Hybrid Alpha’s Prettiest Obsession

surprise, surprise

Malakai

I staggered towards the exit, forcing my feet to keep moving. We reeked of blood and sweat, and my vision blurred like a bad dream I couldn’t wake from. Wulfgar stayed close, dragging his tired legs alongside me. His eagle perched awkwardly on his shoulder, pecking at scraps of rogue flesh half-heartedly. It was clearly too exhausted to do much else.

We were done, or so I thought. The idea of collapsing somewhere quiet sounded blissful until I heard the unmistakable sound of clapping.

What in bloody hell…?

I looked up, and there he stood: Pompeo, dressed in that annoyingly spotless uniform of his, waiting at the entrance with a smug grin stretched across his face. Behind him were a group of finely dressed men and women clapping with a slow yet deliberate enthusiasm, like we’d just performed a dance routine at a royal gala.

I frowned, wiping the blood off my face with the back of my hand. Wulfgar stopped beside me, bent over slightly with both hands on his knees as he panted like a dog. He must have had a hard time catching up to me, same as his eagle, which gave a weak squawk as it snapped at his ear, clearly irritated.

"You're bloody joking, right?" I muttered under my breath, glancing between Pompeo and the applauding crowd.

To that, Wulfgar straightened up, rubbing his temple as if he had a headache. "Don’t ask me. I’ve got no idea what they’re clapping about." He fished into his coat pocket and pulled out a dried morsel of meat, tossing it lazily to his familiar.

The eagle caught it mid-air with a tired flap of its wings, looking as unimpressed as Wulfgar.

I turned to Natalie. She stood a few feet away, wiping her hands on her trousers. I paused. Her expression was as bright as a summer morning, and her smile stretched just a bit too wide—like someone who knew exactly what was going on but was pretending otherwise.

I gave her a hard look. "This was you, wasn’t it?"

She shrugged, all innocent-like, but the sparkle in her eye gave her away. "You’re welcome."

Before I could say anything else, one of Pompeo’s men—a tall guy with a clipboard—stepped forward and gave an exaggerated bow. "On behalf of the council, elites, and the people of the pit, we thank you, Alpha Malakai, for your heroic efforts. You have saved us all."

Saved them? Right. As if I’d planned any of this.

Pompeo himself took a step forward, giving me a slow nod with an unreadable expression. What was he planning now? His large mouth opened. "Without your intervention, the pit would have fallen." He dramatically bowed, and his men followed suit, lowering their heads in perfect sync.

It was all very official and annoying.

I glanced at Wulfgar, hoping for some sort of explanation. But he gave me a tired shrug, popping his neck as if to say, “Well, we’re here now... might as well roll with it.”

Before I could respond, a medic approached, eyeing the blood covering me from head to toe. “Sir, we need to get you patched up—”

Natalie cut her off with a gentle smile. “I’ll handle it.”

The medic hesitated but nodded, clearly deciding that arguing with Natalie wasn’t worth the trouble. I didn’t mind. Truth be told, I’d rather deal with Natalie’s smug smile than the sharp end of a medic’s needle.

When Pompeo straightened, his polite smile had shifted into something sharper. Gone was the kind man. “Now," he said in a low and wicked voice. “Now, do the Alpha a favour and find all those who tried to escape and bring them back. Now!"

The crowd tensed. I could feel the shift in the air just as the polite applause gave way to something colder. Everyone didn't want halflings and humans roaming about. I sighed. Of course, he’d ruin the moment. And of course, I couldn’t bloody well stop him—not with everyone watching.

If I tried, it would only make things worse.

As his men hurriedly left, the crowd began chanting in one loud voice.

“Alpha! Alpha! Alpha!” The word echoed through the pit, bouncing off the walls and rattling in my skull.

I shot Wulfgar a dead look. "Please tell me this isn't going to become a thing."

Wulfgar snorted, wiping his sticky hands on his trousers. "Looks like it already has."

Their chanting continued, even louder and more insistent, until it felt like the walls themselves were vibrating. "Alpha! Alpha!"

“Enjoying your new fan club?" Natalie leaned in, grinning and practically glowing.

If only these people knew why I had fought off the rogues myself. I groaned, running a hand through my hair. "You did this on purpose, didn’t you?"

She gave me a playful wink. "Maybe."

