Alpha Gray by C.J. Primer

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

Fallon

“Another vodka-cran?” Boyd asks, sliding an arm around my waist and grinning.

“Make it a double,” I laugh, tossing my hair over my shoulder.

I’m on cloud nine tonight- the cut list was posted earlier today, and not only did I squeak by into the final week of training camp, but all of my close friends made it, too. And the icing on the cake? Hannah got cut.

I can’t think of better reasons to celebrate. This week at camp was really tough, especially after being put on a team with Hannah. Thankfully, after Gray caught her messing with me at war games on Wednesday, she kept her distance… but her fate was sealed. In a week where it’s all about teamwork, it’s not exactly a bright idea to go after your own teammate.

When I saw that Hannah’s name was on the cut list and that mine and my friends’ were absent, it took every ounce of my self-control not to whoop and cheer and celebrate right there, at her expense. Instead, I decided to be the bigger person; my friends and I quietly congratulated one another and made plans to go to the bar in Goldenleaf, as has become our custom for Saturday nights.

The bartender starts sliding drinks Boyd’s way and I help him pass them out to our friends- Shay, Connor, Davis and Casey, and Brooke.

“Cheers, guys!” he says, holding up his glass. “Home stretch, we fucking made it!”

We all laugh, clinking our glasses together.

I still can’t believe it- one more week, and I’ll know whether or not I’ve made the squad. Nothing can bring me down tonight.

I raise my glass to my lips, downing my entire drink in a few gulps.

“Whoa, easy killer.” Davis chuckles as he watches me from where he’s seated on a barstool with Casey on his lap, reclining against his chest.

I lick my lips, slamming my empty glass down onto the bar. “What? We’re celebrating!” I let out another laugh, pounding my fist on the bar top. “Another!”

“Are you celebrating that we didn’t get cut, or that a certain someone did?” Shay asks as she sidles up to me, winking.

I shrug as my lips spread into a mischievous smirk. “Maybe both.”

Shay and I giggle. She knows how much Hannah has been getting under my skin lately- we’re both happy to see that bitch go.

Boyd taps me on the shoulder, shoving a fresh drink in my direction. I have no idea how he ordered another one so fast, but I take it eagerly, sipping it through the little swizzle straw. I’m definitely in the mood to let loose tonight, but I should probably pace myself.

“You don’t think she’ll show tonight, do you?” Shay asks, raising a brow.

I shrug again, rolling my eyes. “I don’t even care. She can’t touch me anymore.”

I truly feel untouchable with the way things are going lately. Maybe I really can have it all- a spot on the squad, a tight group of friends who have my back, the sexiest alpha as my secret lover…

“Thank you!” Brooke chirps, coming up beside me and plucking my drink out of my hand.

“Hey…” I object, reaching to take it back. She relinquishes it only after she’s had a couple of big sips.

“So with your nemesis out of the way, you’ve got a clear shot to the finish line, hm?” Brooke asks, waggling her eyebrows.

I toss her a wink. “Totally.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Fallon,” Davis warns, and I whip around to look at him. “We’ve still got another week left.”

Casey nods in agreement from her perch on Davis’ lap. “The last week is the hardest.”

We all look around at one another, the somber reality of our situation settling in. We may be in the home stretch, but we’ve still gotta make it to the other side.

“Well we can still do night practices,” Boyd suggests. “I think those are really giving us an edge.”

I blow out a breath. “Can we just celebrate tonight and worry about that tomorrow?” I ask, my tone laced with annoyance.

I came out tonight to have fun, not worry about training camp. That’s all I do all week- I think I’ve more than earned a night off.

“Of course!” Shay laughs, clinking her glass with mine. “Bottoms up, girl, we’re gonna hit that dance floor.”

My face spreads into a grin and I tip my glass to her, bringing it to my lips and tilting it back. As always, it’s heavy on the vodka and burns a little on the way down.

Boyd reaches over and takes our empty glasses from us, depositing them on the bar. As soon as my glass is out of my hand, Shay reaches for it, grabbing Brooke’s hand with her other one.

“Let’s do this!” She tugs my hand to pull me away from the bar, stepping backwards as she glances over her shoulder. I follow Shay’s gaze to the dance floor and can immediately see why she’s so eager to get out there- Judd. Ever since they danced here together a couple of weeks ago, Shay’s been harboring a huge crush.

