Page 96 of Alpha Gray

“I don’t know, man,” I sigh, leaning back. “It’s complicated.”

“And this is why I love em’ and leave em’,” Theo says, shaking his head at me teasingly.

Jax snorts. “Yeah right, as if any of them would stick around to deal with your ass.”

Theo gives Jax a shove and Jax just laughs, delivering a jab to Theo’s arm in return.

My eyes flicker back over Theo’s shoulder, to Fallon. She’s laughing with her friends, throwing her head back.Fuck, she’s so goddamnbeautiful. I can hardly take it.

“So final decisions Saturday, full moon Sunday… damn, this is shaping up to be a hell of a week.” Reid smiles.

It’s good to see him smile. He’s been in a funk all week since things fizzled out with Arabella, the squad girl he’s been seeing for the past couple months. I guess she was sick of waiting for him to make up his mind about her.

“For sure,” I nod. “So Brock, are you gonna stick around for a while after camp ends?” I ask, picking at the burger bun on my plate. I wolfed down one already and chucked the bun off of the second.

“Don’t know,” he sighs, leaning back. “Gotta check in with my old man at the run this weekend and see what he wants me to do.”

I nod again. Brock’s taking over as the Riverton pack’s alpha, and as much as I’ll miss him as a regular fixture around the squad complex, he’ll still be in and out once he gets his pack duties down.

“You’re lucky, bro,” Theo grumbles bitterly. “My old man’s never going to step down.”

I shoot Theo a sympathetic glance. He’s been chomping at the bit to step up as alpha since he came of age, but his dad’s a hardass. He doesn’t think Theo’s mature enough to take on the role, so he keeps dragging out the transfer of power. The problem is, the longer he waits, the more reckless and immature Theo seems to act, almost in rebellion.

“Hey, enjoy your free time while it lasts,” Reid says, holding up his hands. “It’s a lot of responsibility, looking out for an entire pack.”

I nod in agreement. “Definitely.”

Jax and Theo just exchange glances, like they’re feeling left out of our club or something.

“If you’re looking for more to do, I could use some help with the IT unit,” I suggest to Theo.

“Hey, I don’t know anything about computers…”

I shake my head. “No, no. Nothing like that. Just someone to act as a liaison, get their daily reports and oversee things over there. Erin’s pup’s due any day now so she’s gonna take some time off.”

Theo shrugs. “Yeah, I could probably do that.”

Out of the corner of my eye I spot Fallon rising from her table, heading to deposit her plate in the wash bin.

“Gotta go,” I say, shooting to my feet. I climb over the bench, reaching for my plate as the guys look to me questioningly. “Pack stuff,” I mutter, turning on a heel.

I speed-walk across the dining hall, tossing my plate into the wash bin and heading for the doorway that Fallon just disappeared through. I want to catch her before she gets to the trainee barracks, congratulate her on her win today.

As I turn into the hallway, I can see her up ahead, her long blonde ponytail bobbing behind her with each step. I jog a little bit to catch up, delivering a playful little swat to her ass to get her attention.

Fallon whips around, her eyes wide in surprise, but her expression softens when she sees it’s me.

“What the hell?!” she laughs, looking around wildly. We’re the only ones in the hallway, but someone could appear at any moment.

I step toward her, backing her up into the wall and slapping a palm up on it beside her. “Three days, baby,” I grumble, trailing my other hand up the curve of her waist. “Then no more sneaking around.”

Her eyes flicker silver. “But I kinda like sneaking around,” she smirks.

“I don’t,” I groan, reaching up to cup her cheek. I lean in, brushing my lips against hers, fighting the urge to lean forward and claim her mouth.

Not here.

Begrudgingly, I pull back, raking my gaze over her body and undressing her with my eyes.

---