She is the Alpha

Chapter 6

A slight, soft, but loud knock at my door woke me up. I rubbed my eyes and dragged my lazy self out of bed, heading toward the door. Swinging it open, I was met by my well-put-together Alpha, whose eyebrows widened in shock as his eyes trailed down my figure. His gaze quickly darted elsewhere, and he abruptly turned away from me, performing a full 180-degree turn.

I raised an eyebrow at his strange behavior. “Um, Xander?”

“Katrina, you... you’re…” He stuttered, unable to get his words out.

His strange behavior had made me alert. Did something happen?

“Did something happen?” I asked, worry creeping into my voice.

“No, not that,” he stammered. “You’re just, you know…” He trailed off.

“Know what, Xander?” I exclaimed, my frustration starting to build.

“You’re naked, Katrina,” he finally blurted out, his voice a breathless whisper.

I blinked, looking down at my figure, and realized he was right. I had forgotten to get dressed after waking up. In a flurry of embarrassment, I slammed the door on his back and rushed to grab my clothes from the floor. I quickly changed, and once I was presentable, I made my way back to the door. Xander was still standing there, taking a quick breath to gather his composure.

I swung the door open again, not meeting his gaze. “I sincerely apologize for my lack of modesty; I had just woken up.”

“It's okay,” he said, his voice strained. “We’re all out of it in the morning.” He added, looking at me with a hazy expression. “I actually came to get you because breakfast is ready. I didn’t think you’d want to miss the most important meal of the day.”

I chuckled. His father always used to say that. “That’s very kind of you to do.”

As we made our way down into the pack kitchen, I spotted a familiar figure — a pretty redhead.

“Natalie?” I called out.

At the sound of her name, she turned around, her face lighting up with recognition and happiness. “Oh, Katrina!” she squealed.

Damn, why do they all squeal?

Natalie and I were good friends, along with Luke, who was her mate. But I had yet to see him around. Natalie, Luke, Xander, and I were all close friends. But ever since Natalie and Luke became mates, it was always the two of them, and then Xander and me. They were older, but I didn’t mind. Xander was good company.

“I’ve missed you so much, and girl, you look so hot,” Natalie exclaimed loudly.

“Baby, I was outside, and I can still hear you. Tone it down a little,” Luke's voice cut in as he walked in, his usual cocky swagger on display. He had short, dirty blonde hair and brown eyes, which, coincidentally, matched Natalie’s. He was a good-looking guy, but his personality was a bit much for me.

“Damn, Katrina, you’ve gotten taller. How’ve you been?” Luke pulled me into a quick side hug before wrapping his arm around Natalie’s waist. We all stood around the kitchen island while Xander had gotten me a plate and filled it with food.

I gratefully took the plate and began eating. “Catching up to you, lucky-pukey,” I teased Luke, knowing it would make him cringe. “And I’ve been great. How about you two lovebirds?”

“You know I hate being called that,” Luke groaned, though he had a small smile on his face. “But all in all, we’ve been at our happiest together.”

I smiled softly, watching them, though it wouldn't look like I'd be getting my happily-ever-after with my mate. I could at least enjoy seeing two people in love living out their own.

“We should all go out like old times. Or we could go for dinner,” Natalie suggested, glancing between Xander and me. We exchanged a look, shrugged, and agreed.

“Great. Well, I’m going to go change real quick. Training starts in half an hour.” Natalie kissed Luke’s cheek before darting up the stairs. “Do you mind if I borrow some of your clothes for training? I stayed the night here and don’t have any of my own.”

“Of course you can. Follow me.” Natalie led me to her room, and after rummaging through her wardrobe, we finally found a set of clothes that would fit me. Her wardrobe didn’t offer much, but I managed to find something. I was slightly bigger around the hips and taller by about three inches, but we made it work.

“You look so hot,” Natalie said, her eyes wide with awe as she stared at me.

