Page 20 of The Alpha: Part One
"Okay, okay. I'll bring you something. But you have to be good, okay?"
"I be good!" he shouts. I still don't believe him.
"Alright, Dutch. Go see what Daddy is doing," Kaleb says, sending Dutch off to find any Daddy in the manor who isn't him. "I don't know if I'll survive living in a house with two Trents. Okay, I think just keep doing what you're doing, with the addition of Lopez. How is it over there, otherwise?"
"It's good. Scenery is nice."
Kaleb chuckles. "Scenery, huh? Have you hit any beaches yet?"
"No. My pale ass doesn't need the blisters. It is pretty out here, though. And the food is amazing. I'd love to get Trent out here and watch him clean out your bank account and put a few restaurants out of business. Okay. I'm going to go. Hug the girls for me?" Shouldn't have let that slip, but sometimes it happens.
"Speaking of girls," Kaleb hums, "maybe you could find one out there to help relieve some stress."
I try to not let it be a sore spot for me, but I can't help bristling internally anytime someone suggests me having sex. They mean well, especially Kaleb, but I just can't. I have tried once since I came home from the facility, and it was a disaster. I don't know if I'll be able to ever touch a woman again, sex is out of the question. I even have a hard time with Talia's gentle attempts at affection. The only ones I don't ever have to worry about teasing me about finding a girl are Jasper, Reid, and Devon; and the others don't mention it often when one of them is around. Especially Jasper. It's almost relaxing to be around him because of it. Almost.
"Yeah, I'll put that at the top of the list," I try to make it sound like a joke, but it still comes out stiff and forced. I have to remind myself every time that they're only trying to help. "Alright. I'm going to get off the phone. Oh! Wait, a minute. I forgot. Minos gave me tickets to go see a fight tonight."
"Like boxing?" Kaleb's interest peaks.
"No, I think it's more of a martial arts type of thing. Maybe bare knuckle. I'll let you know. He was really intent on me going. I figure he isn't showing me all this stuff for the fuck of it, so I'm going. If it's any good, maybe you could come out for the next one. The flight wasn't too bad."
"It's okay to be homesick, Seth," Kaleb says gently. "This is the longest you've been away from us since moving into the apartment. And it's the farthest you've ever been from here. If I can come out, I will."
How did he know? I thought I was doing a pretty fair job of keeping it from being obvious. "Thanks, Kaleb. I really am getting off the phone now. You know, before I start getting emotional, and all. Talk to you later."
Never, in a thousand years, would I have guessed that I would be homesick for Talia's pack. They should have killed me the second we left the rogue compound a couple years ago. They didn't kill me, though, and they didn't abandon me. They stood by me through the counseling and the therapy and the horrible fittings for glass eyes, and then they turned the space over their garage into an apartment for me to live in once I left the facility. Somehow, they have become more of a family to me than my own parents ever were.
I put the address on the tickets into my phone and follow the route to what looks like a run-down warehouse. The parking lot is packed, though, and the outward appearance of the building is a deception because the people walking into it are dressed, as Devon would say, fancy. I am not dressed anywhere near what they are. I am wearing jeans and a dress shirt. I guess I'll tuck it in.
I give the guy my ticket to check on the way through the door and push my way through the people crowded in the lobby, heading toward a sign that says arena. My seats are pretty great, I really do wish Kaleb was here to sit in the other one. If I had one more ticket, I might have asked the twins if they wanted to come with me. They look like the type to enjoy a good fight. A vendor walks through with popcorn, of all things, so I buy a box. Trent would have bought popcorn, so would Alex. My god, I really am homesick.
The first fight is good, but gets dirty toward the end. I don't know what rules they're going by, but I don't think they were following them. The guy I would have bet against ended up winning, which is why I don't make bets. Know your strengths, and all that. The next couple fights are over fast, then it's time for the main event. The announcer calls out the names of the fighters, but all I can understand is that it's going to be something like a tag team match. I've never seen a tag team fight like these are. Based on what I can make out about the rules, I think someone is going to be very, very hurt before the bell rings.
The first team makes their way to the ring with their music blaring. They're tall and thick. They look brutal, but also like they might be slow or tire quickly. When the music starts for the second team to come out, the crowd loses it. The screams and whistles drown out the music and I can't see them walk down the aisle to the ring because everyone is on their feet.
The announcer squawks something else and the crowd quiets. I still can't tell much about the second team. They are wearing pitch black hoodies with the hoods raised and matching red shorts. They're leaning over the top rope, talking and nodding to a younger guy. They nod at whatever the guy says, then go to their corner to wait for the bell. When they take their hoodies off, a big loud, "what the fuck?" comes shooting out of my mouth, causing several of the people around me to give me looks.
It's the twins. What the fuck are they thinking? Neither of them said anything about this, not that they would have mentioned it to a complete stranger, but this is the kind of thing guys brag about. Especially with the way the crowd loved them. No way does Desir'ee know about this. No way would she be okay with it. No fucking way.
The bell rings, and one of them steps through the ropes to touch taped knuckles with the fighter from the other team. They're roughly the same size. It's going to be a good fight, unless one of them cheats like the guys from the very first match did. I wish I knew which twin was in the ring, not that I'd be able to tell from this distance.
The fight is hard from the first punch. And dirty. Immediately dirty. I had hoped that the twins would fight fairly, but I guess you can't win a fight fair and square if you're the only ones fighting by those rules. Every hit one of the twins takes feels like a personal blow to myself. I'm becoming more and more angry as the fight goes on, and it goes on for a very long time. By the time it becomes obvious that the twins are definitely going to win, they're both bloody and I am literally shaking with anger.
I'm angry because they're so worried about making sure their omega is alright, but here they are risking themselves in such a stupid, careless, fucking selfish way. I'm angry that they're probably keeping it from her. I'm angry that they're putting themselves in this kind of unnecessary danger. There is no reason for any of this. It makes no sense. And now I'm angry because I give a shit. I have no business giving a shit. Knowing and understanding that doesn't stop me from rising from my seat and finding a way back to the locker room with a sign reading HOME over the door. I can smell their dark floral and stormy scents coming from the duffel bags on the bench. I'm going to sit my ass right there between those bags and wait for them to waltz in here after their win. I don't know what I'm going to say to them, but it isn't likely to be polite.
They quietly enter the room. I expected them to be excited, happy for their win, but they're almost sullen. They don't bother looking around, they just start unraveling bloody and ragged tape from their hands and tossing it in the trash by the door. When one of them turns to see me sitting on the bench watching them, he just stops and stares back at me. His brother notices after a minute, and we have a nice little three-way staring contest until I end it.
"What the fuck." It was supposed to be a question, but it didn't make it out of my mouth with the question mark on the end.
They look at each other, then one of them shrugs. "We fight."
"Yeah," I say, "no shit. Why?"
They exchange another look, and the other one sighs. "Because we have to. We're almost done."
"What does that even mean?" I ask, then shake my head. "I don't know if it matters. Why go through all that the other night if you're just going to put yourselves at risk like this? Your omega doesn't know about this, there's no way she knows. She'd never stand for it. What happens to her if one of you, or both of you, get seriously hurt or killed in one of these fights? I've seen boxers take blows to the head and die from it the next day. What happens to her?"
"Mateo would take care of her," the first one says.
