The Alpha's Gamble - Chapter 48: Chapter 48
You are reading The Alpha's Gamble, Chapter 48: Chapter 48. Read more chapters of The Alpha's Gamble.
Five hours. That’s how long we worked out for. Five fucking hours of hits, kicks, broken bones, and a bloody nose. My skin was covered in bruises, and my body felt like it had been rolled over by a fucking boulder. I was sitting in a corner of the gym, refusing to get back up, when Noah stood in front of me with his hand outstretched.
“Not happening,” I mumbled, leaning my forehead against my pulled-up knees and shaking my head.
“We’re not done,” he said lowly. There was a rough edge to his tone that didn’t go unnoticed. It felt like the longer we stayed at this, the angrier he was getting. The hits got harder, he wasn’t as mindful of his strength, and during the last hour, it felt like he was fighting an enemy, not me.
Noah didn’t move. He dropped his hand but stayed tall, unmoving.
“I’m done. You can bring someone else in to take your anger out on,” I groaned and threw my head back against the wooden panels. I made the mistake of looking into his eyes, and a tremor immediately shot down my legs. There was a vicious darkness lurking in there, stretching out across his face. His whole demeanor shifted into a somber shadow. Noah stepped closer, his legs pressing against my knees, and squatted down. He placed his hands on the mat, locking me in a cage between him and the wall.
“There’s no one else I want to take it out on.” There was a dark truth in his voice that made me shiver, and I think he noticed. Trying to control your fear is a defence mechanism that werewolves are taught from a young age. It’s how we survive, fight, and remain dominant. But that mechanism was faltering, creaking, and shutting down the longer I listened to the words spilling from his lips.
“Get. Up.” Noah grabbed my waist and yanked me to my feet, but my legs could barely carry me.
“This isn’t a joke! I’m exhausted, my knuckles are broken, and my newly healed rib is about to snap off—so fuck off!” I hit his chest, trying to push him back, but his shoulders were the only things that moved. His feet were cemented to the floor like a mountain wall, and even if I wanted to be angry, I was too tired to even pretend.
“A joke?” he said, stepping toward me until I was backed up against the wall.
“Does it look like it’s a joke to me?” He locked my wrists in one hand and pulled them over my head, pinning them to the wall. Then he pressed me back until I was glued to the wooden panels.
“This isn’t a fucking joke. Nothing about this is funny to me. What I want is for you to take this seriously, because you got yourself into this shit, and I have no interest in watching you die. Do you hear me?” A soft breath slipped past my lips, and my chest sank.
“I’m tired. You’re using your full strength. I can’t keep up.” Shame filled me when I admitted it. I was never the weak one, I was the one others stopped to watch during training, but with him? I was the weakling. And it sucked. A dark chuckle shook his shoulders, and he leaned in.
“That’s not my full strength, sweetheart. Not even close. And if this is too much for you, you’ll die in the Ember Ring.” He dropped my hands and stepped back. But I couldn’t even pretend to fight. I couldn’t hold my stance because I leaned too much on my heels, my arms flung about like cooked pasta, and my strength? Barely there.
“You can break for an hour,” he said, “and then we continue.” How nice of him to show some mercy. I looked at the corner where he’d tossed the key when we first came in. My road to freedom. It was tucked under the edge of the mat, and I went to grab it, but just as I was about to unlock the door and feel the air smack me in the face, Noah appeared in front of me and squeezed my wrist until the key dropped from my fingers.
“What the hell?!” I screeched, pulling my hand to my chest.
“You’re not leaving this place.”
“You said—”
“That you can break for an hour. Here. You’re not leaving until I tell you to.” I searched his eyes for any inkling that he was joking, that this was some kind of prank and Logan would come busting in, laughing his ass off. Maybe there was a camera somewhere capturing this torture so we could all laugh about it someday. But the more I searched, the more my hope died.
“You can’t be serious. I need a shower and my bed, not a mat and the stench of sweat!” I hissed.
Noah unlocked the door and stepped outside, but only to block the exit like I was a prisoner.
“You will leave when I tell you to. You will fight when I tell you to. From now on, you will do exactly as I tell you. I don’t expect you to smile or like it, but I do expect you to fucking listen.”
