The Possessive Alpha
Chapter 23

Damon POV

An entire night has passed without any sleep, tossing and turning, my body still aflame from when Elle’s lips landed on mine. Even after three cold showers at freezing temperatures and an entire school day behind me, gone in a blur. I’ve drank so much espresso today that I look like an 80’s businessman who put an eightball of blow up his nose at some Upper East Side penthouse.

Slade didn’t stop griping about Matt either, which didn’t help matters, kept saying we should demote him for a few weeks to teach him a lesson about knocking on doors. It was nonsense. Since Elle slept in my arms, sleeping without her has been torture. It doesn’t help that her scent lingers on the sheets.

Finally, arriving at the training grounds, I see Andrew and Matt with their backs turned to me, heads bent down in an intense discussion. Neither is paying attention to the students gathering a few feet in front of them. Their heads bent in whispers, only looking at their watches occasionally. Sneaking up behind them like a cat until I am directly behind them.

“What are you two whispering about?” I ask, causing Matt to jump and squeal like a child, satisfying Slade’s need to emasculate him only slightly.

“Must you always do that?” Matt asks, his hand still on his heart, as Andrew barely contains his laughter behind sporadic coughs.

“Until Slade no longer feels the need to demote you; yes,” I say, my face calm and serious as I take a drink from my water bottle. I can see the bob of Matt’s adam’s apple as he takes a large gulp from nervousness. “So, what were you talking about before I made you scream like a child?”

“We were wondering if you were giving Elle another tutoring lesson in the library,” Andrew says, taking me so off guard I can’t help but laugh at the audacity, and soon Matt is joining me till we look like fools. In the middle of our moment, I hear the peel of laughter that has consumed my home for the last five years. Instantly, my eyes are drawn to Elle, who is sparing with Theo, joking and talking like always. Andrew and Matt can sense the change in my mood as I glare at Elle in the distance, acting like training is a game.

“Look,” Matt says, nudging my arm, but before he can say the next thing, my body sprints across the field, barreling towards them like a freight train. I can hear the exasperated sighs of Andrew and Matt as they follow behind me; the Alpha energy is potent. Slade is at the forefront of my mind, ready to end Theo and his constant hovering.

A crowd has formed around their sparring, but as soon as they feel my energy coming towards them, they part like they’re afraid of being hit by a canon. Elle and Theo pay me no mind continuing on with their idiotic behavior.

“Is that the best your Beta b***d can do, Theo?” Elle says, mocking him, and I cannot help the small smirk at hearing her taunt him. Appreciating her form from behind, I watch as Theo throws a skilled punch, but Elle is quick on her feet, easily dodging his attempts. “Seriously, Theo, I want a challenge, not whatever this is,” She continues to tease him, and Slade is purring like a love-sick pup.

“Ha. ha. ha, are you on steroids?” Theo huffs, “Seriously, how are you so fast?” he questions, putting Slade on edge if Theo is questioning it; others are too. Looking around the field, I see pack members whispering amongst each other as they watch Elle’s movements. She is impossibly fast for a supposed Omega. What were my parents thinking about having her train? It’s hard to hide the Alpha energy when we fight, even when trying to mask it. It’s just natural instinct for our kind. Elle has no idea she is the firstborn Alpha. The energy leaking off of her is stifling to the pack members watching the match, everyone grimacing in discomfort.

Growling loudly to gain Elle’s and Theo’s attention, they stop their sparring momentarily to look at me. I see the small flash of a smile on Elle’s face when she looks at me, but it disappears instantly, remembering where she is and regaining her composure.

“Are we interrupting your time to f**k around?” I snap at them both.

‘Good job dickwad,’ Slade whispers, shaking in disapproval as he retreats to the far recesses of my mind.

“Well, we were bored waiting on you to start training,” Elle says, placing her hands on her h**s and a smirk on her lips, enjoying the challenge. Taking the invitation, I approach her menacingly, a growl rumbling in my chest. I stop until I am only a foot away from her bending down to whisper in her ear and inhale her scent. “You’re forgetting something, biscuit,” I say into her ear, my breath fanning her face. The erratic thump of her heartbeat fills my ears while shallow breaths escape her lungs. She can try to deny it all she wants, but I affect her as much as she does me.

“I-” she stops to clear her throat, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She turns her emerald green eyes to me, feigning innocence, but I can see the disobedience burning in her irises. Looking behind her, I see that the crowd is still standing there, watching the interaction between Elle and me with intense interest.

“Don’t you all have the training to do?” I yell at them in an Alpha tone, watching everyone scramble to find a partner and start doing their own workouts. I notice that Theo, Andrew, and Matt haven’t managed to leave. All of them are nosy bastards. Snapping my head to look at Andrew and Matt, I flash black eyes, letting them know Slade is in charge and not messing around. They get the message and quickly assess the training pack members. Only Theo remains standing beside Elle in a slightly protective stance, but lately, it’s been different like he finally trusts me around her.

The idea of needing Theo’s approval to be near Elle sends Slade into a tizzy, shifting his black eyes onto Theo. I grunt, “Find a new partner, Campbell. Elle is going to practice with me today,” Surprisingly, he doesn’t argue and nods in submission before walking off to find a new partner. When I turn back to look at Elle, my eyes shifting to blue, I notice the disappointment on her face.

“What?” I ask, “Afraid of losing to the big bad Alpha?” A smug smile plastered on my face as I lift my arms and flex my muscles in a typical douche move. Elle’s light laughter was not the reaction I was expecting, but my heart soared at making her laugh like that.

“No,” she says through the laughter still passing over her supple lips, ” I am disappointed Slade left, leaving me stuck with your company. I’ll take his company over yours any day of the week.” She says, shrugging her shoulders and stepping past me to find a sparring spot on the field.

Slade’s roaring laughter booms in my head, and now he will never let me this down. ‘Maybe if you weren’t such a d**k, she’d like you more.’ Slade says in a pause of laughter before it starts all over again.

‘Shut up, you stupid mutt,’ I grumble at him, annoyed at Elle’s admission to liking Slade more than me. Blocking him out, I trail off after Elle to the spot she picked for our sparring matches. “You ready to face a worthy opponent finally?”

“Your worthiness has yet to be determined, Alpha,” Elle says, emphasizing Alpha as a genuine smile warms her face and makes her eyes sparkle in the sunlight.

“I guess we’ll have to change that,” I say, throwing the first punch without warning.