The Code of The Alpha

Chapter Eight - Satan's Playground

"Luca?"

I stepped into the garage through the open door to see the back of his shoulders and head as he removed the canvas top from his Jeep.

"I'm over here, amore," he said.

Luca kept his attention on the straps he was pulling off the interior crossbar as I walked over to where he stood.

"I figured we could take the Jeep," he said. "It's supposed to be done raining for a few days so why not take your top off."

My eyebrows furrowed.

Luca stopped what he was doing and laughed at himself.

"I meant to say why not take the top off," he said, gesturing to the Jeep as he shook his head.

"Mhm."

I walked over to the car parked beside the Jeep that was still under a dust cover. I couldn't help but try and deduce what kind of sports car it was by studying the curves and angles that were hugged by the canvas.

"What's this?" I asked.

Luca put a hand up on the side of the Jeep and propped himself against it.

"Used to be my favorite thing in the world," he answered.

"Used to be?"

"It's my second favorite now."

We made prolonged eye contact as he said this and I couldn't help but turn away.

Luca folded the Jeep's top and put it on a utility shelf at the other side of the garage. As I hopped into the Jeep, I noticed the sunglasses that sat in the passenger seat.

"Whose are these?" I asked picking them up, noticing the feminine craft of the glasses.

"My sister's, probably," Luca answered, getting into the car. "She was the last one who drove it."

I hummed and placed them into the cup holder.

Luca was quiet the whole time we pulled out of his driveway and onto the street.

He turned in a different direction than that which would have taken us to the gate to leave the pack. Instead, he followed the unmarked road down a hill and beside a lake that I realized was the one behind his house.

We drove for several minutes before he pulled into a gravel parking lot where several other cars were parked along a split-log fence.

The parking lot sat on the edge of the tree line that opened to a clearing. There were a few wooden storage sheds scattered along the tree line. They were settled behind wooden platforms of varying heights and sizes.

One of the platforms, on which stood two fighters, looked like a boxing ring. There were several people standing around them, watching the altercation and coaching the fighters through it.

On another platform were a handful of people who sat on yoga bolsters, appearing to be meditating. I found this odd given the commotion going on around them, which I thought would make it difficult to concentrate on anything.

There was a small gravel path extending off of the parking lot that looked like it would be suitable for runners or mountain bikes, not cars. This circled the clearing and disappeared into the trees on the other side of the parking lot.

As we got out of the car, I noticed a tall climbing wall that had been built up against a handful of trees. Extending from it were ropes that were connected by small wooden handlebars.