Ashton's POV:
I'm unsure about the Alpha that Sage left myself and Owen with. I met him earlier today and I don't dislike him, but he's physically bigger than me and he could probably kill both Owen and I with ease.
"Sage, I'm not a babysitter!" Zach exclaims when Sage tries to run off and do his tasks. "Uh... hey guys?"
Owen and I share an uncomfortable look, and Zach looks just as awkward, so I'm able to relax a little bit.
"Uh, I'm training with the pups in a bit, so you two can hang out here, I suppose."
Owen scoffs. "So you won't babysit us but you'll babysit pups?" he asks, and that's a pretty forward question for an Alpha who could break him in half with one hand.
Zach's eyes sparkle when he looks at my friend.
Am I missing something here?
A group of parents arrives with their kids, all of them looking to be between seven and ten. They're all in human form and Owen sits beside me while Zach hands them all wooden fencing swords.
I know this pack is full of warriors who are strong in their wolf form, but I didn't know they did fighting in their human forms as well. It's incredible to see and very inspiring because it means they take the protection of their pack mates seriously.
Owen sighs and watches Zach train a couple of pups on how to hold their swords.
"Am I missing something?" I ask, and Owen blushes. "Did we both find our mates in this pack?"
He nods. "Yeah... I sensed it last night and so did he, but I was nervous so I hid and accidentally met him this morning. I may have ran again but he tracked me down and said he accepted me... I don't even know what that means, honestly, but he says I can spend the night with him tonight and he'll protect me and teach me to protect myself. He cares about me, Ash."
"I'm happy for you, Owen," I say, smiling for my friend as he watches his mate longingly. "Do you care that he's an Alpha? I know we are but he's a big Alpha."
Owen's face goes red again. "I like that he's a built Alpha, especially because of how kind he is. It makes me feel safe."
"That's good," I agree. "Sage makes me feel safe, too, even though he's smaller than me."
"Hey! Do you two want to help with training?" Zach calls and Owen is immediately at his side, leaning against him.
I'm wary even though Owen seems very eager.
"How are we supposed to train pups?" I ask, and Zach grins as the pups surround him eagerly. "I've never been around a pup before, Zach. I'm not sure about this."
Owen sits down on the ground and the younger pups eagerly crawl over him and giggle when he tickles them. My friend seems to be having a great time, and it doesn't surprise me, because he never got to be a child so he must have fun with the hopeful, playful pups.
"Well, for stamina training, we shift into our wolf forms and we play tag. The pups try to catch us and we avoid them. It helps their stamina and they also get to play," Zach explains, pulling off his shirt.
I turn around but I catch Owen continuing to gape at his mate as he undresses. We all shift and so do the pups, and the game is on, with the pups running after myself, Owen, and Zach.
It's actually really fun and I feel at ease, running around with my friend and his mate. Of course, I wish my own mate was here, but he has important stuff to do and I don't trust myself to be around Omegas. I've already caused them enough pain and grief.
Owen tackles me and pushes me in the way of a pup who was on his tail so I get tagged. Owen yips and wags his tail, an ironically wolfish grin on his face as he trots over to Zach and watches me get covered by pups who are leaving nips all over me.
Zach lets out a gentle howl to get the attention of the pups. He tackles Owen and leaves him on the ground for the pups to attack.
I don't think I fear Zach anymore.
Especially because Owen deserves to be attacked by a group of pups after leaving me behind as bait for them.
Eventually the parents of the kids arrive and they're all told to shift back and go home. As soon as the field is clear, we shift back as well and get back into our clothes. We're all sitting in the grass when the scent of an Alpha wafts through the air.
I look over and see a lone Alpha coming into the field, and he's heading right toward me. For a second I think he may be a friend of Zach's but there is a menacing aura about him that makes me waver and scoot closer to Owen and Zach, who are both cuddling in the grass.
"What's wrong?" Zach asks me, before he notices the Alpha. "Ethan, you are supposed to be patrolling, aren't you?"
The Alpha, Ethan, glares right at me and blatantly ignores Zach. "I can smell Sage all over you. You must be his mate that everyone's been talking about?" he asks me, and I nod, nervously meeting his eyes.
