Alpha Gray by C.J. Primer
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Fallon
News of the border breach spreads like wildfire through the squad complex the next morning. They never found the guy, but they’ve concluded that he was a rogue based upon his scent and the determination that he was traveling alone for the miles that they tracked him. That should be some consolation, but I’ve still got a sick feeling about the whole thing since I was the one that had the misfortune to stumble upon him.
I can’t stew about it for long, though, because since my patrol was cut short last night, I’m expected to attend morning session. As soon as I get out on the field, I see that the giant whiteboard is back. Rankings time.
Only Gray and Theo are on the field today, standing in front of the whiteboard with their arms folded across their chests like bouncers at a club. Big, muscly, super hot bouncers…
Not even Gray’s sexy physique can hold my attention, though- not when that whiteboard behind him is basically going to spell out my future. I’ve been working my ass off for the past week to try to climb up in the rankings, and I pray it has paid off.
“Good morning, recruits!” Gray calls as we circle up. “As you know, ten of your fellow trainees were sent home last week. Your place here is never guaranteed. If you want to make the cut, you have to work hard every week to earn your spot.”
The way that Gray commands a crowd is mesmerizing. All of the recruits are hyper-focused on his words, nodding and mumbling in affirmation. His deep, velvety voice gives rise to little flutters in the pit of my belly.
Theo sidesteps, throwing a thumb over his shoulder to point at the whiteboard. “Based on our skills assessments last week and the departure of some of your fellow recruits, we’ve shuffled things around and reassigned your partners for this week.”
Connor’s standing in front of me and I crane my neck to see around him. There are 38 of us left, so 19 pairs. I spot my name about halfway down the list, next to Judd’s. I’m practically giddy when I see it- Judd is a hell of a fighter. He was ranked in the top ten last week, so being paired with him certainly bodes well for my ranking. I hold my breath as Theo grabs the top of the whiteboard, flipping it over on its hinge.
I swear my heart stops beating. Right there, next to the number 14, is my name. Mine! I somehow went from 36th to 14th in the span of a week. Not only that, but I’m the second highest ranked female- I’ve passed up both Hannah and Vienna.
“Dang, Fallon!” Vienna comments, nudging my side. I turn to her and she offers me a fist-bump. “Nice work!”
“Thanks,” I breathe, grinning. It’s cool that she’s being so supportive, especially when her name is so far down the list, at 34th.
“I’d sure like to know what kind of criteria they’re using,” Hannah grumbles. She’s standing on the other side of Vienna and her face is pinched into a sour scowl.
“Ah, come on,” Vienna says, rolling her eyes. “Don’t be salty that Fallon beat you this week.” She’s clearly teasing, but Hannah’s scowl deepens.
Not even Hannah’s pissy mood can bring me down, though- I’m on cloud nine. I look back over to the whiteboard, admiring how my name looks next to the number fourteen. My eyes flicker over to Gray, and he’s looking my way with a gorgeous grin spread across his face. I hold his gaze for a moment, return his smile. My cheeks flush and I look away.
I turn back to Hannah and Vienna, and Hannah’s just glaring at me. Her eyes go to Gray, then back to me, as if she’s picked up on our exchange.
“I can teach you a few moves, if you wanna catch up?” I offer Hannah, waggling my eyebrows. I’m just kidding around, but she’s not amused.
“Fuck off,” Hannah mumbles, folding her arms across her chest and kicking the ground.
Vienna and I exchange wide-eyed glances, both clearly feeling like Hannah’s overreacting, but we don’t poke the bear anymore.
Gray steps forward and my attention returns to him in laser-focus. He’s so damn sexy, with his perfectly tanned skin and his broad shoulders. He’s got a five o’clock shadow of stubble on his jawline, which only adds to his rugged appeal.
“Listen up!” he barks, and everyone’s attention snaps back to him.
Gray
The dull chatter of the recruits quiets, and once I know I’ve got their attention again, I continue.
“Now I’m gonna tell you the same thing I did last week,” I say. “Don’t get caught up in the rankings, because they’re always fluid. If you’re near the top, you can’t just sit around, you have to fight to stay there.” I notice that a few of the higher ranked recruits are exchanging glances, grinning to one another. They take my words as a challenge and they aren’t afraid to meet it. “If you’re near the bottom, work harder. You should be putting everything you have into your training every week. Prove to us why you deserve to be here.”
The trainees nod, mumbling ‘yes sir’.
