Page 52 of Alpha Brock

Jax makes an exaggerated gagging noise and Theo leans over to try to shove him, but he hops out of the way and Theo nearly falls off of the bench and onto his face in the process.

I watch them, shaking my head. “You two are pathetic.”

“Whatever, man,” Theo sighs, rolling his eyes again. “I know you don’t like to hear about this relationship shit, but don’t downgrade it just because you’re jaded.”

“Yeah,” Jax jumps in. His eyes go to my ribs, though I’m still wearing my shirt. “As I recall, you’ve got a tattoo of your own…”

My hand instinctively goes to my side and I shoot him a warning look, giving a little shake of my head.

Theo’s eyes widen. “That’s right, I forgot about that! Maybe the A can be for Astrid now?” he suggests, waggling his eyebrows.

“Okay, we’re done here,” I sigh, rising to my feet. When these two get going, it’s enough to drive anyone crazy- and I’ve had my fill of their bullshit for one day.

“Oh come on, dude,” Jax laughs, delivering a playful jab to my bicep. “We all saw you leave together on Saturday.”

“So?” I challenge. “That doesn’t mean shit.”

Jax and Theo exchange glances, then Jax’s gaze slides back to me.

“Whatever you say,” he smirks. “Though now that I think about it, youhavebeen a little less intense lately…”

“That’s because he’s getting laid,” Theo chimes in.

“You two are annoying as fuck, you know that?” I grumble, bending to grab my water bottle off of the floor and popping the lid open, squirting some into my mouth. I wipe the excess from my lips with a forearm, turning for the door.

“Aw, c’mon, you don’t have to leave,” Jax chuckles. “We were just messing with you.”

I throw up a hand, flipping him the bird over my shoulder as I exit the weight room.

I’m two steps out, the door still swinging closed behind me when I almost collide with Gray.

“Oh hey, didn’t know you were still here,” he greets, then gestures past me. “Theo and Jax in there?”

I nod, lifting an arm to wipe sweat from my brow.

“Good,” Gray replies. “I want to set a meeting for tomorrow to get on the same page about this shadow pack stuff. Want to make sure everyone’s available.”

“Sure, I’ll make it work,” I mumble.

Gray gives me a curt nod, but rather than moving past me to the weight room, he pauses, folding his arms. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”

I raise a brow in question. “What’s up?”

He pauses again, narrowing his eyes. “Is everything going alright? I mean with Astrid staying at your packhouse and everything.”

“Yeah…” I answer suspiciously. “Why?”

“Just making sure, since we kinda forced you into it,” Gray breathes, bringing a hand behind his head and rubbing the muscles at the base of his neck. “And… well, you know we all saw you leave together the other night.”

I scrub a hand over my face, sighing. Notthisagain. “You too? Why is everyone making a big fucking deal over this? Nobody used to call Theo out for leaving the bar with a random skank on his arm.”

Gray levels me with his stare. “Astrid’s hardly a random skank.”

“No. She’s not.” I mutter, my gaze falling to the floor. “I’m just saying.”

Gray blows out a breath. “I am, too. I’m not trying to blow up your spot here, man. That’s not my style. I just want to make sure everything’s on the up and up since we have an alliance with Denver, that’s all.”

Of course he is. Gray and his fucking diplomacy.

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