The Alpha’s Warrior Mate

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EMILY'S POV

--

Despite everything that went wrong today, I feel great--I thought that I'd be miserable, or sad, but the truth is, Haiden was and never will be the one for me.

I lay down on my bed, staring at the ceiling as I contemplate on how to ruin his life, but it's actually pretty simple, I just have to flaunt my success in his face and it became easier when Alpha Cade gave me the beta position.

My door slowly creaks open, and my mother peeks her head inside. Her tired eyes and messy hair make her look drunk, but I'm proud to say I haven't found any alcohol in the house today. I prop myself up onto my elbows, "Hi," I breathe out and she slowly strides in, "You're back," she gently rubs her arm, looking very unsure of what to actually say.

"I am," I couldn't fight the smile, and I didn't need to. I quickly sit up, crossing my legs and I pat my bed. "Come sit," I beam, "I have exciting news." A small smile lifts her eyebrows and she strides over, sitting down.

I think this is the first time since my dad died that she actually came into my room sober.

"What is it?" her shoulders raise, "So the brutal news first," I inhale deeply, chewing on my bottom lip when I wait for her to say or ask me, anything, but her silence is also a respond. "I rejected Haiden after finding him in bed with another girl."

I refuse to call Sienna a woman, because she isn't. She's still a kid, living off her father's money, and has no responsibilities.

"What?" her eyes narrow, "You rejected the future alpha because he slept with someone else?" she snaps, and the excitement of thinking she understood me vanishes in the blink of an eye.

"He cheated on me."

She rolls her eyes, "But of course you don't care." I shake my head, and her eyes widen, "I do, but that was the only thing that could've given us our life back. You would've had a great life, do you not care about that? Don't you care about your future?"

I see her point now, and she just wants the best for me. I'm just used to her not caring about me, and now she does and I don't even notice it at first.

I reach forward, grabbing her hand in mine, "Mom," I breathe out, “I got the beta's job.”

Her eyes widen and they glass over, a small smile spreading across her face. Her hands squeeze mine, "You did?"

Her joyful gaze makes me smile widely and she pulls me into her arms. I lean forward as I hug her back, and with her arms tightly squeezing my shoulders, she starts to sob. "He'll be so proud," she whispers through her crying, her shoulders shaking as she clings to me.

"Mom," I croak out when I start to struggle to breathe and she lets go of me, giggling as she pushes me back. "Sorry, I'm just so proud," she holds my hands, squeezing hard. "Thanks, but right now, I need to sleep because tomorrow is my first day," I beam and she nods, gently touching my cheek. She rubs her finger across my cheek, "Of course, goodnight." she gets up and leaves. I have too much pride to tell her that I'm going to taunt Haiden, it wouldn't be fair to put that on her---Our mothers are friends, and I don't want to tell her that I'm going to make her friend's son's life hell.

--

Strutting towards Alpha Cade and Haiden as they stand side by side, supervising as the guards warm up by running laps makes me sweat. I rub my hands against my white flex shorts and pull my tight elastic shirt down an inch to cover my stomach.

Haiden notices me first, and while I avoid eye contact with him, I force a smile, directed at Alpha Cade, who smiles widely when he sees me. His loud whistle rounds up the entire training group and they form a circle around us.

"Troops, this is Emily. I'm sure all of you recognize her. She is the late Beta Eric's daughter, and completed an intense training course that I sent my son to do. She will take over the role of Beta, until her own child takes over one day and yes, she's a woman, but you will have respect." he demands, but no one is looking at me with disrespect, until Sienna shows up, pushing her way through the crowd.

"Haiden, your lap dog is here." I beam, standing with my hands behind my back. Alpha Cade turns his head, looking right at her as she strolls over to Haiden. "Haiden, get her out of here." Alpha Cade demands, his cold tone even making me want to disappear.

"Screw you," Haiden murmurs as he strides past me, grabbing Sienna by the arm and he drags her away. "You can't be here," he whispers to her, and I'm not even hiding that I'm listening off. "Emily, are you ready to show us what you've learned?" Alpha Cade asks. I straighten my back, "Did you have Haiden show off?" I ask respectfully.

Alpha Cade's face falls before his eyes widen again, "You're just like your dad." he snorts, crossing his arms over his chest before he turns to the rest of the pack. "Don't spoil her," Haiden's demand makes me look at him, right in the eyes.

He thinks he can ruin me, but he won't.

"I bet she didn't even finish her training, so let her show us. Let her fight!" he bellows, which makes the rest of the training group bellow in excitement. One look from Alpha Cade shuts them up, and he inches closer to Haiden, “I have personally spoken to every Alpha where she trained, and you will not undermine her ability to do something faster than you.”

The silence that follows is awkward, and the vibe is cold, "I'll fight," I shrug, making sure to stare right into Haiden's baffled gaze, "You don't have to," Alpha Cade stands up for me, "I want to, five guys and if I make it to the final round..." I look at Haiden once more, "It's you and me," I grin. His honey orbs I once found so unique are now a plain brown blurb. He holds out his hand, "Deal," he deadpans, but my gaze bounces down to his outstretched hand and brushes past him, "Game on," I whisper, making sure our shoulders touch. Alpha Cade's chuckle makes me smile as I go and stand on the other side of him, away from Haiden. Alpha Cade turns to me, "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asks in a mere whisper, so I nod. I'm not the kind of girl to back out of a challenge, and I am certain that I can beat all of them, I am certain that I can even beat Haiden. It doesn't matter that he has Alpha blood running through his veins, he's always been weak and lazy.

"Let the games begin," Haiden bellows, stepping into the center of the circle and his head slowly turns, his eyes locking on mine as his lips form a sly grin.

He thinks he's all that, but the harsh truth is, he would've been nothing if it wasn't for his family line. I can't believe I used to be obsessed with someone who didn't have a care in the world. I use to believe that he was kind, I use to believe that he was my best friend, but all he ever was is fake.

I step forward, escaping the shadows of Alpha Cade's protection, "And let us all watch as I beat all of you," It wasn't a joke, but it made everybody laugh and hyped up. "Who volunteers to fight?" Haiden asks, clapping his hands. All of them look around, and one by one, hands raise into the air as they choose their fate.

“……”

And as promised, I'm the last one standing, huffing as I stare at Haiden laying on the ground beneath me. "You loose," I grin while sitting on him. His eyes narrow, and he bucks his hips, but I've learned how not to tumble over. His ridiculous attempt to throw me off makes me laugh.

"We have a winner," Alpha Cade booms, and to my surprise, the training group claps along.

I let go of his arms that I have pinned to his chest, and I whip my hair back as I sit up, "You are pathetic," I snort and get off him. As I stand and turn to face Alpha Cade, Sienna stands a few feet behind him, glaring at me with hatred, but she doesn't affect me, because now I know that I can beat the future Alpha.

Alpha Cade gives me a high five, and when Haiden storms over, his smile falters, "You have competition, and perhaps if you didn't f**k around, you would've had a worthy mate." he stares at Haiden with disappointment, and even though it feels great to hear what he said, it somehow hurts to think how I would've felt if my dad had said that to me, but he wouldn't because I always did everything to make him proud.

I turn to face Haiden, smiling while he glares at me. "Heard that? You have competition." I raise my brows, and turn my attention towards the training group. "Well that was fun, but we need to train. I think we can all say that we don't want pointers from Haiden," I tease, which makes him growl lowly into my direction, but he doesn't affect me. He is not the Alpha yet, and right now he's just my boss' son.

Watch out Haiden, because I'd have your job within a month.