Page 20 of Fated Alpha Protector

“Oh, look!” Anastasia perks up excitedly. “There’s Theo!”

As soon as she says his name, my attention is drawn to the ring. A round of cheers goes around the crowd, and Alpha Theo emerges into the center.

He’s wearing a smirk reminiscent of the one that played on his lips while his head was buried between my thighs. The memory of it sends a chill down my spine, which coils up as heated awareness at my core.

The tip of my thumb absentmindedly strokes my bottom lip as I watch him address his wolves. The imminent presence of the dominating Alpha is something everyone can feel. They bow their heads and offer him respect the position calls for.

It’s a sight to behold, watching him with his arms behind his back, pacing the fighting ring as he hands out instructions. As the floor clears when the werewolves disperse, Theo is left alone in the ring.

He closes his eyes, muttering a string of inaudible words. He’s invoking his wolf, which comes to him in a blink of an eye. It spreads dark fur across his limbs which become distended. Larger than the limbs of his human, his head morphs into his wolf head.

He tosses his large head through the air, dark, silky fur billowing through the air as if the wind carries it. He lifts his muzzle and howls toward the sky – hence the absence of a canopy.

The powerful sound sends silence through the air before he picks the first volunteer to fight him.

A prod to my arm is what snaps me out of my daze. I close my mouth quickly, licking at the drool caught in one corner.

“We should get going,” Anastasia offers as she stands back on her soles and dusts her dress.

“I wanna join,” I blurt out without thinking. When Anastasia frowns at me, I realize what I’ve just said and purse my lips sheepishly.

“You wanna join training?”

She snorts when I nod shyly. I don’t know what I was thinking, except that I had an intense need to go inside there and join Theo.

“Oh, Mia…” She turns around when we’re back on the stone path. “... You’ll have to race me first.”

“Race you?” I ask with a frown.

“Yeah!” she muses. “A race against the Alpha’s daughter to secure a training spot!”

When Anastasia called for a race, I didn’t think she meant one in wolf form. Standing at the border of the woods, she’s the only one excited about the race.

Hanging my head with my fingers intertwined in front of me, I bite my bottom lip.

“Ready?” Anastasia asks when she stands beside me. She kicks off her shoes and throws down a pile of clothes at the base of the closest tree. “For when we’re back.”

“Erm–” I lift a trembling hand to Anastasia’s arm. “I don’t think I can do this,” I admit bashfully.

Anastasia does a double-take, frowning deeply at me. “What do you mean you don't think you can do this?”

“The race,” I shrug dismissively. “I c-can't.”

“I don't think I under–”

“I can't shift, okay?” I throw in quickly without giving her much time to think about what I'd just revealed. “I don’t know how to shift on command, okay?”

Heat rises on my face, creeping up my cheeks from the base of my neck. Anastasia comes forward to stand in front of me, tilting my chin up with a hooked finger.

“Mia… Why didn't you tell me this before?” she asks gently, eyes full of encouragement as she stares into my face.

I shiver in response, unable to hold her gaze much longer. Averting my eyes, I admit, “I was embarrassed. It's not like I can go around saying this out loud.”

“Hmph!” Anastasia huffs as she takes a step back. Planting her hands on her hips like she's about to scold me, she clicks her tongue. “This won't do. Tell me everything.”

With my head hung in shame, I go on to explain to Anastasia that I'd only just recently received my wolf. The shift only occurred once, and I have no way of controlling it.

“Oh, my…” she breathed in surprise, her face pale from the shock. “I didn't know that someone might face a challenge like that. I'm sorry, Mia.”

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