Alpha Gray: six-pack series book one Page 4

  After several hours, I’m panting and sweating. My muscles burn, but it’s a good kind of fire. I live for the adrenaline. I’m covered in grime- dirt clings to the sweat on my body and face. We break for lunch, but I decide to hit the showers instead.

  I navigate through the squad barracks to the huge locker room that’s situated between the barracks for the recruits and the squad members. The barracks for the squad are in stark contrast to those for the recruits- while the recruits sleep in a huge room full of bunks, the squad barracks are more like a dormitory. Squad members each have their own room, but the bathroom facilities are shared by both recruits and squad members through the adjoining locker room.

  As for the showers themselves, there’s no privacy. A long wall along the back has about twenty shower heads, like a locker room in a school gym. There’s no gender separation, either. Pack is pack, male or female, we’re all equal. We live together, sleep together, shower together, fight together. That kind of setup might bother humans, but we wolves are so accustomed to nudity with our shifts that it doesn’t bother us one bit.

  Even so, I’m relieved when I find the shower area empty. In a wolf pack, it’s all about togetherness and it seems like there’s always someone around. Sometimes I just need to be alone with my thoughts.

  I undress and throw my t-shirt and gym shorts onto a bench, then step beside a showerhead and twist the faucet. It takes a couple minutes to heat up before I move my body underneath the stream and allow the hot spray to hit my neck and shoulders. I press my eyes closed for a few minutes while the water washes over me, carrying the dirt and grime down the drain.

  I wash up, still making mental notes about the recruits’ performance during one-on-ones. As I wash away the dried blood on my arm, I remember how one recruit- Davis- was able to get the jump on me the second time we sparred. I got pretty bad road rash on my arm from the way I landed, but the skin has already knitted itself back together and healed. Once I wash the blood away, you can’t even tell where it came from. Gotta love shifter healing.

  After my shower, I towel off, then wrap the towel around my waist and tuck the corner in so it’ll stay. Even though I seldom stay overnight here at the squad complex, I’ve got a room in the barracks. I’ll have to head there to grab a change of clothes. I slick my wet hair back with a hand and reach to collect my grimy clothes when I’m startled by the sound of the locker room door opening and closing.

  Even before I look up, I know it’s her. Her sweet scent hits my nose and I jerk my head up to see her standing in the doorway in nothing but a fluffy white towel, looking like a fucking angel.

  Fallon.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Fallon

  I waited until everyone else went to lunch before I snuck away to take a shower. I just wanted a little bit of alone time.

  No dice. As soon as I open the door to the locker room, I see him. That fucking prick, Gray, standing beside the bench in a towel and looking like a sex god. Seeing him shirtless for the first time, he doesn’t look how I expected.

  He looks better.

  Small beads of water still cling to the broad muscles of his chest and his six-pack abs. The towel hanging from his waist dips down below his Adonis belt, the v-shape beckoning.

  Shit, is my mouth hanging open?

  I snap it shut, then take a step into the locker room, the door swinging closed behind me.

  I’m hoping that Gray didn’t catch my appreciative reaction to seeing his body, but a little smirk crosses his lips that tells me otherwise. I’m immediately irritated that I’ve just unintentionally inflated his ego further.

  “Well, well,” Gray growls, his eyes trained on me. “If it isn’t my favorite recruit.”

  I roll my eyes. “Favorite recruit to torture, maybe,” I bite back.

  I look away, determined not to give this asshole another moment of my attention, and stroll over to the end of the long bench, dropping my clothes that I brought to change into.

  “Oh, I think you like it,” Gray retorts, his voice low. I snap my head in his direction, tossing him a dirty look.

  “Go fuck yourself,” I say, casually striding over to the row of showerheads and twisting one of the faucets on.

  I start back toward the bench to wait for the water to heat up, but before I can reach it, Gray’s there, blocking my path. His huge forearms are folded across his chest and he’s staring down at me. If looks could kill, I’d be a goner.

  I glance up at him through my eyelashes, biting my lip.

