Alpha Bond

Ella’s POV

“Go announce the rules.” Burton orders Oliver.

Nodding his head, Oliver also joins Elena and Alto in the ring.

“It is a knock-out match that will go on for thirty minutes,” Oliver announces, and already I notice the crowd gathering around us. Even high-ranking guardians have joined us.

“It is a free form match, so both of you are allowed to shift into your wolves at any time.” He declares the rules, “However, no dirty playing will be tolerated, which includes poking in the eyes, hair pulling, and inappropriate touches. I find anyone breaking these rules; I will immediately end this match. The guilty will be punished, and I will make sure of it.” He looks between both of them, but his gaze visibly hardens when he looks at Alto.

I nearly go awww because it is really sweet how Oliver is looking out for Elena without making it obvious. However, for me, it is evident that he is not going to tolerate it if something happens to Elena.

But I know once he notices what Elena is capable of, then even he will be relaxed like me. But I can already tell Oliver is really protective, so even then, he may remain stressed.

“Am I clear?” He asks sharply, and damn if his strict mode hasn’t increased his hotness.

When I look at Elena, she gives me an are-you-serious look because obviously, she noticed me fangirling my mate. I shrug, giving her a cheeky smile, causing her to roll her eyes.

“You both have five minutes to warm, and then the fight will start.” Oliver steps out of the ring and goes to stand beside Burton.

“Has he gone out of his mind?” Ambrose looks at Elena and Alto as he mumbles to himself under his breath.

“Stop this madness.” He whispers into my ear, and surprisingly he sounds genuinely concerned.

“He shows no mercy to his opponent, Ella. Even full Guardians have a difficult time fighting against him.” He gives a quick glance at Alto, and then he looks at Elena. “She is half his weight and size.”

“The mighty Ambrose is worried about Elena. Well, this is surprising since last I remember, you don’t like any one of us and attacked me during your so-called interrogation.” I can’t help laugh a little.

“I don’t let my personal opinion stand between right and wrong. I don’t like you both, but this doesn’t mean that I want to see you hurt or, worst dead,” He looks ahead, while he speaks in a quiet voice, “I attacked you because I am protective of my clan. At that time, for me, you were a threat to the safety of my clan as you might be working with enemies.”

“And from what I am seeing, this is wrong.” He subtly lifts his chin in Elena and Alto’s direction, “But since I can’t question the authority, I can’t do anything about it. But you can stop this, as you are under no obligation.”

“I appreciate your honesty and concern.” Looking at him, I give him a brief, polite smile, “But don’t worry, Elena knows what is has gotten herself into. You may have seen Alto fight, but I have confidence in my sister that she will give a tough fight to him.”

"Tough fight? Our Elena will crush this Guardian in minutes." Blaze scoffs at my attempt to sound polite.

"I know Blazey, I know. But let this be a surprise for everyone else." I smile at my wolf because she is excited as hell to see Elena in action.

As the fight is about to begin, I bring forward my powers and focus on the entire area to sense each and everyone’s power.

Since most of them were training that is why there are still remnants of their power around them.

I can sense Guardians with various powers like compulsion, manipulation, mind control. I can’t tell which power belongs to whom or exactly how their abilities work, but I am guessing this from the vibes that I am getting from everyone.

The amount of power Oliver carries is overwhelming and nothing like any of the other guardians.

The intensity of his powers is astonishing, and I have a suspicion that it has something to do with him being a purebred Guardian. Even Burton’s powers seem dull next to his, and I can only assume what strength Oliver will have once he discovers to use his powers.

When I look in Alto’s direction, his power is related to strength because I am getting some strong energies from him. I can assume he has the ability to use his power to its full potential. That’s why he is considered a good fighter.

However, strangely, I find none when I attempt to feel for Elena’s power.

Obviously, this made me curious and somewhere slightly anxious, but as if sensing my feelings, she looks at me and winks at me.

But then I feel a tingling sensation as if someone is trying to reach out to me. I slightly lower my guards, and instantly I am hit with a wave of energy. And then, after a moment, the feeling just vanishes leaving a comforting warmth in its wake.

Looking in Elena’s direction, I find a playful smirk on her lips as she is busy stretching her arms.

“Show off,” I mumble under my breath while rolling my eyes.

One important thing I notice is that there is foreign energy encircling the entire area, nothing like the protective circle around the campus ground. This energy is making me restless, and when I concentrate a little more, I sense this energy is even surrounding Oliver.

And my heart tells me that Oliver needs to break this invisible circle of energy in which he is caged because this energy is suppressing Oliver's powers.

I thought that Alto would wait for Elena to make the first move, but I was wrong. Since the fight has begun, he has been in full-on attack mode.

It would not be wrong to say that it seems like I am watching what-happens-if-a-bear-turns-mad-and-begins-attacking. But Elena is quick on her feet and has successfully dodged his every attack, which is annoying him.

What did this Giant think that he would be able to take down my sister? Like seriously, my Elena. Huh.

“What is she doing?” Ambrose whispers with a frown.

“Well, having fun,” I reply in a flat tone trying to control my laugh when Elena smacks Alto upside down on his head while she sidesteps in the last second when he attempts to grab her.

“Defense is the best form of offense.” Elena briefly glances at the trainees who are watching the fight with utmost interest. “When someone tries to attack you, sometimes it is best just to protect yourself.” She efficiently blocks his hit, not even sounding out of breath.

“Calculate your opponent’s next move, and be prepared for it.” She again blocks the punch with her forearm and ducks down a second before he throws another punch in her direction. “He is good at throwing punches, and his jabs are fast, but so are my reflexes. Because somewhere I am already predicting his moves, so I am successful in deflecting his attacks.”

“The next thing which is important to be a good fighter is building your concentration.” She keeps on moving from left to right and then right to the left, making it difficult for Alto to attack, “Real fight doesn’t happen in a quiet room with no distraction. A lot is going on around you while you are facing your enemy or enemies. You need to learn to stay focused no matter how much there is distraction around you. Because losing focus means losing your life.”

The way Elena is casually explaining her moves shows that she is completely at ease and taking all this in a light-hearted way. And this is a good thing because angry Elena would have already spilled Alto’s blood by now.

Involuntarily, a prideful smile appears on my face when I notice respect which Elena has earned in the eyes of some of the guardians.

Back home, Elena sometimes helps Uncle Cole with training children and newly shifted wolves. And even here, she just so effortlessly slipped into her trainer mode, not discriminating that these novices are training to be guardians. She noticed the eagerness on their faces to learn and shared her learnings with them.

She didn’t even care that majority of the Guardians here consider us inferior because we are normal werewolves and especially because we are females.

“I guess free class with Elena is over.” She smirks while her jaws go rigid when Alto manages to land a kick on her side, making her stumble.

“Bring it on, Fatass.” She motions him to hit her.

Before his fist can connect with her, she grabs his wrist firmly in her hand. Pivoting on her feet, she elbows him on the side of his face, nearly taking his eye out as she gets into an attacking position.

She takes a step back and delivers a roundhouse kick to his head, causing him to fall. Clearly, he underestimated the strength behind her kick.

Quickly, pinning him down, she throws a sequence of hard and fast punches to his face.

He throws her off and gets on his feet, and wipes blood from his face with the back of his hand. There is a large on his cheekbone, and even his lip is split open. He looks at Elena with a murderous glare as fur begins to sprout out of his skin.

Within a blink of an eye, he shifts into his wolf, and worry encases my heart when a large brown wolf with different markings pounces on her.

Quickly, looking in Oliver’s direction, I notice how his body is slightly shaking as his eyes begin to change their color.