“Good,” I reply, clapping my hands and rubbing my palms together. “We’re going to start off the week with some defensive exercises again, and there are a couple specific maneuvers that I want you to work on this morning.”
I steal a glance at Theo to see if he wants to pick it up from here, but he just nods for me to go on. I do. “Alright, I need a volunteer.”
Hands shoot up among the trainees, so many of them eager to impress. I scan their faces to select my victim. “How about…” I start, dragging the last syllable on for dramatic effect, “…Fallon.”
Her eyes shoot up to meet mine, like I’ve taken her by surprise. She didn’t have her hand up to volunteer, but how can I pass up a chance to get my hands on my sweet little she-wolf? I arch a brow in her direction and the corners of her mouth lift into a coy smile.
“Yes, sir,” Fallon says, a little snarky as she steps forward. A few of the recruits look miffed that they weren’t chosen. Hannah is staring daggers through Fallon’s back as she strides toward me, which I find a little odd. I thought they were friendly, but competition can bring out the worst in some people.
As Fallon draws closer, it’s like the rest of the crowd behind her just dissolves away. Her delicious, intoxicating scent hits my nose and my wolf is immediately awake, aroused. She’s wearing another cute little pair of shorts- these ones are sky blue, a perfect contrast to the tan skin of her long, shapely legs. As usual, her hair’s in a ponytail, and I’m once again imagining it wrapped around my hand with her on her knees.
I gesture to Fallon to take a position a few paces from me and she acquiesces, waiting for further instruction. I sink into a crouch across from her, waving her forward with a hand.
She knows what to do. This position is familiar to her given all of the sparring we’ve been doing during training. I’m in a defensive position, she’s poised to attack. She comes at me.
Right when she’s about to make contact, I sink low rather than rising to meet her. I thrust my shoulder forward into her abdomen, then shoot up, taking her feet off the ground. In the same motion, I spin, leaning my weight to the side she’s on, propelling her down on her back. I use the force of my body to bring her down to the ground, landing on top of her and shifting myself to bring my forearm to her throat.
Fallon’s pinned beneath my body, breathing heavily and staring up at me. It feels like time moves in slow motion. Her eyes sparkle with silver, her wolf close to the surface. There’s also something else there- lust. She likes it when I’m on top of her, taking control. My wolf practically stands up and howls, so damn pleased to have Fallon underneath us like this, at our mercy.
The realization creeps in that we aren’t alone, and I will myself to pull my body away from hers. I spring to my feet, offering an arm to help Fallon up. She slaps both palms onto my forearm, pulling herself off of the ground and rising to stand. She brushes dirt off those cute little shorts of hers and reaches back to smooth her long ponytail. With great effort, I tear my eyes away from her to turn back to the recruits.
“Got it?” I ask.
A dull murmur rises up among the trainees as they mumble to one another, looking to me nervously.
I cock a half-smile. “Kidding. I’ll slow it down for you.” I circle around, nodding to Fallon and taking my original position. I beckon her toward me and she approaches slowly, the hint of a smirk on her lips.
“Alright,” I say, getting low to demonstrate the first part of the move. I talk them through it, leaning forward to slowly press my shoulder into Fallon’s abdomen. I’m surprised I can focus and get through my presentation with how much I’m enjoying being in close proximity to Fallon’s tight little body. I lift her, spin her, and slowly bring her down to the ground, cradling her body with my hands so that she doesn’t take the force of the impact this time.
She keeps her big blue fuck-me eyes trained on mine throughout the whole demonstration, and damnit if my dick isn’t getting a little hard.
I help her up again, turn back to the recruits. “Alright, pair up with your partners, spread out, and give it a try,” I instruct.
The trainees break off immediately, jogging away to claim their spaces around the arena. Fallon gives me the sultriest little side-eyed glance as she sashays past me to find her partner and I just fold my arms across my chest, watching her appreciatively as she walks away.
Theo strolls over to join me, his eyes following my glance. “She’s got a tight little ass, hmm?” Theo mumbles under his breath, and my wolf lurches forward, a low growl starting in my chest.
I turn to shoot Theo a death glare and he just chuckles. “Kidding, man,” he says, holding up his hands. “She’s all yours. On your own time though, eh?”
I crack a smile. He’s alluding to Brock’s surly comment following war games. I give Theo a forceful shove and he stumbles a little bit, still chuckling.
I smirk as I walk away, winding through the sparring pairs of recruits. I’m out here to observe and instruct all of them, but I already know that most of my focus today will be diverted to one sexy little trainee in particular.
