I Am The Alpha (Part 2)

Part 16

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Brendan says, his eyes glinting as they take in our surroundings. He’s itching to get started.

I nod, “you can say that again”

Around me the guys have all started to stretch and warm themselves up, all except Cole whom comes to stand by me. “I’m just going to run training like normal, you’ll pick it up quickly, is that okay?” he’s asking me if something is okay? Who dropped an extra dose of compassion in his cup of coffee this morning? Not that I’m complaining.

“That’s fine” I smile. I like a challenge.

“Okay well stretch and then we’ll start”

I nod and walk out of the throng so I have enough space to stretch. I have done this properly since the accident so I’m going to have to go on instinct and hope I don’t look like an idiot. I start with the most common stretches to warm up my muscles, taking my time to do them right and then look around only to find the Pack all still busy with their own. Right, what else can I do? I look around and see some of the guys on the ground. Might as well. I sit down and the motions seem to come naturally to me, thank fuck for my still existent muscle memory. I stretch out and find that the further I get into it the more flexible I become, I must’ve been really flexible before. I wonder if it’s natural or if I got this way on purpose.

“Time to do laps” Cole Calls out and I can’t help but grin. Laps I can do.  I catch his eye and he winks “Make it twenty.” I wiggle my eyebrows in response and then set off around the arena. I push myself straight into high gear, working my limbs hard and letting my instincts drive my movements. I can hear feet pounding close behind me but they should know by now that this isn’t a fair race; this is what I’m good at. I breathe deeply as the arena seems to sail past me in slow motion and hold myself back from laughing aloud at the disgruntled grunts coming from behind me.

; ‘Bloody hell, Erin’ Marcus exclaims’ :

I look back at him with a wolfy grin and he glares childishly and pushes himself faster. Coming around to my second lap I pull back letting Cole and Asher go sailing past me and match my pace to his.

“Better?” I question looking at him between deep breaths.

“No” he grumbles stubbornly. He knows the second I chose I can outrun him again... such a sulker. 

“Fine then” I launch ahead faster again, sticking my tongue out at him as he growls and tries to keep up.

; ‘Sorry, too slow” I laugh running to catch up with Cole ;

I push myself into forth gear in attempt to get my 1st position back only to find that Cole’s a little faster than I anticipated and I find myself lagging behind him. As I push even further into an inhuman speed my body starts to remind me how hard it’s working but I shove the ache away, this is how it’s supposed to feel. No pain, no bloody gain. I focus on Cole’s back a way in front of me, my eyes narrowing on my target. I do not come second. I will not let myself be staring at his back for the rest of the laps.

Obviously feeling my gaze Cole’s flicks his head back to look at me for a moment, his eyes alight with humour. Oh, he finds this amusing, does he? Wait ‘til he tastes my dust. Then let’s see whose laughing. I focus on my breathing again, taking deep breaths and building up my energy; in and out, in and out. I close my eyes as I push even harder and feel a ripple go through my body before finding myself on all fours. New muscles are suddenly being used and I find myself gaining quickly, my eyes no longer closed and now focused not on Cole, but far in front of him. The thing about this form is that it has a sixth gear.

Moments pass and I’m right beside Cole, granted I have to strain my neck to look him directly in the eye but it won’t be for long. He looks startled for a moment and then grins at me between puffs of breath. There’s no competitive scowl or growl of defeat, just a grin and an aura of delight to go with it. He’s delighted that I’m about to beat him? I don’t know if I’ve ever been fond of puzzles but figuring out Cole Suruat must be the hardest one I’ve ever attempted to solve. Focus Erin. I stay in pace with him for a moment and then take a deep breath. 

; ‘Ready to taste my dust?’ I query :

 ; ‘Show us what you can do’ ;

I can almost feel his licentious smirk as his words form in my mind existing on a trail of thought separate from the Pack link. Trust Cole to be shamelessly sensual and yet find a way to make me want to follow out his request anyway despite my remaining weariness. I shake my head; I shouldn’t let a smirk muddle my head enough to kill my fun. I take one last moment to clear my head and launch past Cole in yet another burst of speed enjoying the rush of air that pushed through my fur and the sense of awe that dances around the Arena from my Pack. Surely they’ve seen it before, but I suppose it’s been a while. Anyway, let’s see how many times I can lap Marcus before my twenty laps are up.

I lie on the cool concrete, with the scoring board a little way behind me as my breaths puff in and out as though my lungs and heart are going to simultaneously burst from my chest. I revel in the cool sensation of the concrete on my bare lower back and legs as well as the back of my neck, surging a sense of reality through to my spinning head. I may have overdone it. I finished about 10 minutes ago and instantly shifted back into my human form purely for the pleasure of stripping off my jacket and pulling my hair back off my face before ending up here. No one else is done, that much I know, I can hear their laboured breath and heart beats as well as the reverberating sounds of trainers hitting the floor. A cool sensation is slowly spreading through my body as I press it harder into the cool beneath me and slowly regain a normal heartbeat. I’ll be alright in a minute and then I’ll get something to drink.

: ‘You’re not dead, are you?’ Zane asks all of a sudden ;

; ‘Yes, because dead people totally breathe’ :

; ‘A second ago all I could hear was your panting and you just went quiet, excuse me for giving a damn’ :

Oops.

: ‘I may never get up off the cold ground but I am quite alive, thank you for asking’ ;

I can’t help but let the humour leak into my voice but I mean it sincerely none the less.

Another five minutes pass and I hear someone reach the marked end of a lap and come to a halt. Cole. I can feel the heaviness of his footsteps reverberating through the ground just as much as I can both hear and smell that it’s him and not another member of the pack. The scent of Alpha is not a potent one but you learn to sense it like the shift of coming rain and mix that with the sweat that his skin is undoubtedly drenched with and it’s like a neon sign saying ‘Cole approaching’.  

His breathing is laboured as he throws himself onto the ground a little away from me but no way near as laboured as mine was at first; his body is used to the strain.