“Please don’t close the door.” I walked closer, and Noah stepped away. Then he slammed the door shut.
“No…”
“Noah, no, please—don’t!” I banged on the door and heard the key shoved into the lock before it clicked shut.
“Noah!”
“Not happening,” I mumbled, leaning my forehead against my pulled-up knees and shaking my head.
“We’re not done,” he said lowly. There was a rough edge to his tone that didn’t go unnoticed. It felt like the longer we stayed at this, the angrier he was getting. The hits got harder, he wasn’t as mindful of his strength, and during the last hour, it felt like he was fighting an enemy, not me.
Noah didn’t move. He dropped his hand but stayed tall, unmoving.
“I’m done. You can bring someone else in to take your anger out on,” I groaned and threw my head back against the wooden panels. I made the mistake of looking into his eyes, and a tremor immediately shot down my legs. There was a vicious darkness lurking in there, stretching out across his face. His whole demeanor shifted into a somber shadow. Noah stepped closer, his legs pressing against my knees, and squatted down. He placed his hands on the mat, locking me in a cage between him and the wall.
“There’s no one else I want to take it out on.” There was a dark truth in his voice that made me shiver, and I think he noticed. Trying to control your fear is a defence mechanism that werewolves are taught from a young age. It’s how we survive, fight, and remain dominant. But that mechanism was faltering, creaking, and shutting down the longer I listened to the words spilling from his lips.
“Get. Up.” Noah grabbed my waist and yanked me to my feet, but my legs could barely carry me.
“This isn’t a joke! I’m exhausted, my knuckles are broken, and my newly healed rib is about to snap off—so fuck off!” I hit his chest, trying to push him back, but his shoulders were the only things that moved. His feet were cemented to the floor like a mountain wall, and even if I wanted to be angry, I was too tired to even pretend.
“A joke?” he said, stepping toward me until I was backed up against the wall.
“Does it look like it’s a joke to me?” He locked my wrists in one hand and pulled them over my head, pinning them to the wall. Then he pressed me back until I was glued to the wooden panels.
“This isn’t a fucking joke. Nothing about this is funny to me. What I want is for you to take this seriously, because you got yourself into this shit, and I have no interest in watching you die. Do you hear me?” A soft breath slipped past my lips, and my chest sank.
“I’m tired. You’re using your full strength. I can’t keep up.” Shame filled me when I admitted it. I was never the weak one, I was the one others stopped to watch during training, but with him? I was the weakling. And it sucked. A dark chuckle shook his shoulders, and he leaned in.
“That’s not my full strength, sweetheart. Not even close. And if this is too much for you, you’ll die in the Ember Ring.” He dropped my hands and stepped back. But I couldn’t even pretend to fight. I couldn’t hold my stance because I leaned too much on my heels, my arms flung about like cooked pasta, and my strength? Barely there.
“You can break for an hour,” he said, “and then we continue.” How nice of him to show some mercy. I looked at the corner where he’d tossed the key when we first came in. My road to freedom. It was tucked under the edge of the mat, and I went to grab it, but just as I was about to unlock the door and feel the air smack me in the face, Noah appeared in front of me and squeezed my wrist until the key dropped from my fingers.
“What the hell?!” I screeched, pulling my hand to my chest.
“You’re not leaving this place.”
“You said—”
“That you can break for an hour. Here. You’re not leaving until I tell you to.” I searched his eyes for any inkling that he was joking, that this was some kind of prank and Logan would come busting in, laughing his ass off. Maybe there was a camera somewhere capturing this torture so we could all laugh about it someday. But the more I searched, the more my hope died.
“You can’t be serious. I need a shower and my bed, not a mat and the stench of sweat!” I hissed.
Noah unlocked the door and stepped outside, but only to block the exit like I was a prisoner.
“You will leave when I tell you to. You will fight when I tell you to. From now on, you will do exactly as I tell you. I don’t expect you to smile or like it, but I do expect you to fucking listen.”
“Please don’t close the door.” I walked closer, and Noah stepped away. Then he slammed the door shut.
“No…”
“Noah, no, please—don’t!” I banged on the door and heard the key shoved into the lock before it clicked shut.
“Noah!”
End of The Alpha's Gamble Chapter 48. Continue reading Chapter 49 or return to The Alpha's Gamble book page.