Chapter 14 Chapter 14 Riley stayed in her room longer than she planned. Leo was waiting to train with her, but she didn't want to venture out in the hall until she was sure that Kent was gone. Her whole body hummed from their interaction in the elevator. She could barely explain what happened, but when he pinned her in the corner, she had felt powerless. She could still feel his lips against her skin, still imagine the warmth of his abs under her hands. He could have had his way with her in that elevator and she would have gladly consented to all it. That thought scared her. One touch and suddenly she was putty. She had gone through all of that with Paul and she knew how dangerous that could be. Once she was changed into her workout clothes and had worked up the nerve to open the door, Riley ventured downstairs. When she walked out the back door of the packhouse to the training grounds, she saw Leo talking to Patrick. "Feeling better?" Patrick asked as she drew even with them. "Much better," she said. "Lunch helped a lot." "Everything ok?" Leo c****d his head to the side. "Yeah." Riley shrugged. "I'm just run down, I think. Between the back to back assignments and then the excitement of last night, I'm just exhausted." Leo frowned. "Are you sure you feel up to training?" She nodded. "Definitely. It helps with the stress." Leo shrugged. "Ok, then. I invited Patrick to join us since he missed out on the training this morning. I hope you don't mind." "Of course not." They headed down to the track, doing a few laps to warm up before stretching. By the time they were warmed up, Riley's head was starting to hurt again. She tried to stay focused on the training, channeling her energy into her sprints before they moved onto sparring. She sparred with Leo first, but she felt sluggish. She managed to pin him, but it took more effort than usual. "You really are tired," Leo said as he climbed to his feet. Riley nodded as she took a drink of water. "That was tired?" Patrick raised an eyebrow, looking between the two of them. "That was pretty impressive sparring." "She can do better," Leo replied, wiping his chest with the shirt he had just pulled off. "Seriously?" Patrick scoffed. "If she's that good, she can take down the alpha." "She could," beo said with a shrug. "She's the best for a reason." Riley smiled slightly, catching Leo's gaze. He had always been her biggest supporter, especially during her first year at the academy when most people had been sure she would fail. He had always believed in her. "Do you feel up to sparring with me?" Patrick asked, looking at Riley. 1/4 < Chapter 14 +15 Points > She nodded, even though her body felt sore and heavy. She knew she wasn't going to do too well, but she also didn't want to turn down a spar with a new partner. She liked getting as much practice with different opponents as possible. She felt it was one of the reasons why she was so good - she was used to many different styles of fighting. Riley walked in the ring, watching Patrick pull his shirt off. His chest was broad and his muscles rippled as he walked into the ring. She saw the mark on his right collarbone, meaning he had a mate. Mates typically marked each other on the right side, close to where the collarbone met the neck. She got into her position and circled slowly, waiting to see if he would make the first move. Clearly Patrick was practical when it came to sparring and he waited, smirking as they continued to circle. Finally she lunged, but she was slower than normal. Patrick dodged her and swung, his elbow connecting with her side. She reeled away, ignoring the sting as she tried to reorient herself. Patrick didn't give her any time though. He was lunging quickly, catching her around the middle and taking her down hard on the mat. She rolled quickly, throwing force into her hips to roll him over. She was on top of him momentarily but he bucked under her and she toppled to the side. She scrambled to her feet, sweat pouring off her brow as she quickly turned to see the gamma was back on his feet. He grinned at her as he got into his ready position again, clearly enjoying the fight. He lunged again and she dodged, dropping low to knock his foot out from under him with a hard kick. He went down on one knee and she leapt on his back, wrapping an arm around his throat. She was too slow though and he managed to get his hand around her forearm before she could tighten her grip, and he swung her over his shoulder. She hit the ground hard enough to knock the air out of her and Patrick was on top of her in a second, nipping at her neck. "Got you," he panted as he leaned back, bracing a hand on each side of her shoulders, smiling. Patrick rolled off her and climbed to his feet, offering her his hand. She took it, allowing herself to be pulled to her feet. As she stood she felt a strange prickle on the back of her neck and turned to see Kent standing a little ways off, watching them. "You really are worn out," Leo said from where he sat on the ground outside the ring. "I can't remember the last time I saw you go that slow." "You can't be serious?" Patrick took a drink of water, wiping sweat off his forehead. "That was a good fight." "It was," Riley agreed softly. "No it wasn't," Leo scoffed. "Stop." She glared at him, trying to ignore the weight of Kent's gaze on her. "He shouldn't have been able to take you down that easily." Leo narrowed his eyes. "I'm a damn good fighter," Patrick exclaimed, turning to look at Leo. Riley looked over at Kent again. He still hadn't moved. She really wished he would go away. It was bad enough that she was having a rough day training, she didn't need him witnessing it. Her mind went back to the elevator and she grit her teeth, trying to push the memories away. "Riley?" 