My Ex's Father Is My Alpha Daddy

Chapter 10: Caught in the act

Elara

The next morning, I pulled on the biggest, baggiest shirt I could find shoved at the bottom of my luggage. My baggy trousers followed, the ones Andy had gifted me for my birthday last year.

Although training required lightweight clothes to move properly, I didn't care. I was hoping to blend in as much as possible. I needed to hide from Alpha Damon.

I got to the training grounds way before the appointed time. And as great as my punctuality was supposed to be, I was the only one there. Seriously, why didn't I even check the clock before leaving the house?

I couldn't go back now even if I wanted to, so I took a seat on a wooden bench and waited.

About five minutes later, a short blond guy walked in. He was cute, but in a boyish, harmless way, his face slightly flushed from the morning cold. I fully expected him to pretend I wasn't there.

Unexpectedly, he walked right up to me with a warm smile spread across his face.

“I see you're the only one who's arrived,” he said, his tone friendly.

I blinked, completely caught off guard. Since I’d gotten back, no one had really talked to me normally. I didn't know what his angle was, so I just gave a stiff nod.

“Yeah,” I replied simply. All thanks to Helena who kept banging on my door at first light this morning, I can literally still hear it.

He sat down a few feet away. “I guess we'll just have to wait for the rest of the warriors. By the way, I didn't know you were a warrior now. I saw your fight with Ray yesterday. You were really incredible.”

I stared at him. Was he mocking me? I searched his face for any sign of sarcasm, but he just looked genuinely impressed. It felt weird. Most of the pack still looked at me through the lens of that video, but this guy was acting like it never existed.

“Thanks,” I muttered, still keeping my walls up.

He let out a small sigh, stretching his legs out. “I guess you don't want to be here either, right?”

“Actually,” I said, surprising myself with how firm my voice sounded, “I do want to be here.”

His eyebrows shot up, but his smile only grew. “I can't relate to that feeling. Because I'd rather be in the kitchen, or the workshop, just anywhere as long as it's not here, but my brother... Ugh, I can't wait to be out of here.” he sighed and looked up at the sky for a moment before turning back to face me with a renewed smile, his mouth open to say something when Alpha Damon walked onto the grounds.

The man just radiated power. He looked so cold, his expression unchanging, yet... breathtaking. His dark lashes looked even longer in the morning light. How was it fair that someone could be so terrifyingly powerful and beautiful at the exact same time?

Alpha Damon's eyes flickered to me for a brief second before turning his gaze away and heading straight for the building he entered yesterday.

The moment he was fully out of sight, the blond guy beside me let out a massive breath, his shoulders slumping.

“He's even more terrifying up close,” he muttered, wiping his forehead. “I used to think my older brother was cold and scary, but that completely changed the second I met Alpha Damon.”

I couldn't help but nod. ”Yeah. He definitely has that effect on people.“

He turned to me, offering a small, slightly shaky smile. “I'm Finn, by the way. What's your name, if you don't mind sharing?”

“Elara,” I replied.

We exchanged a few more words, the conversation flowing easier than I expected, until the rest of the trainees started coming in. Though Ray isn't anywhere in sight.

Soon, Beta Dan arrived and ordered everyone into positions.

“I assume you don't have a sparring partner since you're new,” Finn turned to me. “Wanna spar together?”

I nodded, relieved to not be left standing alone. We moved to stand in a corner. I could hear the whispers starting, but I forced myself to ignore them. I glanced at Finn, fully expecting him to look irritated or embarrassed to be seen with me. But he didn't even flinch. I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.

But my relief didn't last as Alpha Damon came out of the building and took personal charge of the session immediately. I quickly averted my gaze, staring hard at the dirt. I prayed my baggy clothes were doing their job.

But as though he could read my mind, those piercing dark green eyes swept over the crowd and locked dead onto me.

Finn shifted nervously beside me. “I think the Alpha is looking at us... wait, now he's walking over here. Are we in trouble?”

Alpha Damon bypassed the senior recruits entirely. He walked straight past the front rows and stopped right in front of me.

My heart was hammering against my ribs at this point. He knows exactly what he’s doing to me, I thought. Or maybe he didn't. Because standing here in the daylight, he looked absolutely nothing like the man who had backed me against the locker just yesterday.

“Let’s see if our newest addition can actually earn her stay here,” his deep voice echoed in the space. “Step into the ring, Elara.”

I almost thought he was going to ask if I found a sparring partner yet, but he didn't. Instead, Alpha Damon paired me up with a massive guy.

Having been put up against each other, within seconds, he lunged first. He threw a series of heavy punches, clearly trying to intimidate me. I dodged the first few easily, weaving out of his reach. But as I tried to dodge the incoming one, my foot slipped on the loose dirt, and his fist slammed against the side of my face. Pain flared across my cheek, and I tasted copper.

Alright. That's it!

All the formal pack training I was struggling with vanished from my mind. I switched instantly to the dirty, brutal street-fighting tactics I had learned from Andy.

I ducked his next swing, sweeping his legs out from under him. As he stumbled, I drove my elbow into a nerve cluster by his ribs. He gasped, dropping his guard, and I grabbed his arm, using his own momentum to slam his giant body into the dirt.

I stood over him, my chest heaving as I tried to catch my breath, but I barely caught it, as Alpha Damon stepped into the ring.

“You’re fighting like a street dog, Elara. You won't last a day in a real war fighting like that.”

My blood boiled. I had just dominated a guy twice my size, and that's all he has to say?

That annoyed me more than it should, “It worked, didn’t it?”

His jaw tightened. The dark green of his eyes seemed to swirl with irritation. “It was a fluke. Don't let your ego get the better of you, warrior.”

The way he spat that word out made my skin crawl. He was intentionally belittling me in front of everyone.

“My ego? You’re the one who paired me with a guy who’s three times my weight just to see me fail. If you wanted me out so badly, why didn't you just say it instead of playing these games?”

A collective gasp rippled through the field. I’d just talked back to the Alpha, an act that could literally cost me my head. I stood my ground, my heart hammering, but I didn't look away.

Alpha Damon's eyes turning dangerous. The air grew heavy, pressing down on my shoulders until it was hard to breathe. I braced myself for the worst, sure I’d just dug my own grave.

“Get out of the ring,” he growled, his voice a low, vibrating threat. “You’re done for the day.”

I didn't wait for him to change his mind. I turned on my heel and stormed off.

Even though I don't want to spend another minute here today, I couldn't go home like this. If Mom sees the blood, she'll cancel my future training. So I headed for the nearest bathroom, yanking the door open and slamming it shut behind me.

I turned the tap on full blast, cupping cold water in my hands and splashing it over my face. The sting was sharp, but it kept me grounded. As I scrubbed, a drop of blood and water mixed and splattered right onto the front of my baggy shirt.

“Damn it!” I hissed, grabbing at the fabric.

I was already frustrated, and the shirt was sticking to my skin. Without thinking, I yanked the hem up, pulling the oversized shirt over my head and tossing it into the basin. I stood there in just my sports bra, frantically scrubbing at the stain on the fabric with soap.

I was so focused on the mess that I didn't hear the door click.

I didn't hear the footsteps, either.

The air in the room shifted, turning heavy and electric. My breath hitched, and I froze, a cold realization washing over me.

I spun around, my back hitting the cool tiles.

Alpha Damon was standing in the doorway, his eyes dark and dilated, fixated on my bare skin.