Rejected Alpha

Chapter Nine

I quickly learned that Max was an extremely bubbly person to be a man, much less a warrior. I also found out fairly quickly that I liked him. He was funny, and was always smiling. The whole way up to my room he was joking about Blaze having his ass handed to him by his dad. He grew serious though when he spoke of the possibility of Blaze coming to potentially hurt me. I noticed when he spoke of it his usual bright blue eyes darkened too almost black.

“Hey, are you okay?” I ask, stopping at my door and staring at his eyes. “Your eyes keep going dark.” Max looked down at me in bewilderment before realization crossed his eyes and he burst out laughing. “What’s so funny?” I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Nothing. I just forget you’re new to this. When a wolf gets mad in their human form their wolf will rise to the surface wanting out. So when you saw my eyes go dark it meant my wolf Xander was close to forcing a shift.”

“Wait, they can do that?” I balked.

“If the need is there, yes. Most of the time the wolf can be easily calmed. But anger is our downfall. When we get angry usually only out mate can calm us.”

“So why was Xander so mad?” I asked turning to unlock the door and motioned him in. He hesitated at the door. “He said to guard me he didn’t say from where.” I gave him a pointed look.

Max laughed before coming in and shutting the door behind him. “He was angry at the idea of Blaze hurting you.” His words finished on a growl. I turned and arched a brow. “Sorry.” He muttered.

“Do you all really think I am a helpless female that needs protecting?” I quired.

“Hell no.” Max shouted excitedly. “We all saw how you made Blaze look down in submission, and how you blatantly challenged our alpha without so much as a flinch. I know he asked you to but damn girl. No one has ever been able to go toe to toe with alpha Elijah before.”

“I believe it. His alpha aura is stifling.” I tell him, remembering how it felt when his power washed over me almost pulling me to my knees. I would never give any one the satisfaction at seeing me on my knees. “So why does Xander keep getting upset?” I call back over my shoulder as I rifle through my clothes for something to sleep in.

“I don’t know.” I heard the sincerity in his voice. “Xander just…he feels protective of you.”

“Is that normal?” I came and sat next to him, eager for his answer, but also excited someone was sitting down with me and actually answering some questions. It was like “Hey you’re a werewolf.” Then kick me out into a world I know nothing about without even asking me if I had any questions. Because that has went over swimmingly so far.

“For you to be a stranger, and not officially part of the pack, yes. Xander don’t like many people. He doesn’t even like Blaze. In face the only person besides you he likes is my mom.”

“Oh, well. Uh…I’m not sure what to say to that.” I told him honestly.

“He really likes Ruby too.” Max laughed.

“How does he know Ruby?”

” Like we can communicate, out wolves can communicate as well. Lets just say they talk on a different radio frequency than we do.”

“Oh,” Was all I said. I wondered who all Ruby has spoken to. Not that it was any of my business. If she wanted to have a private conversation, who was I to stop her? We may share a body but we have two souls, and she is free to do as she wants. As long as she plays nice.

“I resent that.” Ruby pouted. “I’m nice.”

“Yeah, unless someone looks at us the wrong way or says something you don’t like.” I laugh.

“Fine. I’m not friendly, but I am nice. I didn’t kill your precious alpha, did I?”

“Okay one, Elijah is not my “precious alpha” That’s gross. He has a son my age for heaven’s sake Ruby.” I sigh. Unbelievable. What was this wolf thinking?

“Oh be real Sera. I saw you ogling him.” Ruby teased.

“Well can you blame me? Just because he’s older don’t mean he isn’t hot as hell. Anyone would be blind not to see that.”

“Touché” Ruby finally relented.

“You okay there Nia?” Max’s voice pierced through my fog addled mind.

“Oh, yeah sorry. Argument with Ruby, waif. What did you call me?” I turned and asked.

“Nia. Because your name Is Seraphina. Nia at the end.”

“Huh.” I smiled. I never even thought of that. Most people called me Sera for short. But I liked Nia. It was cute. A bit girly, but cute all the same. I decided that would be Max’s nickname. No one else could call me that unless I gave them explicit permission to do so. “I like it.” Max just gave me his goofy grin, his eyes shining.

