No matter how many times I attack the punching bag, I can't get the tension out of my body. Boxing has always helped me to focus, unwind and relax. As a Gamma, I naturally have a very dominate and aggressive wolf. Regular exercise helps me keep him in check but more recently he has been running wild in my mind and I know for sure it's the cute little brunette that smells like cherries and orchards that's to blame.

I give the training bag one more aggressive punch and see the stuffing start to pop from its stitches before I throw off my gloves in frustration and throw them across the room. From behind me I hear the doors swing open, cursing to myself when I scent who it is but don't even bother to turn around to greet him.

"You good for a couple of rounds?" Says a cold voice.

I look over my shoulder to see Jay with a fake smile on his face, from his tone and clenched jaw I'm betting he knows damn well where little Alice stayed last night. I cock an eyebrow at him and slowly turn crossing my arms over chest.

"I've just finished." I deadpan back. I'm not in the mood to get in with it with Jay today. My heart is still pining for Alice, regretting not running after her to tell her exactly how I feel about her. Her words before she left my home nearly fucking broke me this morning.

Jay grabs up my gloves that I'd thrown down earlier and launches them back at me, one of them hitting me in the face making me growl. "Nah, you've got time." Jay says firmly, as he strides into the ring without looking back.

The difference between a Beta and a Gamma is that a Beta spends most their time overseeing pack politics and paperwork. Betas are always smart and I guess that can make them sly sons of a bitches too. Gammas are the pack protectors. Strong. Brutal. Fearless. Both the Beta and the Gamma obey the Alpha. However even though the Beta is technically the second command, and the Gamma is the third, if they were to go head-to-head in a challenge they'd be pretty evenly matched.

Jay is a lot slenderer than me, but he's fast and powerful. People think he's the nice guy out of the three of us, but I know his darker side, when he wants to, Jay is a savage bastard who fights dirty. We've sparred and trained for many years together; I know his strengths and weaknesses just as he knows mine. This has never been a problem before as we've always been on the same side, best friends, brothers... but now... I'm just not sure I feel the same way.

Sighing, I put my gloves back on and head into the ring. As I duck under the cables and go to stand up straight Jay punches my jaw so hard that I slam to the ground.

Like I said, Jay fights dirty.

"Oh sorry, we're you not ready?" Jay sneers as he looks down at me.

I bare my teeth at him, before jumping to my feet, I spit some blood out of my mouth before looking back at Jay. "No, I'm good." I grit out.

"Good." mutters Jay as he bounces on his feet.

I spot that Jay didn't bother to put any gloves before landing that blow, so I fling mine away also. Bare knuckles it is and I'm guessing standard boxing rules are also out the window at this point.

My arms are already a little tired from my morning workout, but my wolf is hungry to deliver some damage to Jay and I attack first. I manage to land a hit to the side of his face. Jay stumbles back a few steps but is quick to recover. He goes for me again but I'm able to block his advances again and again.

We start circling each other now, I can see Jays' cunning eyes watching my every movement and I watch his ready to block his attacks.

"So, I went back to see to check on Alice last night to find she wasn't there." Jay says conversationally, but his wolf eyes flash showing me how angry he really is.

"Oh yeah, maybe she stayed with a friend?" I reply with disinterest.

"Alice doesn't have any friends." Jay growls

"Well, whose fucking faults that!" I roar back at him. Pretence over, now I'm pissed.

Jay smirks, knowing he's pushed one of my buttons. That's one of his skills, to find peoples weaknesses then squeeze.

"When Alice becomes my mate, she will become one of the most respected she-wolves in the Pack. She'll have plenty of friends then." Jay says and I roll my eyes at him in disbelief.

"You lied to her. For-fucking-years! You really think she's going to want to be 'Beta female' after she finds out what you did?" I hiss back.

Jay delivers another quick blow but this time to my rib and it stings like a bitch. "I told you; she was off fucking limits. She's none of your concern." Jay snarls

Well. Fuck. him.

"Alice stayed in my bed last night." I shoot back. It's a low blow, but I want him to hurt.

Jay's eyes blaze with rage, he races towards me and tries to land another blow to my rib but I drop low and swipe his legs, so he falls to the ground with a huge thud. It's a sloppy attack by Jay, his emotions getting the better of him. Thats his weakness. He lies on the ground panting and snarling.

"Calm down Beta. I slept on the sofa." I say as I offer him a hand to get up, but he bats it away.

Jay jumps to his feet, then shoves me back hard. I stumble back a few paces before I'm right back in his face and land a cracker of a punch to his face and he goes flying back to the ground.

"I want you to tell Alice the truth. Everything." I demand as I stand over him. Jay fingers the cut on his lip that I've just given him, then licks the blood before he looks back up to me coldly. He rises to his feet and dusts himself off.

"Alice is mine. She's always been mine. What's more, she's been in love with me for years? Did you know that? So, keep away from her. Cause the last I checked you swore never to take a mate. That you vowed never to take on a Gamma female after what happened to your mom. So, you can't offer her jack shit but a quick fuck." Jay smirks.

"Shut your fucking mouth before I snap your jaw off." I say as I stalk towards him, my wolf thrashing in my head for blood. I grab the front of shirt and pull him close baring my teeth. He's crossed a line here and all this prick can do is smirk.

"Am I wrong? Alice needs a mate and it's the only thing that you know you could never give her. You think I've treated her badly in the past? How would she feel if the only future you could offer her is to be one of your whores who you'd never commit to?" Jay says, dripping with disdain.

I pound three massive blows to his torso, one after the other in quick repetition. Ones that I will know will hurt. Jay doubles up in pain taking in a few ragged breaths before he starts laughing. Actually, fucking laughing at me! He's found my weakness and he's squeezed. Snarling, I turn on my heels and leave him wincing and laughing on the floor.

The maddening thing is a lot of what he said is true. If she mates with Jay, she will become a respected and accepted member to the pack due to his rank. I can't offer Alice the future she deserves as I won't take a mate.

I watched my father almost ripped apart and loose everything trying to save my mother in an attack. He was left crippled and scarred, he lost his rank, his lost his will to live. Losing the woman he loved so much broke him, it made him weak. It destroyed him.

I will not make that same mistake.