be your partners for the week,” I add. I step forward beside Theo, folding my arms across my chest. “You need to impress us this week, because when it’s over, we’ll make our first round of cuts.”

I read the panic on most of the recruit’s faces, but don’t react. This part is always tough- sending home hopefuls that just aren’t cut out to run with the squad full time. They could always be called in as backup in the future if needed, but so far, we haven’t had to cross that bridge.

Jax moves beside the whiteboard, flipping it over. It turns on its hinges, revealing a numbered list on the other side.

“These are your current rankings,” Jax calls out, tossing his wavy blonde surfer hair as he gestures to the list. “If you’re near the top, you need to fight to stay there. If you’re at the bottom, you’d better work your ass off this week so you don’t get cut.”

I survey the crowd of recruits again. Some of them look pleased with themselves, others look disappointed. It sucks that we have to rank them like this, but it fosters competition. For some of them, this is the push they need to step it up.

“Alright,” I shout, clapping my hands together to get their attention again. “Let’s start with a few warm-up laps around the track, then pair off with your assigned partner and we’ll do some defensive exercises.”

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