Page 17 of Hunt

Enteringa large building to the left hand side of the property the next morning, I can immediately feel the change inthe air. It’s warmer in here—almost stuffy. The smell of sweat and body odor assaults me as I make my way further in.

I was told this building houses a gym and training facility—state of the art and fucking expensive, so I figured I’d check it out if we’re being forced to stay here for the time being. I pass room after room of equipment, impressed at the cleanliness of the place.

There are several men running on treadmills who ignore me as I pass. I don’t miss the fact that every single one of them is fucking jacked to the max. I wonder if these men live here, or if they ever leave to live their own lives.

“Get it together!” booms a man's voice from the end of the hall. His accent is thick and possibly Russian if I had to guess.

I follow the sounds of skin slapping matted floors until I reach a door with a large window at the top that looks in on a vast training room covered in blue wrestling mats.

More of that man’s gruff commands filter through the door along with grunts and curses, so I peer inside and take a look around, only to pull up short. Bella circles a man twice her size, clenching her jaw tightly and narrowing her dark eyes.

Scanning her from head to toe, I can’t help the way my dick throbs at the sight of all that creamy skin covered in a sheen of slick sweat. She’s wearing a black sports bra that shows off that raven tattoo that snakes up her torso. My mind flickers to all the times I’ve run my tongue over those lines.

She wears a tight pair of bike shorts, making her legs look miles long and her thick, dark blue hair is up in a high ponytail that falls long enough to graze her shoulder blades. She looks fucking delicious, and I want to shoot myself for even letting my mind wander there.

The man, who I’m realizing now is the same one from the dining room last night—the alpha who’d stood way too close to her, circles around, sizing her up before lunging. He swipes low,but Bella leaps just in time, causing his hands to grasp at empty air. Landing lightly on her feet, she kicks out her bare foot, landing a blow to his shoulder that satisfies me for some reason when he grunts in pain.

I watch in fascination as my little bird pounces and gets in a few good licks to his cheek. The man spits blood and snarls.

The behemoth moves faster when she gets too cocky and flings her up and over using her momentum to throw her off balance. He grabs her by the bicep, squeezing his fingers into her soft skin. Seeing his hands on her makes me see red.

When her back hits the mat and he pins her down, it takes every ounce of willpower I have not to grab him by the neck and let him know just how bad of an idea it is to touch what belongs to me.

Cursing myself, I have to remind myself that she doesn't belong to me—not anymore. Not yet.

The man holds her down by placing his knees on her thighs. She grimaces in pain. My hands tighten into tight fists as I watch the way his meaty palm slides over her skin. There’s no reason he needs to be touching her like that. She’s already down and she should have been tapped out by now, but he just holds her there.

I watch in morbid fascination as his face lowers to hers slowly, her face turns away from his slightly and she shuts her eyes, and I suddenly can’t take any more of this shit.

I burst through the door and the man doesn't even flinch. He just raises his head—green eyes meeting mine in annoyance as I stalk through the room. “Get the fuck off her,” I snap. “Now!”

“Dante?” Bella says, wiggling her out from beneath the giant. Reluctantly, the man moves, standing to his feet, but not before crossing his arms over his expansive chest and glaring at me like he could burn me to a pile of ash.

“You can leave,” I tell him, but he makes no move to comply. He may be larger than me, but I’m not afraid of him in theslightest. He’s just a goon—expendable and unimportant. “I said fuck off.”

I flick my head in the direction of the door, but the guy just settles in by adjusting his stance a little wider.

“You can go, Nic. I’m fine on my own,” Bella tells him and his irritated eyes flicker to her in annoyance.

“I’m supposed to be training you for the next hour. Now isn’t the time to sneak off with your boyfriend,” he grumbles.

“I’m not her boyfriend, meathead, but my little bird and I have some things to discuss that don’t involve henchmen.” His eyes narrow and I can tell already that he wants to hit me. My lips pull up into a small smirk. He has no power here and he knows it.

“Just go,” Bella repeats, pushing on his back lightly. He doesn't move an inch, but I feel my lip pull up in a snarl. I don’t like her touching him at all. She may not be mine, but she’ll never be his either.

He stalks from the room in a huff, and I can’t suppress the bitter smile that stretches my lips in satisfaction at seeing the douche with his tail between his legs. I’m watching him closely enough that I don’t realize I’m down until I’m seeing stars.

The next thing I know, I’m staring up at the white ceiling with blood dripping from my nose. Reaching up, I swipe my hands across it and look at my palm, marveling at the dark crimson streaks.

“You have two seconds to walk out that door, Dante. I have nothing to say to you.” Bella’s voice is hard and unfamiliar. She sounds colder than I’ve ever heard her.

Gathering what little bit of dignity I still have inside of me, I bring myself to standing, until I tower over the little blue pixie girl once more. I can still feel my nose bleeding, but I’ve had much, much worse. In fact, I’m actually sort of impressed. Ihadn’t even seen it coming. She’s getting better, now that she’s back in her element again.

“Are you fucking him now too?” I sneer, but the fire in her eyes only burns brighter.

Her pretty face twists up in disgust. I hate to admit it, but a tight ball of tension leaves my chest at the look of utter revulsion on her face at the suggestion that she might be fucking that alpha.

“You jealous, alpha?” Her brown eyes sparkle with lies and mischief.

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