Claimed By An Alpha

Chapter 3:Blood On The Training Grounds

The next morning, the pack house was loud.

Lila wasn’t used to noise. The first 2 days had been quiet. Cold. But today, wolves were everywhere. Training. Sparring. Shouting.

Damon had left at dawn. “Territory meeting,” Maya told her when she brought breakfast. “He’ll be back tonight. Don’t leave the house without a guard.”

So Lila stayed inside. Until boredom made her curious.

She slipped out to the back gardens. The training grounds were behind the house. A big open field with sand and mats. Wolves were shifting, running drills.

She kept to the edge. Head down.

That’s when she heard it.

“Well, well. The Alpha’s pet decided to come out.”

Kade.

He was leaning against the fence with 2 other males. Same cruel smile from dinner. Today he wore a black tank top. Muscles, scars, and arrogance.

Lila didn’t answer. She turned to go back inside.

“Running already?” Kade called. “Just like last time, huh?”

Lila froze.

Last time.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know who I am,” Kade said, walking around the fence to block her path. “Tyler talks. About you. About how weak you were. How you cried when he rejected you.”

The other two laughed.

Lila’s hands shook. “Leave me alone.”

“Why?” Kade stepped closer. He smelled like smoke and cologne. “Alpha’s not here to protect you. And you’re just human. You don’t belong in Blackthorn.”

“I’m a guest,” Lila said quietly. “Damon said—”

“Damon said a lot of things,” Kade cut her off. “But let’s be real. He’s using you. A replacement. Because his real mate is dead and you smell kinda similar.”

The words hit like a slap.

Because it was true.

“Tyler said you couldn’t even handle one rejection,” Kade continued, voice dropping. “Said you begged. Pathetic.”

Tears burned Lila’s eyes. Don’t cry. Don’t give him that.

“Kade,” a voice snapped.

Maya. She was running from the house. “The Alpha said no one is to touch her.”

Kade didn’t even look at her. “The Alpha isn’t here, little Maya. And this human needs to learn her place.”

He reached out and grabbed Lila’s arm. Hard.

Pain shot through her.

That’s when everything went wrong.

A growl ripped through the air. Low. Deadly.

All 3 males froze.

Damon was standing at the edge of the training grounds.

He wasn’t supposed to be back until tonight.

But there he was. Shirt dirty. Jaw tight. Silver eyes locked on Kade’s hand on Lila’s arm.

The entire field went silent.

“Let. Go.” Damon’s voice was quiet. Too quiet.

Kade let go immediately and stepped back, hands up. “Alpha, I was just—”

“You were just what?” Damon walked forward slowly. Every step made the ground feel heavier. “Touching what’s under my protection?”

“She’s just a human,” Kade said, but his voice shook now. “We were talking—”

Damon moved.

One second Kade was standing. The next he was on the ground, Damon’s fist in his stomach.

Kade choked.

“Don’t lie to me,” Damon said. He grabbed Kade by the collar and lifted him. “Don’t you ever put your hands on her again. Don’t you ever say her name. Don’t you ever look at her.”

The other two males backed away.

Damon dropped Kade and turned. His eyes found Lila.

She was still standing there, arm hurting, eyes wide.

For a second his face softened. Just a second.

Then the mask came back.

“Inside. Now,” he ordered.

Lila nodded and ran.

She didn’t see Damon grab Kade by the throat after she left.

She didn’t hear what he whispered: “If you breathe near her again, I’ll rip your throat out.”

In her room, Lila sat on the bed and stared at the bruises forming on her arm.

Damon knocked 10 minutes later.

He didn’t come in. Just stood in the doorway.

“Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine.”

He looked at her arm. His jaw clenched.

“Kade won’t bother you again,” he said.

“Why did you come back early?”

“Territory meeting ended.” He paused. “I felt something was wrong.”

The bond.

Lila nodded. “Thank you.”

Damon’s eyes dropped to her phone on the bed. The screen was lit.

_Heard you’re staying with the Alpha. That didn’t take long. -T_

Tyler.

Damon’s expression went completely blank.

“Who’s T?” he asked.

Lila’s heart dropped. “No one.”

Damon didn’t push. He just nodded once.

“We’ll talk later,” he said. Then he left.

That night, Lila couldn’t sleep.

Her phone buzzed again.

_I heard Kade touched you. You always did attract trouble. Come see me. We need to talk about the past. -T_

Lila deleted it.

But Damon had seen it.

And tomorrow, he was going to ask her about it.

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