The crowd surged closer, eager to congratulate me, touch my back, and shake my hand. I felt a headache coming on. "Pompeo," I called over the noise. "If you could wrap this up before my brain leaks out of my ears, that’d be great."

But that snake smirked, clearly enjoying himself. “Oh, but this is your moment, Alpha. Bask in it.”

I shot him a look that said I’d rather bask in a pit of vipers. Immediately, he shrank away, subtly asking his men to wrap it up. Then I felt Conrad nudge me with his elbow.

"You heard the man. Bask, Alpha Malakai."

"I'll bask you in a minute," I muttered, shaking off the hands that kept trying to pull me into the crowd.

Natalie laughed softly beside me, and I hated how her laughter made everything feel just a little less awful. Did

Did Mina make it out safely? I occupied my mind with that instead. With the chanting slowly dying down, Pompeo's men scattered, moving with military precision to hunt down the escapees. And all I could do was stand there, plaster a tired smile on my face, and pretend this was exactly where I wanted to be.

On the other hand, Conrad Wulfgar gave me a lazy salute. "Well, Alpha, enjoy the limelight. I’ll be over there feeding my bird if you need me."

"Helpful as ever," I muttered, watching him stroll away with his eagle perched on his shoulder like some kind of scruffy pirate.

And me? I just stood there, wondering how in hell I’d let myself end up in this mess.

"Alpha," they kept chanting.

I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck.

This was going to be a long night.

After a while, I found a good, quiet place to sit and nurse my wounds. Natalie stood a little too close with her smug satisfaction practically radiating off her. I could feel her watching me out of the corner of her eye, waiting for me to say something. Anything. When I didn’t, she leaned in, ready to speak in a saccharine sweet voice, but in reality, her words jabbed a knife to my ribs.

“Not pleased with the surprise, are you?”

I gave a low grunt, half amused, half irritated. “Didn’t know the princess would swoop in to save the prince.” I made sure the sarcasm dripped off every word.

Natalie’s smile faltered, but she covered it quickly by clearing her throat. "I might be fragile, but my father trained me well enough." She folded her arms, as if that were supposed to mean something.

“Right," I muttered. "Did he also train you to dab perfume on your sword?” I wasn't happy with her, so she took the brunt of my anger.

She scowled and marched over to the supplies without missing a beat. She was like a little child... ‘My father trained me well indeed’. I mocked, watching her grab a wad of cotton and dip it in alcohol in an expression that tightened with purpose. I sat down heavily on the bench near the edge of the pit, stretching my muscles that ached from the fight, even though the real pain was from somewhere deeper.

Natalie returned now, crouching beside me with a makeshift medical kit. She swabbed at the gash on my shoulder with far more force than necessary. Oh, her anger was clear in every swipe.

The sting shot through me, but I didn’t flinch; I just stared down at her with a blank expression. That made her even more angry as her brows pinched with focus on cleaning the wound. She bit her lip like she was trying to hold in whatever insult she was dying to spit at me.

Her determination was so annoying that she reminded me of someone. It wasn’t Natalie I saw crouching before me. In my mind, it was Mina.

That blond hair. The sly, knowing smile that always lingered at the corners of her mouth. The way her voice lilted when she teased me, as if every word was a private joke I wasn’t quite smart enough to get. She was gone now, and yet, here I was, finding traces of her in every look Natalie gave me.

The thought should’ve died out, but instead, I found myself strangely... pleased. Not by Natalie, but by what was coming.

Pompeo would catch Mina soon. I’d made sure of that.

Before I left my guards with her, I’d given them orders—secret orders. No one was to let them out of the city. If they made it as far as the gates, they were to be turned around, cornered, and kept under close watch until Pompeo fetched her.

Because I wasn’t ready to let her go. Not yet. Not until I decided what she deserved. Natalie pressed the cotton harder against the wound, dragging me back to the moment. I hissed through my teeth. Although it wasn't the pain that made me do that.

"Sorry," she muttered, though she didn’t sound the least bit apologetic. "Hold still."

"I didn’t know you cared so much," I said dryly.

Her gaze flicked up to meet mine. "Careful. I might surprise you again."

I gave a low chuckle, though there was no humour in it. “I’ve had about enough surprises for one day.”

She dabbed at my shoulder again, more carefully this time, as if trying to make up for the earlier assault.