The Alpha Princess and Her Enemy

Sparring

Wrenna POV

“It’s okay, baby,” Wrenna said, kissing Brenley on the forehead as she paced the length of the hallway, rocking the toddler in her arms. The excitement of the day had gotten to him—that, and staying up later than his normal bedtime.

Wrenna had been super strict with both feeding and bedtimes when Brenley was born, making him a super easy baby. He slept through the night after just three weeks—and had been a dream of a baby.

He whimpered in his sleep, still fighting it. His forehead was damp, cheeks flushed. Guilt twisted in her chest. She should’ve watched the time.

Sure, the nanny omegas that had been hired by the council were taking care of the pups, but still…she should have been there.

Her arms started cramping—but she kept rocking him, murmuring a lullaby as she walked, making sure not to be too loud.

She’d stepped out into the hallway after Brenley started crying again—making sure not to wake Damian. He had been her rock after Brenley was born, helping her at every turn—staying up at night to comfort him in those first few weeks so she could get some sleep.

Suddenly, a door creaked open behind her—and Wrenna froze.

Shit. Had she woken someone?

“I f*****g hate you!” Sienna’s shrill voice echoed from behind. Wrenna turned to see Brad stepping into the hallway in just sweatpants, shutting the door with a huff.

When he turned their eyes met—both wide-eyed, before his eyes fell on Brenley, stirring in her arms.

“I—uh—hope I didn’t wake him,” Brad said quietly, his voice rough. Pretending Sienna’s screaming match hadn’t just shaken the walls.

“No, it’s fine… I hope I didn’t wake you? He—he won’t settle—” she sighed, rocking the toddler. The cramps in her arms were getting worse. Wrenna gritted her teeth. Just a little bit longer and he would be ready to go to bed.

“You okay?” Brad asked, catching her grimace.

“Just cramps,” she whispered, as she paced the length of the hallway.

“Here, let me,” he offered, opening his arms. Wrenna hesitated. This was a bad idea… and besides, what did he even know about pups?

Plus, Brad Blackbriar was an asshole in the best of times. But then again, what was he going to do? Hurt Brenley in a house full of Alphas?

Brad stepped forward before she could react, his hands steady as he took Brenley. The toddler settled almost instantly against his chest, a small sigh leaving him as Brad rocked gently, humming low in his throat. Panic tightened her chest. What if his wolf recognized it? What if everything unraveled right here, in a quiet hallway in the middle of the night?

Her wolf rumbled low in her chest.

Family. Ours.

“How do you even know how to handle pups?” she whispered, watching Brad cradle the pup, humming soflty.

“My older sister, Talia, met her mate when she got out of…” he didn’t finish the sentence.

“Anyway, she has pups now, and well, I help out a lot.”

Wrenna watched them. Watched the corner of Brad’s mouth twitch as Brenley stirred in his arms, and emotion clogged her throat. s**t. This was bad.

“We should reje—” she started, way too quietly.

“He’s out,” Brad smiled. Wrenna couldn’t finish her sentence, but shut her mouth instead.

“I’ll get him to bed then. Tha—” she held out her arms, but Brad shook his head.

“I’ll put him in his crib. He might wake up if we exchange him.”

Something about letting Brad in their suite felt like a betrayal. Hell, everything about this felt like a betrayal. She quietly led Brad to the little room that was Brenley’s during this retreat.

Brad carefully—with the utmost care—placed Brenley in his crib, gently tugging the light blue fleece blanket over him.

As they quietly walked out, and Wrenna shut the door, she turned to Brad. He was already looking at her intently.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Brad stepped closer, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face — the softest touch, but it struck like lightning. Sparks erupted where their skin touched, and Wrenna couldn’t help but lean into his touch. His eyes dropped to her lips—anticipation filled her stomach.

She shouldn’t be doing this, but it was as if an invisible cord was pulling her forward. She felt his warm breath on her face, the smell of smoke and wood entering her nostrils—reminding her of a campfire in the forest.

“Wren?”

Damian’s sleepy voice drifted towards her—snapping her out of whatever this was. She stepped back—bumping into the door—startled.

“Coming,” she answered quickly, ushering Brad to the door.

He hesitated, their eyes meeting one last time — full of everything neither dared say — before she closed the door on it.

She didn’t sleep much after that. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Brad’s hand cradling Brenley, his eyes in the dark, the quiet hum that had felt too much like home.

Wrenna woke up alone—the suite too quiet. Morning light poured through the open curtains, slicing across the rumpled sheets where Damian should’ve been.

She groaned, reaching for her phone.

“s**t,” she muttered when the screen lit up. Ten a.m.

Her pulse spiked—had they missed something?

Then she saw it. A folded note on Damian’s pillow, his neat handwriting across the front.

Hey beautiful,

Didn’t want to wake you. The Council left early—something about how it’s “our moment now.”

