Tournament of Alphas

Chapter 3

As the essence of the day slipped away into the rising night, we sat together around the fire, watching the rising flames dance to our music.

Carmichael plucked the strings of his instrument as the rest of us sang a few songs, purely immersing ourselves. When our voices sunk down, Carmichael played the rest of the song out and once he finished, he set aside his guitar and we all sat back, relaxing as we watched the fire crackle, the lanterns of the flames rise into the sky never to be seen again.

The moment was suddenly interrupted by the sound of Rowen's and Alice's voices, filled with heaved sighs of relief. 

"Friends of yours?" Noah asked.

I stood to face the charging force hurling towards me and quickly I was pulled into an embrace by Alice. Her eyes scanned over my body checking for any signs of injury. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, Alice."

"We have been worried about you!" Rowen's burning temper flared through his growl. I sunk down watching his intense gaze was on me, unwavering. The circle of Alphas stood to their towering heights, like the high rising buildings of the city they were giants to me.

"I'm sorry, I just got lost and-"

"I don't want to hear it. Come on, we need to get you-"

"Leaving so soon?" a new voice spoke from nowhere and everywhere. Eyes searched for the owner of the voice, and that voice was quickly pinned to its source. A tall and lean specimen stepped from the darkness, in the blissful light of the fire, I could see his hair was a silver tinge. His ghostly complexion was no doubt cold like the snowy seasons of the harshest winter. With the pitch black behind him, my mind instantly shot into a panic.

Gnawing teeth and poisonous red blazing through the contrast of night. The gaze of a hunter, sense of a predator, the skill of a master. A haunting realisation...

"Greyson..." Rowen's jaw clenched tightly. His hand pushed me behind him, protecting me from this Alpha. An aroma of something thick, warm and bitter. Blood. His aura was radiating like scorching ice.

"Rowen, how nice to see you. Playing lapdog again, I can see," Greyson remarked coldly.

When Rowen took a step forward I ran in front of him and stopped his charge before he got himself killed.

"Rowen, can't we just... go?" I suggested. I could sense Greyson's eyes on my back, lowering and rising up my form. I had to suppress the rising of hot vomit down my throat. I watched the other Alphas step closer and around us and I felt their sense of pride flourish, blinding the unwanted creature that was Greyson, away. But they also held fear in their eyes.

Fear? But... their Alphas too. Why would they fear him? It would be six against one if things came to it.

His eyes scanned the crowd before him and they finally landed on me. Ice shot through me, freezing me in place. "The next time we meet, you won't have the protection you have now," his voice spoke a deathly warning.

When Greyson was done, he cowered away and the atmosphere changed from that shivering grip of tension to a stillness that unsettled me.

Rowen grabbed my hand quickly. "Come on."

"Rowen, what the hell- Ow!" I yelped when Rowen's fingers pinched my skin tightly.

"You don't need to break her arm, Rowen, we just need to get her away," Alice quickly said. My lips tugged down in a frown I tried to fight them both off of me. "What?"

"Trust us, Zara, you don't want to be anywhere near Greyson," Rowen's words came out as a long growl. "He is someone you do not want to be involved with..."

I became concerned about my actual safety now. At this point, I was questioning whether I should abandon all of this and live a life outside the comfort of my pack. But even then, I would still be hunted?

Rowen muttered to himself his words inaudible, I was unable to hear what he was saying but the roaring flames of rage in his eyes corrupted any thought of mine, thinking it wasn't that bad. Alice hissed at her brother. "Rowen, I've got this. You go ahead."

Rowen broke away, but my hands quickly clasped around his bicep. "No, please! Can someone please tell me what's happening?" my voice quivered with an unstable exhale.

Rowen's eyes flashed with hurt seeing my tears and his hand graced the jawline of my face. "I'll be back, Zara," he assured and he broke away, leaving me with Alice.

"Alice..." I muttered but before I could say another word she brought me to a large tent, gathered at the tent's entrance was a group of women, including my mother and grandma.

