Page 72 of Alpha Gray

Fallon adjusts the waistband of her leggings and smooths the front of her t-shirt. “We’re just trying to get some extra practice in. You were the one who said to train harder. We’ve been out there every night this week.”

“Really?” I’m impressed she’s taken the initiative.

She nods, cocking out a hip and folding her arms.

“Uh…” I reach back to rub the tense spot at the base of my neck with a hand. “Let me run it by the other guys, I’ll see if you can use the indoor arena instead.”

Fallon arches a brow. “What’s going on? Since when is the forest dangerous?”

I shake my head. It’s too much to explain right now, and I don’t have the time.

“Later,” I sigh. “C’mon.”

I step past her to the door, pulling it open and sticking my head out to look around, make sure the coast is clear.

I spin back around to face Fallon, beckoning her forward with a finger. As she tries to scoot past me, I grab her and pull her in for one more quick kiss.

“Go on, recruit,” I say, slapping her ass. She darts me a mischievous glance over her shoulder as she leaves, and I’m already practically counting the minutes until I can get her back to this room.

CHAPTER FORTY

Fallon

“Circle up!” Theo calls out, his hands cupped around his mouth.

We’ve been out on the field training under the hot summer sun and we’re all sweaty and tired. This morning was endurance training, while this afternoon we’ve been doing some sparring with our partners. I’ve been partnered with Shay all week, which would’ve been fun if I wasn’t in such a rut.

Today’s session has been much better, though- I don’t know what changed, but I’m back, baby. I’ve been landing every offensive move, dodging every advance on defense. I just hope it’s not too little, too late.

Saturday afternoon’s training session is always stressful because it’s the last one before weekly cuts are posted. There are thirty of us left, so more than half of us will be going home at some point before training camp ends. Since I’ve had such an off week, I’m even more anxious for the cut list to be posted- I’m dreading seeing my name on it.

I jog to the center of the arena where the other recruits are beginning to gather around Theo, Gray, Brock, Reid, and Jax. All five of them typically run the afternoon sessions on Saturdays- probably so they can make final decisions about cuts together afterwards.

“Alright, recruits,” Theo says, clapping his hands together once we’re all huddled in front of him. “We’re more than halfway through training at this point, so we’re getting down to the nitty gritty. From now on, we’ll end Saturday sessions with one-on-ones.”

Reid steps forward beside Theo, chiming in. “Think of these as your last chance to impress us. Give em’ everything you’ve got, because it could be the difference between staying for another week or going home.”

The other recruits and I nod, almost robotically. After four weeks at training camp, we’re becoming good little soldiers.

“We need five groups of six!” Brock barks. “Line up, and you’ll rotate to the next group to your right after each match. These will be quick, and you’ll each get a chance to take on each of us.” He claps his hands together. “Let’s go, let’s go!”

It’s a little chaotic as we all break off and start jogging in different directions, forming neat lines across the practice field. Boyd’s heading up one of the lines and I’m behind him, waiting to see which alpha we’ll be taking on first.

“Aw, man…” I sigh when I see Brock heading toward our line. All of the alphas are tough, but I’ve seemed to have the most trouble getting the jump on Brock during one-on-ones. He’s incredibly perceptive- he always anticipates my offensive maneuvers like he’s reading my damn mind.

Boyd leans back toward me, dropping his voice to a low murmur. “Stay out of your head, don’t overthink it. Try that takedown we were working on last night.”

“I never nailed that move!” I whine through gritted teeth.

“You can do it. Just trust yourself.” Boyd glances at me over his shoulder. “You’ve had a rough week, you need to nail these. Show them why you belong here, babe.” He tosses me a wink as he jogs forward to take his position across from Brock.

I hear a snort and whip my head around to see Hannah standing in line behind me, a hip cocked out and her arms folded, snickering.

“Something funny?” I ask, arching a brow.

“Yeah, that you think you belong here,” she sneers. “Hope you’ve got your bags packed.”

My wolf surges forward, but I shove her back down. I won’t let Hannah provoke me again, no matter how fucking irritating she is. As Boyd and Brock begin to spar, I turn around to face her, remaining calm, cool, and collected.

---