The Code of The Alpha

Chapter Nineteen - Chord and Chorus

Fallon looked down at her watch as we walked towards the field together, Luca having disappeared a few minutes earlier.

"Three miles in less than thirty," she told me, getting back to her drill sergeant tone.

"That's impossible. My pace per mile is ten and a half," I argued.

"Might better work on that unless you want to do squat reps and lunges for an hour."

I groaned before walking away, towards the path that circled the field.

Looking down at my watch, I tapped at the screen to start recording my warmup.

"You don't stretch?"

I turned to see Luca walking up behind me.

"I walk to warm up my legs," I said, dropping my gaze back to my watch.

"You'd probably be a bit faster if you stretched."

I shot him a hard stare.

"Just saying," he shrugged.

As I turned to walk away, I heard his feet following me down the gravel path.

I stopped and turned to him.

"Are you running too?" I asked him.

"Yes."

"Could you find another path?"

His eyebrows furrowed.

"No. The last time I let you go off running by yourself you ended up with broken bones and I killed someone."

I tried to protest and Luca held up his hand.

"This isn't an argument you're going to win, amore," he told me.

He walked over to where I stood, smirking.

"So, run along. I'll be sure to give you a good smack on the ass if your pace slows down."

I rolled my eyes and turned around, beginning to walk into the trees where the path extended out in front of me. Walking in silence for a few minutes, I started my watch and finally began my jog.

For a while, I thought maybe Luca had turned around.

I couldn't hear him running behind me.

It wasn't until I reached a mile and a half and turned around that I saw him jogging a few hundred feet away.

For a brief moment I thought that I had outrun him. But then I remembered that would likely be impossible, making me realize that Luca had intentionally given me the space, which I was grateful for.

I put my head down and ran back in the opposite direction.

By the time I had reached the clearing, my lungs were burning. It felt like my sports bra was a corset.

With legs like noodles, I finished my run and laid down on the grass with my hands above my head.

I couldn't tell if my shorts were soaked with sweat or the morning dew I was laying in. Either way, it was a cool relief from the warm sunshine.