Chapter 19: Chapter 19

Caden kept me company while Ria was nowhere to be found. I couldn't help but be annoyed at her. Where was she? The Alpha was decent, funny and had a slow, soothing accent. He asked me if I could walk along with him to the training ground. Mostly to call Aiden and take him back to the packhouse but also look around. I readily agreed, eager to see the training ground.

I stood awkwardly in the doorway to the building that housed the training sessions for the warriors.

There was a lot of space in the room, almost like the size of a town hall, and there were people dressed mostly in all black doing tasks around the entire room. Some were fighting, others, some were cleaning gear, and others were chilling on benches around the room while in the midst of a conversation.

"This is where we train", Caden hummed from the side. "Come along"

I took a step forward before someone cleared their throat loudly from beside me. Turning my head around, I instantly spotted a group of men, their gazes trained on me as I stood halfway in the gigantic room.

"Luna" They all bowed down.

My mouth parted open. I was not expecting that. Weakly smiling at them, I walked forward, eyes following around. That's when I saw the ring. Wolves were tearing at each other, without any mercy in their eyes, their growls almost making my ears close up. They were double the sizes of wolves I had ever seen, canines sharp as a knife. Huge paws settled over the ground, nostrils flaring as they gazed at each other.

What was going on? I had never seen two wolves of the same pack fight in the manner. Turning towards Caden, I raised my brow, "Why are those wolves fighting each other?"

"For survival"

"How so?"

"You might not know this every alpha of this pack must earn his place, or someone else will replace him", Caden started. "Daily rogues from distant places migrate here, seeking a place in our pack. To do that, they have to fight the existing Alphas."

My face scrunched at that. It sounded so inhuman as he said it out loud. Frightening for your place every single day must be exhausting. Just then, I heard the roars get louder, the paws of the wolves banging against the ground. My eyes turned around.

"W-What's happening?"

Caden's lips set in a firm line. "The new rogues challenges the Alpha."

"Who?"

"Aiden"

A few of them from my side snickered, shaking their heads. "They are dead now"

Chills ran down my spine. Was he that strong enough to take down all the rogues? The sound of my blood rushing echoed in my ears. I turned on my feet, eyes trained on the wolf that stood out the most—Alpha Aiden.

Alpha Aiden casually prowled out from the opened door he had impressively concealed itself in, canines bared and eyes dark as night. He padded his ginormous paws into the clearing, and I went rigid with terror.

The rogue—a dark black fur Alpha stood up to focus on the immediate threat, glaring at Aidens wolf.

With a howl, their fight began. The black fur rogue threw himself over Aiden, successfully managing to lay him flat on the ground.

The sudden force of a large body sitting on top of Aiden made it harder for him to gather any air back. I chewed on my lips, stomach in knots at the events unfolding. Why was anyone intervening?

Through the struggle, Aiden caught the motion of the claws that were currently reaching for his throat. Despite the large mass atop him, he managed to raise his arm and drive it straight into the rogue's eye.

Once the damage was done, the rogue immediately fell onto his side while clutching his eye. A trail of blood began to trail down his cheek, and his screaming made me cover my ears from the sensitivity. There was no time for Aiden to stand up before another rogue attacked him.

He braced for impact, his muscles tensing, but somehow he swung it out for the Alpha's throat. The rogue let go and gasped in pain, and Aiden took the opportunity to dive in for the final, stabbing blow. Blood splattered across his face.

Our eyes met for the briefest of second before Aiden's wolf stormed out. Everyone cheered, howling for the victory of their Alpha.

"Another win", Caden whispered under his breath.

"Excuse me?"

"I meant good for him." The Alpha quickly corrected.

"Oh"

Someone interrupted us. They pulled Caden aside and mumbled something in his ear. I could catch any of it even with my super hearing. He raced towards me, an apologetic smile on his face.

"Luna, sorry to cut this short, but I have to leave."

"Thanks for walking me here."

He had to wrap up everything and couldn't waste any more time. The Alpha stood at the edge of the door, rocking back and forth on his heels.

He chuckled. "It was my privilege, Luna."

"Uhh...can you please call me Rose?"

Caden stilled for few seconds, deep in thought before shrugging. "Alright, Rose"

Once he bid me goodbye, I heard footsteps from behind. Turning around, my eyes widened at the sight of Aiden.

"Who bought you here?" He sneered cruelly, hands balled in fists.

I trembled under his stare, fearing that he may lung at my throat the same way. Clenching my eyes shut, I stared at my feet, suddenly finding them to be more interesting.

"I can smell your fear." The Alpha said. His voice was low, and, if I weren't mistaken, he sounded confused. Like it didn't any make sense to him. With the way Aiden acted with me half of the times, he should feel happy.

"S-Sorry." I croaked, my hands wrung together.

Just then, the window rattled in the distance, and the smell of hot food wafted in the air. My stomach rumbled in protest. I was starving, and I hadn't been able to escape to our cabin and sneak some food. The snow outside was thick, and there was no visibility. Without an Alphas sense of direction, I would get lost.

"You're hungry?"

"Umm...I was waiting for you"

"I told you we are not real mates," He said in a clipped tone.

I winced at the ugly reminder. Why did he bring that up every time? As if I could ever forget his rules or that he hates me.

"T-There's a tradition of your pack..." I exhaled, still not meeting his eyes. "To...to have breakfast with the newly mated couple. So I came looking for you."

He was staring at me so intently that when I glanced over at him, my breath hitched in the throat. "Oh."

From the corner of my eyes, I could the other soldiers staring at us. Most of them had teasing grins on their faces, possibly expecting us to act lovey-dovey with each other.

I was sure that Aiden saw that too. He used his head to gesture towards the door. "Let's go."

The Alpha reached over and grasped my hand in front of everyone, not breaking eye contact at all.

***