Chapter 69: Chapter 69

I shakily paced from one end to the other, worrying my lips in between my teeth. From my peripheral vision, I could see Aiden staring at me. Caden and Fauna decided to wait by my side instead of standing with their groups. As I took another step ahead, an arm shot out and gripped at my elbow, tugging me back.

"You are making everyone nervous." Ellen made a sound as she met my eyes.

My cheeks heated up, roaming around only to see several other omegas staring at me. Exhaling, I turned to her. "Sorry, but I am not sure if I will win this one, Ellen."

She scoffed, a hand securing on my shoulder. "Are you fishing for compliments right now?" Before I could open my mouth to answer, Ellen cut me off. "You killed four rodents and were this close to taking the rabbit as well. Of course, you are winning this."

It was nothing impressive. The rodents were in a group and clumsy, or so I would like to think. My wolf was swift this time, thanks to all the training Ellen provided me with. She made me realise that my size could be an advantage, not to worry about having bulky bodies or builds like Alphas and betas of the pack. For an omega, four kills is a noteworthy achievement. I should be proud of it but instead barely managed to muster a weak smile.

"Thank you, Ellen," I whispered to the trainer, tilting my head towards Alexander as he began announcing the winners. My breath stuck in the throat, hands clammy and mouth dry as the guards rushed with the result.

"The omega who won is none other than our Luna, Rose!" The Pack Alpha hollered. "Congratulations, my dear!"

Loud cheers rang in my ears, several pairs of arms nudging me and trying to congratulate, but I froze in the spot. Tears filled my eyes, vision blurring for few seconds because I never expected this. An omega who was always left out and asked to stay in the back to winning the most kills was quite a journey.

"Rose!" Ellen shook me, almost breaking me out of my trance. Excitement coursed through the veins of my body, legs shaky as I hurried to stand on the platform.

Alexander brightly smiled at me, his hand reaching forward to congratulate me on the win. For a second, my eyes flickered towards my Alpha, whose lips were curled as well. Before he could catch me, I quickly looked away.

"Moving on", The Pack Alpha whispered. "The winner from the betas is Liam."

I clapped my hands, head-turning over towards him. For a mere second, I was under the allusion that Ria would be the winner. Liam immediately rushed by my side, a grin etched over his face. He bowed down when I congratulated him.

The Pack Alpha cleared his throat. "As for the Alphas, I am sure that everyone already knows this..." I clenched my eyes shut, hoping and praying silently that it was not him. "The winner is my son and your soon to be Pack Alpha, Aiden."

Air whooshed out of my lungs, shoulders dropping as I fluttered my eyes open. I twisted my lips, watching Caden's mouth purse in a line, but he was still clapping. My body went rigid as Aiden's scent got thicker, his footsteps echoing as he approached me.

The Alpha stood an inch away from me, his hand forwarded in my direction, eyes boring into me. I could feel several pack members staring at us, whispers ringing in my ears. Having no choice, I shook his hand, trying not to be affected by the sizzle it sent down my spine.

"Congratulations, omega."

"T-Thank you." I croaked, pulling and quickly clasping my both hands behind my back.

His lips twitched at the action, and he shuffled to stand next to me. There was a lot of space on Liam's side anyway. Why was he trying to get close to me?

Alexander shifted his attention between both of us, eyes glinting. The Pack Alpha angled his body, so he was directly addressing us. "Now that you have won the first round. This will be a bit different. We have a set a target, marked it for you, it's a bison, so you have to find and hunt the animal."

***

I heard the sound of my bones cracking, limbs stretching and breaking as I sprouted a thick coat of white fur, and fell from two legs onto four, suddenly in the form of a white wolf. As soon as we heard the howl, we took off, but Aiden stayed by my side.

"Why are you following me?" I asked him through the mind link.

"So now you can acknowledge my presence?"

I refrained from rolling my eyes. "Stop following me."

With that, I took a swift turn and put in all my might to push forward, wind whipping past me, legs shaky and breath getting erratic. Looking over my shoulder, I let out a sigh realising that Aiden was not trailing me anymore. Unbearable Alpha.

Lost in my thoughts, I couldn't find my breath, and soon enough, unable to steady my footing anymore. My body felt as if it was floating in the air for a few seconds, vision blurring, and my thoughts redirected as I lurched and fell downwards, my side hitting the ground roughly as I tumbled along the steep hill that my wolf failed to detect beforehand.

I felt every hit, grunting at almost every impact of thorns digging into my skin and rocks bashing into the flesh of my body. A sudden sharp pain raced through my side and spread through my entire body until I stopped at the end of the hill, my petite frame submerged in a large puddle of muddy water below. The water was cold and nipped at my skin as it splashed and rippled around me.

I threw my head back as my mouth opened, but no words came out but a groan. The smell of blood began to burn my nose as it stained the water red below, creating a puddle of now crimson mud.

Unable to bear the pain anymore, my body shifted back; naked, I laid at the bottom of a steep hill while bleeding from every gash and cut I received. Wincing, I tried to move my leg only to realise that I twisted my ankle in the process. I curled into the position, blood rushing to my cheeks.

Seconds went by before I heard someone calling out to me worriedly. It didn’t take a lot to recognise the source of the voice as he expertly slid down the hill towards me, his body back in the form of a human too. When did he shift? Why?

Squinting my eyes, I noticed that he was carrying a duffle around him and wearing trunks. Of course.

My breathing was composed of ragged gasps, and as soon as he came into view, I shut my eyes and tried desperately to shield my naked body. Aiden didn't let that happen, though, and he forced my head back toward the sky, sitting on his knees. "Open your eyes."

I wanted to do nothing of the sort, but I did it anyway because it was harder than you may think to deny that voice. As soon as I stared directly at his worried face, my laboured breathing stopped entirely, and I froze on the spot. I felt a strange, almost genetic reaction tugging at my chest, but my mind was kicking and screaming against the sensation.

"Moons sake, Rose," His voice was now sharper, his hands hovering just inches from the injury. "How the hell did this happen?"

My hands covering the chest tightened, staring dead into his eyes. “As you can see, I fell...down a hill." It took me a while to mumble the words, but I had gotten my point across sarcastically.

Aiden rolled his eyes, his hands coming to inspect the wound despite my attempts at pushing him away.

“Knock it off, pup. I'm trying to help you," The Alpha growled, catching my wrist and pushing it away gently, utterly oblivious to the endearment that escaped his mouth. After a few seconds of the Alpha inspecting, his olive-green eyes had grown wide with worry. “I will have to carry you back to the packhouse.”

“No, thank you.”

“You don't have a choice.”