Rejected, but not Broken
Chapter 58

Tanner’s POV

I just need to know where the last man is. I need to replace him before he replaces me. I need a bead on both of them. I will shoot the one closest to me and then I can go hand-to-hand on the last guy if needed. The one nearest the stands, as I come towards Gabi.

I see her sitting there and she is looking nervous for me. I have to stop looking at her, I have to concentrate, I could have the missing trainer come up and shoot me in the head, and it will be game over for me.

The focus, and just in time too. I see someone move about thirty feet past where I saw the first lump, but this second one is half the size of the first. I bet the last one is Alan, and he dug down into the ground to not stand out and I have to say it worked, if I wasn’t going as slow as I was, I would never have seen him.

I am going to have to fight in the suit, and I already know they will too, but the suits are restrictive.

I can either fight in it, or just come on out without it, and fight and hope that my full range of motion helps me win or leave it on and we be evenly matched.

I need every bit of additional help I can get in this test. I was lucky enough to have got off shots to take out the first two, but unless the Goddess is with me and I can be on top of the third man super quick, I may have to fight hand-to-hand with the last two.

Tedge back into the forest a little and take my suit off and pray to the Goddess for help, as I know I will need it. I am ready to go, so I grab a drink from my water bottle and get behind a tree to watch them again and make sure that they are both still where I last saw them.

I see them both very well from where I am and make sure that I saw both of them move before I take off at a dead run across the field at the first guy.

Tam a big guy, but I run every day in both wolf and human form, because I enjoy it, so I was almost halfway to the first guy before he saw me coming and hopped up to fight. That was a mistake on his part because I lift my gun and shoot him twice in his heart and once in the forehead and kept on running towards the last guy.

I am surprised, it isn’t Alan, it is Hudson and I think back to the forest, and that first guy wasn’t big enough to be Alan, and the guy I just shot wasn’t either. I have taken out three men, but Alan is not here. I don’t have time to think it through, I am obviously being set up here and I put the paintball gun down, and Hudson and I square up.

I can tell his suit has been modified for him and he will have a full range of motion in it. Great, I just need to end this quickly and figure out where Alan is. I link Rafe and tell him to help me replace Alan, while I take care of Hudson.

I really like Hudson, but he is going down. Hudson is strong and has a slimmer form than the other men on his team. He is a strong fighter, but he is usually used to be a sniper, or required to do something with his gun is what I had heard. I soon learned that I had not been fully appraised of the fact that Hudson excelled at Jiu-Jitsu.

I figured it out quickly, as it has been almost 5 years since my classes in it, and he managed to sweep my legs out from under me and then went into a side mount to use his body weight against me and keep me from breathing properly. I need to get out of this position as quickly as I can, Hudson is really good, and quick.

I slide my left forearm up and under the front of his neck, and I have to shoulder slide several times to be able to get room to be able to put my right forearm in between his waist and my shoulder. I remember from my classes back then that where the head moves, the body moves, and I need to get Hudson moved off of me, and then get him defeated.

I already saw Heath and two judges coming in to watch us closely, to be able to decide the winner of the match, as Hudson was technically my last opponent. I start pushing up towards the sky with my left forearm and pushing back to my right back with my right forearm, pushing his wa!st and h!ps, back off and away from me.

My right leg is flat on the ground and my left is bent and up so I can use it to help me push Hudson off of me. I put my right knee between our bodies as a kind of shield between us so he can’t tighten me back up into the same position again.

Even if Hudson is able to get me into a half guard, I am still in a way better position than I was in. I get my breath back and take a moment to breathe deep and decide what I am going to do. I then twist back to get out of the hold and get on top of Hudson, as he rolled to get up and into another position.

I was not an expert at Jiu-Jitsu by any stretch of the imagination. But, I was very good at one chokehold before I stopped going to class, and I hope to the Goddess that I can remember how to effectively apply it now.

My arm is under Hudson’s head, and I used my own head to move his to where he is looking at the stands before I put my fist at his throat. I then pulled hard to the opposite side of where I just was, and Hudson knows what I am doing, and taps out quickly from my Ezekiel choke.

I immediately release him and sit up on his side. I am wiped and don’t know why until I realize that it is 3 pm according to the clock on the outside of the gym near the training area.

We have been at this for 5 hours. I was about to ask Hudson where Alan was when I see movement next the bleachers and Alan coming at me at full speed, I was barely able to dodge him as he came at me and then went into a tumble and came back at me.