2/4 Chapter 14 She turned to find both Patrick and Leo looking at her, clearly waiting on a response. "I'm sorry. I wasn't listening." She glanced back over her shoulder at Kent and Patrick followed her gaze. "How long has he been standing there?" Patrick asked. "I don't know," she muttered. +15 Points > "Come over here," Patrick hollered, making Riley cringe. She really wished he would go away. She didn't need him over here, messing with her emotions. Kent hesitated for a moment before slowly walking over to them. He looked at her as he came closer, the corners of his mouth pulled down into a frown. He was wearing a pair of khaki pants and black polo, his black hair brushed neatly off to the side, much different than the last time she had seen him. She bit her lip, taking a few steps away from him towards Leo. Leo looked at her as he walked closer, his expression bemused. He raised an eyebrow but she subtly shook her head. "That was a good fight," Kent said as he stopped near Patrick, his scent wafting to the breeze. "I thought so," Patrick said with an eye roll, "but Leo insists that she is off her game." "Really?" Kent raised an eyebrow, looking at her. "That seemed like a pretty solid fight. You came pretty close to taking him down." She frowned at him, feeling a surge of annoyance. "I'm a good fighter. I could take you down." He smirked at her. "I doubt that. No one takes me down. If you can't take Pat down, you can't touch me." She felt her cheeks redden, gritting her teeth. Suddenly she remembered the day she told Paul that she wanted to still go to the academy, the way he had scoffed at her. You'll never be stronger than a man. Don't waste the effort, he had said to her. She had felt smaller than an ant that day, believing every word he had said to her. "Let's fight again, Pat," she said, tearing her gaze from Kent to look at the gamma. She was suddenly feeling better, her annoyance with Kent clearly giving her a second wind. Kent raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything. "Are you sure?" Patrick said with a smile. "I thought you were 'run down'?" "I'm fine," she snapped, walking into the ring. Patrick shrugged and followed her, getting into his ready position as she did. This time Riley waited, sure Patrick would feel confident enough to make the first move. He did too, lunging at her from the right. But she was ready, dodging him and landing a sharp blow on his back. He reeled away from her with a sharp hiss. They continued moving, lunging and dodging for several minutes. The smile slipped from Patrick's face, replaced by a concentrated look. She managed to catch him under the arm, flipping him onto his back. He moved away, rolling to his knees before she could get on top of him. Riley moved to land a kick on his chest but he caught her ankle, twisting until she hit the ground hard. She struck out with her other leg, connecting with stomach. Patrick let out a hard grunt as she scrambled to her feet. She got into her ready position as Patrick did the same, his mouth set in a thin line as they started to circle each other again. Riley lunged, feinting right before she went left, landing a solid blow that sent him stumbling sideways. She took advantage of the moment, hitting him while he was still off balance and he toppled to the ground. She was on him before he could react, nipping at his throat. 3/4 © Chapter 14 "Got you," she panted, resting a hand on his shoulder as she moved to sit up. +15 Ponts > She felt a surge of jealousy through the mate bond that made her grit her teeth. It was the same feeling from when she was talking to the young warrior at the elevator. She did her best to ignore it as she rolled off the gamma and got to her feet. She kept her eyes focused on Patrick, refusing to look at the alpha. "s**t," Patrick said as he took the hand she offered to him, climbing to his feet. "You weren't kidding. You really were feeling off the first time." "Thanks," Riley murmured, casting a glance over at Kent. He was watching the two of them with dark eyes, his jaw hard, his arms folded across his chest. "I'd pay money to see you spar with Kent," Patrick quipped, grabbing his water bottle. "It would be nice to see someone actually land him on his ass for once." "That won't happen," Kent said softly, looking at Riley. "She can't touch me." Riley c****d her head to the side. "You seem awfully full of yourself." "No one takes me down." She smirked at him. "I could without trying." His eyes darkened even more. "Then we can spar right now." Patrick and Leo froze, looking between Kent and Riley. "You're not dressed to spar," Riley said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "That shouldn't matter to you," he retorted. "It'll give you an advantage. You'll need it." "I've taken down enough big-headed alphas, I don't need an advantage." She felt her fists clench at her sides as she glared at him. "You just don't want to spar with me because you know you'll lose," he said with a humorless smirk. "f**k you." She took a step towards him but Leo was in between them in a flash. "Hey, Ri," Leo said, grabbing her shoulder, "let's go check out the weight room in the academy." "Good idea," Patrick said, walking towards Kent. "I need to talk to Alpha about something anyway. Go check out the weight room. We just had it updated last year." Riley was about to argue, but Leo's grasp tightened almost painfully as he steered her away from Kent and Patrick. She glanced over her shoulder to see Kent watching her as Patrick tried to direct him towards the packhouse.