"Yes, I am," I murmur. "What is it to you?"
Zach chuckles. "Yeah, Ethan. Why do you care?"
"I care because I have more qualification to lead this pack alongside Sage than you ever will," Ethan growls. "So I'm challenging you."
My eyes widen and I hear Zach scoff.
"Oh, leave him alone," Zach says, rolling his eyes and pulling Owen closer to him. "Just ignore him, Ashton."
Ethan stands above me, so I'm not sure how Zach expects me to ignore the Alpha looming above me. Especially since he looks like he could take one of my old leaders in a fight, and that's not comforting.
"Ashton, is it?" Ethan asks, still towering over me. "Well, Ashton, I feel as though you are an inappropriate mate for Sage, and I'm challenging you to a fight. Defeat me and you prove that you're good enough to be with him. Lose... well, we can discuss what happens if you lose afterwards."
My heart beats faster.
What the hell is a challenge in this pack? If I lose, will I lose my mate? Will they force him to reject me and leave me on the edge of the pack to be torn apart by rogues? And if I reject his challenge, will that situation be even worse?
I don't know much about mating, but I do know mates want to take pride in each other. How could Sage ever take pride in me if I didn't even accept to take a fight for his hand?
"Ignore him," Zach tells me, but Ethan's glare has my attention more than Zach's voice does.
I stand up and try to match the other Alpha's glare, but I'm sure I look scared. "I accept your challenge," I growl, and I must say that it comes across as more aggressive than I thought myself capable of.
Ethan must notice as well because he backs away before he regains his composure. "Shift then and we'll begin. It's not a fight to the death, not that you'll be able to get me to that point anyway. We will go until the other simply cannot go on, whether it be loss of consciousness or injury. Would you like me to alert the doctor beforehand that you'll be there soon?"
I growl again, and I'm proud that I'm able to sound more menacing now that I'm pissed off. As much as I'm nervous, I cannot let that show; I need to prove that I am a worthy mate to Sage and I can be a good Alpha.
Even though I have no official training since we were more trained to be quick for raids as opposed to fighting other Alphas, I know I can figure it out. I am, at the very least, quick enough to avoid Ethan's claws and I hope I'll be able to get in a bite that is enough to get him to back down.
I really don't want to hurt him, but I want to be perfect for Sage. I want to be a good mate, and if this is what it takes, so be it.
Ethan shifts first and I follow suit, stretching to get myself ready for this.
"Zach, he doesn't know how to fight!" I hear Owen whisper. "Stop this!"
Zach clears his throat. "Ashton, Ethan, stop this at once."
I'm inclined to listen, but Ethan attacks and tackles me, going straight for my throat. I'm taken by surprise, thankfully my adrenaline kicks in and I shove him off of me, snarling at the other man.
Ethan leaps at me but I'm able to dodge him this time and I leap onto his back, digging my teeth into his scruff and drawing blood.
The blood makes me falter and reminds me of when I watched Liam die. Of course, my brief moment of distraction offers Ethan the upper hand and he manages to get me on my back. He claws at my stomach and my leg, pain overtaking me and making me howl in pain.
I can't lose this fight!
I try to push him off again, but Ethan was smart enough to bite my hind leg so I'm weakened. This isn't good for me and my biggest fear right now is losing this battle.
Ethan is grinning as he raised his paw to deliver a blow that will most likely open the path to lead me down the road to unconsciousness, but before he can land it, he's ripped off of me.
I sit up and I'm left in a deja vu situation, in which my mate is defending me from an Alpha.
Sage looks back at me and I realize that he's definitely not happy and he's probably going to be more upset when he realizes I lost the fight.
Did I lose my chance with my mate?
Sage shifts back and pulls on his sweater and sweats before throwing my clothes at me. "Both of you, follow me at once. We have to go to the doctor to get both of you treated. Zach, you and Owen are coming with us because I want a neutral voice telling me what exactly happened here. Understood?"
I obey, not making eye contact with my mate when he comes over to check my wounds and ensure I can walk to the doctor's building.
I'm silent for the entire walk, mentally preparing for my mate to reject me because of my stupidity.
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