  Shit. He’s mad. I just can’t keep my mouth shut, can I?

  Slowly, I turn around, heading back for the shower. Maybe he’ll just leave me to it and walk away. A girl can dream, right?

  I reach out to test the water, and as steam begins to rise from the stream, I can feel him prowl up behind me. I whip around and he slams a hand against the tile wall, caging me in between his arm and the hot spray of the shower. My breath catches in my throat as I gaze up at him. I should be frightened, but as he towers over me, half naked and drawing heavy breaths, I’m… turned on.

  “That mouth of yours just keeps getting you into trouble,” Gray rasps. A low growl starts in his chest.

  I lick my lips, my breathing ragged. “Seems that way,” I say, wrapping my arms around my chest to secure my towel.

  Gray inches closer, dropping his head beside my ear. I can feel his breath on my neck and my knees start to get a little wobbly. “What are we going to do about that?” he murmurs.

  Get it together, Fallon.

  This big wolf is all up in my space and I should be intimidated.

  I should be cowering.

  But why am I so turned on right now?

  Gray

  If I sensed she was scared, I’d back off- but even through the heavy steam in the air, I can smell her arousal. She fucking likes this, and from the way my dick’s getting harder by the second underneath my towel, so do I.

  It doesn’t make sense. I don’t stand for this kind of disrespect. I should punish her with extra patrols and laps to run. I should throw her out of training camp. But all I want to do is rip that towel off of her body and fuck her right here, up against the shower wall.

  I pull back to look down at her and she peers up at me with her big blue ‘fuck me’ eyes, her lashes fluttering.

  “I… I don’t know…” she says, her breath coming out in short little pants.

  She drops her hands from her chest and places them on the wall behind her, angling her hips toward mine. Her lips tip up into a mischievous smirk

  I’m acutely aware of the fact that someone could walk in at any minute, but I can’t pull myself away from Fallon. Something about our bodies being in close proximity feels right; I’m drawn to her like a magnet. My wolf is howling, pacing, and I’m trying my best to shove him down and tune him out.

  “Are you ever going to learn how to behave?” I grumble, and I see a flash of silver in her eyes. Her wolf is rearing up in defiance.

  Fallon pauses, and I can see her mind working. Is this all a game to her? The squad isn’t a game to me, it’s my life. We’re all that stands between the shadow pack and the six-pack. I won’t let another wolf I care about die at their hands.

  When she doesn’t say anything after several moments, my temper flares. I press forward against her, pinning her to the wall. I’m careful to position myself so she can’t feel how fucking hard I am for her. I’m not sure if I’m going too far, but I can’t stop myself. My wolf is clawing at my insides; he wants me to claim her right here.

  A growl rips from my chest. “Answer me!” I roar, and I swear Fallon presses forward into me again, rubbing her body against mine like she wants me to. The heady scent of her arousal hits my nose again and my head swims. I want her.

  What the fuck is wrong with me?

  Fallon

  Guess I have to admit it- I’m hot for Alpha Gray.

  I thought he was just an arrogant prick before, but right now, the way he’s crowding me all
growly and dominant is stirring new and powerful sensations in my body.

  I want to drop my towel, see what his skin feels like against mine. I want to tear his away and see what his dick looks like underneath. I’m not blind, I can see his hard-on tenting up the front of it.

  I bet it’s as huge as his ego.

  “Yes,” I reply, and my voice comes out as a breathy moan. It doesn’t even sound like me; it’s like I’m having an out of body experience.

  And loving every second of it.

  “Yes what?” he grumbles, staring down at me with those dark eyes. Flecks of gold are swirling within them, and they’re so beautiful that I’m momentarily lost. His wolf is obviously rattling his cage as hard as mine is right now.

  I press my body forward into his again, almost involuntarily. It’s like I have some innate need to be closer to him. I twist a little and feel his dick twitch against my hip in response.

  Down, boy.

  I was right- he’s enjoying this every bit as much as I am.

