Page 73 of Specter Bred

"And he seems pretty committed to putting us in one."

"Okay, that's actually not bad."

"I know." He said, grin widening. "I've been workshopping it."

"Of course you have."

"I've got backups too."

"Oh, God."

"Undertaker. Soul crusher. Killer. The Reaper. Murderer."

"You're just naming things that kill people now."

"Correct. Because that's his favorite hobby. Trying to kill us."

I couldn't even argue with that.

When I finished my assigned laps, I slowed to a walk and waited for Sammy to finish his. He'd fallen a full two laps behind me. Running was definitely not one of his strengths.

As I slowed my pace, I felt Grizzly's presence before I saw him. He was imposing like that and without even looking, the sheer weight of his alpha presence seemed to dominate whatever space he occupied. Most alphas wanted to be the biggest man in the room, but Graves made the room feel like it belonged to him.

By the time I turned around, he was already standing behind me, a little too close for my liking.

As he watched Hayes finish his last lap, his scarred face remained stoic and unreadable. Then Hayes stumbled across the finish line and bent over, bracing his hands on his knees as he sucked in air. The breathless beta looked seconds away from death.

Graves clicked his stopwatch.

"Pathetic."

"Thank you, sir," Hayes wheezed. "I strive for improvement."

One of my eyebrows lifted. Even Graves looked mildly confused.

"How is 'pathetic' an improvement, Farm Boy?"

Hayes straightened with a groan and flashed that crooked, dimpled smile.

"Well, sir, last week you called me 'a waste of oxygen,'" he said with a shrug. "Pathetic feels like progress."

I snorted and to my genuine surprise, the corner of Graves's mouth twitched, just barely, as if he were fighting off a smile. His smile was somehow more disturbing than if he'd started yelling.

Because when Graves smiled, people suffered.

Usually us.

"Glad to see you're both feeling energetic," he said, clipping the stopwatch to his vest.

My stomach sank. Hayes looked equally concerned.

"Sir?"

"Since the two of you apparently have enough breath to chit-chat during corrective training. You'll carry those rucks overhead,"

His smile widened.

"For an additional three miles."