“You two go,” I say, wriggling my hand out of Shay’s grasp and looking from her to Brooke. “I’m gonna hit the restroom quick.”

Brooke darts me a glance and I chuckle softly, shaking my head. “I’ll be right behind you! Promise.”

I love my sister, but sometimes she’s a little codependent. Especially in social situations because she’s more of an introvert.

I turn on a heel, meandering through the bar patrons to the dimly lit hallway in the back that houses the restrooms.  I must be batting a thousand, because as soon as I round the corner for the hallway, my wolf perks up and a familiar, intoxicating scent hits my nose.

Gray.

He’s just come out of the men’s restroom and as soon as he sees me, he stops in his tracks, his eyes glittering gold.

I momentarily freeze, too- I wasn’t expecting to run into him like this, but I’m definitely not complaining. I quickly regain my composure, smirking a little as I strut in his direction.

I’m wearing another sinfully short skirt tonight and Gray’s eyes fly right to my long legs, raking up over my body as I approach.

“Hi,” I breathe as I stop in front of him, our eyes connecting again.

Gray doesn’t say a word- he just reaches out and threads his fingers into the back of my hair at the base of my neck, pulling me into him. He crushes his lips over mine, his tongue darting into my mouth, kissing me with such feverish urgency that my knees buckle. My head’s spinning a little bit when he suddenly pulls away, glancing past me tenuously.

I get my bearings a little bit, pushing at his chest with my palms. “Are you crazy?” I hiss, darting a glance back over my shoulder. The coast is clear, but Gray’s being reckless.

He smirks, reaching out to run the backs of his fingers along the curve of my jaw, trailing them down my neck, between my breasts, and down my belly. “Seeing you dressed like this?” he murmurs. “Yeah, maybe a little.”

Gray tries to grab me by the waist to pull me into him again, but my hands fly down to his, pushing them away. I feel my cheeks heat in a blush. “Not here,” I whisper, throwing my eyes wide in warning.

“Baby…” he growls, reaching out for me again.

I swat his hand away, rolling my eyes with a smile. “Down, boy.”

I breeze past him to the door of the ladies’ room, glancing back as I push it open. Gray’s still staring my way and he lets out a heavy sigh, reclining back on the wall and folding his arms across his chest.

I’m grinning from ear to ear as I slip into the restroom. Sure, that little interaction in the hallway was risky, but something about it feels so damn validating, like Gray can’t stop himself from pouncing on me at every opportunity. I’ve never felt so sexy, so desired.

I should know by now that whenever I’m riding a high like this, it’s bound to come crashing down. I’m at the sink washing my hands when I hear the bathroom door swing open, and I glance up in the mirror to see who came in. Of course, it’s the last person I want to see right now- fucking Hannah.

Her eyes meet mine in the mirror as the door swings closed behind her.

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me,” I mutter under my breath, turning off the faucet and reaching to pull a paper towel out of the dispenser.

Hannah’s just standing there, staring at me with her mean little eyes as I dry my hands.

“What?” I finally ask, spinning to face her.

Hannah takes a step toward me, her nostrils flaring.

“Still trying to sleep your way onto the squad, huh?” she mutters, staring daggers through me.

I roll my eyes, tossing the paper towel into the wastebasket. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“No? I can smell him on you, Fallon,” Hannah sneers. “My alpha.”

My wolf pushes forward. Even though I know Gray’s technically Hannah’s alpha, I don’t like her saying that he’s her anything.

“Whatever,” I scoff, starting for the door. Hannah sidesteps, placing herself between the door and me and I let out an exasperated sigh. “What’s your fucking problem, Hannah?”

“You’re my problem,” she snaps. “You’ve been in my way since the beginning, and you’re the reason I got cut today.”

“Oh my god, I tried to be your friend!” I throw my eyes wide, shaking my head in disbelief. “You’re the one who decided to start picking at me one day, decided to start hating me.”

Hannah’s face twists into an even deeper scowl.

I throw back my head, sighing again. “You know what, Han?” I ask, throwing my hands on my hips and taking a step closer to her. “I don’t think you hate me. I think you wanna be me.”