“And you’re just as beautiful, if not more,” I responded with a grin.

She snorted. “Yeah, right. I can’t even get the dream body I want. I’ll never be your level of pretty.”

Pulling her into a hug, I whispered, “Everybody is beautiful in their own way. You don’t need to have the perfect body to be pretty. It’s what’s on the inside that counts.”

“Yeah, right,” she muttered, but I could tell she was still upset about it. “And look, even your personality is perfect.”

I just chuckled, pulling her out of her room and down to the training arena. When we entered, many gasps were heard, and I was briefly unsure whether they were directed at me or Natalie. But when I turned to look, I saw that she wasn’t even in the room yet. I was used to attention. Jenny always told me that I had an aura that drew people in and made them attracted to me. I’d been hit on by many unmated and mated males — and even females. It disgusted me, but I had learned to deal with it.

Xander was spotted next to a man who looked awfully familiar, like Laurie. I made my way over to them, their conversation focused on the fight going on in the arena.

“Gentlemen,” I called out, grabbing their attention.

“Katrina,” Xander breathed, his voice full of admiration as his eyes trailed over me. I didn’t know how to feel about that. He was a married man.

But my attention was quickly drawn to the figure next to him — a man who stood at 6’3”, with curly brown hair and hazel eyes. His gaze was scrutinizing, and once again, another male made me uncomfortable.

“Katrina, you remember Matteo, right? Matteo, Katrina.” Xander gestured between us. Matteo held his hand out for me, and I shook it firmly. But instead of letting go, he brought it up to his lips and left a lingering kiss.

I saw Xander tense beside me but chose to ignore it.

“Laurie’s son? Correct?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, ma’am,” Matteo responded gently.

“You’ve grown up, Matteo,” I remarked.

“I could say the same for you, Katrina. You’ve become quite the woman. You always have been in my eyes.” He flirted, and I couldn’t help but smile softly at his kindness.

Before I could respond, Xander interrupted. “Will we be seeing you fight, Katrina?”

I felt adrenaline start to pump through my veins at the words. “Of course you will.”

“Who’s up for fighting Katrina in the ring?” Xander called out in his commanding Alpha voice.

No one moved. The silence stretched out before a voice squeaked from the back of the room.

“I will.”

I turned to see Luna Charlotte stepping forward.

"Luna Charlotte," I greeted, bowing my head in respect. "It would be an honor to fight with you."

She was dressed in booty shorts and a neon yellow sports bra, which looked flattering against her olive skin tone. Her hair was tied in a tight bun, while mine was braided in two Dutch braids. She smirked at me, walking toward the ring, deliberately swaying her hips for effect.

I turned to look at Xander, silently asking for his permission. He shrugged and gave me a slight nod.

As I walked toward the ring, I rolled my shoulders and cracked my neck and fingers, knowing I hadn’t warmed up. I couldn’t decide if I should go easy on her or not.

**Beat her ass for being so rude to us.** My wolf howled in joy.

**I don’t know. She’s our Luna.** I retorted.

“Don’t go easy on me, mutt,” Luna Charlotte taunted.

Alright, she wanted to put on a show.

“You know the rules: no killing, no fatal damage. The first to fall into submission loses,” Matteo called out, reciting the basic rules of training fights.

Before we knew it, the bell rang.

Luna Charlotte lunged at me, full speed, trying to take me down. But I simply sidestepped her, grabbed her wrist, spun her around, and delivered a punch to her stomach. I didn’t use all my strength, just enough to test her, but she was already on the floor crying.

I gave her time to get up. I wanted to see what she could actually do before I took her down. She swung her right fist at my face, but I dodged it and sent an uppercut to her chin, sending her head and body crashing against the ring wires.

She was out of breath, and I hadn

’t even broken a sweat.

“Well, that was fun,” I grinned, wiping my hands off on my pants. I didn’t even break a sweat.

Xander was looking at me like he had just seen a ghost.