Page 49 of Depraved
I know he’s taking it easy on me, and it pisses me off.
When he telegraphs a roundhouse kick, and I’m able to grab onto his ankle, I twist it hard. “I’m not your damn kid—you don’t need to baby me.”
“You sure?” he snipes, “because last I checked, your rank was below one thousand, motherfucker. Only way you could get lower is if you were a girl.”
Dick.
Smack talk is one of Pluto’s favorite distraction tactics. I try not to listen to him as I yank hisankle toward me and swiftly bring my knee up toward his balls. Let’s see how he likes it when I take that knot out of commission.
I’m just about to make contact when his palm smashes down on my knee. The leg that I’m holding swipes in at me, and he shoves his heel into the back of my waist, sliding it down across my ass as he pushes me backward.
He throws off my center of gravity, and I tumble back. I try to yank on his leg, but I’ve lost my shot.
I hit the ground, and he comes right after me, straddling my chest and pinning me in place.
Motherfucker.
I have no choice but to tap the mat twice.
I grind my teeth together. Heat creeps up my neck. That didn’t even take him ten seconds. I realize how much he’s been holding back, and it just reinforces how useless this whole thing is.
“Thought you said you took wrestling in college? Guess those fancy classes of yours teach jack shit.” Pluto stares down at me smugly as he stands. Angrily I shove up from the mat and stand back up.
“Again,” I say. It’s either that or I throw in the towel. And even though this ‘training’ feels like a complete waste of time, I’d rather go to bed worn out. Shredded to the bone. At least then, I don’t dream.
“How many times today am I gonna kick your ass, beta bitch?” Pluto snorts as he circles me.
I don’t bother wasting energy replying. I’m going to need everything I’ve got just to hold out another couple of hours.
My wolf appears behind Pluto, fur raised, growling, teeth-gnashing, ready to nip at the alpha. Easy for him to act tough when he’s only a vision.
Fucker.
I even curse at him. My own wolf.
But this shit is so goddamn frustrating. It doesn’t seem to matter how strong I am. Or what Krav Maga moves I look up and practice at night. Pluto’s alpha senses give him heightened vision in a fight, and his alpha magic gives him extra strength. In a snap, one of his arms can turn from human to werewolf, and he can literally send me flying across the room.
No matter what’s going on with my wolf, I can’t do that.
I’ve tried again and again—but nothing clicks. My body does not magically transform. A beta elite is supposed to have some of the powers of an alpha. Maybe not all but some. At least according to the lore I read online on underground shifter sites. Half of what they say is probably crap. But I don’t know what half.
At first, I didn’t think any of it was real—I thought Pluto might be pranking me when he came up and told me that he thinks I’m a beta elite. But he's been insistent on training every day. He’s kept with it. Elena says Black confirmed it. So, I’ve started to hope.
But every damn day is now a disappointment.
I’m fighting like a human—at best. And it’s frustrating the shit out of me.
I’m pretty sure it’s pissing off Pluto too. I can see the disgust in his eyes whenever he backhands me, and I fly across the room.
I wish just once I could beat him. It’s so easy for him. It’s not goddamn fair. Why is it that I can work so hard at something all my fucking life, and for somebody else, it takes no effort at all?
Pluto grits his teeth and closes his eyes, and I can tell he’s frustrated. I can tell we’re not making the kind of progress he wants to make. But there are no goddamn rule books for how to make a beta elite’s powers emerge. I would have read them even though I fucking hate reading. So I don’t know what he wants for me. Does he think it’s just gonnasnap to? That it’s going to be as quick and easy as shifting?
I wish it was.
Maybe it should be. “Maybe we’re wrong about this whole beta elite thing?” I say slowly.
My wolf growls at me. But I ignore him. He hasn’t helped me with any of this shit, so his damned aggression can shut the fuck up and take a seat.
