Alpha, I was yours before

Day one of training

I slipped into the training gear that Nexxie laid out for me. Today was day one of my wolf training, whatever that meant. It was also the day that I would meet the top 5 Alpha ranked wives in terms of having an experienced wolf.

The training area was also a large bush clearing at the back of the mansion. The circle was huge and wide, with Gamma wolves surrounding every inch of it. It reeked of stale sweat and moist earth.

I stood at the far end with Aurelie. Every single person here intimidated me. I watched as two gamma wolves sparred each other with swords, the same kind of sword that murdered Seraphina. The Alpha's first five wives strolled in, and when they looked at me it was with a condescending sneer on their faces. The first five wives were from elite, polished and noble families. Their wolves have probably being trained since childhood, as they were prepared to be a Luna for a pack.

Me? I was a discarded girl whose wolf came on and off as she liked, and was stirred barely seven months ago.

“You sure you’re in the right place, sweetie?” Selene drawled, tossing her sleek braid over her shoulder. “We don’t babysit here.”

“She looks so scared.” A hard elbow nudged me at my back making me to lurch forward. “You should be,” the wife whose name I didn't know snarled. “We can be very ruthless here.”

Oh wow. So the first wives of the Alpha got off by bullying younger people. I wanted to bite back but honestly I was terrified.

They snickered at me and it painfully stung.

Footsteps led towards me and the crowd parted. It was the Head Gamma. From what I've heard, his name was Norin and he trained the Alpha to be the ruthless, cruel predator that he was.

His eyes pierced through me while he stopped in front of me. “Welcome to the training ground. It is important as a Luna to train your inner wolf. You know how to shift?”

I nodded, my heart thumping. Crispy has been unusually quiet since the series of visions I've had this morning. I've tried to summon her but she's been ignoring me. I doubt I'll be able to shift properly without her free will.

I nodded tentatively. “I can.”

His dark eyes swept over my form, unreadable. I knew he was dissatisfied with my scrawny size. If only he knew that where I came from, eating once a day was a miracle. “Then show me.”

“Crispy please.” I whispered. I was met with empty silence. Crispy only came alive in the night.

My bones cracked as I tried to surged my wolf to the surface. It was painful and imperfect. I whimpered. I dropped to my knees mid-shift, growling softly through clenched teeth before landing on all fours. My fur spread unevenly on my body in a patchy kind of way, my limbs were too thin. I wanted the ground to open and swallow me as mocking laughter rang out.

Compared to the other powerful and magnificent wolves already prowling the field; I looked like a joke.

A few low chuckles rang out.

“Did she forget how legs work?”

“She’s gonna get ripped in half.”

“Is that fur or static electricity?”

They circled like sharks as my inner wolf failed me. Selene led the taunts with a smirk on her face and a slow, dramatic stretch of her pristine silver wolf body.

The other Luna warriors followed suit, flexing their claws into the dirt, lunging back and forth to show off their speed and control.

I tried to ignore them, but it was really hard. Aurelie came to my rescue, picking my weak wolf form from the floor.

Gamma Norrin looked at me, arms crossed his chest, very unimpressed.

He let the mockery hang in the air for a beat longer, then snapped, “Enough.”

The field went still.

“We train as a unit, everyone of you here started as a weak wolf. Shift back.”

With the smooth feline grace, the other wolves transformed, their naked bodies covered in light armor within seconds. I lagged, my own shift back was slow and shaky.

“I don’t care how pretty your wolves look,” Norrin continued, pacing in front of them like a commander. “Out there in the wild, a weak mind or soft spirit gets you killed. Even overconfidence in your prowess will get you killed. Underestimating the Enemy will get you killed.”

I met his gaze as he stopped in front of her. “You want to survive here?” he asked.

I straightened, fists clenched. “Yes.”

He tossed a wooden training blade to the dirt between us.“Then pick it up.”

I did.

“Selene.” He called her out from the circle. She walked out arrogantly, with her nose in the air.

I gritted my teeth. Goddess please let it not be that I'm sparring with her.

“Selene you're going to take it easy on her”, he spoke to her. but I knew, with the way she scoffed at me, that she wouldn't. “It's just a preliminary test to see how good or bad she is so I can know where I'll start out training.”

