The Code Of The Alpha

I was laying on my back, staring at the ceiling, when the sun rose the next morning. My mind still reeling, I kept replaying those intimate moments over and over in my mind. I couldn’t sleep until I understood how everything had happened so quickly…

How did we go from agreeing we didn’t need to be around each other to me giving Luca a hand job twenty-four hours later?

I was mortified.

It took everything within me to get out of the bed that morning and venture downstairs.

Was it going to be awkward now?

You thought it was awkward before, I reminded myself. To my great displeasure, Luca was sitting at the kitchen counter when I went downstairs. He sat shirtless, facing away from me with a cup of coffee in one hand and an iPad in the other, scrolling through the news.

I wanted to turn and run back up the staircase as quickly as I could. He hasn’t seen me yet. Maybe he doesn’t know I’m standing here, I thought.

“Morning,” he said, still staring at the iPad.

I wondered briefly if I had spoken my thoughts aloud before I returned the greeting.

“Good morning.”

I walked over to the stove to find my cup of tea was already waiting for me, still steaming Awkwardly picking up the mug, I took a seat at the countertop, sitting as far from Luca as I could.

We made eye contact briefly as he turned to watch me sit down. Luca flipped the cover over the iPad screen and placed it down on the countertop.

“I’m going to the training fields this morning,” he said, taking a final swig of his coffee.

“You’re more than welcome to join.”

He got out of his chair and walked past me to put his coffee cup in the sink.

“Not sure Fallon’s going to let me punch stuff while my hand’s messed up,” I muttered.

Luca walked over to me, reaching into his pocket.

He placed my comb on the counter in front of me.

“You’ve still got one functional hand.”

He did not just say that.

Speechless, I stared at his bare back as he walked away.

“Leaving in twenty,” Luca called behind him, still walking towards his bedroom.

I finished my tea quickly and went back up to the loft to change. Throwing on running shorts and a sports bra, I grabbed my tennis shoes before going back downstairs.

I could do with a long run.

Luca came out of his bedroom as I was attempting to tie my hair into a ponytail.

I quickly dropped my hands, not wanting to appear like I needed anymore help with my hair. I had already decided that I would deal with tangles for the next four weeks.

“Ready?” He asked.

I nodded and followed him out to his truck. We rode in silence all the way to the training fields. When we arrived, I saw Fallon’s car in the parking lot. Can’t wait to explain this to her, I thought, looking down at my splint.

She was already standing behind Luca’s truck when I got out. I smiled sheepishly.

“What the hell?” She asked, hands on her hips.

I saw Luca stop on the other side of the truck to watch the exchange.

“Do you not follow advice well?” She asked me, pointing at the splint.

“What’s the point in me teaching you if you’re not going to listen?”

Luca cleared his throat.

Fallon shook her head and took a deep breath.

“I thought we discussed that you don’t punch someone dead on?” She said as she pinched the bridge of her nose, her voice calmer now.

“I’ve learned my lesson,” I assured her.

She sighed.

“Well, did you kick his ass?”

“I mean, I guess?” I said, looking at Luca to determine whether it would be inappropriate to admit the guy was dead.

“How bad is it?” Fallon asked as she walked over to inspect the splint herself.

“Four to six weeks,” I told her.

“Is that the mandated time or just recommended?”

“Mandated,” Luca answered for me.

She shrugged.

“We can do more cross training and legwork for the time being,’ she said.

“Shouldn’t be an issue to start on kicks as long as we

get your balance right this week.”

Wonderful.

“I just want to run today,” I told her.

“Everything alright?” She asked as she turned her back to Luca, her voice getting lower.

“Didn’t sleep well last night,” I answered shortly.

Fallon hummed.

“Let me know if you need a break,” she said. “I’ve got a comfortable couch if you need a night or two.”

I smiled.

“Thanks.”

Sighing, I held up my hair tie.

“Could you help me pull my hair back?”

Fallon nodded and took the tie.

“Do you want me to braid it so it will stay longer?”

I nodded.

As soon as she had finished yanking every strand of hair in the braid out of my scalp, I rubbed my head slowly.

Sure it will stay longer, I thought. I won’t be able to get it out of the braid.

Fallon looked down at her watch as we walked towards the field together, Luca having disappeared a few minutes earlier.

“Three miles in less than thirty,” she told me, getting back to her drill sergeant tone.

“That’s impossible. My pace per mile is ten and a half.” I argued.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

“Might better work on that unless you want to do squat reps and lunges for an hour.”

I groaned before walking away, towards the path that circled the field. Looking down at my watch, I tapped at the screen to start recording my warmup.

“You don’t stretch?”

I turned to see Luca walking up behind me.

“I walk to warm up my legs,” I said, dropping my gaze back to my watch.

“You’d probably be a bit faster if you stretched.”

I shot him a hard stare.

“Just saying,” he shrugged.

As I turned to walk away, I heard his feet following me down the gravel path.

I stopped and turned to him.

“Are you running too?” I asked him.

“Yes.”

“Could you find another path?”

His eyebrows furrowed.

“No. The last time I let you go off running by yourself you ended up with broken bones and I killed someone.”

I tried to protest and Luca held up his hand.

“This isn’t an argument you’re going to win, amore,” he told me. He walked over to where I stood, smirking.

“So, run along. I’ll be sure to give you a good smack on the ass if your pace slows down.”

I rolled my eyes and turned around, beginning to walk into the trees where the path extended out in front of me. Walking in silence for a few minutes, I started my watch and finally began my jog.

For a while, I thought maybe Luca had turned around. I couldn’t hear him running behind me.

It wasn’t until I reached a mile and a half and turned around that I saw him jogging a few hundred feet away. For a brief moment I thought that I had outrun him. But then I remembered that would likely be impossible, making me realize that Luca had intentionally given me the space, which I was

grateful for.

I put my head down and ran back in the opposite direction. By the time I had reached the clearing, my lungs were burning. It felt like my sports bra was a corset.

With legs like noodles, I finished my run and laid down on the grass with my hands above my head.

I couldn’t tell if my shorts were soaked with sweat or the morning dew I was laying in. Either way, it was a cool relief from the warm sunshine.

Closing my eyes, I took a few deep breaths. When I opened them I saw Luca standing above me.

“Did you even break a sweat?” I asked.

He smiled.

“It’s just a warm up, remember?”

I shook my head, still trying to catch my breath.

“Maybe for you.”

He sat down next to me, putting his elbows up on his knees. I had a feeling he wanted to talk, but before he could say a word, I heard Fallon.

“How long did it take you?” She asked, yelling across the field I looked down at my watch.

“Thirty-one,” I answered, groaning.

“Squat reps and static hold lunges it is,” she said, waving me over.

I mocked her with a high pitched voice before standing to my feet.

Wordlessly, I left Luca sitting on the ground.

I felt a tinge of guilt, but left it behind as I wandered over to where Fallon stood on a mat.