Surreptitious

Chapter 46: Overachiever

“Again!” Hope growled at the three male betas surrounding her as the rest of the pack looked on from the larger circle they formed around the four wolves, as if encasing them within a fighter’s ring.

Jed jumped at Hope first, attempting to take a swing at her head at the same time River approached from her rear, wanting to dive at her in a tackle. Both guys failed miserably as Hope dodged Jed’s blow and swiftly grabbed him by the arm, then used his own momentum against him by swinging him towards River behind her. River, instead of tackling Hope, ended up tackling Jed erroneously.

The two males quickly started growling at one another and bared slightly protruded canines, causing a distraction to Hope while Rafael snuck up on her from a different angle. Hope eyed him from the corner of her viewpoint, but as soon as Jed and River actually started a scrappy altercation, she quickly swung around to them. “Quit! Now!” She growled loudly at the pair with her eyes a threatening gold, but with her back turned to Raf, the young male quickly seized the opportunity to grab Hope in a head-lock from behind.

However, little did Raf realize that it was exactly what Hope had wanted from him, her own arms having already been in place to prevent him from securing his hold. Instead, he soon found himself flipped over Hope’s shoulders, right into the middle of the growing pile of beta males. He hit the ground flat on his back right between Jed and River, the wind knocked clear from him. He rolled over groaning.

“Again!” Hope growled even louder this time, but none of the three guys dared to move from their spot in the dirt. They were visibly exhausted, physically beaten, and egoistically bruised.

“Hope…” Josie spoke gently from the side where she was standing next to Nim, the same worried expression crossing both girls’ faces.

“What?!” Hope snapped in their direction without realizing who she was even reacting at. When she saw Josie straightening her back and tilting her chin slightly upward, the subtle hint of a glow to her dark eyes, Hope knew she had overstepped.

Breathing heavily, she finally relented and returned her gaze to the guys and the rest of the circle of wolves as they gathered amongst the trees. “Dismissed.” She said callously as she started yanking loose the straps of her fighting gloves. The wolves all started ambling towards the school building as Hope turned to watch them go, her three male betas grumbling and rubbing at the sore spots of their bodies. They had gone several rounds against Hope as the rest of the pack looked on and the tribrid was absolutely relentless. They could barely touch her.

Josie folded her arms across her chest as she watched her mate from the side. Nim gave the tall brunet a light pat on the shoulder and then started walking back to the school herself, leaving he alpha pair to have their talk in private.

“What’s going on with you?” Josie asked immediately and emphatically once the others were out of earshot.

“They HAVE to be ready. I can’t risk…” Hope sighed and paced a few steps, hands gripping at her own hips as her gaze wandered to ground.

“They are doing as much as they can, Hope. What you can’t risk is an angry, exhausted, and dissatisfied pack turning on you. Give them a break!” Josie pleaded seriously.

The comment caused Hope to snap her eyes up at Josie, her blues growing slightly wide in the sudden realization that she might actually alienate her pack if she keeps pushing them as hard as she had been for the past week.

She didn’t mean to. She’s just so…

Scared.

“I’d give them the world.” Hope sighed and rubbed over her brow in frustration. “They’re my family now.” She bit her lip and stepped towards Josie, grabbing her hand and held it firmly between hers. “YOU are my family, now, and I just cannot risk anything happening to my family.”