Page 64 of Alpha Gray

“I mean… of course it meantsomething,” I say, depositing the folded clothes onto Brooke’s dresser. “I just don’t know what yet.”

Brooke presses her lips together, staring at me sympathetically. It makes me feel uncomfortable, like she knows something I don’t. Am I an idiot for getting involved with Gray? I mean, he’s this sex god alpha and I’m just the girl who can’t keep her mouth shut and follow the rules. It could never work… right?

I’ve never felt so out of control before. I’ve always been so confident in who I am and my own worth, and suddenly I’m just spinning my wheels, questioning everything. As great as I felt this morning, I’m now queasy with uncertainty, overthinking every moment, every exchange.

Brooke glances at the clock, shooting up to her feet. “Oh crap, we’ve gotta get outside to say goodbye to Vienna!”

Shit. I’d completely forgotten about Vienna, or the fact that she’s leaving this morning. I’ve been too wrapped up in my own drama.

Brooke grabs for my hand, pulling me toward the door. I follow her out of her room and we rush down the hall, ducking into the main corridor and shoving open the big double doors to the arena. There’s a small crowd gathered around a bus outside, which tells me- thankfully- that Vienna hasn’t left yet.

We spot our group of friends right away and start to jog over, and as we approach, Boyd’s leaning toward Vienna, a goofy grin on his face.

“C’mon, one little kiss,” he urges as Vienna giggles and pushes at his chest. Shay, Connor, and Davis are looking on, chuckling to themselves.

“Fine!” Vienna laughs, tucking her wavy dark hair behind her ears. She steps closer to Boyd, then drapes her arms around his neck. He closes his eyes and puckers up, but she veers and goes for his cheek instead, giving him a little peck.

All of us laugh and Boyd’s cheeks flush pink with embarrassment. “Aw, c’mon Vee,” he whines.

Vienna just flashes a coy little smile, shrugging. “That’s all you get, mister… Fallon!” Vienna’s eyes light up when she sees me, pushing past Boyd to throw her arms around me in a hug.

I wrap my arms around her, squeezing tightly. “I’m gonna miss you so much,” I whisper, rocking her from side to side.

It’s the truth- I don’t know how things are going to be here without Vienna. Although I’ve only known her for a few weeks, it feels like so much longer; we’ve really bonded.

The bus’ engine fires up, signaling that it’s time to go. Before Vienna boards, she gives Brooke a big hug and says one last goodbye to all of us. It’s so bittersweet- while eight recruits are leaving, meaning I’m that much closer to making the final cut for the squad, it’s hard to say goodbye.

We all wave as the bus pulls away and as the other recruits wander back toward the complex, my friends and I linger in the arena somberly.

“Well this sucks,” Boyd finally mutters, kicking at the dirt.

Most of us just nod in agreement.

“Kinda makes you realize that you could go at any time,” Shay adds.

I think back to what Gray said this morning, about working harder, giving it everything in these last few weeks of training camp.

“That’s not gonna happen,” I mutter, staring at the ground. I glance up to see that all of my friends are looking at me questioningly. “We’re all gonna make it. We just need to try harder than everyone else, train harder.”

Davis clears his throat, nodding. “Definitely.”

Out of all of us, he probably has the least to worry about when it comes to making the squad, but I appreciate the support. I pause for a moment, considering.

“Maybe we should try to get some extra practices in, in the evenings or something. Take some time to really perfect the moves they’re teaching us every day,” I suggest.

Shay grins, rubbing her palms together. “I’m so in.”

No surprise there, the girl’s always up for a challenge and she loves sparring. The more I get to know her, the more I realize how alike we are.

I look around to the others and they all mumble in agreement. Except Brooke, because she has no skin in the game here- she’s already on the squad with her computer geek stuff.

“Is that where you were all morning?” Boyd eyes me suspiciously. “Training?”

Alarm bells sound in my head, but I remain calm, unruffled. There’s no way Boyd would know I was with Gray last night. And as for training, I definitely look the part in Brooke’s sports bra and shorts.

“I went for a run,” I shrug.

For some reason, Boyd doesn’t let it go. Instead, he presses me, as if it’s any of his fucking business. “What about last night? You weren’t in your bunk when I got back.”

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