“Run you lazy bums. My Omega grandmother can run faster than you!”

Michael focused on controlling his breathing as he continued running around the base. They’d shown up at 7 AM sharp as instructed and before they could even salute Sergeant Carter, she’d blown her whistle and told them to run around the base until she told them to stop. Considering the size of the base, Michael figured they’d run around it once and that would be it. He’d been wrong. They were now on their fourth lap, it was nearly noon and Sergeant Carter continued to ride past them on a golf cart as she yelled at them to keep going.

With his Alpha body, Michael was easily in the lead and was able to cope with the first two laps but the third and fourth were starting to wear on him. He looked around and noticed that half the Betas were staggering behind, unable to do more than walk while the other half was panting but trying to keep up with him.

 Except for Kelly. 

While the other Betas were way behind him, Kelly managed to keep up, lagging only a few feet behind. Then again, Kelly had shown his superior agility during the exams so it shouldn’t have been a surprise.

“OK, just reach the fountain in front of the main building and you’re done,” Sergeant Carter called out.

Motivated, Michael picked up the pace and saw Kelly speed up as well. He couldn’t help smiling seeing the determined look on the Beta's face. If he didn’t know any better he would swear the Beta actually meant to beat him to the finish line. Part of him wanted to give in and slow down, but a perverse part wanted to see if the Beta really could keep up. Accessing the little energy he had left, Michael broke into a run and heard Kelly growl as he sped up as well. Michael laughed as he sprinted in front of the fountain then stopped, turning to see Kelly reach the fountain as well, panting heavily and glaring at him.

Michael chuckled, “That was fun. You almost had me. We should race each other again some time.”

Kelly continued to glare daggers at him, “No thanks.”

Michael sighed, wishing he knew why the Beta was so hostile to him. They’d formed a sort of group, him, Kelly, Joe, and Henry, and yet, every time he tried to talk to Kelly he only got short biting responses. It really felt like the beautiful Beta hated him. And Michael was determined to figure out why.

“Alright, go hit the showers, grab a bite to eat and meet Sergeant Warner in the second gym in one hour,” Sergeant Carter said before she turned around and walked to the instructor’s dorm behind the main building.

“Wanna grab some food?” Michael asked Kelly politely. This time, Kelly didn’t even bother to respond and simply turned around and walked away. Well, if that’s how he wanted to play it then Michael was going to have to give it his all.

An hour later they were all gathered in the gym and Michael noticed that, as usual, Kelly tried to stand as far away from him as possible.

“We’re going to practice some sparring techniques,” Sergeant Warner said. “You will face a lot of different situations on the field. Sometimes you’ll have to rely on your gun and eyes, other times you’ll have to use your fists. All of you already know the basics of boxing or another fighting style, but we’re going to hone and improve those skills and instincts so you can subdue someone completely without a weapon.”

Warner turned around and switched on the hologram projector next to him. They all watched as two Betas sparred in the air, kicking and punching each other. Michael winced when one of the Betas kneed the other in the stomach.

After about two minutes, Warner switched off the projector, “Now, you will do exactly what you just saw.”

 Michael smirked while the other Betas whispered furiously. Growing up, he had been trained in various fighting techniques because his family expected him to be able to defend himself. His instructors growing up had been tough and memorizing fighting techniques after seeing them once was a given.

“You have forty minutes to reproduce what you just saw,” Warner continued. “If there is a part you don’t recall, then improvise. Pair up and start.”

Michael quickly walked over to Kelly and put his arm around the shorter man’s shoulder, “Let’s go partner.”

Kelly opened his mouth to protest but Michael didn’t give him a chance, dragging him to the other side of the gym. “Out of everyone here you seemed the least surprised or intimidated by the task. I’m guessing you memorized most of the routine and so did I. It’s better if we pair up instead of struggling with the others.”

Kelly looked back at the other Betas who looked confused and anxious and sighed. “You’re probably right. You’re definitely the lesser of two evils.”

