Checking his watch, Chad saw that he had twenty minutes before the class was starting. If he was very lucky, he just might make it.
***
Chad made it into the locker room with one minute to spare before he remembered that he didn’t have his gym bag with him. He looked around, wondering what he should do. There were several alphas in various states of undress around the room, but none Chad knew well enough that he could ask to borrow a pair of shorts.
Fuck.
“Hey Chad, what’s with the face?”
Chad turned, surprised to hear his friend Mick’s voice coming from right next to him.
“Mick, hey,” he said, smiling. “I forgot my bag. You wouldn’t happen to have an extra pair of shorts I could borrow, would you?”
Chad and Mick had been recruited together, and though they weren’t close, they had bonded as the two new guys on the team.
“Sure, but they haven’t been washed after I last used them.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’ve got,” Chad checked his watch, “thirty seconds before my class starts.”
Mick laughed and zipped open his bag, reaching inside and pulling out a loose pair of basketball shorts. “All right, though I expect you to wash them.”
“Thanks.” Chad took the shorts and changed into them as fast as he could, leaving his T-shirt on. “You’re a lifesaver.”
He threw his coat and jeans into an empty locker and ran out of the locker room. He rushed to the room where they were holding the advanced hand-to-hand combat class and slipped inside with a fervent hope that he wasn’t late.
He was in luck. There were four other alphas milling around the room, stretching and warming up, but the class hadn’t started. A few of them looked over when he entered, but not like they were judging him for being late. Chad walked inside like he had all the time in the world and started stretching.
A few seconds later, the door opened again and another alpha walked in. Chad finished stretching his quads and dropped his foot to the ground, turning around.
Fuck.
He should have stayed in bed with Peter. The alpha stepping into the room, sauntering in like he owned it, was Peter’s asshole friend Aiden. Chad knew the moment Aiden noticed him, because the alpha’s mouth turned up in a surprised grin. He studied Chad for a few seconds, a mix of derision and lust in his eyes, before walking to the front of the room.
“Okay guys, you know the drill. Pair up,” Aiden said. His voice was brisk and professional, and Chad hoped that Aiden wouldn’t be an asshole now that he knew Chad worked for Tank Security. “Chad, you’re with me. Come up here.”
Chad forced himself not to wince. The other alphas seemed surprised that Aiden knew his name, casting him considered glances like they were trying to figure out who he was.
Once Chad had made it up to the front of the room and came to stand on the mat next to Aiden, the older alpha ignored him. Chad even relaxed as Aiden launched into an explanation of what they would be practicing.
He obviously knew what he was doing.
“Okay, now let me demonstrate. Chad, you’ve had basic training here at Tank Security, right?”
Chad nodded and Aiden grinned. There was a mean gleam in his eye that didn’t bode well for Chad.
“Great. Come at me like you’re going to take me down.” Aiden spread his arms and took a step back, opening himself up for an attack. Chad knew how Aiden was going to deflect him, but that didn’t help him at all. He had no idea how he could prevent Aiden’s counterattack from working.
“Today, Chad,” Aiden barked, impatient. Knowing that there was nothing he could do, Chad moved forward just like he’d been taught, hoping that Aiden would hold back when he took him down.
No such luck. Moving almost too fast for Chad to follow, Aiden deftly blocked Chad’s assault and then flipped him over so that he went crashing down on his back. The breath knocked out of him, Chad stared up at the ceiling as humiliation coursed through his veins.
“Okay, let’s try that again, but this time in slow motion. I want everyone to see exactly how it’s done. Chad, get up.”
Chad pushed to his feet, wincing as a sharp pain shot up from his hole. He forced his face into a neutral expression, but when he looked at Aiden the alpha’s eyes were narrowed suspiciously.
“Whenever you’re ready,” Aiden said, stepping back and spreading his arms again. Chad moved in for a slow motion attack, which was harder than he’d thought it would be. Every mistake in his bearing and technique was laid bare, and stillthere was nothing he could do as Aiden effortlessly brushed him aside and countered with an attack of his own.
Since they were moving in slow motion, Aiden didn’t get to slam Chad down on the floor, but the easy way he outmaneuvered him was almost worse. Aiden had skills that Chad simply couldn’t match, and that was even more obvious now that they were moving at a speed where every move they made was carefully calculated.
