Page 27 of The Beta's Blind Date

“I’ll be the judge of that,” she says.

“All right, enough chatter, Cadet,” I say, and she straightens up, turning her focus back to me.

My eyes scan the gathered training class, searching for someone for Taryn to partner with for our next activity. I need to watch Taryn spar, which will be easier if I’m not the one doing the sparring. And I am not sure I trust my wolf to be on his best behavior right now.

“Maddie!” I yell, summoning Wesley and Sebastian’s younger sister over.

She joins us, breaking away from the group of trainees she’d been chatting with.

“What’s up?” she asks, her violet-blue eyes looking between the three of us, her long, dark brown ponytail swinging with the movement of her head.

“I need you to spar with Taryn,” I say. “I can’t get a good read on her form and skills if I’m fighting her, so I’ll watch the two of you instead.”

“Sounds fun!” she says, smiling. “You ready?” she asks Taryn, who nods at her. “Sweet!”

Maddie links arms with Taryn, leading her to the sparring ring, the two of them already whispering and giggling about whatever it is girls whisper and giggle about.

“Less laughing, more sparring!” I say, striding after them.

“Someone’s grumpy today,” Maddie says with a laugh. “Do you need a cookie?”

Taryn giggles, too, her hand flying to her mouth to hide it, but it’s too late. I already heard it.

I narrow my eyes at both of them. “Do you need to do more pushups?” They both shut up, but the laughter still twinkles in their eyes. “That’s what I thought. Ready positions. Now!”

I point to the center of the ring, and they both scurry to get into position, crouching and bringing their hands close to their chests. I examine Taryn’s stance and posture, adding to my mental list of feedback. Her eyes flick to me as I walk around them, taking my time to check her form. And maybe to checkouther form.

She gives me a smile. It’s as quick as a wink, but it’s there all the same. I return it without a thought, my smile as brief as hers, before I return to drill sergeant mode.

“Begin!” I say, ready to find out if my mate can hold her own against a lycan female.

Chapter 10

TARYN

IsparwithMaddiefor at least an hour. Maybe more. I lose track of my wins and losses, but I know we’re close to even. She may have one or two more wins than me, but since she’s a lycan and I’m a werewolf, I’m feeling good about myself and my abilities.

But I hope she hasn’t been taking it easy on me.

That would be embarrassing.

I scramble to my feet after getting pinned by Maddie again, readying myself for another round, when Reid walks into the ring. “That’s enough,” he says. “You can clean up.”

My shoulders slump in relief, and I follow Maddie towards what I assume are the locker rooms, but Reid grabs my hand, stopping me. “Not you,” he says. “We’re not done yet.”

I glance at him, forcing my eyes to stay on his face instead of wandering lower. So far, the entire time I’ve been here, I’ve had to remind myself not to ogle him. But his tatted biceps his black T-shirt sleeves can’t contain, his broad, muscular shoulders that stretch and bulge beneath the fabric, and those damn gray sweatpants are all very distracting and have me almost drooling, have me ready to act on what I told Blake I wanted to do to him—climb him like a tree.

What is it about gray sweatpants on males, anyway?

I blink and swallow, pushing back my wandering, indecent thoughts. “We’re not?”

He shakes his head. “I still need to see your wolf.”

“Oh.”

I lick my lips and glance around his pack grounds, calculating how many others are nearby and how close they are to us, determining how easily they’ll be able to see my wolf. My heart accelerates and I remind myself to breathe.

I hate this part. Not shifting. Not my wolf. I love my wolf, and I could never be ashamed of her or her size. She is beautiful and strong even with her smaller than normal stature.

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