Taking Down the Alpha

26 I Know

A few hours later we were at a gym and Al trained while Monroe barked orders at him. I sat off to the side on a pile of mats and watched, with Monroe occasionally casting irritated glances in my direction. I was mainly surprised by how unbothered my mate seemed by his coach's demanding tone, since it annoyed me, and most alpha's had short tempers. I liked that Al didn't, it made him seem that much more powerful.

As much as I normally wouldn't have wasted my time watching someone train since I always had so much else to do, there was something mesmerizing about the way my mate worked his body, swift, forceful and controlled. The sight sent shivers down my back.

I was no expert, but I'd never seen Alpha Hudson move so impressively. Maybe he really didn't have a chance against Al. If so, I was going to thoroughly relish watching his defeat, seeing that vaguely stupid expression on his face turn to understanding as he finally comprehended how he should have focused on running the pack properly instead of messing around with us.

He'd probably imagined that no one would ever dare to challenge him, but how wrong he was. He should never have crossed me. Watching him face off against my superior male was going to be a treat. Assuming everything went according to plan.

Once Al was finished training, I ended up following him to another room where he and his coach sat down and analyzed recordings of his next opponent's previous fights. Al pulled me onto his lap, but then seemed to purely focus on Monroe's words as he pointed out strategies.

While I was surprised at the amount of strategy involved in two men beating on each other, I wasn't surprised that Al could handle it. Better yet, the recordings gave me the bright idea to have someone record the challenge when he beat Alpha Hudson. I wanted to be able to watch that fight on repeat...for training purposes?

The fight we were watching ended, and Munroe went to the next file.

Al tightened his grip on my waist and nuzzled his nose into the side of my neck. My skin tingled as if it begged to be touched, and if knowing what I was thinking, he placed a kiss on the side of my neck.

"Al, keep your head in the game," Munroe grumbled.

"I am," he disagreed, placing another kiss.

Munroe shot me a very irritated expression as if I was mind controlling Al, so I smiled back my fake work smile. It didn't seem to sooth him, which was fine, because I wasn't trying to. If he thought I was going to back down, he had a surprise coming his way.

He started the next video, pointing out various things about Kevin's strengths and weaknesses that I would have never picked up if I were watching it alone.

After a few more subtle complaints from the grumpy coach, I relented and decided to head back and see what the girls were doing. As annoying as Munroe's attitude was, I really did not want to sabotage Al's chances of winning his fight. He was unpleasant, but I did respect his work ethic, and he was obviously skilled at his job.

When I entered the hotel room, Liana was nearly bouncing off the walls, more animated than I had ever seen the demure girl in all the time I had known her, even before we had become friends. It was almost like meeting an entirely new person. "Want to go for a run?" she asked, clearly not meaning in our human forms. "I already went this morning with Denise and Andrew, but I don't want to bother them again."

"We've got a few spare hours before Al's fight, and I'm sure I could use the exercise."

"Great!" Her wide smile excited my wolf, and I started anticipating our run in response.

I texted Denise and Andrew to ask if they wanted to come, but they opted out. I didn't pry into what they planned to do instead.

After only a few minutes, we were ready to go and in her car. Twenty minutes later, we were on the outskirts of the city. Once we were well away from human eyes, I shifted into my wolf, and turned to see Liana do the same. She wasn't nearly as fast as I was, but she wasn't terrible for a newly shifted wolf.