Page 3 of Eight Count Heat
"Sit ready at the catch," I call out.
The boat comes alive beneath me as we start again, cutting through morning mist with gathering speed. Eight bodies, moving as one under my command.
I don't look at Gray again, but I feel his eyes on me. Assessing. Calculating. Planning his next move.
Let him try. I didn't come this far to be intimidated by an Alpha with control issues. The university might have policies about bonded athletic teams, but that's not a concern for a Beta coxswain who has no intention of forming attachments beyond professional respect.
Even if he does smell like cedar and breaking ocean waves.
Even if his scent makes something primal inside me stir.
I grip the rudder lines tighter. Two weeks to prove myself. Two weeks to secure my place. Two weeks to show these Alphas that this Omega, this coxswain, belongs at the helm.
Game on.
chapter TWO
Gray
She's still here.Two days into her two-week trial, and Reese Callahan refuses to break.
I watch her from the boathouse doorway as she stretches on the dock, preparing for our morning practice. The rising sun catches in her dark hair, which she's already braided tightly against her head. Her movements are precise, economical. Nothing wasted.
That's what bothers me most. She'sgood.
The thought irritates me. A female Beta commanding my crew isn't how things are meant to work. It goes against everything I've ever been taught about natural hierarchies. About the order that makes champions.
"You gonna stand there all morning, or you gonna help me with these oars?" Bo asks, his Southern drawl thick with morning grogginess.
I turn away from the dock. "Just making sure our temporary cox showed up on time."
Bo raises an eyebrow. "That what we're calling it?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing." He hefts a pair of oars onto his shoulder. "Just noticed you spend an awful lot of time watching someone you claim to dislike."
"I'm documenting her failures for Coach."
"And how's that going?" Bo grins, flashing white teeth.
I don't answer because we both know the truth. She hasn't failed. Not yet. Every morning, she arrives before anyone else. Every practice, her calls are clear, her strategy sound. The university has strict policies about Omegas and Alphas on the same competitive team, with complications the administration won't tolerate. But Callahan's a Beta, which makes her safe to cox for us.
Still doesn't make it right.
"Gray, catch!"
I turn just in time to grab an oar Beckett has tossed my way. His carefree smile is already in place, like it costs him nothing.
"One of these days," I tell him, "I'm not going to catch it."
"But you always do." Beckett winks. "That's your problem. Too reliable."
"Someone on this team has to be."
"We talking about the new cox?" Zane appears, munching an apple. "Because I think she's staying. Tyler ran the numbers. Our split times are already down."
"Two weeks," I remind them, my tone firm enough to end the discussion. "That was the deal."
