Chapter Eleven
It took everything in him to leave his mate that morning. She’d somehow managed to get out of bed in his guest room in the middle of the night and crawl under the covers with him without waking. Luckily he’d gotten her back in her own bed without her realizing what she’d done. He knew she would be mortified, and confused.
The bond between them was strong and he wasn’t sure how much longer he’d be able to deny it. It was against the law to mark an outsider without them pledging to the pack first. Rogues especially had to meet the alpha before any bond could be sealed. He growled to himself at the idea he was letting his alpha dictate his own personal relationship.
Graham downed the rest of his coffee as he walked into the training center. He’d only been gone four days but it was the longest amount of time he’d ever taken off from work. Even when on a mission he would get constant updates. He was worried about the state of his soldiers. He opened the door and was immediately greeted by his best friend, Theo.
Theo lurched up from the bench in which he’d been tying his shoes and rushed over. He gripped Graham in a bone-crushing hug and lifted him off the ground, not an easy feat.
“Congratulations, Bro!” Theo gushed, squeezing him tighter. He set Graham down and smacked his shoulder. “I’m surprised to see you up and walking. When Nat and I recognized each other it was fuck city for…”
Graham clapped his hand over his friend’s mouth. “Please, I don’t want to hear about you and my sister’s sex life, okay?”
Theo wiggled his eyebrows and Graham dropped his hand. “Okay, okay.” Then under his breath he added, “Really she was the one who couldn’t walk after…”
Graham punched him in the gut, causing him to double over. It wasn’t the first time he’d punched Theo for saying nasty things about his sister and he was sure it wouldn’t be the last. He walked past his wheezing friend toward his office. He sat down and started flipping through Theo’s notes from the past week. He then looked over the training schedule going forward. After a few minutes Theo plopped down in the chair opposite him.
“So how’d it go? Enjoy being me?” Graham asked, not looking up.
“Did I enjoy being a regimented, strict, tight-ass for a week? No, I did not. I left most of the newbies for Arabella to play with. She’s a better bitch than I am,” Theo answered. Graham growled. “Damn, what’s that all about?”
Graham shook his head. “I’m going to have to do something with her.”
“Your mate is going to find out eventually,” Theo reasoned.
“She already did.”
“Ohhh shit! How?”
“It’s not important. Arabella crossed a line and I’m going to have to shove her back across it.”
“Well she’s down on the mats now if you want to… prove a point,” Theo stated with a smirk. Graham smiled and got up from his seat.
He made a habit of showing the new recruits what a lycan in his full form was capable of. More specifically what their commanding officer was capable of and that no one was above the letter of the law. He usually used Theo for said example. His best friend had a twisted sense of pleasure and enjoyed being thrown around. It was one reason why the Moon Goddess probably thought to pair him with Graham’s rebellious, no-nonsense sister.
“Don’t get too rough with her, Grey,” Theo warned.
“She sought to put my bond at risk,” Graham explained. “I’ll not go easy on her anymore.”
“Jensen doesn’t like us messing each other up. Remember Malcolm?” Theo asked, keeping up with Graham’s determined strides.
Graham locked on to his target. Arabella was dueling with a younger male warrior. At nearly 100 years old she was quite the fighter but a terrible trainer. She kept knocking him down without giving any instruction on how to deflect her attacks. Instead she continued relentlessly knocking him to the mat. Each time the boy tried to get up was harder and harder.
Arabella turned and smirked when she noticed their approach. She was wearing a revealing sports bra and tight leggings. Once upon a time he found her attractive, now she only disgusted him. She could not compare to Catherine. He snarled once he was within arm’s reach. He clutched her throat and shoved
1/2
Chapter Eleven
her to the mat with a loud thud. She gripped his wrist with both hands while her legs tried to maneuver to get out from under him. He heard several gasps behind him as her struggles seemed to grow more and more futile
“Go ahead and shift, Arabella. Let’s show the recruits how well you do against someone in your own rank,” Graham taunted.
“Come on, Grey,” she wheezed. “You aren’t serious about that little rogue mutt are you?”
Graham tightened his hold and her eyes rolled back for a moment. “Recruits, why can’t she shift?”
Someone cleared their throat behind him. “She can’t breathe.”
“What is the worst crime a lycan can commit against one of their own?” he asked. Arabella growled and tried again to whip her legs around to knock him over. He scoffed at her attempt.
“Hurting a fellow lycan’s fated mate,” the class replied together.
Arabella gulped. Unable to speak, she used her mindlink to whisper in his head. She can’t please you like I can, Grey.
“You’ve lost the right to call me that,” he hissed. “What’s the punishment for said crime?”
“Death by the hands of one of the mates,” the recruits chorused.
Graham snarled and allowed himself to shift. Soon he was towering over her in his lycan form and she gulped. Her eyes widened in fear at this side of him, the side where he held the least amount of control. The side who would kill anyone for disrespecting his mate. He growled, the sound reverberating across the gym.
Wouldn’t that be fitting to the great Arabella Crowe? Death at the hands of a rogue half-breed? Stay the fuck away from me and even further from Catherine. Come near either of us again and I’ll have you banished. You should realize by now who you’re dealing with.
Graham sat back and smiled at her gasping for breath. He raised her up into the air by her throat and threw her across the room. She fell and slid across the shined floor until she hit the wall. She did not move again. He turned to face the new recruits who looked up at him, some with awe, others with fear. The ones who showed fear probably wouldn’t make it out of the second round of training.
Arabella will no longer be training you. Instead you’ll learn from me. Line up! Graham commanded through the mindlink.
The soldiers hopped up and ran to get into position. Theo handed him a pair of shorts and Graham shifted to put them on. Theo looked down at Arabella with a sense of sadness.
“Damn, wish that could have been me,” he said.
“You’re a freak,” Graham said.
“I may be a glutton for punishment but I don’t have a death wish. You on the other hand? Mated to a half breed rogue? Does Jensen know yet? I would love to be there to see his face!” Theo gushed in disbelief. Graham noticed his phone ringing. He looked down and saw Catherine’s name. A mound of dread filled
his stomach.
“Hello? Catherine? What’s wrong are you o…”
“There’s a woman here in the house. She was staring at me when I woke up. I knocked her out and I’m locked in the bathroom. What do I do?”
Surrendering to Destiny
