The Chubby Omega and her Alpha Mate

Chapter 4

Gale was still leaning forward in his seat, eying up the unranked wolves with his lips pursed against his hands. The scent was still there, and he had managed to trace it to the far end of the arena, though there were still several females down that end. His wolf paced anxiously around in his head as it whimpered, longing to see their mate. The scent continued to intoxicate their senses.

“You seem rather interested in the tests this year, Gale, is everything ok?” Nik asked, noticing his brother had not averted his eyes since the tests began hours before. Gale blinked and shook his head, not realising his fixed position.

“Ah, er, just some really good recruits this year,” Gale managed to stutter out, relaxing his gaze. Nik smiled at him, returning his own gaze to the tests.

“If you say so, brother,” he mused.

On the other side of the arena, Lauressa and Cain were squaring off against one another, analysing each other’s stances and builds. They readied themselves just as the claxon sounded.

They both ran into the middle of the mat. Cain went to strike first, pushing his fist towards Lauressa’s face. She ducked down, counteracting his punch with her own into his sternum, forcing him backwards. She tried to follow through with another punch, but he blocked her, grabbing her fist mid-air and pulling her towards him which threw her off balance. He brought his knee up, impacting her chest before throwing her fist off to the side, causing her to fall forwards. With his other hand, he brought it down on her back and pushed her to the ground, causing her to lose her footing completely.

She hit the ground, just able to stop her head from hitting the mat as she threw her other arm forward, falling onto that instead. A sharp pain shot up her arm, but there was no time to give it any thought. A low growl emitted from her throat as she turned and glared at Cain, who was smugly smiling at her. Her wolf was growling as well, snapping its jaw at their opponent. She pulled herself up off the mat, turned and ran to impact Cain once more. He dodged her blow, grabbing her fist again. She had expected it this time and lifted her leg up to wrap around her outstretched arm before falling to the ground on the other side, pulling Cain down with her. She pulled his arm through her legs and squeezed her thighs around it, pinning his shoulder in place.

Cain twisted his body, manoeuvring his legs around and kicking Lauressa in the back of her head, relinquishing her grip on his arm. He stood up and growled in her direction. She snarled back at him before bouncing towards him, grabbing hold of his collar as she pulled herself up, wrapping her legs around his torso before bringing him down to the ground once more. She had failed to calculate her angle this time, pulling him directly onto her as she hit the mat. He wasted no time pushing his torso down against her pelvis, so her legs were trapped around him, before grabbing her hands and pinning them on her head, fixing it in place. He leaned down to her neck, his hot breath tickling as he opened his jaw, before running his tongue up it. She squealed in response, pulling her hands back down to her chest.

“Beat you,” Cain chuckled, pushing himself up from her body and reaching his hand down to her. Lauressa wiped away his drool from her neck before taking his hand and he pulled her to her feet.

“Where did I go wrong?” She asked, rubbing the base of her spin where she had impacted the mat.

“Too much attack, not enough defence.” He said factually, shrugging his shoulders. “You have a lot of strength in those legs though, which is great. Just got to keep your body protected.” He continued. She absorbed his words and nodded. She thrust out her hand towards him, which was met with a smile reflected in his face as he shook her hand back.

They looked around, some of the groups were still fighting, others were sitting on the floor clearly not lasting very long at all. Lauressa wasn’t surprised to see that Felix and Ben were still fighting, though somehow their shirts had come off in the process. She looked around the area where she saw Freida and Sally both laying on their backs, panting relentlessly.

She and Cain sat on the floor, discussing tactics that she could use in the future. He explained how her build may be big, but the power that was behind it she could use to her benefit. They were both given bottles of water from a younger unranked member, who was handing out bottles to all finished wolves.

As the final battles ceased, Ms Carrol came forward and spoke to her students.

“Congratulations on completing your tests today. The judges will discuss between themselves the scores and share their thoughts before ranking can be announced. Please take these next 30 minutes to enjoy some food, you have earned it.” This followed with a round of applause from the group as well as the spectators. Eugene and Nik clapped their hands slowly, eyes not wavering from Ms Carrol. Gale was lost in thought, arguing with his wolf inside his head.

The group gathered back in the centre after they had eaten. Lauressa joined both Freida and Felix as they turned their attention towards a stage that had been set before the judges’ table. One of the judges, the oldest, stepped forward onto the stage and began to speak.

“As you know, each subjected is marked out of ten, with the exception to knowledge being marked as a percentage and then converted into a mark out of ten afterwards. We have thoroughly enjoyed watching this years’ tests, you all have worked particularly hard it seems.” He paused to allow the applause to quiet down. “As with previous years, you will be called forward in alphabetical order of your surnames. You will then come up to the stage and wait while we say your results before confirming what your new rank will be.” A second round of applause came, and he nodded once it began to lessen.

“Dominic Abraham,” was the first name called out. One of the smaller males made his way up to the stage, shaking hands with the judge that was waiting there. After a brief run down of his scores, his new rank was announced. “Omega weapons consult.” The judge said, bowing to Dominic who returned the same. The applause continued until he had exited the stage and seated himself on the side, away from the centre.

“Freida Bones,” the judge said next. Freida gasped, her body stiffening at her name. Felix nudged her side, trying to get her to move. She slowly stood up, though her legs were struggling to hold her.

