Page 68 of Rejected By the Alpha

73

Kaylee

Facing Evette in the training ring, I smile as she lunges for me, aiming to punch me in my right side. I easily dodge her, using her own momentum to cause her to fall onto the ground behind me. She growls in frustration, and I sigh. It has been three days since I was told I could train again. Evette became my training partner, with the intent of promoting the omega into a warrior since she was now mated to Simon, the mark on her neck a sign to all that she is taken.

“Come on Evette. Just one blow is all you need to land,” I call out, lazily stretching as the she-wolf pushes herself up from the ground. Training with her has been fun the last three days. She went from knowing only the basics in hand-to-hand self-defense to being a quick learner in offensive attacks. It’s given me a chance to focus not only on my own shortcomings when fighting, but also help create a stronger warrior in the pack.

“You are such a pain in the ass,” she grumbles with a huff, making me laugh.

“I see Simon is rubbing off on you,” I playfully call out.

“That, and inside me,” she retorts, stalking towards me. Her eyes are constantly moving, trying to find a weakness to exploit. I grin, knowing just how attentive this she-wolf is after weeks of working alongside her in the pack house. We circle each other in the ring, the others pausing their own sparring to watch. Every time Evette goes to rush me, I use her momentum against her again and again. At one point, Simon has to be held back, wanting to protect his mate. After reassuring him that she is fine, while climbing to her feet for the umpteenth time, Evette turns her attention to me. It’s like something has clicked as her eyes stare into my own instead of roaming my body to find a weak spot.

I brace myself, feeling the omega blood inside her hum and churn as something fights to take over. She pushes off, racing towards me. Her movements are still slightly clumsy, but there is a fluidity that wasn’t there before.

She swipes a fist towards my face and I duck, only to have to lean back to avoid the knee that was coming towards my stomach. Evette is slowly becoming faster with our sparring sessions, and today is proof.

I dodge swipe after swipe, jumping back or blocking a few kicks. She is still sent sprawling to the floor, but those instances are becoming fewer and fewer as she seems to grow a confidence that wasn’t there before.

Everyone is cheering Evette on while the crowd continues to form. I find myself blocking and throwing my own kicks and punches towards Evette. The two of us soon get into a rhythm of blocking, kicking, and punching, neither of us landing a blow as we forget about the growing crowd and focus on trying to gain the upper hand on each other. Finally, the stalemate comes to an end as the two of us each manage to land a punch on one another, sending us both sprawling onto the training ring floor. Silence settles for a moment before I start laughing. Three days of training Evette. Three days of sparring and sending her to the ground, and she finally lands a punch on me.

“I…did that actually happen?” Evette asks in shock, the two of us turning to look at one another as we both pant from the workout.

“It did. You’re stronger than you look, Evette,” I confirm, pushing myself into a sitting position. Evette smiles, looking up at the ceiling as she starts giggling.

“Do you want to go again?” I ask as her giggles die down.

“I do.” With her answer, Evette and I climb back to our feet and prepare another round of sparring. Someone has dragged Simon away thankfully, now that he knows Evette can hold her own against me. I know Simon means well, considering Evette is—was—an omega when he met her. He needs to let Evette find her place in the pack now that she is mated to a stronger wolf.

Watching one another, Evette and I begin to circle the ring. The crowd has dispersed to some degree, some wolves returning to their own sparring, others training in groups. It gives Evette and me peace of mind that no one will distract us or step in.

Evette is the first to rush me, forcing me to turn my body to the left as I doge her punch. Before she can regain her balance, I bring my knee up, feeling it connect to her stomach. She groans, using my knee as a grappling spot and uses the momentum to pull me off my feet. Shocked she came up with this idea, I fall to the ground, the air being forced out of me. Evette is quick, aiming to pin me down, but I send a palm strike to her chin. She falls back, and I roll out of the way before springing to my feet. She isn’t down for long, and soon we are in the middle of the ring, landing kicks and punches onto each other while we each try to gain the upper hand once again.

Evette manages to put me in a headlock, after throwing me onto the ground. To say I am both proud and surprised is an understatement. I fight to get out of her hold as she keeps me held down. Then I feel it. The mate bond calls out to Lucas and for a moment, I panic. I tap on Evette’s arm, feeling the broken bond hum as I sense Lucas coming closer. This is the first time it’s ever done something like this, and I am worried Lucas might come in ready to fight. The doors to the training room are thrown open, stopping all the sparring and cheering in the building into complete silence.

“Let my mate go!”

74

Lucas

Staring at Kaylee held in a headlock, I stalk toward the training ring she is in. Simon’s mate tentatively lets her go, as the power and anger inside my blood courses out in waves. I watch as Kaylee stands, worry in her eyes as she places her hand on my shoulder.

“Lucas, we were just sparring,” she states, her scent wrapping around me. Something has changed about it. It has grown sweeter and warmer. The urge to protect her grows stronger and without thinking, I scoop her into my arms and walk out of the training facility with everyone watching. I note the scrapes and bruises left on her as she silently lets me carry her. The broken bond hums with satisfaction, even though I can feel Kaylee growing angry at me.

“Lucas, put me down!” she orders, her voice imbued with a beta command. My blood hums, wanting to oblige the command, butthe mate bond pushes back. I decide to ignore Kaylee, afraid I might say something I will regret while I carry her through the forest. She wiggles in my grasp, trying to get free, but I growl, holding her tighter to me. She growls back, glaring at me and I stop. I know I am crossing a boundary with her at this moment.

After realizing I am not letting her go, I continue carrying Kaylee to her cottage, pushing the door open as she protests for me to set her down and get out of her house. But something nags at me. I carry her to where her scent is strongest in the house and find her bedroom. Placing her on the bed, I trap her with my hands on either side of her head as I bury my nose into her neck.

“Lucas, let me go!” she growls, pushing against me. She manages to surprise me for a moment, and I am pushed away. Frustrated, I grab her wrists and hold her hands above her head. She glares at me as I do this, but I ignore it as I go back to sniffing her. The scent of cinnamon sugar is still there, as sweet and delicious as ever. I am tempted to run my tongue along her skin, but the mate bond urges me to sniff further down. Kaylee shivers as I move down her body, sniffing along her clavicle to below her breasts. They seem slightly bigger than what I remember from helping her through her heat, but I make sure not to touch them and face her anger.

“What the hell are you doing?” she demands, kicking her feet at me. I let her go and back away before she can connect her foot between my legs, and hold my hands out in surrender.

“Your scent is off,” I state, dodging as a pillow is thrown at me and getting ready to lunge at her and take the lamp from her hands.

“What do you mean off?” she asks, her glare turning into a confused look as she lowers her arm. Stepping closer, I gingerly take the lamp from her hand and set it back on the bedside table.

“I don’t know how to put it,” I confess with a huff of breath, running my hands through my hair.

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