Merchant took another step forward and cut him off mid-sentence. “Peter might be your friend, Aiden, but I’m not. Or did you think that you and I were buddies?” Merchant’s expression or tone didn’t change at all as he spoke, and somehow that was scarier than if he’d gotten mad.
The question hung in the air between them. Since Aiden was clearly less dominant than Merchant, he couldn’t ignore it without giving Merchant an excuse to challenge him.
“No,” he said, the word curt and angry.
“Good. Of course, if you have a complaint you can always take it to Peter.” Merchant’s tone was mocking.
“Fuck off,” Aiden muttered, turning around and walking away. Chad was happy to see him go, except that meant that he was alone with Merchant—who was clearly insane.
“So, what exactly am I teaching and where am I teaching it?” Merchant asked, turning to Chad. Chad blinked, his mouth opening in a pretty good imitation of a fish. Merchant raised his eyebrow, waiting for an answer.
“Advanced hand-to-hand combat in training room eight?” Chad made it sound like a question.
Merchant nodded. “I can do that. How’s your dad doing, by the way?” He started walking, and Chad scrambled to follow.
“He’s good. No lasting damage if he just changes his diet and starts exercising.”
“That’s good to hear. And you? You looked pretty banged up the last time I saw you.”
Chad was surprised by the question. He’d been sore and hurting for the first two days after the class, but after that the worst had passed. He hadn’t even thought about his ribs since he got back to the city.
“I’m good. Thanks for asking.”
They made it to the training room, and Merchant walked in ahead of him like he owned the place. Chad followed, watching as Merchant moved to the front of the room and turned to face the alphas present. Now that they were inside, Merchant didn’t acknowledge him.
“You and you,” Merchant pointed to two alphas standing together, “Show me what you’ve got. Everyone else stand back.”
Chad recognized the two alphas from his last class, but he didn’t know their names. If they were confused by the change of instructor or teaching style, they didn’t show it. They moved to the mat in the middle of the room, rolling their shoulders and stretching their necks as they went.
Chad, Merchant, and the two remaining alphas all moved away from the mat, standing around the two alphas in a circle.
“Whenever you’re ready,” Merchant said, letting some impatience bleed into his voice.
The two alphas responded like a bell had been rung. They were both pretty equal in size, their bodies sleek and built for speed and agile strength, and neither one held back as they attacked.
It was vicious, and Chad couldn’t help but grin at the violence.
He watched as the alpha who was obviously going to lose struggled to get the advantage. He was on his stomach, his opponent on top of him with an arm hooked around his throat choking him out. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and as the pressure on his jugular increased, he started flagging.
Chad knew that he wouldn’t have let himself be pinned like that. He might not be able to square off against someone like Merchant, Aiden, or Peter, but these guys were on his level.
Fighting them would befun.
“You win,” Merchant said, walking right up to the two alphas on the ground and nudging the winner with the tip of his boot. “Get up.”
The two alphas separated, both of them breathing hard and looking at Merchant like they hoped he would be pleased.
“Not bad,” Merchant said. “But you shouldn’t leave your back vulnerable like that. I’m assuming that if this were real you would have snapped his neck instead of trying to choke him out?”
“Yes, sir,” the winning alpha said without hesitation. Chad looked to the guy standing next to him, but he didn’t seem to think that there was anything wrong with the answer.
“Good. Now do it again, but this time without leaving yourself open.”
Merchant stepped back, and the two alphas went at it again. Even though he was just watching, Chad’s heart beat faster as he watched them struggle for supremacy. He itched for a chance to get his turn and prove himself.
He didn’t have to wait long. The winner from the last match won again, but this time he did it without leaving himself open.
“Very good,” Merchant said. He turned around and pointed to Chad and the guy next to him. “You and you, get up here and see if you can’t do better.”