We sat and talked a few more hours. He tried explaining to me more about werewolves and their ways. Told me there were a lot more that hid among humans since they could blend in so well. To my astonishment he told me that other supernaturals do exist and I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Werewolves, sure, I can handle that. I am one after all. But vampires? Demons? Dragons? Cat shifters? What else was out there that hadn’t been discovered yet? How many other supernaturals were around us that were just staying hidden? It wasn’t a comfortable question to be circling around in my head. Though, I already knew about dragons. Well, kinda knew.

Max did eventually decide that he had been distracted by me enough and was going to stand guard where he was supposed to be in the first place. I didn’t stop him; I didn’t want him getting into trouble with Elijah. Even if I would tell Elijah, it was my fault. And it was, I wanted to know things, and I wanted to know so much more even now. Especially more about this mate bond. And why it was so special. I mean yeah it was cool of this goddess to give us our perfect match, but was it as good as it sounds? Were wolves really spending a lifetime looking for their mate? Without just giving up and taking a partner of their choosing? I honestly didn’t know how I felt having my life lain out like that without any input of my own. Then again, I as I understood you could get rejected and reject your mate yourself, though I was told it was painful. I guess it was kind of a punishment for basically saying “f**k you” to the goddess and what she had apparently gifted the werewolves with. I couldn’t blame her, so I saw both sides point of view, I guess. Did that really matter though?

I also wondered if I had a mate. By how I understood mom you can’t find your mate until you at least have your wolf. Which for most was their eighteenth birthday. Mine came a lot earlier than planned so maybe mine wasn’t eighteen yet. Or he just wasn’t in this pack. Would I even accept a mate if I did find him? All of this was still so new, I honestly wasn’t sure. And how could I be? I still knew next to nothing. Just the forefront details of this world. I’m sure there were laws, rules I didn’t know. Like were the different packs their own to make laws for? Or was there a supreme leader of the werewolves who made the laws and the packs make their own rules? Was there really a difference if so?

I plopped down on my bed with a sigh, looking up to the ceiling both tired and too wired at the same time. I knew I needed to get some rest for training tomorrow, and I couldn’t wait to get started. Would the others take it easy on me because I was a female? I wrinkled my nose. I sure hope not. If so, they will learn rather quickly this female could and would put them on their backs. I wasn’t about to appear weak with them. Especially since I knew I was the furthest thing from weak. I also have never fought a wolf before, so in the very least it should be interesting to find out.

When I woke the next morning, I was so excited I was jittery. I was more than ready to begin training with the other warriors. Did they have female warriors? Would I be the only one? Hopefully not, but either way it wouldn’t matter. I could still put the male warriors on their ass. That by itself was incentive enough to get ready quickly and make my way down to the kitchen. I knew better than to eat a large meal before training so I went and grabbed a banana, then made my way to the training grounds.

I was surprised to find many were already there warming up. It was only five in the morning after all. I just shrugged, finishing off my banana then sat and started my stretches. No way was I getting a cramp while running or fighting. How embarrassing would that be? What I did find to be nerve wracking was everyone was staring at me as I stretched. I tried to ignore them, but it was impossible. The hair-raising sensation of having eyes on me more than I could take.

“What?” I snapped, cutting a flip to my feet as I stared them all down. No one answered, just staring at me with their jaws on the ground. Really? I arched a brow at them, both confused and amused at their reaction to me. It was then I finally got a look around. No women. Why were there no women here? Did they not train with everyone else? Or even train at all? “Do women not train here with you?” I asked.

“Uh. No.” A red head answered as he moved over to me. “Women train on their own. Which is where you should be.” He snarked, a smirk. The other behind him audibly gasped, quickly taking a step back away from the red head who approached me.

“Oh really?” I smiled at him. “Why don’t you show me why women can’t train here. Surly you men aren’t that much better than they are. Right?” I asked, trying to lace my voice with the most innocence I could muster. It must have worked because the man’s eyes flickered with lust. Ok, ewe. I suppressed the urge to shudder under his gross, lustful gaze.

“I can do that.” He said his voice husky.

Oh, ugh. So not happening buddy. I mean yeah, he was good looking. Red hair that almost looked like rust. His eyes were a vibrant hazel, while his skin was pale. Which by itself was weird considering I had only come across bronze gods here. He was a breath of fresh air really. He was tall, though still not as tall as the others. I wondered if he was a runt. Wolves had runts, right?

Obviously seeing me distracted. (Or what he thought was me being distracted.) He surged forward. I laughed, easily jumped out of his way, twisting in the air and delivering a blow to the back of his head. I landed on my feet and watched as the splayed out on the ground on his face. I laughed as he sat up and started spitting dirt from his mouth. The others were laughing too, which only serve to piss rusty off. Get it, rusty? Because of his hair? I chuckled to myself.

