Chapter 52
Speed. That’s the only way to get through here. I wrap my hair up into a tighter bun hoping I’ll still have hair when I‘ m done, then I get into a sprinter’s crouch and race through the challenge. There is fire all around me, another flame shooting up or out just as one goes out. I keep my hands up, covering my face as I run. I’m almost to the end, when a hot blast of fire blows out on my left. Instinctively, I turn, trying to get away, but I lose my footing and crash through the wall, falling into the air.
I land hard on the ground, the air pushing out of my lungs.
“CHRISTINA!” From high above me, I see Sebastian’s face, worry clear even from here. I try to tell him I’m okay, but I can’t get air into my lungs.
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“Christina!” Alpha Daniel says, racing to my side, Alpha James right behind him.
“Is something broken? Can you move?” he asks, looking me over quickly.
I suck in air as my diaphragm starts working again. “Got the wind knocked out of me,” I say, gulping in air.
“Don’t get up yet,” Alpha James says, putting his hand on my chest and holding me down. “Wiggle your fingers and
toes.”
I do as they watch. “Now your arms.”
I slowly lift my arms, hissing as I feel the bruises on my shoulder blades as I do.
“Now your legs,” he says, and I slowly bend my legs at the knees feeling even more bruises on my lower back.
Alpha James begins prodding his fingers at the back on my neck. “Can you move your head?”
I turn my head from side to side. “I think I’m good. Just bruised.”
“And burned,” Alpha Daniel says. I look at my left arm and see the blisters from where the flames hit me.
“And burned,” I say, as they help me up.
Sebastian comes rushing over, looking me up and down.
“Nothing broken?”
I shake my head. “Nope. But I guess I’ll be challenging you again since I didn’t win,” I say.
All three Alphas chuckle as they walk me back out to the starting line.
“Holy shit!” Liam says.
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Chapter 52
“There’s fire?” Logan asks.
“There’s fire,” I say. “How far did I get?” I ask Sebastian.
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“Just over halfway. One of the best starts I’ve ever seen. Well done, Alpha,” he says, and the pride is back in his eyes again.
Sebastian gives me a pass on sparring so my body can heal. But I walk around giving pointers to Haley and Charlotte as they spar with each other.
I catch Sebastian looking over at me several times during the class and I realize that I’m already becoming addicted to seeing the pride in his eyes when he looks at me. It’s no wonder his son is number one on the leaderboard. If it means seeing that look on Sebastian’s face, there’s no way I’m not getting my name on that board.
Sebastian
I knew she was incredible, but holy shit! I don’t think anyone has ever gotten that far on the Beast on their first run. I know I didn’t.
Her back looks like it’s been painted black and blue. I’m pretty sure my heart stopped when I saw her lying there on the ground, not moving, looking shocked and burned. But she’d recovered quickly, more quickly than I thought possi- ble. However, I’m not going to let her get injured any more than she already is, so I have her help me guide the spar- ring groups through training and that’s when I realize that Christina is also a born leader.
I put the young Alphas against the instructors and Lunas for sparring. Mia and Sylvie may not be as strong as the young Alphas, but they’ve been sparring for years and both of them are more agile and faster than most Alphas I know. It’s a good opportunity for young Alphas to test their ability to adapt to a new fighting style.
Since I wasn’t sure of Christina’s skill in leading a class, I put her with Haley and Charlotte. I had a hard time looking away from her after that. Not only did I want to make sure that she was okay, but both women responded to her in a way that I’m not sure they would have responded to me. She was calm, she walked them through new moves, had them practice, and then switched sides to give their opponent the skills needed to block the new move. Then she had them practice their new skills. By the end of Strength class, both women looked more like experienced warriors than they had when they started.
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Chapter 53
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Chapter 53