Take your time. See you later.

—D.

Wrenna sank back against the pillow, staring at the ceiling.

The Council gone. The games over.

So why did her chest still feel like someone was tightening a fist around it?

Guilt was eating away at her. She just couldn’t keep doing this. She had to reject Brad, and with the council gone, her chances of sneaking off to a private corner to do it were increasing.

When she finally headed downstairs, the place was quiet—too quiet, where was everyone? Laughter from a backroom, drawing her nearby.

As she stood in the doorway, she could see pups playing on the floor, omegas watching over them as the older kids stood near the back, toying with their phones, showing each other videos and lauging.

“Alpha,” one of the omegas bowed her head in greeting. Wrenna saw Brenley near the middle of the room, playing with a girl around his age.

“Cute, aren’t they?” A woman said, smiling. She had long brown hair, tied up in a high ponytail. She seemed to be slightly older than her, but with werewolves, you never knew.

“I’m Luna Rianon, and that Yara,” she gestured to the pup playing with Brenley.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Wrenna, and that’s Brenley. They seem to be getting along just fine,” she returned the smile.

“Where is everyone?” She asked, looking around the empty hallway.

“Oh, they’re outside. One of the younger Alphas challenged a ranked member from another pack, and they’re currently sparring outside.” The luna rolled her eyes before adding, “Men, am I right? Can’t live with them…don’t want to live without them…though wolfen loaded breakfast mimosas were involved.” She chuckled.

“Come on, let’s go and watch…they’re both young and hot, I’m sure they’ll be shirtless by now,” she winked.

And boy was she right.

The fist thing she heard when she stepped out was the cheering and jeering of the crowd.

The second thing she saw was a shirtless Damian in the center of the sparring ring, body slick with sweat and grin wide as he faced off against an Alpha — Brad.

Her breath caught. For a second, she thought she’d imagined it.

Damian swung, Brad blocked, the two of them circling like predators—half training, half something else. What had Rianon said? Had Brad challenged Damian, or the other way around? She didn’t remember, her head was spinning.

“That’s my mate,” she gasped, pointing to Damian.

“Oh, Goddess,” Rianon whispered beside her, delighted. “Please tell me they’re fighting over you.”

“Not funny,” Wrenna muttered, though her heart hammered. They were both laughing, but it wasn’t the easy kind — it was sharp-edged, charged. The kind of laugh that said “I want to kill you, but let’s pretend we’re having fun.”

When Damian finally pinned Brad, the crowd erupted. Damian held out his hand to pull Brad up—and Brad took it. It seemed friendly, but Wrenna knew them both. She caught the way Damian gritted his teeth, the way Brad squeezed the life out of Damian’s hand… s**t, this was bad. What had caused this?

But as the laughter settled, Wrenna’s stomach twisted even more—she caught the way Brad’s eyes found hers in the crowd, before he looked away—looking pissed.

Damian turned toward her at the same moment, flashing that grin that always made her melt.

“Did you see that?” he called out. “Guess I still got it!”

She smiled weakly, clapping with everyone else. Damian had always been excellent in sparring—even knocking Alphas on their asses in school.

But a few minutes later, as she lingered near the refreshment table, she saw Damian again — only this time surrounded by a small circle of Lunas and Alpha daughters, all of them laughing, glasses in hand. One leaned in too close; another touched his arm mid-laugh.

Something in Wrenna’s chest twisted. The evil tinge of jealousy. It didn’t make any sense. He wasn’t doing anything wrong. He was just… relaxed, tipsy, unguarded.

She was the one keeping secrets. Not being honest with him—she was the one holding back what they could become.

“Hey,” Damian’s soft voice, followed by his gentle touch brought her out of her internal battle. “Come on,” he took her hand in his—warm and familiar, lacing their fingers together, “come and meet everyone.”

By the time dinner was over—Wrenna and Damian had made two solid alliances. One because of Brenley—Rianon and her husband, Alpha Frederik, were already planning a playdate for when the retreat was over—and one with Alpha Beth and her Pride.

It was silly since most packs already had an agreement through their parents, but the Council—not just the regional one that was in charge of their West region, but the overseeing Council—the Royal Council—insisted the next generation renewed those ties.

“You look…” Damian came up behind her as Wrenna tied her bikini bottom—his eyes hungrily raking over her. He’d suggested they go relax in the back patio hot tub after putting Brenley down for the night. Wrenna had protested at first, but he had held up the baby monitor, saying Brenley would be perfectly fine, and if he did wake, they would be there in under a minute.

“I could say the same for you,” she smiled, her eyes going to his ridiculously muscled body. Damian wasn’t just hot…he was everything she needed. If she could just reject Brad tonight, maybe, just maybe, tonight could be the night she let Damian claim her—and she claimed him?