Alpha Gray by C.J. Primer
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Fallon
I’m still furious. I’ve paid attention to the other recruits so far, and I know I’m better than at least half of them. I should be ranked much higher. I should have a much better partner than Olly. He’s a nice enough guy, but he’s big and slow and clumsy. I could run circles around him. There’s no way I’ll be challenged with him as a partner, and I won’t be able to showcase my best skills if he can’t even keep up. The whole thing has left a sour taste in my mouth.
I assumed it was personal, just another way for Gray to mess with me- but when I confronted him he was so… kind. Encouraging, even. He didn’t punish me for popping off, just told me I had to earn it. It took me by such surprise that now my head’s even more of a mess than it has been since Saturday night.
‘You’ve gotta earn it’. Does he mean I have to earn my place on the squad, or beside him?
After I jog a few laps around the track, I find Olly and we claim a place on the field to square off. Theo starts barking off orders about defensive drills, but I’m hardly listening- I’m just ready to get my aggression out.
“You defend,” I snap at Olly, and he just nods and takes a few steps back, sinking into a crouch.
Olly’s a big guy- he looks like he’s built to be a linebacker. He’s got a thick neck, broad shoulders, and his arms and legs are like tree trunks. His size is a disadvantage, though, because he’s slow. He barely has time to register that I’m coming at him before he tries to move out of the way, and I use a combo move to sweep one of his feet out from under him while pulling him down by the arm.
He goes down like a sack of potatoes. I grin, circling back around to retake my position. We go again. This time, he expects me on the right, but I go left and drop him again. Poor guy never had a chance.
I have to say that Olly’s being a good sport. Every time I take him down, he gets right back up again. He asks if I’m ready to switch to defense, but I just shake my head. I go again. And again. I’m tiring myself out quickly, but I’m running on adrenaline.
“Make sure you’re switching it up!” Brock calls out, and I’m sure he’s directing the order at me. I haven’t taken the defensive stance once, but I can’t show these guys how good I am if I’m not on offense.
Olly winces and rubs at his forearm, which has some major road rash from one of the times I’ve taken him down. He’s starting to look a little pissed off at the beating he’s taking.
“Let’s switch,” Olly growls, and I finally acquiesce.
I lower into a defensive position, panting as I wait for him to come at me. He does, but he’s slow, and I fake left. He almost falls on his face again, and though I’m still trying to catch my breath, I’m smugly satisfied. Hopefully now these alphas will see why they should’ve paired me with someone more evenly matched.
We go a few more times, and I get a little too cocky, a little too winded. Olly comes at me again and I don’t anticipate his movements or react fast enough. He manages to snatch my arm just before I can get away- he twists like he’s going to flip me, but he doesn’t execute the move correctly. Instead, my wrist just twists in his big brutish hands and I can hear the sound of bone snapping before the pain even registers.
A shrill scream escapes my lips as I stumble back, landing on my butt in the dirt. The pain searing up my arm is excruciating, and I cradle my wrist with my other hand as I fight back the tears that are stinging behind my eyes. The whole field goes silent and Olly just stands over me, dumbfounded.
Gray
I hear a shriek and alarm bells go off in my head. My wolf almost tears through to the surface.
Fallon.
Someone has hurt our female.
By the time I reach her, Jax is already on the ground beside Fallon, examining her wrist. She looks up at me as I approach and when I see the pain behind her big blue eyes I want to tear apart everyone in a ten foot radius.
“It’s… definitely broken,” Jax assesses, touching Fallon’s wrist gently. She winces, and I have to hold myself back from tackling Jax off of her.
Get it together, man.
It takes a great deal of effort to shove my wolf down and bring myself back to reality. Fallon isn’t mine. Jax didn’t hurt her. Surely Olly didn’t injure her intentionally. It’s a little jarring that I’m so shook by seeing Fallon hurt. Injuries are a regular thing during training and I’ve never reacted this way before. I take a few deep breaths, centering myself.
“It’s fine,” Fallon says, but her voice is a little shaky. She’s trying to be tough, though she doesn’t need to be. We’ve all broken bones before- it hurts like a bitch. Luckily, since we’re shifters, it’ll heal within an hour or so. Flesh wounds are fast, but bones take a little longer.
Jax helps Fallon to her feet and she’s still cradling her wrist with her other arm. The other recruits and alphas are now gathered around to see what’s going on, whispering to one another. I take a step toward Fallon, reaching out for her arm, but she swivels her body away quickly.
“I said it’s fine,” she mutters through gritted teeth. Sweat clings to her brow and little flyaway hairs along her hairline are sticking to her forehead.
Brock stands beside me, clearing his throat to get the recruits’ attention. “Let this be a lesson to all of you,” he says, scanning their faces. Leave it to Brock to turn everything into a learning opportunity. “Endurance is vital. You have to pace yourself, even when you’re in battle.”
