Alpha Temptations

12 | Against the Prince

I blinked a couple of times while looking at the prince who was standing proud and unbothered in the middle of the field. His eyes showed no traces of emotion while looking at me. He may not say it but I know he’s looking down on me, and not just him but also the only person who knows so much about me—Hunter. Probably by now, he’s already expecting my defeat; how the prince would knock me off with a single strike.

“This camp promotes equality among trainees, so I don’t care whether you’re a prince or an alpha from a faraway land or a nobody, just show me what you’ve got,” Ms. Elise bumped in to probably break the building tension in the air. “Losing doesn’t mean you can’t be in the alpha class. It’s your skills and prowess that will be evaluated,” she reminded, looking around to give us a reassuring look.

I know she didn’t say that out of nowhere. She was probably trying to motivate me and tell me it will be alright even if I end up getting my àss beàten by the prince. But there’s no way I’m just gonna let it happen. I will surely put up a fight and show them everything I have learned over the past years.

“Okay, take your positions…” Ms. Elise said, stepping away from us. “Fight!”

As soon as she said that, the prince dashed his way to me, swinging his arm to give me a powerful punch but I was able to dodge it just a few inches away. I heard the sound of his fist left after missing the punch. I couldn’t stop myself from gulping. That sure was a powerful punch. If it successfully hit me, I would probably be groaning in pain right now—no, I would have been knocked out!

I quickly distanced myself from him to give my time to adjust my body and prepare for his blows based on that missed attack. Since his punches and kicks will surely be powerful, I conditioned my body to receive strong and painful attacks.

He stared at me from head to toe before he started attacking me again. He swung his leg to give me a kick but I was still able to dodge it by jumping away just a second before his attack hits me. Because of that, the crowd started to make a noise. Some started cheering for me.

I was starting to feel the moment, thinking I could beat him. I can feel the adrenaline rushing all over my body. So instead of just purely focusing on avoiding his attacks, I decided to charge and counterattack. I started moving really fast, closing our distance. I can see him trying to read my movements so I made sure to make them as unpredictable as possible.

I readied my fists and legs to confuse him. And when I finally got close to him, I gave him a round kick and was able to hit him in his hip. I immediately bounced backward before he could even counter my attack. And that just made the crowd even louder, getting me more fired up.

I caught how the prince’s forehead wrinkled for a moment before his eyes narrowed a little. It seems like I got on his royal nerves. He probably didn’t expect me to successfully hit him.

I took a deep breath to prepare for another attack, but I was shocked when he suddenly vanished from where he stood and popped right in front of me. My eyes widened as soon as I saw him swinging his muscular arm to give me a powerful punch without any hint of hesitation.

Since it was too late for me to dodge, I just crossed my arms in front of me to shield myself. And when his punch hit me, all I could ever think of was to groan in pain. It was so strong that my arms started shaking after taking it. I can’t even clench my fists properly!

I immediately distanced myself from him to give myself time to recover. I bit my lower lip before putting my arms down. Both of them are tingling in pain. If I didn’t block it, his punch would probably have landed on my face.

I cursed under my breath when he started charging at me again. But this time, his attacks were quicker and stronger. I can hear the sounds his attacks make whenever they miss. But it’s no longer a problem for me. After taking that punch, I was able to estimate his strength, the speed of his attack, and his range. I was rigorously trained by Alpha Lancer to read my enemy while in the middle of the fight.

I saw his brows creasing in annoyance when he could no longer hit me. I may not be able to attack him, but at least I am fast enough to avoid his attacks. I can see the little frustration on his face, especially when the crowd started cheering for me. It’s probably an insult for someone who was born a royal and has been labeled as someone who is from the strongest pack of the kingdom.

After a few series of attempts, he finally stopped attacking. My shoulder is aggressively moving up and down as I try to return my breathing to normal as soon as possible. Beads of sweat are dripping down my face and neck.

I looked at the prince and he seems to be displeased with how things have turned. His sharp eyes are now glued to me. “Who are you?” he asked with no hints of emotions in his voice.

“Just a nobody,” I responded, matching his tone. “Why do you ask?”

“So I could remember your name before knocking you out,” he quickly replied before his silvery eyes glowed and was followed by his quick shift. Once again, I was able to see how beautiful his white wolf is. It’s like a wolf spirit guarding a snowy field. And it seems like it wasn’t just me who was captivated by its beauty. Everyone around us was also in awe.

But his beauty also gives me a sense of danger. Without doing anything, he was able to make me fear him. The aura radiating from him reminds me of the gap not just between our stature but also in terms of strength and power. I was already barely keeping up with him in his human form, so I doubt if I can still do that now.

He let out a soft growl before slightly lowering his body, probably preparing to lunge at me.

I couldn’t help but curse under my breath. Forget about being able to show off everything I have learned because there’s no way I can match this royal werewolf in front of me!

I couldn’t stop asking myself. Among all the werewolves; among all the numbers in that box, why did my enemy even have to be him? It seems like fate doesn’t really want me to really have the peaceful life I have always wanted.

I heaved a sigh before raising both of my arms in midair. “I give up,” I murmured, looking at Prince Blake who had his silvery eyes glued at me. “There’s no way I can defeat you,” I added, looking at Ms. Elise. “I can no longer fight, Ms. Elise. I don’t want to hurt myself any further.”

“Don’t give up! Shift to your wolf and you can probably give a good fight!” the others shouted at me to motivate me, but that just broke my spirit even more.

I clenched my fist in frustration. I didn’t want to let them know as early as now, but I know I couldn’t hide it either. No matter what I do, they are still bound to know about it so I don’t intend to hide it anymore. I don’t care if they started seeing me the way my pack does.

“I can’t do that,” I murmured, looking around and trying to find a specific person. And there, in the middle of the crowd, stands Hunter with a creased forehead. And when our eyes met, he shook his head in disapproval. He probably doesn’t want me to tell them because it would also affect his image, but I don’t care anymore.

“Why did you surrender?” the prince’s icy voice pulled my eyes on him. He’s already wearing a robe when my eyes landed in his direction. There was this hint of curiosity as well as irritation painted on his face.

I gave him an apologetic smile before taking a deep breath to muster the courage to say the words that have been hanging on my tongue. And looking straight into his eyes, I uttered, “It’s because I can’t shift to my wolf, Prince Blake.”