  I stare up at him demurely, licking my lips. “Yes sir,” I whisper. My heart feels like it’s going to pound out of my chest.

  Gray leans his head forward again, next to my ear. “Good girl,” he mumbles, his velvety voice sending tingles up my spine.

  He drops his hand from the wall and pulls away, and my body immediately aches with the loss of his presence. All I can do is stare and hold my breath as he turns around, stalking back over to the bench to retrieve his clothes.

  He heads for the door, not bothering to look back to steal another glance before he pulls it open and steps through. The door swings closed behind him, and I blow out my breath, melting back against the tile shower wall.

  Holy fuck. What just happened? And why did I enjoy it so much?

  My head’s spinning, and for a moment I forget what I came in here for. I steady myself and push off the wall, removing my towel and hanging it on a hook beside the shower. I step underneath the hot stream of water, pressing my eyes closed and drawing deep breaths.

  Damn. If that’s the kind of reaction I get from Alpha Gray when I smart off to him, I can’t wait to do it again.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Gray

  I have to stay away from her. Fallon is a distraction, and I can’t afford any distractions right now. Not when we know the shadow pack is on the move.

  The next day, Brock and Jax are back in the mix so I decide to sit out one-on-ones and observe. It sucks. I’ve got a lot of pent-up frustration that I need to get out, but I don’t want to wind up in a one-on-one with Fallon. I’ve got to actively avoid her. I somehow manage to do it for the next few days, working off my energy by shifting and running in the evenings after I take care of my pack business.

  Theo has picked up on the fact that I’m acting a little strange lately. I tell him it’s nothing, but he knows I’m lying.

  “At least come have a beer with us,” Theo urges. He’s standing in the doorway of my room in the squad barracks, leaning against the doorframe.

  It’s the end of the week, and both the squad and the recruits have Sundays off from training. A lot of them usually go out and whoop it up on Saturday nights since it’s their only opportunity to get out and blow off some steam each week. I stopped in my room to change my clothes after training, and I’m rifling through my drawers for something to wear.

  “I don’t know, man,” I mutter over my shoulder, pulling out a clean t-shirt and a pair of jeans and tossing them onto my bed.

  Theo groans. “Ah, come on,” he grumbles. “You skipped out last week!”

  “I don’t really feel like going out,” I shrug, toeing my gym shoes off.

  Theo folds his arms across his chest, still leaning on the doorframe. “This doesn’t have anything to do with that recruit, does it? The twin?”

  I peel my shirt off over my head, ball it up, and toss it in Theo’s direction. “No.”

  Theo catches the shirt, then tosses it back at me. “Liar.”

  I catch it, rolling my eyes as I chuck it into the hamper.

  “Come on,” Theo urges again. “Just come for one.”

  I grunt, grabbing the clean shirt off of my bed and putting it on. I tug my shorts down, replacing them with the jeans. After a moment, I breathe a long sigh. “Fine,” I say, stabbing my fingers through my hair. I glance in Theo’s direction as a satisfied grin spreads across his face. “Just for one.”

  Theo, Jax, Brock, Reid and I head into town a little after dark. It’s my pack’s town and a bar sits right on the edge, beckoning the squad members every Saturday. The half-mile long path through the forest between the squad complex and the bar is well worn, and people are already starting to fill the tables scattered around the edges of the bar’s interior when we arrive. We grab our usual high-top table tucked off in a corner by itself and a waitress immediately appears with a tray of beers.

  “Alpha Gray,” she greets, tipping her chin in respect. “I was wondering if you’d join us tonight.”

  The waitress, Kelly, is a member of my pack. She’s been after me for years, always dropping not-so-subtle hints that she’d like me to take her as my mate. I’ve been on plenty of full moon runs with her, so I know she isn’t my fated mate, but not every wolf is lucky enough to actually find their intended mate. A lot of wolves wind up choosing a mate on their own if they don’t find their fated mate by their mid-twenties.