At least I know where he was now. I take my stance and I know this form a little better as I quit Jiu-Jitsu, to take Krav Maga. Alan is good, and I am wiped, I need to really focus now as he has got two blows in already, a front elbow strike, and then immediately into a back elbow strike, and he bounced back out of my space again.

He will not be leaving me for long and I am trying to remember where I left my paintball gun, as I know Alan is going to toy with me until he takes me out and I don’t have time for it.

He has been able to rest, and eat, while I was taking out the rest of the team. I just need to work smarter, not harder. Alan will be pissed, but I could care less, I just need to beat him at this point. I am too close to be winning this whole thing, for me to want to lose now.

I see Alan coming and as predicted he is toying with me, and gives me a hard hook punch, which I saw as he threw it, and he had some power behind it.

I know exactly where my paintball gun is now, and I allow myself to be knocked back and towards my gun, which Alan didn’t see laying there as he was moving in to give me a round kick to hit me in my chest while I was down as I guess he wants me on my back and looking up at him when he beats me.

I rolled back and come up with my gun and pull the trigger several times, right before he connects with my chest, and I fall back and lose the gun. I look up to see if Alan is going to attack me again and I see his whole stomach covered in paintballs.

I look up and see the trail of paintballs going up his t-shirt and to his face. He got shot about 8 times, three in the stomach and the other 4 of 5 shots are in a straight line up to the last shot which was in the center of his forehead. I see him reach his hand out and help me up off the ground.

I already feel the pain from my bruises, and I already know with how hard he hit me, that I will be able to see them as well when I take my shirt off.

I hear Gabi screaming and cheering for me as she runs up to me and then jumps up into my arms. She is so happy for me. I forget my pain from the bruises, and just hold her to me, sniffing her neck and then giving her mark a k!ss.

I feel her shiver in my arms and I smile at her reaction. Each of the guys came up to me to congratulate me, and then I asked them where the fifth guy was, the one in the forest with Jameson. I see Gabi blush and then say, “That was actually me.

Alan told me after you went into the forest that he needed me to participate for two reasons. One for you to be a full member of our team, not just honorary, you had to beat us all to get on the team.

Second, because he wanted the drop on you to see how you would adapt and overcome when something unexpected happens. Because out there training, we deal with a lot of things coming from left field, and he wanted to see how you would react. You did a great, baby”.

“I didn’t even smell you out there. How could that be?” I asked her.

“Tala can block our scent, for about 30 minutes to an hour, so far that is the longest I can go. I think with training, I would be able to do it for much longer” Gabi’s tells me, and I smile, because now I know our children will be able to as well.

“What is that smile for?” Gabi asks me, “When I was up in the tree, I was daydreaming about our pups, and wondering if they would be able to block their scent as well, and now I know. They will be able to do it, since we both can” I told her.

“You were daydreaming about our babies?” Gabi said to me and her voice gets a little higher at the end of the sentence, and I can hear her excitement about my dreaming about our babies too, that was definitely making her very happy.

“Yes, I was”, I said as I pulled her closer to me. “If they would look like you or me. Boys or girls or I would love a mix of them. I will take what I can get, as long as they are all with you, Gabi” I told her and then bent down to give her a k!ss.

“Hey, hey, you two are gonna have to stop this right now. Alan, Heath, I am formally requesting that there will be no k!ssing between trainers from now on, Gabi is like my sister” Hudson called out and Gabi wiggled out of my grip and walks up to Hudson.

She motions to him to bend down like she is going to tell him something, as he is 6’4″ tall too, and when he does, she k!sses him on the cheek and gives him a hug. I cannot stop the growl that comes from my throat, as Hudson straightens back up.

I see Hudson grin over at me and then say, “Never mind, it is OK if she k!sses her fellow trainers, but you two need to keep it PG in front of the rest of the class” Hudson say’s and points at me and Gabi as she comes back into my arms.

“I have to say I agree with that, she is my baby girl,” Heath said to the group.

“I can agree with it too”, Alan said, and the guys all laughed, and then as they go to walk off Jameson and Easton k!ssed Gabi on top of her head and ruffle her hair. I am so glad that they love her because that means that every guy on this team would defend her too.

My stomach growls and we all head back to the packhouse for us to eat. I am glad that Alan didn’t tell me about Gabi participating, I would have been a little hesitant about having to have to “kill” her. I am actually really proud of myself too, as these men, and Gabi, are really the best at what they do, and I am glad that I made the team.