“I look forward to marrying you to get rid of that terrible name,” He chuckled, pushing Freida forward. She snapped her head round at him.

“Better than Dunne,” she replied, sticking her tongue out at him. He stuck his tongue out back, furrowing his brows at her. Lauressa rolled her eyes at the couple before nudging Freida forward.

She slowly made her way up to the stage, her eyes focused on the ground as tears pricked at the corner of her eyes. The judge asked if she was ready to continue, to which she nodded, took in a deep breath and raised her head.

“Knowledge: 8,” the judge began, reading the document in his hand. “Strategy: 3. Apothecary: a perfect 10,” He paused, an applause drowning out his words. He looked up at Freida, who’s cheeks were burning red. “Combat: 4. The judges have decided to appoint you as an Omega healer.”

Freida’s legs buckled, but she was able to catch herself. Tears trickled down her cheeks as she heard her new rank. The judge smiled widely, offering a hand towards her. She gripped it with both of hers, waggling it as she tried to sniff back her tears. She bawled as she came off the stage to join Dominic in the side seats. Felix and Lauressa exchanged looks, smiling contently.

Another name was called, and then it was Felix’s turn. He waltzed up onto the stage, each step he took was more confident than the last. His knowledge and strategy were both average at around 6, his apothecary was low at 4, which he shrugged at, while his combat was scored at a 9. His rank was announced as a warrior, to which he threw his hands in the air as he celebrated with the crowd. The judge held his hand out to him, but Felix simply patted him on the shoulder as he walked past, leaving the judge a little surprised. Felix joined Freida and pulled her into a close embrace, kissing her forehead as he wrapped his arms around her.

Several other wolves took to the stage, all being ranks from healers, to warriors, to tutors and someone was even chosen for the assistant to the defence minister. Lauressa twiddled her thumbs on her lap, anxiously awaiting her name to be read out. Arnold Phillips had just left the stage, which meant it was then her turn.

“Lauressa Sinclair,” the judge called. As she made her way to the stage, she saw Felix and Freida holding their hands up, crossing all their fingers. She smiled at them, giving them a little wave before joining the judge on the stage. She breathes deeply, waiting for the judge to read out her scores.

As she walked past the Alpha family, her scent wafted towards Gale. He inhaled deeply and his eyes tore open. The piercing blue had vanished as his wolf came forward, revealing black orbs in their place. He and his wolf agreed: Mate. As her scent captivating him, the judge began reading from his page.

“Knowledge: 9, Strategy: a perfect 10,” the judge mused, allowing for more applause to come from the crowd before he continued. “Apothecary: 4, Combat: 5. The judges feel you would be best suited at an Omega strategist.”

“What?!” Lauressa roared. “You’ve got to be joking?” She said as she advanced on the judge, her claws extending from her fingers as she growled. Eugene and Nik both raised their eyebrows at this female, but Gale could feel a rage bubbling inside his chest. His wolf was howling out, pawing at his mind, trying to get next to their mate. The group gasped as they watched Lauressa roar, small hairs beginning to show along her neck and arms.

“Warriors, calm this wolf!” The judge shouted, backing away from the nearing Lauressa. They had already started running towards the stage before the judge had even spoken. Gale was also on the move.

“Galenos, get back here!” Eugene cried as Gale vaulted over the perimeter rope and stormed the stage. Lauressa was so focused on the judge, anger clouding her vision, that she didn’t notice a figure coming up behind her.

She paused momentarily as a familiar scent graced her senses before two arms wrapped around her body. Tingles scattered along her flesh as she was pulled in close, trapped beneath these arms against the figure’s solid chest. The warriors had almost made it to the stage before the figure spoke.

“Get away from her,” Gale roared, his eyes burning as his wolf remained in control. Every person who was moving inwards stopped instantly. Felix and Freida’s jaws hung slightly, unable to comprehend what they were witnessing. The anger that Lauressa was feeling dripped away as she was held in Gale’s embrace.

She looked up at him, watching his mouth move as he yelled out orders to the warriors. She couldn’t hear him, or anything for that matter, as her hearing was impaired by the sheer beauty of this man holding her. His chiselled jaw, the slight stubble on his face, his serious expression - her heart melted at the sight of him. He looked down at her, the black in his eyes disappearing to reveal their former blue. She gasped, unable to take her eyes away from his.

Gale began pulling her off the stage, dragging her away from the warriors. He continued to growl at them, refusing to relinquish his hold on her. As he pulled her away, Lauressa regained her senses and began to kick out.

“Get off me. Let go of my Alpha heir,” She screamed, her arms and legs thrashing out as she tried to evade his grip. Instead, he pulled her closer and growled into her ear, rendering her unresponsive for a few moments.

“Someone do something!” Eugene commanded, now getting to his feet as he watched his son drag away the female. One of the healers quickly jogged up to the side of Gale and bowed their head before him.

“I’m sorry about this, sir,” they uttered as they drove a syringe into Lauressa’s neck, squeezing the substance into her bloodstream. She thrashed out at them, though not for long as the medicine began to take effect.

“Get… Off… Me.” She mumbled, before collapsing in Gale’s arms.