Rusty growled, as he turned to face me. Obviously not too thrilled with being showed up by a girl. He was supposed to be a warrior, he should know better than to lose his head so easily. I tsked under my breath as rusty made another go at me. No thought or strategy behind the action. His hands extended into claws and his face shifted to that of his wolf. Everything else stayed human. That was seriously not a sight I wanted to see. Like ever again. Talk about creepy.

His claws took a swipe at me. I dodged, grabbing his wrist and twisting it behind him. I held tight to his wrist as I dropped pulling him with me. He bent backward at an awkward angle and I kicked my leg out bringing him the rest of the way to the ground onto his back. I quickly pressed my knee to his chest and held his hands pinned to his chest. He thrashed beneath me but he couldn’t get loose.

“You have either not been paying attention to your training or your trainer has failed you. Your attack was messy and had no strategy. You assumed because your opponent was female you could easily overpower her. Never get too cocky in yourself. A female could easily out do you in strategy alone. Brute strength will not always win.” I added pressure to his chest making him grunt in pain. “If you were my enemy your chest would be caved in right now.” I warned, standing to my feet.

I held my hand out to rusty to help him up. His eyes narrowed at my hand, a sneer curling his lips. I could see what he had planned and I sighed inwardly. Rusty reached for my hand pulling me down towards him. I easily maneuvered myself to where I could use his body weight against him. Instead of falling on him, I added momentum to his pull making me land at his head. With my momentum added to his I tossed him over my head several feet away and into a tree.

“Sloppy,” I said as I stood to my feet. “Your eyes give you away when you plan to attack. “Never look to where you plan to attack. If you want to throw a punch to someone’s stomach, don’t look there. Make them think you are going for something else. Always think one move ahead. Study your opponent, learn how they move. Analyze them for any signs of weakness and use it against them. Do not overestimate yourself. That mistake could cost your life and your teams life.”

“She’s right.” Elijah’s voice came from behind me. I turned to him and gave him a small smile. The man beside him was a freaking mountain. Elijah was tall but this man stood a good six inches above him. His muscles bulged in a gross kind of way making his veins protrude harshly. He looked like he took way too many steroids.

“You know better than that Mason.” The mountain said harshly. “You have just made a fool of me to this female alpha.

“I…..I’m sorry.” Rusty stammered, his eyes darting from the mountain to his training team. The team all looked fearful, stepping further away from Rusty.

I sighed, dropping my head into my hands shaking my head. “You all really need to work on your teamwork.” I hissed. “This man, despite him being your trainer. No offense.” I turned to him. “He posed an obvious threat to your teammate and you all stepped away from him leaving him to his fate. You all have just demonstrated your loyalty was only to yourselves. How do you all expect anyone to trust you if you can’t stand beside him for something so small?” I looked over the entire group of wolves before me, their heads cast down in what looked to be shame.

“You expect them to stand against me?” The mountain of a man’s voice sounded angry behind me.

“Yes.” I turned to him without hesitance. “Whether or not you intended harm is not the point. You being their trainer is not the point. The point is rusty here saw you as a threat in the moment. His team saw he viewed you as a threat and done nothing. A team does not shy away from a threat no matter what form that threat comes in. Now in no way do I think anyone should stand against Elijah here. That could cause more harm than good and it is extremely disrespectful to him as alpha.”

“But you.” I turned back to the mountain man. “You, though clearly strong do not have the same status as Elijah. Which means even if they do not attack you. Which they shouldn’t.” I turned and gave the men a pointed look before turning back to mountain. “They should still stand as a united team.”

Elijah laughed, clapping the mountain on the back. “She is right Felix.” Elijah’s tone light. “A team should stand as one even when the odds are against them.”

The mountain I now knew as Felix smiled. It was creepy honestly and I cringed away from him. There was something extremely wrong with this man. His entire stance was off, his aura tainted. Animosity plumed off of him in waves but it wasn’t directed at me. Or even the men behind me. It was towards Elijah. A glint in the mountain’s eye caught my attention, his gaze barely flickering towards Elijah. Why now? I groaned before lunging forward just as mountain man turned towards Elijah. His hand was already morphed into a claw and his aim was directly aimed for Elijah’s throat.