Alpha Tate’s POV

Feeling smug, I grip my hair as I hurry down the main staircase.

It’s nice to know that I can make Kit desire me, to throw herself at me.

What isn’t nice, is her obstinance.

I can’t have that.

I have worked too hard to make this pack strong.

Unbeatable.

We don’t need another massacre like that one that took out my parents and so many other of my friends, family, and pack members.

Yanking open the door to the training center, Colin instantly tries to catch my eye, dodging a high kick, and jogging over to me.

“So?”

His concerned look gets under my skin.

She isn’t his to be concerned over.

Feeling annoyed, I recall him asking permission to pursue her yesterday, insisting that I see her before giving it to him…and I refused.

Now I will look like an even bigger ass, or a complete fool, if I go back on it.

Or even worse than that…weak.

“She’s on her way.”

Colin looks relieved as he follows me toward the front of the center while I scan the room, watching everyone’s progress.

“Good. She probably didn’t see my text. She fell asleep early last night.”

“Hm.”

I try not to think about how she looked laying on her bed, her eyes heavy with desire, eager and ready for me…

“She looks good now, right? Ridiculously sexy.”

He grins and I frown as I watch a pair trying to wrestle each other to the mat.

“She’s insubordinate.”

“She’s just getting used to being back, that’s all. It wasn’t easy for her to do so. It was never easy for her here before either.”

“Then she needs to get over it. Toughen up. Life isn’t always easy.”

I step away from him to the wrestling pair and pull them apart.

“Stop fucking around, you act like this during a fight and you’re dead. Sweep their leg here, then grab around their neck like this.”

Taking the man into a chokehold, I take a knee to pin him to the mat, his fingers digging into my arm to try and pull it away.

“Don’t go easy on each other, they sure as hell won’t go easy on you when they want to rip out your throat.”

Like they did my mother.

I release the man, who immediately clutches his throat and coughs while giving me a reluctant nod.

Standing, I go from pair to pair, correcting forms and barking instructions, feeling pissed off that no one seems to be able to fight today, when her scent hits me.

I don’t look at first, I watch the pair I had just instructed to kick higher practice the movement, my arms crossed as I frown at their attempts.

“Hey, you made it!”

I hear Colin greet Kit and I still refuse to look.

“Wow…you look…damn. What are you doing after this?”

Colin laughs and Kit giggles a stupid tinkling laugh that sounds completely fake.

“Oh, Colin, you are too sweet.”

Finally, I look over at her.

Colin wasn’t kidding.

The Kit that I remember from seven years ago was skinny, too skinny, with a shallow, pale face, a bland short bob, and oversized front, crooked teeth.

She obviously got her teeth fixed and grew into her body.

Which is now lean, but muscular. Soft, but toned.

And she grew some very attractive breasts.

Nice, firm, perky breasts that beg to be touched.

And that are currently squished into a black sports bra that she is wearing as her only top. That seems to be a size too small so that it pushes her breasts out and up towards her chin.

Visible and tantalizing.

Her long, shapely legs and curvy hips are emphasized in short, tight matching black spandex shorts.

Her now long, shiny dark hair is pulled up into a high ponytail that swings as she tilts her head flirtatiously at Colin and tugs suggestively on his t-shirt.

He grins and pokes her belly, clearly smitten and unable to keep his hands off her.

I’ll help him with that…

My fingers start to curl into a fist that I envision thrusting into my best friend’s face.

No…no.

As I watch, Kit bats her eyelashes at him and playfully punches his shoulder.

Marching over, I don’t give her the satisfaction of my attention.

“Colin, see if she has any fighting skills. I don’t remember her from training before she left.”

Then I turn my back and walk away to check on another pair, smirking to myself.

That got under her skin, I can feel her anger pulsing from all the way over here, as if she can physically pick up the emotion and toss it at my back.

“Sorry, Alpha Tate, I don’t fight. I don’t have a need for it.”

I stop and slowly turn around, feeling everyone in the center pausing to watch.

Fuck.

Colin looks worriedly from me to Kit, who has her hip stuck out, arms folded over her chest, wiggling her eyebrows at me in a challenging way.

He throws his head back in a silent groan when he sees her do this and steps in front of her.

“She doesn’t remember pack life…”

“Move aside Colin.”

He hesitates but doesn’t dare disobey a direct order from his Alpha, he looks apologetically over his shoulder at Kit, who sucks in her lower lip, but keeps her chin up.

“You don’t fight?”

“Nope.” Her lips pop as they exaggerate the word.

“You don’t have a need to?”

“Nope.”

She smirks.

Clearly thinking that she is winning.

I smile.

“Okay.”

Her eyebrows pull together, her arms loosening in confusion.

I jerk my head at the red head beside me with her curly hair pulled into a tight bun.

“Lacey, see if you can get your teeth on the throat of the girl who doesn’t need to fight.”

Lacey doesn’t hesitate as she moves past me toward Kit, who drops her arms and takes a step backward.

Colin looks over at me in distress, but I continue to smile as Kit takes another step back, putting her hands up as Lacey advances.

It’s quite pathetic really.

Lacey sweeps her feet so that Kit lands hard on the mat, trying to crawl away, but Lacey easily pulls her back by her ankles flips her over and, glancing up at me and waiting for my nod, she bares her teeth and places them at her throat, making Kit squeal and try to, unsuccessfully, push her off.

Lacey hops back up and strides back to her spot, and I nod my approval at her as she goes by.

Kit scrambles upward, throwing daggers at me with her eyes.

Looking angrier than I have every seen, steam practically pouring from her ears.

I know what she is going to do before she does it.

“Cover her mouth!”

Colin moves forward and places his hand over her mouth, whispering sorry to her as she looks at him in hurt surprise.

Then her golden brown eyes turn shinny…and a single tear falls down to drip on Colin’s hand, who throws me a look of disgust.

“Come on, man.”

My chest has that painful squeeze again and I turn away.

I think I made my point.

“Get her out of here.”

I watch in the reflection of the wall mirror as Colin wraps his arm comfortingly around Kit’s shoulder and hurries her out of the center.

She deserved that.

I had to teach her that lesson.

She needs to learn to obey me…and she needs to learn to fight.

She has got to be able to protect herself.

It’s my responsibility as an Alpha to teach her that.

So why do I feel so damn awful for doing so?