Page 65 of Knot What She Seems
With a growl of frustration, I tap my hand against the mat three times.
The alpha doesn’t immediately get off of me, though. He remains there, looming over me, a malicious smile on his scarred face.
“I can’t believe you’re going to be the one ruling the country,” he hisses. His rancid breath would’ve made me gag…if I wasn’t being choked to death. “My father died in the war your mother started.” More pressure is applied.
Tears leak from the corners of my eyes. Dark splotches erupt across my vision. I can feel myself fading…
“All right. That’s enough. He tapped out,” a cold voice barks. A second later, the alpha jumps to his feet, all smiles—as if he didn’t try to kill me or at the very least make me lose consciousness. I wheeze and pant, chest on fire, able to think of nothing but air for a solid thirty seconds.
Ridge stands at the edge of the mat, a scowl fixed to his face and his arms folded across his chest. He regards me with barely veiled disgust before turning toward my sparring partner.
“Zane, give me five laps around the gym.”
Zane. That’s his name.
Huh. Never thought I would want to know the name of my would-be killer, but here we are.
Zane’s smirk fades, and he throws his arms wide with a scoff of outrage. “What the fuck? I won the challenge. Why the hell do I have to run?”
“Because you didn’t yield when your opponent tapped out,” Ridge says in that curt, no-nonsense voice I’ve become familiar with. “You need to learn when to let shit go.” His eyes flick to me and his lips curl. “Especially when your opponent is a scrawny pencil.”
Rude.
But at least I can breathe again.
I suck in more lungfuls of air greedily, not even bothering to put on a front for the watching students. Most of them know I suck anyway. They’ve all seen me get my ass handed to me on more than one occasion.
As Zane begins his run around the gym—cursing under his breath the entire way—Ridge steps even closer until the tips of his boots touch my legs.
“You’re weak. Ill-trained. Pathetic.”
“Geez, thanks. You really know how to make a guy feel good, don’t you?” I drawl sarcastically, glaring up at him through my wig of messy hair. I’d like to see him try fighting with an additional fifty pounds strapped to his body, along with a wig that’s more itchy than…well…I honestly don’t know what would be itchier than this wig.
“How are you supposed to defend our country if you can’t even defend yourself?” His voice is harsh, and a retort automatically pops to my lips. But I stop myself because…he’s right. At least, in a sense. I may not be next in line for the throne like my alpha twin, but Iamunable to defend myself.
If I could fight, would I have been able to stop my exes before they sold me off?
My heart pounds dauntingly in my chest, so loud I wouldn’t be surprised if he could hear it from where he stands above me.
“It’s apparent that the class time you receive isn’t enough.” His lips peel away from his teeth. “You’ll need additional training if you have any hope of surviving.”
The words are ominous and send a shiver down my spine because, while I am fully aware I’m not physically the most capable, the “any hope” part of his statement makes me shudder. That’s why it takes a moment for me to gather my thoughts and comprehend the other part of his statement.
Additional training? I’m already running thin as it is. And why would he even offer that to me? I’m awful, yes, but there are other alphas who don’t know the difference between a punch and a kick. I don’t see any members of Alpha Team X offering their services to those students.
I slowly push myself upright and narrow my eyes suspiciously. “This is about…Brylee, isn’t it?” It feels strange to refer to myself in the third person.
Something undefinable flickers across Ridge’s face, there and gone too fast for me to decipher. But for a brief moment, his features almost seemed to soften, the frost in his eyes thawing. His mask is back in place in less than a second, as immaculate as always.
“You know nothing of my relationship with Brylee.”
“Relationship.” I snort. “Yeah, sure.” I shake my head slowly. “From what I heard, you guys don’thavea relationship.”
But instead of seeming deterred or even angry, Ridge appears…happy? What the fuck?
“So she’s talking about us?” He props his hip against the wall, his smile broadening. It’s a sharp smile, I realize. Beautiful in a way a rose would be skewered on the edge of a sword. I wonder if he’s capable of smiling without an undercurrent of maliciousness. Of danger.
Fuck, am I really thinking about his smile? Dammit.