"You need to get ready for the tournament-"

I gripped Alice's hand tightly. Her eyes made contact with my own. "Alice, please... what aren't you telling me?" I asked.

Alice didn't answer me, words must have evaded her or she chose not to say anything because she quickly passed me off to the group of women. Females werewolves. "Come along, my dear. Let's get you ready."

"But, Grandma-"

Sitting in the tub, I was left alone with the steamy waters only to comfort me. Flower petals scented the bathwater, absorbing into my skin. My skin would be perfumed by the different aromas - but together they would mingle. This was a tactical move for the Unclaimed. I brought my knees to my chest in a shaken manner, too scared to do anything but ponder on my own thoughts.

When I had come to the conclusion I was safe, I wasn't. This... Greyson was some monster we were to fear. I feared him with an unknown cause. Rowen had still not returned from wherever he had gone off to. With the fear of a child, I felt vulnerable to any sort of attack.

Between my lips, I moaned with annoyance at a low-frequency. My head slid beneath the water and the warmth that hugged my body now caressed my face. After I resurfaced, the bathhouse became an exiled state of the world.

To me, the air became thick and lingering in the air was an unfamiliar scent. One I had not tasted before, but I wanted too. I wiped the water from my eyes and hair and I sat in the tub in silence. The ripples became still and the sudden burst of wind wiped out the lit candles and I was nearly left to the darkness. One candle was left alive right beside me standing on a small table.

You know that fear when you wake up from your sleep after you hear something, croaking and whispering in the corner? I felt that anxiety climb higher. 

Objects became hallucinations in the pitch black. Perplexed and frozen to the airy wave against my exposed neck, something wet and damp crept up my skin. Beneath it, I shook in complete terror.

My throat was clamped shut during this moment.

The sensation rolled over the curve where my neck and shoulder connected, down and over the dip of my collarbone.

All I could do was try not to flinch.

My eyes watered and my tears joined the sea I was submerged in. Together, I created a waterfall.

Ahead of me, plastered against the black canvas, was the scene of crimson orbs. The tongue quickly retracted and the monster behind me fled. The fear of an unseeable monster was replaced by another.

It was beautiful and horrific at the same time. I felt entranced but petrified under the piercing gaze of this new dominant figure. Covered in black fur and the devil's touch in his eyes, they burned with lustful anguish.

My body became hot, no longer satisfied with the water. The candle's glow allowed me to see the beast more clearly. The muzzle of this Alpha came into view first but his eyes still remained glued to the inky background.

Squinting my eyes I could see the bulging biceps and tensed forearms. Clawed tipped fingers were wrapped around the rim of the bath, hovering over me. The muted light from outside cast a dim outline of the features that were hidden in the abyss, prior. His tall and pointed ears would flick and twist. His heated breath and fur made the tent feel like a sauna.

My breath became none existent when the itching contact I craved was met. A large, paw - no, a clawed hand cupped the small of my back and ever so delicately rose my lower half out of the water. My vision would occasionally blur and my chest heaved long and drawn out breaths. I could only think that my heated s*x was causing this reaction. I wanted to scream but I just couldn't.

A set of jaws was now open, filled with sharp and elongated canines, but they were not desired to be used. The extension of his tongue brought sensual chills to my exposed skin. No longer were my morals in control, in their stead was the agitated and ignited cravings.

New needs took place and my brain had become wild with primal lust.

This feeling in which my mum had described. My thighs quickly clamped around the predator's head, rubbing tightly. His tongue just pierced the skin of my heated pools of purity, but suddenly, the towering form recoiled. Within a moment I crashed into the tub with a scream.

When I looked around, there was no sign of the large figure anymore. My legs wouldn't stop shaking from the pulsing electric waves of arousal.

My heart raced against the confines of my ribcage. In some wishful thinking, I hoped the Alpha would return soon to finish what we started.