The Possessive Alpha
Chapter 12

ELLE POV

It’s been a long time coming. Nothing in life has been more satisfying than watching Alpha Charles reprimand Damon in front of the entire pack. I don’t feel bad that he was scolded in front of everyone. Since I moved here, Damon has made it his mission to control every aspect of my life, and it’s so refreshing when he is called out on his bullshit.

Something has shifted between Damon and me since his return from training; this new dynamic between us is palpable. If Damon had paid more attention to those in his immediate vicinity instead of obsessing about where I was and what I was doing, he might have noticed his father coming up behind him. Even now, when he should be paying attention to his father, I can feel his eyes on my body. Even with my back to him, I know it’s him staring at me, with the way my body heats under the intensity of his gaze. As much as I try to ignore the flames licking over my skin, it’s becoming impossible.

“I can’t believe he thought he could keep you from training,” Theo said from beside me, startling me from my thoughts and pulling me back to the present.

“Damon has a complex when it comes to me; just ignore it,” I say, only half listening to what Theo is saying, too busy trying to sneak looks at Damon without either man noticing.

“Obviously, but why? What could you have possibly done to warrant this kind of dislike?” Theo asked again. This question had been peppering our conversations more often lately. Theo didn’t think I noticed, but I wasn’t an i***t and was more intelligent than I let on.

Before I can answer, Damon’s booming voice cuts over the entire field, silencing all conversations immediately as all heads turn to watch him stomping towards his father, the Alpha.

“WHAT THE f**k ARE YOU THINKING?!” Damon shouts in Alpha Charles’s face, who doesn’t react, but instead seems amused by Damon’s reaction to whatever is on the clipboard.

“I think that I am the Alpha of this pack, and you are not, nor will you ever become one if you don’t do as your told and get the people on your list started on warmups,” the Alpha responds calmly but with a strong enough voice that the entire pack can hear. It would have been hard not to with our enhanced hearing.

“As you wish, but if someone dies, the b***d is on your hands,” Damon says as he storms past the Alpha towards the rest of us on the training field, Andrew and Matt, following behind him with their clipboards in their hands.

“What do you think that was about?” Theo whispers in my ear, leaving me grateful that he was distracted enough to successfully drop the conversation I have been avoiding.

“I don’t know, but I think we are about to find out,” I say before turning to face the front with the rest of the trainees and ending the conversation. Since Alpha Charles told me I would be joining my classmates to train, I promised I would do everything in my power not to make myself a target. Talking when I should be listening would only make me a target.

“Alright, listen up, guys. We are going to be splitting you into three groups. Each division will have its tournament. The winner of each division winner will have the opportunity to receive one-on-one training with the Alpha, Beta, Or Gamma families,” Andrew announced from the top of the training grounds. At the same time, Damon stewed beside him with a pissed-off look.

Matt steps forward to take over, “When I call your name, run to the far right of the field and start doing jumping jacks to I join you. Alan, Alaina, Brock, Kaitlyn, Timmy, Trisha, Conor, Cameron, Saundra, Sam, and Glen” Once all the names had been called and they had run from the group, Matt finally joined them.

“When I call your name, go to the middle of the field and start a plank bridge. Trevor, Saundra, Monique, Kyle, Brian, Oliver, Tony, Stella, Dominique, Edward, David, Kim, and Dustin.” Andrew called out in a long clear voice; each person ran to the center of the field. Once they got to the middle, they got onto the ground on all fours in a cross between a plank and downward dog as they linked arms and feet. The person at the end would unlink and then army crawl underneath the line emerging on the other end to rejoin the others as the next person goes.

With a cold voice and dead eyes, Damon steps up and takes his turn listing names, “When I call your name, join the Indian run around the training field, we will keep running until I say stop. Melanie, Tyler, Emily, Chad, Alex, Nick, Brian, Adam, Chloe, Taylor, Winston, Charity, Emma, Victor, Carter, Hunter, Xavior, Theo” Damon calls everyone until the two of us are left staring at each other. I am not worried about the line getting ahead of me as I wait for him to call out my name. I know I’m on the list, Alpha Charles and Luna Olivia already gave me a heads-up of what to expect.

The rest of our division is already halfway around the field before he dares scream out, and “El-” is all Damon that comes out before I run off to catch up to the rest of the squad. I can feel him trailing closely behind me, preparing me to fail miserably, but I train multiple times a day, including running fifteen miles at least. I’ll endure whatever hazing he has in store today. After I prove my skills in this field today, no one else will ever question my placement in the top division of warriors. Picking up speed, I quickly catch up to the rest of the group and easily pass them by in my place at the front while I wait for the person at the back to catch up.

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After ten more laps of Indian runs, we immediately transition to planks changing the style every minute. I can hear the grunts of fellow pack members beside me, but it’s not the workout making me all hot and bothered, but Damon’s eyes on me as we change over to other warmup exercises. After another twenty minutes of warmups, we are given a five-minute water break.

As I bend over to pick up my water bottle, I can feel the presence of a prominent figure behind me. The smell of sandalwood and eucalyptus hits my senses, sending my hormones into overdrive and reminding me that my reactions to Damon only happen because of teenage hormones. Grabbing my bottle, I straighten, turning to find Damon’s back, his arms crossed, as he looks over the rest of the training field. He was hiding me from the male members of the pack….almost like a mate. What the f**k is he doing?

“What are you doing?” I ask, my voice laced with blatant accusation. We are NOT mates; for him to treat me as such is inexcusable. Despite my body’s involuntary reaction to him, we are nothing to each other, and I have the right to wait for this treatment from my actual mate. Not some possessive, almost Alpha dickhead.

Spinning around to look at me puts him so close that I can feel the warmth coming from his body. I need to step back before I am too fuzzy from his scent to think straight. As soon as my feet move away, he starts smirking like he knows he affects my body. Pompous a*s. “Other males shouldn’t be looking at you dressed like this,” as Damon is saying this, he takes a longing and appreciative gaze over my figure before meeting my eyes once more.

“Well, that position is already reserved, so until then, kindly go away and bother someone else, okay?” I snark at him, although I can still feel the tingles from his looks shocking my body.

“Who? That loser Theo? Please!” He scoffs, shaking his head in disbelief, his jealousy almost tangible as it strangled the air around them.

“No,” I respond, growing tired of this tug-of-war that’s going on between Theo and Damon over me when in truth, neither of them has a claim on my heart or body. “I have a mate out there somewhere, and one day it will be his responsibility to protect me from unmated males. Until then, it’s my responsibility.” I say with finality to my voice, leaving no room for discussion before stepping around him to join other squad members in our field section to wait with some of the others waiting on those still drinking water.

Damon doesn’t say anything, but his growl can be heard by every person standing on the field.

‘This isn’t over yet, Biscuit,’ a voice says over the mindlink that sounds like Damon’s voice but not at the same time. This voice was deeper, darker, and more animalistic, sending a shock wave of desire down my spine and into my toes.

“Okay, the first pairing in the ring is…” Damon’s voice calls out amongst the group and calls my attention away from how my body reacted to Slade. Responding to Damon’s human counterpart is one thing and his wolf another. What the f**k am I thinking?