The trainees all nod, almost in unison.
Brock turns to look at Fallon. “And never underestimate your opponent.”
I see Fallon visibly bristle at Brock’s comment, but she holds her tongue. The recruits all nod again, murmuring.
“Come on,” Jax coaxes, slipping an arm around Fallon’s shoulders. “Let’s go get that wrist set so it can heal.”
Begrudgingly, she allows him to lead her off the field toward the building.
“Alright, let’s get back to work!” Brock shouts, and the recruits disperse as quickly as they gathered.
“Uh… sir?” Olly sidles up to me cautiously. I don’t turn to look at him- I’m still watching Fallon as Jax leads her into the squad complex. “Should I observe, or join another group, or…”
“No.” My response comes out in a growl and I give a quick shake of my head. I turn to Olly, give him a once-over. He’s a big guy; he should’ve known that a move like that, against someone of Fallon’s stature, could result in injury. I feel my wolf clawing at my insides again, greedy for retribution.
“I’ll partner with you for the rest of the morning,” I mumble.
A look of surprise plays across Olly’s face and I can smell a little bit of fear coming off of him.
“Gray…” Brock starts, but I shoot him a glare and he throws up his hands. “Alright, man.” He rolls his eyes as he turns away.
I take a few paces away from Olly, then turn back to him. “Offense or defense?” I bark, and the guy still looks a little uneasy.
“Uhh… I’ll take offense,” he responds, and I simply nod, lowering into a crouch.
Olly’s got a lot of power behind his movements given his size, but he’s a clumsy fighter. The first time he comes at me, I easily avoid his blows, anticipating his movements to take him down quickly. He pops right back up, though, and we square off again. He makes the same mistakes the second time, cocking back a little too early so that I know exactly when and how he’s going to strike.
All the while, my wolf is getting more and more riled up. Fighting typically does that, but this time it’s different. I keep thinking of the sound Fallon made when she screamed, of how her eyes looked when they were swimming with pain. Rationally, I know that it was an accident, but my wolf places the blame squarely on Olly’s shoulders.
I start getting a little more aggressive in my defensive maneuvers. Olly’s basically taking a beating, but the guy doesn’t give up. He comes at me again, and this time, I duck, rolling him over my back. I flip and leap on top of him, grabbing one of his arms and wrenching it behind his back. When his shoulder makes a sickening popping sound, I know I’ve gone too far.
Olly cries out and I immediately release his shoulder.
Fuck. He rolls over, sitting up, and I can already see that it’s dislocated. I take a step back, agitated, while my wolf preens, proud of his handiwork.
Brock jogs over as several of the recruits stop sparring and look in our direction.
“What the hell, man?” Olly sputters, grabbing at his shoulder with his other hand. A few stray tears spill from his eyes onto his cheeks.
I’m immediately flooded with regret. This poor kid didn’t have a chance. I’m much more skilled and I should’ve just dropped him, not yanked on his fucking arm until it popped.
Brock crouches beside Olly, examining his shoulder. He looks up at me and I can tell from his glance that he’s pissed.
“Dislocated,” Brock says matter-of-factly. He helps Olly to his feet and takes the wrist of his injured arm with both hands. “Take a deep breath, kid.”
Before Olly can register what Brock’s about to do, he yanks his arm forward, forcing his shoulder back into socket. Olly cries out in pain and more tears slip down his cheeks, forming little lines in the dirt on his face.
The human side of me feels guilty, but my wolf is so damn satisfied.
“Good as new,” Brock chirps, clapping Olly on his opposite shoulder. “Why don’t you sit out for a little bit, let that heal up.”
Olly just nods, glancing nervously in my direction. “Yes, sir.”
As he retreats, Brock stalks toward me. “What the fuck, Gray?” he hisses between clenched teeth.
I stab a hand through my hair, scowling. “I didn’t do it on purpose,” I mutter.
“No?” Brock challenges, narrowing his eyes. I feel my wolf push to the surface again and Brock just shakes his head. “Get your wolf under control, man.” He turns on a heel and stomps away.
Brock’s right- I’ve gotta get my head on straight. I’ve always been level-headed and have never struggled with keeping my wolf in check. I don’t know why I’m feeling so out of control lately, but I’ve gotta run off some of this aggression. I start for the gate, passing by the sets of recruits still sparring.
“Gray, where are you going?” Theo calls out as I breeze past him.
I reach behind my back to grab my t-shirt and pull it off overhead, tossing it onto the ground as I continue stomping toward the gate. “For a run,” I growl. As soon as I hit the gate, I kick off my shoes, shove my shorts down, and shift, taking off into the forest on four paws.
