Alpha Temptations

13 | A Friend

I saw how the prince’s eyes blinked in disbelief while looking at me, and it’s not just him but almost everyone who heard me was surprised by what they heard.

“A wolfless?” one of them said, and they started murmuring.

“I…I couldn’t shift yet,” I corrected, trying to control the situation. I don’t want to admit just yet that I don’t have a wolf. I want to try first every way possible to confirm if I am really wolfless or just a late shifter.

“So the possibility of you being wolfless is there,” one of the crowd pointed out, adding more buzz.

“Well, we can’t conclude just yet,” Ms. Elise interrupted. “But whatever it is, that doesn’t matter. As long as she passed the test, then she’s a trainee of this camp,” she added, looking at me and smiling before turning to the others. “We also saw her skills. And not everyone can fight against the prince like that, considering she hasn’t even awakened her wolf yet.”

Her statement somehow calmed them, and I am so grateful to her for that. I gave her a smile before looking at the prince and bowing my head. “I apologize for not being able to put up a good fight, your highness.”

“You don’t have to do that, Maya. You did great,” Ms. Elise told me before she declared the winner of the match.

And as we returned to our position, I saw how the prince bored his eyes on me. I don’t know if it’s disdain or what, but I don’t care. I just wanted to be honest. There was no way I could fight him in his wolf form. He’s way more dangerous and deadly. I am not stupid enough to injure myself seriously.

“You did great back there,” one of the trainees said. He’s probably more than six feet tall since I had to raise my head a little to look at his face.

“Thanks,” I replied shortly and smiled a little since I didn’t know how to deal with such a compliment. I mean, it’s hard to believe it. I am used to hearing only insults and derogatory remarks from the pack.

The alpha test lasted for hours with no breaks. My stomach is already rumbling, and my knees are already weak due to hunger. And I had to rush my way to the dorm to prepare Hunter his lunch. Speaking of that devil, he earned the praises of others earlier because of his skills and power. Well, he was indeed strong back there. In terms of strength, he’s really capable of becoming the next alpha of the pack, but in terms of his intellect? Like the inner traits? I doubt it. He’s as rotten as his mum.

“Do you really plan to ruin my life in the next three years, huh, Maya?” Those were the words that echoed all over the dorm as soon as Hunter came home. I didn’t bother answering and looking at him because I was busy doing something more important than arguing with him. “Do you want me to send a letter to the alpha and ask him to come and pick you up here?”

“Then do it,” I challenged him with no hesitation. I made sure to eradicate any traces of fear and uncertainty in my voice to make him think that it doesn’t really bother me. “Let’s see if you can survive the camp without anyone’s help,” I added, turning around to look at him. “Well, you can ask others to help you, but I am afraid they will see your true color.”

He didn’t respond. He just looked at me with a slightly parted lips, probably thinking about what I said. Well, I know that some would undoubtedly be more willing to be with him and ignore his rotten attitude than me. There are a good number of girls back in the pack who would be on their knees just to be with him.

After a few seconds of silence, he just hissed at me before turning around. “Don’t you ever dare tell people that you’re with me.”

“They’re bound to know,” I quickly responded, turning around to finish cooking. “Well, unless you request me another dorm.”

“You know that’s impossible,” he replied. “Even the prince lives with his slave.”

“Slave, huh,” I whispered, automatically thinking of Kaia. So she’s his slave. I wonder how the prince treats her. Does she gets treated like me or much worse?

“Maya, the food!”

I rolled my eyes when I heard Hunter’s irritating voice.

“Coming!” I shouted back, putting his food on his plate and serving it to him. “Here. What else do you want?”

“Make me a freshly squeezed orange juice.”

“Okay.” I went back to the kitchen to make his request. “I guess I have to get more supplies, huh,” I murmured, looking at the supplies in the pantry.

After making his juice, I excused myself and went out of the dorm with two baskets in both of my hands. I also wanted to grab the chance to explore and get familiar with the camp.

As I was heading to the supply area, I stumbled upon Kaia, who was carrying a basket just like me. She gave me a smile as soon as she caught me looking at her.

“Hey,” she greeted me as soon as she got near me. “Maya, right?”

I nodded at her and smiled. “Yep.”

“You’re heading to get supplies, too?” she asked, and I just responded with a nod. “Why don’t we go there together?”

“Sure,” I quickly replied.

“So, I heard about the test,” she opened up while we were walking on the concrete path made from cobblestones. “Was it true that you fought against Prince Blake?”

“Yeah,” I responded and smiled. “But I surrendered. There was no way I could beàt him.”

“But you landed a hit,” she pointed out, and that made me smile even more. “Not everyone can do that. I’m sure the prince remembers you since there were only a few people who landed a hit on him.”

“That was just pure luck.”

“No. No. There’s no such thing as luck in battles. It’s probably because of your skill and talent,” she insisted. “That alone can secure your spot in the alpha class.”

I gave her a weak smile before shaking my head. “There’s no way someone like me can enter the alpha class. I am sure I’ll be put under the warrior class because no matter how strong and skilled I am, still, I can never be at the alpha class because I don’t think I will ever meet one of the criteria.”

“What do you mean?” Her brows furrowed while looking at me, and that only meant one thing—she hadn’t heard about me being wolfless.

“You see…” I took a deep breath and decided to tell her about it. I don’t know why, but I feel like talking to her about it. “I can’t shift to my wolf. Back in my pack, they label me as wolfless, but I don’t think that’s really the case. I think I am just a late shifter; at least, that’s what I want to believe,” I explained to her.

She looked at me, so I waited for her to say anything. But seconds passed, and she just kept on staring at me before she flashed an emphatic smile. “You’re not alone,” she said, taking a deep breath. “The reason why I didn’t take the alpha test was because I couldn’t shift to my wolf, too,” she revealed.

My mouth hung open as soon as I heard her. I blinked a couple of times to make sure that I heard her right. “Y-You mean, you’re just like me?”

She nodded and smiled. “Maybe yes, maybe not. But as of now, we’re both unable to shift, so I guess that’s a yes?”

I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. I don’t even know if I should smile knowing that there’s also someone who shares the same fate as me, but that’s what I felt. I am so glad to discover that I am not alone; that someone can really understand what I feel and does relate to the struggles I had to go through day by day.

“I think that only means that we should get along well and stick by each other’s side,” I told her, trying to hint something.

She looked at me and grinned before offering me her hand for a shake. “How about becoming friends?”

I couldn’t stop my smile from showing. I quickly nodded and her and accepted her hand. “Yes, that would be great.”

“Friends?”

I nodded. “Friends.”