The Alpha Train (Christina and Sebastian) novel Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Sebastian

I had no business making that bet with Christina, but as we make our way back down the mountain, I can’t help but smirk that I did and that I won. I was surprised when she’d turned the tables on me and made the same bet in reverse. I felt like even if I’d lost, I would have won and damn, I almost did lose. If she hadn’t slipped, I might have lost a challenge for the first time in a very long time. And if I’m being honest with myself, it feels good to have a real challenge.

It’s not that James doesn’t challenge me, but we’ve been friends for decades. We’ve sparred together hundreds, probably thousands of times over the years. There’s nothing that we don’t know about the other’s fighting style. I’ve had some good sparring matches over the years with students, too, but it’s rare that one of them beats me. If anyone can, it’s going to be Christina.

We get back to the train with plenty of time to spare. As we step into train car. I see that several of the others have already returned.

“What was that howl about?” James asks me, recognizing my wolf’s howl.

I look at Christina and smile. “Christina challenged me to race up the mountain,” I say.

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Chapter 22

“And you didn’t win?” Mia asks her. I’m not sure if I should be offended or not.

“I slipped at the very end. Residual mudslide or avalanche debris,” she says. I watch as Ezra assesses her.

“You almost defeated one of our instructors?” he asks.

“Yeah, and she’s not only going to be assisting in the strength class,

to be competing against you too,” Sylvie says to him with a wicked smile.

she’s

“We’ll be there too,” Mia says, smiling at Christina. “But Christina this semester.”

my

bet’s on

“No pressure,” she says. “I’m going to get washed up and then I’ll come help with dinner.”

“Thanks again, Christina. That was a hell of a run,” I tell her.

“Next time I won’t slip, Sebastian.”

“I have no doubt about that.”

I turn after she walks out and see James holding a glass of whiskey for me. “I need to talk to you.”

I set the whiskey down. “I need water first,” I tell him, grabb

bottle from the fridge and then getting my drink to go. I follow him through the sleeper ears to the meeting room car.

He looks around, making sure it’s just us before turning back to me. “I spoke to Alpha Axel today.”

Axel. Emma’s Alpha.

“And?” I ask. I’d told him my theory about her Alpha trying to get her out of his hair.

“You were right,” he says. “She was causing problems in the pack and with his new mate and Luna. I told him that I don’t appreciate being handed his problem and that as soon as her replacement is here, I’m sending her back.”

“What did he say?”

“What could he say? He knew he was wrong. He trained under us three years ago. He should know better. Sylvie called Luna Josephine. She’ll be here in two weeks.”

“Let’s hope Christina, Mia, and Sylvie don’t strangle Emma before then.”

“Sylvie will handle her, keep her in line until Josephine arrives.”

“Who did you put her with in the sex class? Tell me it’s no ogan.”

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“No, it’s Noah. He’s got a reason to make sure he passes the Academy this semester. Logan on the other hand

“Right. Did you talk to Logan?”

“I did. I told him he’d better be smart or he’d find himself with a pup and a woman expecting him to make her his Luna if he’s not careful. He said he’s being careful.”

“Well, if he’s old enough to take over a pack, he’s old enough to face the consequences of his actions. Let’s hope he figures it out before it’s too late.” I say.

“Agreed.”

“What about Tyler. Have you talked to him?”

“Not yet. I know you wanted to talk to him, and I didn’t want to overwhelm him,” James says.

“I’ll talk to him tonight and you can catch him tomorrow or the next day. Will might be another one who is good for him,” I say.

“And Christina, too. Her experience isn’t the same, but she and Dane are obviously close and this situation is very similar to what her brother went through.”

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“Yeah, she’s already decided that he’s her biggest competition this semester.” I say, tossing the empty water bottle in the garbage and getting my drink.

A slow smile spreads across his face. “I know she said she was going to do it, but if she’s assessing her competition, she’s really going to do it.”

“Yeah, she is,” I say.

James narrows his eyes at me. “You know she needs the sex class to get onto the leaderboard. How do you propose to accomplish that?”

“What, you don’t think Mia swings both ways?” I smirk. “Seriously, once she and I build that trust we need for class, I’ll be her partner, if that what she wants.”

“Are you sure about this Seb?” he asks.

So, make sure you keep your fucking head on right this semester. I have enough shit to worry about with Emma.”

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Chapter 22

“Good. Come with me.”

“Should I leave my drink?” he asks.

“Bring it with you.” I say, nodding at Benjamin, Will, and Daniel as I step back out of the train car.

When we get to the meeting room car, I gesture for him to sit. He does and then looks at me as I sit across from him.

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“Did I do something wrong, Alpha?” he asks me.

“No. Not at all. I wanted you to know that we all know what happened and the circumstances that brought you here.”

He nods and his teeth clench.

“Your brother was a good man and a good Alpha. I had the honor of working with him when he was here at the Academy and I watched him excel during his semester, making his way to the leaderboard.”

“Number four,” he says, taking a sip of his drink.

“Yes.”

“Big shoes to fill,” he says.

I lean forward, making sure I have his attention. “And that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I call this type of scenario chasing ghosts. You’re always trying to catch something you’ll never be able to obtain. You’ve made your brother into something of a martyr and in doing so, you’ve made it impossible to ever achieve what you think he did. I wanted to have this conversation with you before we get to the Academy, because I think you need to start on the right foot. Tanner’s shoes aren’t yours to fill. Alpha Tyler. Those were his shoes. You have your own. Get comfortable in them, be the best person and Alpha that you can be in them, but don’t chase your brother’s ghost. That way only leads to defeat and frustration. Be the person YOU are. It won’t be who he was, and that’s okay. He was a great Alpha for the short time he had. Now it’s your turn to be a great-Alpha. The best Alpha

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Chapter 22

that YOU can be.”

288 Vouchers

He nods and I wait while he gets hold of his emotions, then I hold out my glass. “To Tanner.”

“To Tanner,” he says, clinking his glass with mine. Both of us shoot the contents of our drink and take a moment to remember the man.

Tanner was.

“I want you to know that I’m here, all the instructors are here for you if you need anything, an ear, someone to punch, someone to scream at, whatever you need, we’re here for you.”

“Thank you, Alpha.”

I nod, standing. “Let’s get back. I don’t want you to miss out on all the gossip of what’s happened in the last twenty–four hours on the Train.”

“Let me guess, Alpha Logan and Emma hooked up.” he says drolly. making me smile.

I slap a hand on his shoulder. “You’re going to do very well this semester, Tyler, I just know it.”