Page 11 of Alpha Brock

Astrid nods. “Yeah, I mean I’ve gotta keep in shape, right?”

I blow out a breath, turning to face her. “Sure, but we don’t just do endurance workouts here. We do a lot of combat training.Sparring.”

“And?” she arches a brow, a smug smile on her lips as she folds her arms across her chest. “What, did you think I was gonna sit out on the fight when the shadow pack comes knocking?”

My jaw goes slack- becauseyes, that’sexactlywhat I thought the princess of Denver would do. I’m at a loss for words, but thankfully Quinn sweeps in at that moment, whisking Astrid away to join some of the other females.

I find my way over to the guys and we get practice started with a few laps around the track followed by some circuit training. After the first hour, we all pair off to spar. I pair up with Gray because the guy always gives a hundred and ten percent, and I’m not planning on taking it easy today. I need to blow off some fucking steam.

As fighters, Gray and I are pretty evenly matched, and we give each other hell. Twenty minutes in, I’ve got blood dripping from my eyebrow, some killer road rash on my right forearm, and a gash in my left knee. Gray doesn’t look much better from his position across from me as he swipes his bloody knuckles off on his t-shirt, glancing across the field.

“Damn…” Gray breathes, and I follow his gaze to see what has caught his attention.

It’s his mate, of course- Fallon is one of the squad’s fiercest warriors, and she’s currently rolling around on the ground with her opponent, attempting to dodge her blows. It isn’t easy to take Fallon down, but it looks like whoever has is giving her a run for her money.

“No fucking way,” I murmur when I see a tangle of light brown curls and the realization dawns on me that it’s little Astrid on top of Fallon, pinning her down with an elbow.

I shoot Gray a sideways glance and a smile of amusement crosses his face. He folds his arms, continuing to spectate the matchup.

I turn back to see Fallon still trying to wriggle free, to no avail. She finally concedes, tapping the ground to signal to Astrid.

“Well that’s unexpected,” Gray chuckles, looking to me again. “Did you…?”

I shake my head. “I had no idea she could even fight. I meanlookat her…”

I glance back in Astrid’s direction to see her brushing off her leggings, a triumphant grin stretching her cheeks. This girl is full of fucking surprises.

So I guess she’s not just some pampered princess- she’s actually a warrior princess.Why does the thought of that get my dick hard?

“You ready to go again?” Gray asks, taking a few steps back and crouching down.

I’m still staring at Astrid, and my breath catches when her eyes meet mine across the practice field.

“Brock?”

Gray’s voice knocks me out of whatever fucking trance I’m in and I look toward him, shaking my head. Pushing out every stupid fucking distraction and focusing in again on what matters-training.

“Yeah, sorry,” I mumble, crouching down into a defensive position, ready to get back to sparring. I smirk at Gray, giving a little flick of my head to beckon him forward. “Bring it.”

CHAPTER SIX

Astrid

“So this is the hub,” Quinn says as she leads me into a large room full of desks and computers. “I’ve heard that ours is puny compared to Denver’s, but what we lack in size we make up for in heart.” She spins around, a goofy smile on her face. “That was really fucking corny, wasn’t it?”

“Nah,” I laugh, waving her off. “I liked it.”

“Astrid!” Brooke calls, beckoning me from the back of the room. Her glasses slide down the bridge of her nose and she pushes them up with a finger.

“C’mon.” Quinn spins back around, leading me toward Brooke.

I was grateful when she found me on the practice field this morning- as much as I’m enjoying this little push and pull with my broody roommate, it’s nice to talk to someone who will actually talk back. Training with the squad was a lot of fun, and I even learned a couple of new moves from Fallon. I’m no stranger to combat training; we start young in Denver, so I’ve been doing it for half of my life. Suffice to say that I may have taught her a few things, too.

I stuck by Quinn for lunch in the dining hall after training and met a few of her friends, including a tattooed hunk that she introduced as her best friend Logan. I guess I don’t get out enough, because I feel like every guy I meet here is ridiculously attractive. Maybe I just need to get laid.

Quinn brought me up here to the IT unit right after lunch. As I follow her back to Brooke’s workspace, I take it all in- seven neat rows of desks on either side of a center aisle, a conference table in the back, and a large screen in the center of the far wall. It’s definitely a lot simpler than what we have going on in Denver, but obviously just as effective considering the amount of intel the six-pack’s IT unit has been able to garner. I’m excited to be here and finally meet everyone in person.

“Hey!” Brooke greets with a bright smile as we approach. She’s dressed in what I’ve gathered is typical Brooke fashion- chuck taylor sneakers, ripped up jeans, aQueent-shirt, and a flannel tied around her waist. She pulls off the punk rock/nerd combo flawlessly, even makes it look sexy, which is no surprise since the girl is supermodel gorgeous. “You ready to jump right in?”

---