Breaking the Alpha

I sat in my car and stared at the old building in front of me. My hands wouldn't stop shaking.

"This is stupid," I whispered. "Really stupid."

The parking lot was almost empty. Just a few old cars and motorcycles. Trees were everywhere, hiding this place from the world. I was thirty minutes from the main road. The sun would set soon.

I looked at the photo in my hand. People were smiling in front of this same building. But the photo didn't show how broken everything was. It didn't show the cracked parking lot or the broken windows.

If I'd seen all that before, maybe I would've stayed home.

But I was here now. I'd come this far. I had to try.

I put the photo in my sun visor. Then I touched my wrist tattoo. It said "you think you have forever, but you don't." My brother said those words to me once. I could still hear his voice.

I needed his courage now.

I looked at myself in the mirror. My black hair was in a messy bun. My sweatpants and shirt were way too big. I was too skinny. Too pale. I had dark circles under my eyes.

I looked sick.

But there was no fixing that now. I grabbed my bag and got out.

The metal door made a loud noise when I opened it. Inside was huge, like a warehouse. Boxing rings were against the back wall. One had a metal cage around it. There were punching bags and weights everywhere.

It smelled clean. Like bleach and lemons. Everything looked new, even though the building was falling apart. The ceiling had rust stains on the pipes.

But the people made me nervous.

Big, muscular men walked around everywhere. They looked tough. Scary. When they saw me, they stared. Their faces said I didn't belong.

They were right. I looked like a lost kid next to them.

"You lost, girl?"

A big man walked up to me. He had short hair and wore a shirt that showed his stomach muscles. The gym's name was on his shirt.

I tried not to stare at his abs. "Is this Alpha's gym?"

"Yeah." He pointed at his shirt. "What do you want? Looking for your boyfriend?"

"No. I need to talk to the owner."

He crossed his arms. "You sure you don't have a boyfriend here? You're pretty skinny for the guys at this place."

My face got hot. "I want to join the gym."

He laughed so loud that everyone turned to look. He bent over, holding his sides.

"You? Here?" He could barely breathe. "Have you ever lifted anything? Ever punched someone? Have you even gone for a run?"

I smiled even though I wanted to yell at him. I counted to five in my head. My brother taught me that trick to stay calm.

"Can you take me to the owner? Please?"

"No." He was still laughing. "The owner's busy. And this isn't some regular gym, sweetheart. This is a fight club. Go home."

"I'm not leaving."

He stopped laughing. His face got hard. "How'd you find this place? We don't advertise."

"A friend told me about it."

"What friend?"

I pulled out a pill and swallowed it with my water. My hands were shaking. I was getting too angry. I needed to calm down.

"A pill popper? Hell no. Get out."

"It's for my nerves," I said. "Probably like whatever you take to look like that."

He looked shocked for a second. Then he grinned. "This is all natural, baby."

I felt sick when he winked at me.

"Thanks for the laugh. Now leave."

I took a breath. "How much?"

"What?"

"How much for a membership? For one year?"

He stared at me. Trying to see if I was serious.

"Are we making a deal now?"

"I want to train here. I have money."

I hated doing this. Using money to get what I wanted. But it worked. Especially with men who didn't take me seriously.

"I don't make deals with people who cause trouble," he said.

"Cause trouble? I just walked in."

"Yeah, and now nobody's working out. They're all watching you." He pointed at the other men. They were all staring at us.

"Not my problem," I said. "I'll pay double. Every gym has classes for beginners."

"Not us. This place isn't for beginners."

"I have to train here."

His eyes narrowed. "Why? Why here?"

I needed to think of something fast. "I followed James Dillard online. He trained here, right?"

The second I said my brother's name, I regretted it. I wasn't supposed to mention him. Not yet.

But it was too late now.

The man's face changed. He looked at me differently. "So that's it. You're one of those crazy fans."

"What?"

"Looking for some connection to a dead fighter?" He sounded disgusted. "Or are you something else? A ring bunny?"

I didn't know what that meant. But from his face, it wasn't good.

"You look like a crazy fan to me," he said. "And I don't like crazy."

My chest felt tight. "Triple the fee. I'll pay for it."

He studied me for a long moment.

"Triple is fine," I said again.

That's when two more men came from the back room. They stopped talking when they saw me.

One of them looked right at me. He was tall. Really tall. Built like a fighter. Even in jeans and a shirt, I could see his muscles.

He was handsome. But when he looked at me, his face got hard. Angry. Like he hated me.

I didn't understand why.