I’m intending for my words to sting, but her reaction is the last thing I expect- Hannah slaps a hand on her chest, letting out a loud laugh. It completely stuns me- I take a step back, staring at her, trying to decipher whether she’s lost her damn mind.

“Oh, that’s rich,” she laughs, shaking her head. “You just think you’ve got it all, don’t you?” Her smile dissolves into a wicked little smirk. “You’re nothing. Just another whore throwing herself at Alpha Gray.” She leans closer, dropping her voice low. “You’re not the first, and you won’t be the last. He’s just gonna use you up, and as soon as the full moon confirms that you’re not his mate, he’ll toss you aside like all the others.”

I feel like I’ve just been hit with a spray of machine gun fire. My wolf thrashes at the inside of my chest, clawing to get out, but I couldn’t let her even if I wanted to because I feel like my whole body has gone numb.

“Whatever, Hannah,” I say, but my voice sounds pinched, far away. I step toward her, shoving her aside with a shoulder and pushing past her to the door. The air inside of this room suddenly feels chokingly thick.

Hannah doesn’t say another word, and she doesn’t have to- I’m sure she could see how precisely her shots landed. Tears sting the back of my eyes as I slip into the hallway, stepping sideways and sagging back against the wall. Thankfully, Gray’s not still waiting in the hall.

Fuck. Get it together, Fallon.

I know Hannah’s trying to get a rise out of me. That’s always been her M.O.- I shouldn’t listen to a word she says. Still, I can’t ignore that nagging voice in the back of my head, that feeling in the pit of my stomach that tells me there may be an element of truth to it.

It’s like I’ve been pretending the past few weeks and Hannah’s words have anchored me back in reality. This thing between Gray and I feels so good, so right… but it can’t last. We’ve both got mates out there that fate has chosen for us. I was so fucking stupid to ignore that and let things progress with him; to allow myself to catch feelings.

I hear a toilet flush on the other side of the wall, stirring me from my thoughts. I’ll be damned if I’m going to let Hannah come out of the bathroom and see me upset like this. I push off of the wall, taking a deep breath and smoothing my hair over my shoulder, starting down the hallway.

Her word haunt me. ‘He’ll toss you aside like all the others’. I wonder how many came before me?

Shay and Brooke wave to me from the dance floor and I plaster on a fake smile, holding up a finger to indicate that I’ll be there in a minute. First, I need a drink.

I go straight to the bar, bellying up to it and leaning over the top, waving to the bartender. He spots me, and he already knows my order. In less than a minute, he’s mixed up a vodka cranberry and is carrying it over.

“Four fifty,” he says, sliding the drink to me.

“I’ve got it.” A hand slaps a twenty on the bar and I whip my head sideways to see the most gorgeous dark eyes looking down at me, the hint of a smile on the most delicious set of lips.

I can’t hide the surprise that plays on my face at how bold Gray is being tonight, which only makes his handsome smile deepen.

“Thanks,” I breathe, grabbing for the glass. I take a long sip before setting it down again, glancing at him out of the corner of my eye.

He leans over the bar beside me, positioning himself a little closer and dropping his voice low so that only I can hear him. “Wanna come back to my place tonight?”

A flicker of hope surges within me, but it’s quickly dampened by the hollowness I feel at recalling Hannah’s cruel words.

‘like all the others’

“I can’t tonight. My sister wants me to stay with her.” The lie tastes bitter as it leaves my mouth.

“Baby…” Gray slyly trails a fingertip up the curve of my waist, heat radiating out from his touch.

I shift away.

“I’ve got a life, Gray,” I snap. “I’m not just at your beck and call whenever you need me.”

My reaction catches him off guard- his eyes widen, then narrow, like he’s trying to figure me out. My cheeks heat as I immediately regret my outburst.

“What’s going on?” he asks. He doesn’t seem angry, just concerned, and that only makes this hurt more. It feels like there’s a big, raw hole in my chest and I dart my eyes away.

I give a little shake of my head. “Nothing, I just can’t tonight.”

Gray presses his lips into a tight line. “Okay,” he says with a curt nod.

I don’t let it linger, don’t let him say anything else- I just grab my drink and turn away, making a beeline for my friends on the dance floor.