She didn't even wait for any signal from him; as soon as he stopped speaking she sprang for me, shifting smoothly into her wolf.

The fight started, and within seconds, I was on the ground, air knocked from my lungs. Crispy whimpered inside me.

“Too slow,” I heard another Luna say. “Too weak.”

I tried to use the stick to hold her off, but she was so aggressive. Like she had one chance to end me and this was it. Blood poured from my forehead. I searched for Aurelie through my blurred vision and she couldn't even look at me. I was that pathetic.

“Selene it is enough. Denis. Zachary. Help her up.”

My ears picked up at those names. They lifted my arms and I buckled against their hold. I still couldn't see them, because my vision was red. The blood was seeping into my mouth, mixing with my saliva.

I was suddenly hating everything here. What was I thinking that my life here would be better? It was only just a bigger stage, for me to be mocked.

“What is going on here?” A deep, husky voice rang out through the training court. The words pierced me, but not as much as the quiet footsteps approaching me. The Alpha has arrived. The authority in that voice, that question, even I stilled. Everyone went silent instantly.

“My love.” Selene swayed her hips towards him. He gently pushed her aside. “Why is she in this state?” He hollered Norrin.

He stuttered, head bowed. “My lord—”

“You are here to train her, not incapacitate her!” He barked viciously. The Gamma flinched. He spun towards Selene, who had this meek expression on her face. “Do not lay your hand on her ever

again.” Fire burned in his eyes. “Did you hear me?”

She jumped backwards in fright. “Yes sir.”

He walked towards me and stopped in front of me. He didn’t say a word at first. Just stood there, tall and imposing, his shadow stretching over her like a protective cloak.

I scrambled up, brushing dirt off my training uniform. “I had it under control,” I muttered, cheeks burning.

He tilted his head, amused. “Is that so?”

His voice which was rich, deep, and commanding rolled over me and I shivered in delight.

The other Lunas bowed their heads, but their eyes flicked with irritation. He wasn’t supposed to train anyone. Let alone me.

“Come,” he said, beckoning me forward.

I followed, pulse racing. When he stopped, he turned to face me fully, eyes intense.

“You're not weak,” he said quietly. “You’re just untrained. I’ll show you.”

Before I could process it, his hands were on my hips, correcting my stance. I stiffened, my breath catching. My heart pounding as his touch ignited a wildfire of goosebumps on my skin.

“Relax,” he said near my ear. “Feel your core. Let the wolf guide you.”

His grip was firm, deliberate, but not inappropriate. Still, it felt like he was everywhere at once. And the way he was watching me; like I was a puzzle he desperately wanted to solve.

He was such a good teacher that in five minutes he showed me how to take good command of my wolf and to handle the wooden stick better.

“Selene,” he called her out again.

I trembled at his back. “I'm not sure I am ready to fight with her again.”

“I'm here now, she'll be gentler.” His silken voice assured me.

Selene lurched at me with the same amount of aggression, hatred dripping off her like venom.

But I moved faster, blocked better and struck harder with all the anger in me.

And then, I knocked her flat on her ass.

The air shifted. No one laughed anymore. She stood up slowly, humiliated.

Everyone was stunned. I had thrown her off her feet on the very first day.

I panted, eyes wide, chest heaving as the Alpha stepped toward me again. Something electric charged between us as he gently held my wrists to steady me.

That was when his gaze dropped. He froze. I looked down on what caught his attention.

On the inside of my wrist was a faint shimmer; a silver-glowing symbol slowly surfacing beneath her skin. The symbol from the cabin.

He stared at it like he'd seen a ghost.

Then he dropped my hands like I was poison. I stepped back; a little hurt.

His hands brushed the hair off my neck and he held me there, slowly pulling me to him.

I blinked, confused. “What?”

His lips were pressed to my ear as he softly rubbed my wrists. “This mark… it belonged to Seraphina.”

The world seemed to tilt slightly. “I'm not Seraphina. I'm Micah.”

“I know. If you were Seraphina, this mark would have been on your neck. But it is on your wrist.”