Page 20 of Foxy Filthy Omega

“Is there a reason you don’t want to spar with me?” I took another sip of water, curious if he’d tell me or if he’d try to weasel his way out of answering a direct question.

Soren cleared his throat and opened his mouth to answer but a commotion from across the gym snagged my attention, my head whipping to the side to see a group of senior detectives with their rookies on the mats.

There was nothing inherently sinister about what they were doing but my hackles rose anyways.

I got up and crossed the gym at a leisurely pace as I watched the proceedings with narrowed eyes.

Setting off their instincts before I knew what was actually going on could make things worse, so I leaned against one of the cement columns wrapped in padding to watch and listen.

“Who wants to go first?” Taylor asked, his smile just a little too sharp.

No one answered and Harris pushed at Taylor, laughing together as the rookies exchanged looks.

This looked and felt like it was about to be some ridiculous hazing ritual.

“Let’s draw straws,” Harris suggested. “That should be fair.”

I studied the four senior detectives and made note of who they were before getting a good look at their rookies.

None of the new recruits looked comfortable with this.

Out of those four, two were betas, one was an alpha and the other was an omega if I remembered correctly, whereas the four senior detectives were all alphas.

“Allen can go first,” Taylor stated. “Who’d like to go up against him?”

No one answered and I pushed off the column, deciding to intervene.

This was definitely a hazing ritual and too many people were going to get hurt if I let it happen.

CHAPTER 8

Frankie

Allen wasone of our bigger alpha detectives with the kind of size on him that could really hurt someone if they weren’t careful. He wasn’t quite as big as Soren, but I knew just how hard Allen could punch and none of these rookies looked like they’d survive it if they didn’t block in time.

I stepped in between the senior detectives and the rookies, giving the other alphas my back as I focused on the new recruits. “You’re not obligated to spar against your seniors unless you want to,” I reminded them.

All four of them instantly dropped their gaze to the floor, even the alphas. I should be used to it by now, but for whatever reason it surprised me every damn time.

Ignoring that uncomfortable sensation, I turned on my heel and faced the other detectives, crossing my arms over my chest as I raised a single eyebrow at them in question.

Allen and Walker both dropped their gazes and took a step back, looking instantly chagrined, but the other two bristled at my silent challenge.

“What’s wrong now?” Taylor demanded. “There something you don’t like about the way we train our recruits?”

“Yeah, actually there is.” I shifted my attention from Taylor to Harris, knowing this one preferred to follow even if he’d never admit it. “What you’re trying to do is dangerous.”

Harris looked away but not down. “All rookies need to be tested.”

“Sure, but it should be done in a safe environment and with their consent. None of them look like they want to do this.”

“They don’t have a choice,” Taylor snapped. “We have to test their skills.”

I uncrossed my arms and took a step forward, getting in his face.

It didn’t matter that he had about four inches on me. I stared into his dark brown eyes and let him see just how much I didn’t give a fuck that he was bigger.

To his credit, he didn’t back down or look away even though it was obvious he wanted to. I didn’t blink as I watched him try to get his shit together, his instincts telling him he didn’t want this problem.

---