Mates: Melanie's Warrior

Chapter 4

~Unknown~

The SUVs stop in front of the hotel, and we get out. The flight was long, then we had the car ride. I’m glad to be here and excited about this event. “I still say this is a bad idea, Alpha.” I turn my head to Hugo quickly, giving him the stink eye.

I’ve heard nothing else the entire trip here, and it’s annoying. I understand Hugo’s reservations, but I really need to do this. I think it will settle my restlessness, and I need that to happen so I can focus on running my pack. I just need to work out this craziness inside of me so I can breathe. Surely Hugo should be able to understand that.

“I’m not Alpha here. There are too many ears that could hear us. I’m simply a warrior that will be participating in the events. I will go by Geoff Rand. I don’t want my cover blown while we’re here.” Hugo huffs next to me as we head into the hotel.

“What exactly is your goal here? You can’t possibly expect to win. You winning would be a dead giveaway that you don’t belong here.” I roll my eyes and push the button for the elevator. We went through this entire conversation on the way out here. At this point, I’m just repeating myself. I take a deep breath, and my wolf, Thor, starts to stir in my mind.

Thor is pretty laid-back for the most part. He doesn’t intervene much in day-to-day matters unless he feels it’s important. He’s a beast when it comes time to fight or defend others. He sleeps a lot and keeps his conversation to a minimum. As active as he is right now, I start to be on edge, wondering if something bad is about to happen.

There’s a hint of a scent that has my entire body reacting and Thor alert. I close my eyes and take a deep breath again, but the scent is gone. I open my eyes and look around, but there’s no one around me other than my people. Maybe I’m mistaken. There are a lot of people in this hotel, so there’s no telling what that was about.

The bell dings and I step into the elevator with Hugo, still fussing about this entire situation. “Look, let me be clear.” Hugo stops talking and gives me his full attention. “I do not expect to win anything……I WON’T win anything. I just want to participate and shake my life up a bit. I’m missing some adrenaline……some fight. I just want to have some fun without hurting anyone. Once this battle is over, I will go back to Onyx Pack and settle into my role with no argument. I just……I need this right now, okay?” Hugo sighs and leans his head back against the wall. I face the elevator doors, waiting to get to our floor. This will be fine, and no one will get hurt. To be honest, something pulled me here, and I’m eager to find out what that’s all about.

~Melanie~

The sword feels light in my hand. I’m sure it’s because of all the time I’ve spent training with it. A sword always feels like an extension to me, part of my arm, my body. I continue to make fluid motions with my sword. The slicing sound rings clear in the room, egging me on to do more. I’ve been in the room for a while, practicing with my weapon of choice. After that display in the woods, I didn’t know what else to do. Just thinking about it makes my blood boil and angers me all over again.

“What crawled up your ass?” I turn to the door, breathing heavily. Jax is leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. I didn’t even hear the door open or smell him. I guess my anger is overriding everything else, and I will need to watch that when doing these battles.

“What do you mean?” I grab my towel to wipe my brow, and I take a drink of water. “Where’s Brooky?” Jax pushes off the wall and walks toward me.

“Shortstack is with my mate. They are going through the room service menu. And you didn’t answer my question.” Jax plops on the couch and throws his hands behind his head. “What’s eating at you?” I sit on the arm of the couch and face Jax.

“What makes you think something’s bothering me?” Jax sighs and leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“I’ve known you long enough to know when you’re bothered. If there were an actual person in the room, that sword work would have demolished them. So, spill.” I tell Jax what happened on my venture earlier.

“What really gets me is that no matter how far we go, there are still those weak-minded men who act like women can do nothing. Yeah, I can prove myself over and over again. I can go out there tomorrow and make every man fall to his knees, but why should I have to? Why should I have to constantly make people see who I am and what I’m about?”

“I remember having a conversation like this with Kehlani before she took over as Alpha, and then we had it again not too long after. Sadly, this is an issue that remains on the surface. There are still too many men who don’t value women. There are too many men who view women as less than and always have enough balls to try to confront a confident woman in an attempt to drag them down.” Jax moves next to me on the couch and rubs my back. “I can’t say that I know how you feel because I don’t. I can only imagine how tired you are feeling, the need to defend yourself all the time. All I can say is, kick some ass at this event. Make all of those men feel as small as they are. Take no prisoners.” Jax stands, kisses me on my head, and walks through the adjoining door.

Jax is right, of course. I just need to be myself, and everyone will see who I am. I just hate dealing with these small-minded people. It gets old and irritating. I just need to make sure I’m ready to show up and show out. I know I’m ready! We got this.

We do, Winnie. We can definitely do what needs to be done.