Page 25 of Cruel Alpha

“Under!”

I hesitated for a split second, and that was all it took. My wolf’s skin fell away, and I was once again naked in the middle of the hall. At least I was still on my feet this time.

“Okay, let’s try again,” Caleb barked, and I retreated to my starting corner. I tried my best not to look at him, terrified to see the disgust on his face.

I shifted again—it was getting easier every time—and sank into a ready position.

“Go!”

I was over the chairs in seconds, and this time, Caleb’s second command didn’t faze me. I wriggled under the tables on my belly and then around a second set of chairs as instructed. Coming to the last obstacle, a chair perched on top of a desk, I coiled and sprang: the jump took me high, my front paws cleared the back of the chair, and for a second, I was on top of the world. My mate was watching me, proud and pleased, sending warmth blossoming through me.

Then my back paws clipped the top of the chair, and everything went to shit. I shifted in mid-air, the sound of clattering furniture filling my ears as I hurtled toward the ground. Bracing myself in anticipation of my soft body smacking into hard stone, I gasped as I found myself hitting warm muscle instead.

The force of my fall sent me and Caleb careening back until he landed on his ass and I tumbled into his lap. We both sat, panting, for a few shocked seconds before a wide grin split his face.

“Not bad,” he said. “We can work on that last one.”

“Yeah?” I couldn’t hold back a smile, and he sat up, pulling me closer. My naked breasts squashed themselves against his chest, sending a spark of warmth straight to my core. Close to the surface, my wolf was preening under the praise.

“Yeah,” said Caleb. “You’re doing so good.”

“You’re not hurt?” I asked, and he shook his head.

“You?”

“No. You caught me.”

His hands ran down to my thighs, curious and searching. The pull of the bond wasn’t as strong now as it had been when we were younger, but I could still feel it pulling us closer.

“I did,” he said, as if only just realizing the truth of it.

Caleb leaned forward, brushing my nose against his. I could feel his breath against my lips, his clean pine scent enveloping me. My body was pliant and sore, but I was held, careful and firm, against a strong chest. When I met his eyes, they were full of fire, full of want, and my breath caught in my chest as his hands stroked up my back, following the curve of my hip and my waist until they came to rest, possessive, on the back of my neck.

“First patrol reporting!”

The shout came from the other side of the hall door, and we jerked apart. Scrambling to my feet, I barely had time to wonder what the hell I’d just been doing because Caleb was yelling,

“First patrol acknowledged. Report in five.”

I gathered up the sad little pile of my clothes, pulling them on as Caleb raked a hand through his hair.

“Uh, good session. We’ll leave it there for today.”

“Sure,” I mumbled. He opened his mouth as if to say something else, but by the time he voiced the thought, I was gone.

Chapter 12 - Caleb

One minute, Alyssa’s wolf was dashing through her obstacles—a picture of speed and strength and grace—and then she was flickering, failing. Human, she dropped to her knees in front of me, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t resist looking down at her.

Alyssa was breathing hard, her pale skin rosy from the exertion, her round, heavy breasts rising and falling with every pant, and I felt my cock twitch at the sight, my mouth watering.

“Did I do good?” she asked, looking up at me with round doe eyes, and I nodded.

“You’re so good, Baby,” I told her, unable to stop myself from reaching down to take a handful of her hair, pulling it away from her neck. She sighed at the contact, leaning forward to rest her face against the front of my sweatpants. With every exhale, I could feel her hot breath on my dick through the fabric and my hand tightened in her hair.

“If I’m good,” Alyssa breathed, “don’t I get a reward?” She palmed my hardening dick through my pants, looking up at me again through sinful eyelashes. Her mouth was open against my hip, her lips red and shiny, and I couldn’t deny her anything.

“Yeah,” I agreed, pulling my sweatpants down to free my cock, already hard and leaking from her brief attention.

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