  I’m still holding out for mine. Not that I’m some sappy romantic or anything, I just haven’t had the time to date around or pursue other options. As Alpha, there’s always pressure from the pack to choose a luna. It’s a lot easier to say that I’m waiting for fate to intervene than to say that I’m not interested in finding a mate right now.

  If I do choose my own mate eventually, Kelly could be an acceptable option. She’s cute, with a round face, button nose, and platinum blonde hair that she’s added light pink streaks to. She’s sweet, a little fiery, and she’s got a great pair of tits. I could do worse.

  “How’s training camp going?” Kelly asks, sidling up between Theo and I and setting a bottle of beer in front of each of us. She slides beers across the table to Reid, Jax, and Brock.

  I reach for mine eagerly and take a long sip. After I swallow, I give Kelly a curt nod. “Good. The new recruits show a lot of promise.” I tip the bottle toward her. “Make sure you don’t overserve them,” I say sternly, arching a brow.

  Kelly giggles, brushing my arm with her fingertips. “You got it, Alpha.” She pushes her tits out, tucking her hair behind her ear with the other hand.

  “Hey Kelly, what time do you get off?” Theo pipes up. He starts to slide his hand onto her ass, but she swats it away and jumps back. The dude’s shameless.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” Kelly teases, sticking out her tongue. She spins around to head back to the bar.

  Jax chuckles to himself. “A swing and a miss.”

  Theo shoots him a glare, and all of us laugh. I take another sip of my beer. I’m glad Theo talked me into coming out tonight. It feels good to get away from my responsibilities for a while and just relax with the guys.

  “At least I took a swing,” Theo shoots back. “How long has it been since you’ve gotten laid, Jax? You saving yourself for your mate?” He waggles his eyebrows and Jax tosses a coaster at his head.

  “Not all of us will fuck anything with a pussy and a pulse,” Jax retorts.

  I’m taking another sip of my beer, and I choke at Jax’s words. I sputter as I manage to get it down, then laugh.

  “At least we’ll have some new blood for the full moon run,” Reid says.

  He’s been messing around with one of the squad girls for a couple months, but he wants to find his mate. He’s alpha of his pack and they’ve been putting heat on him to choose his luna.

  Brock shakes his head. “Not a good idea to hook up with a recruit.” He darts a sideways glance in my direction.

  “Hey, if one of the recruits is my mate, there’s nothing I can do about
it,” Reid responds, shrugging and holding up his hands. “It’s fate.”

  Theo rolls his eyes. “Sure it is. You just want an excuse to hook up with one of those hot little newbies.”

  We all chuckle jovially.

  Jax takes a swig of his beer. “Hey, if one of them winds up being my mate, I definitely won’t be complaining. Some of them are smokin’ hot.”

  “Oh yeah?” Theo asks, finishing his beer and sliding it to the center of the table. “Any specific girls in mind?”

  Jax shrugs. “I’ve got my eye on a few.”

  Theo grins, then turns to me. “What about you, Gray?”

  I nearly choke on my beer again. All of the guys glance in my direction, but I just shake my head.

  “While you’re all checking them out, someone has to do the actual training.”

  Theo gives me a knowing smirk but moves on. “Brock, Reid?” he asks.

  Both of them shake their heads.

  “I’m surrounded by liars,” Theo mutters, grinning.

  He throws up his hand to beckon Kelly back over. After a moment, she makes her way to our table again.

  “Another round, boys?” Kelly asks, placing her hand on my shoulder. She’s a nice girl, but she’s too damn forward.

  “Not for me,” I say, polishing off my beer and sliding it onto the table.

  “Aw, c’mon, Gray,” Theo urges. “Just one more.”

  I knew this would happen. He knows I only agreed to come for one, but one always turns into two. I don’t have the energy to argue with him tonight, so I just heave a sigh.

  “Fine,” I say. “Just one more.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Fallon

  “I can’t believe they’re actually giving us a day off!” Vienna squeals, rifling through the little closet at the end of her bunk. “How about this one?” She pulls out a skimpy red dress and holds it up in front of her.