Page 24 of Foxy Filthy Omega

Soren

Francesca Lopez was a far morecomplex individual than I’d originally thought and it kept throwing me for a loop.

I was told she was a legacy alpha, but she’d been on something like an extensive leave of absence from her pack for the last decade so I’d thought she’d be…less intense.

Frankie stretched her neck from one side to the other, making it pop. Then she stepped onto the mat, crooking her fingers at me in an invitation to join her.

She tossed her bright, candy apple-red hair red ponytail over her shoulder and smiled slightly, her blue eyes sparkling like diamonds.

The high ponytail made her features look sharper but she looked almost…playful. I couldn’t think of another word to describe the shift in her demeanor.

I’d thought it would take her longer to shake off the bloodlust I’d sensed from her after dealing with Taylor, but volunteering to take whatever she doled out had instantly and unexpectedly settled her.

Volunteering to be her punching bag was a way to ensure she didn’t accidentally kill someone before burning through that bloodlust. I could take whatever she dished out unlike the others in the gym, but now it seemed as though there wasn’t an ounce of that bloodlust left.

Which was strange.

Alpha instincts were impossible to ignore after being triggered like that without some kind of release and she’d just…turned them off.

That level of control was insane.

Even I couldn’t do that and I’ve spent my whole life training until I could turn my instincts on and off like a light switch, but the bloodlust? It took a lot for that to trigger, but once it did, it was damn near impossible for me to come out of it without the right environment.

My employer must have no fucking idea what they were talking about because nothing about this alpha was easygoing or lenient. How she’d handled all those senior detectives was proof of that.

And the way she’d put Taylor in his place? Brutally efficient.

She’d instantly singled out the troublemaker who wouldn’t easily fall in line and targeted him in such a way that the others had stepped back without hesitation. Then she’d doled out his punishment with the kind of accuracy I needed to be wary of.

My special forces training was extensive and despite what she or the commander might think, I’ve kept up with it every day since being discharged.

And somehow, Francesca Lopez had very similar training. It might even be better than mine. She also had a better handle on her instincts than almost any other alpha out there except maybe her father.

All it took was a single look and the other alphas in the gym were instantly on the defensive without any hint of her pheromones to back up the threat.

It was pretty damn impressive…especially for such a delicate-looking alpha.

I took my place on the mat, bringing my fists up, but keeping them relaxed enough I could easily switch things up if she decided to get creative.

Francesca Lopez was the kind of person who kept everyone except her partner at arm’s length so I knew this wasn’t going to be easy. I had to be very careful if I wanted her to warm up to me.

“What kind of fighting style do you prefer?” Frankie asked as she stepped to the side like she was going to circle me.

I matched her movements as I considered just how much I should tell her.

“I prefer not to engage,” I told her truthfully, my eyes on her torso for any tell she might have. “But I am very proficient at Krav Maga.”

Thanks to the military, I was proficient at a lot of different fighting styles, but Krav Maga was the one we used the most in the field.

“Is it a style you enjoy?” she asked.

“I wouldn’t say I enjoy it, but I am good at it,” I admitted.

Frankie took a step toward me this time. I held my ground, but tensed in preparation for that lightning speed I’d witnessed earlier.

The precision she had was unmatched. Even I couldn’t strike someone like that with the perfect amount of speed and force to incapacitate them. The likelihood that I’d accidentally kill them was too high so I usually avoided it, but this girl?

She was the perfect predator.

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