Defiance (Book 6 of The Claimed Series) SAMPLE

5. Landslide

Kellan jabbed a split-second before Lucas feinted.

"Again!" the Alpha barked.

Kellan circled, faked, let out a roar and caught Luke with an uppercut that just grazed his jaw.

"Another!"

Kellan bent over and blew out a breath. "For fuck's sake, Luke. I'm not Superman. We've been at it for hours. I need to take a break, take a piss, and then get some food in me before I faint."

Lucas dropped his arms to his sides. They had been going at it for some time, but it was all he could do try and keep moving forward. The sudden rumble in his stomach stopped him from barking at his friend, and his gloved hand slipped up to rest on his toned abdomen.

"You're right," he muttered. "We should get some fuel and then shift in the woods. I could go for a run."

Kellan only groaned. "Run? Even after punching it out in the ring for—" He looked at the clock on the wall. "—five hours? Christ, Luke, are you a glutton for punishment or what?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. Or maybe I'm trying not to think about anything at all and just be as physical as I can be to shove all that shit I don't wanna think about down." He paused, thinking. "It's tough. Tougher than I thought it would be. I just want to—to go to her and say fuck it. Fuck this shit and be done. I'm tired of it, and it's been less than a fucking day."

He ripped off his gloves and tossed them into a corner where they thudded dully against the wall. He had the urge to go over and kick the around a bit, but it was all too 'childhood temper tantrum', even for an Alpha's spoiled son.

Dropping to the floor outside the ring, Luke grabbed a towel from a nearby metal folding chair and wiped his face off before starting on his shoulders and chest. The perspiration continued to drip down his face, and he took a long swig of water, upending the bottle until it was empty and he was crumpling it in one hand to toss away into the recycling.

"You knew it would be hard," Kellan told him. "I know that I'm not aware of the whole sordid fucking story, but just know, I'm here for you if you want to talk about it. I may be a royal fuck-up most of the time, but I'd never spill your secrets, even if my mouth moves faster than my brain does."

Lucas nodded back at him but didn't speak. If his father was correct in his assumptions, things would move fast after this. Much too fast, and he was ready.

He knew.

"It's all good for now," he remarked as he wound a fresh towel around his neck. "The truth will come out eventually, and when it does...fuck, I don't know what will happen then, man."

So much could happen. It was inevitable that this could be a clusterfuck of epic proportions, and he wiped away more sweat as it dribbled from his forehead to his chin.

"You can't say, can you?" Kellan asked shrewdly. "Whatever this is, you can't say anything until it all comes out, right?"

That was partially true, but he'd told Christian when they were young because he'd walked in on a conversation he wasn't supposed to hear. "My father, mother and I are the only ones, but Chris—he found out by purely by accident. It was a whole thing at the time. Being Beta, I could argue that he has a right to know, but if the wrong person were to hear..." He shook the thought away. "It's best I keep it as close to my vest as possible. I can barely stand this now. I can't imagine how..."

Kellan nodded when his words faded away. "I get it. You're concerned. I would be too, and I'm not even mated or anywhere near to it. Nice looking out for my dick last night, by the way. I was in the middle of the most fantastic blowjob and your ass had to go feral after the saucy little thing cussed you out. Cockblocker extraordinaire, you motherfucker."