“Aww, I’m touched you think so,” Michael quipped, causing Kelly to glower at him. He really should tell the Beta that all those dirty looks were losing their effect, but he looked so determined he couldn’t break it to him. It was obvious the Beta was trying to prove himself and telling him that his aggressive demeanour had no effect on Michael would crush him.

Once they were out of earshot of the others, Michael finally released Kelly, noticing the Beta rub his shoulder where he’d touched him out of the corner of his eye.

“So let's start from the beginning,” Michael said. “I’ll be the guy on the left and you be the one on the right. Is that OK?”

Kelly nodded, “Doesn’t matter which to me.”

“Right. So I start by punching you in the shoulder.”

“And I step back with my right leg and try to put you in a headlock.”

“Which I avoid and we go back to fighting stances.”

Kelly nodded and they practiced the movements. It was a bit awkward when they got to the second step and the shorter man tried to put his arm around his neck. He didn’t even reach Michael’s shoulder so it was no surprise he couldn’t get his arm up high enough. Michael accidentally bumped his head against his elbow as he tried to escape while Kelly looked disgruntled needing to stretch onto his tip-toes.

“Looks like we’ll have to improvise a bit,” Kelly stated.

They spent the next half hour recreating the movements perfectly while adjusting some of them to accommodate their heights.

Suddenly, Warner blew his whistle and everyone stopped. “Change of plans. You now have ten minutes to create your own routines. Oh, and if you copy a single sequence from the one you just practiced then you’ll have to run another two laps around the base.”

Everyone groaned while a couple of people were furious.

Kelly chuckled, surprising Michael. He'd never seen the Beta even crack a smile in the week he’d known him. His voice sounded a bit raspy though, as if his throat muscles weren’t used to the vibrations. 

“Figures they’d throw us a curve ball,” Kelly smirked. “Warner could just watch us to see if we can mimic the video. But coming up with a new routine and not use any of the moves our bodies got used to is definitely a challenge.”

 Michael noticed the gleam of anticipation in Kelly’s eye and felt his own competitive spirit rise.

“Told you. Fun.”

Kelly looked up at Michael and they smirked at each other, their bodies falling into fighting stances.

“Man that was awesome!” Andrew exclaimed as they walked back to their dorm.

Kit nodded, smiling ruefully. He hated to admit it, but it was pretty awesome. He had been avoiding the Alpha for days now, trying to ignore his Alpha presence. Today though, Kit realized that he’d found his perfect partner in the Alpha. It had shocked and rattled Kit when he realized that Andrew was the only one on the team who was on par or better than him. And he felt himself rise to the challenge, determined to beat the Alpha.

But when they paired up and created their own routine, it had just flowed so naturally it was like they’d rehearsed it. Andrew seemed to be able to read Kit’s mind and vice versa, both striking and defending with relish, grinning as they went through the movements.

Kit had mostly trained alone and had to motivate himself. It was definitely better having a partner he could compare himself to and who pushed him to excel.

Andrew clasped his shoulder, “Want to practice a bit more before dinner?”

It was like he dunked his whole body into a tub of ice cold water. Reality crashed down on him as he realized that he was bonding… with an Alpha. It was the opposite of what he wanted and needed. Out of everyone on his team, Andrew was most likely to pick up on any hints of Omega that he may inadvertently emit. It was a risk he wasn’t willing to take.

His mind set, Kit steeled his jaw, wiping all emotions from his face, “No thanks.”

Andrew looked at him in confusion and Kit didn’t really blame him. “Why not? We did so well together.”

“I’m not interested in bonding with my rival.”

“But we’re a team! We’re supposed to get along.”

“That’s not how I see it,” Kit bit back.

Andrew sighed loudly, “And just when I thought you were finally starting to like me.”

Kit stiffened, his hands fisted at his side and he knew his voice was ice cold, “I’m never going to like you.” With that Kit walked away, leaving behind the perplexed and frustrated Alpha.