The Alpha's Prize

I walked over to the balcony doors and peered out. The sun was shining, and the birds were singing; it was going to be a beautiful day. So I decided to go out onto the balcony and enjoy a bit of fresh air while I waited for Cain. I loved the outdoors; it brought me peace, calmness and serenity, just as it did my wolf, causing her to chuff in approval.

I looked around the yard, and in the very far corner, I noticed what looked like a training camp; I'll have to ask Cain about that. I haven't trained since coming here, and I want to maintain my physical shape. Hopefully, they have archery. I crave to feel the bow in my hand, the arrow between my fingers and hear the sound of the bowstring being released.

I was enjoying the sun when Cain snuck up behind me. “What are you doing out here? You should not be out here alone, especially after what happened.” He scolded me.

“I'm fine. I'm a big girl, and I can take care of myself, just as I have, long before you came along.” I informed him.

"Still, I don't want anything to happen to you.” I stilled, taken aback by his words. Mostly the way he had said it, the truthfulness to those words.

I smiled. “Nothing is going to; I just wanted to get some fresh air before breakfast. By the way, is that a training camp over there.” I pointed in the direction.

"Yes, it is. Our warriors and high-ranking pack members train there. Why?” He raised a questioning brow.

“I would like to train. Since I've come here, I haven't done any training, and I don't want to get rusty or out of shape. Also, do you have archery?” I asked excitedly.

He shook his head. “No, out of the question!” Cain replied firmly.

My brows furrowed. “What, why?" I asked, irritation lacing my tone.

His expression turned hard. “Because I said no. You are not training with my warriors; they are animals and won't care if they hurt you. I also don't feel like killing one of them if they look at you the wrong way, seeing as most of them are pigs. So I don't want you around them, period!” Cain's tone was harsh and firm now.

“This is bullshit, Cain! You can’t keep me locked up in this fucking house for the rest of my life; you will drive me mad. I've been training since I was 16, I am damn good at it, and I enjoy it.” I was now pissed. It looks like Cain and I were about to get into a screaming match.

Cain took a taunting step towards me. “Yes, I fucking can! I don't care how long you've been doing it; this is my home, my pack and my damn rules. You will obey and follow them whether you like it or not.” He hollered.

“Fuck you and fuck your rules!” I was so mad; I felt like shifting and tearing him to pieces. The emotions that came over me were so overwhelming; I didn't know what to do. All I knew was I needed to get away from him before I did something I may regret.

It felt like we may have been making progress, that I was getting to know someone else, a decent person that was hidden away from everyone else, but I guess that was just a mask to hide the monster that he truly is. I stormed away from him and left the bedroom, slamming the door so hard, the wood cracked. As I walked away, I heard him roar out in rage and then something shatter. I didn't bother to turn around; I just continued walking down the hallway.

As I descended the stairs, I ran into Calyx. I barely looked in his direction, and I didn't plan on stopping to talk to him. But to my dismay, he stopped me.

"Hey Freja, I was just.... are you ok?” Concern was etched on his face.

“I'm fine.” I continued walking down the stairs, trying to avoid him and the questions about to spill from him.

Calyx grabbed my arm to stop me. “Freja, stop! Tell me, what's wrong?”

"Just that lovely brother of yours, being an asshole as usual,” I said through gritted teeth.

He sighed. “What happened?”

I sighed. “I asked Cain if I could go train, and he refused.”

He sucked in a deep breath. “I understand why he did; he doesn't even like some of the female warriors training there. Some of our male warriors aren't good people, Freja. So Cain is trying to make it, so the female and male warriors train separately.”

“Well, I can handle myself.” I was getting tired of being underestimated, being treated as weak. Calyx's features softened. “I'm sure you can. However, it may become difficult, when it's one small female, against ten large men.”

Calyx had a point, I guess. I know I'm strong, but I also know my limits.

I sighed heavily. “I truly enjoy training, especially archery training. I was damn good at it, and I found it.” I paused, trying to figure out how to explain the feeling I got when that bow was in my hands. “I don't know; I can't explain it.”

He pursed his lips. “Let me see what I can do. I'll try talking to Cain and see how he feels about you doing some training in just the archery section.”

Excitement flowed through me as my eyes widened. “Really? Thank you, Calyx. I really appreciate that.”

Calyx gave me a warm smile. “No problem. Now come on, let's go get some breakfast.”

I nodded my head in agreement, and we started to walk down the stairs. Finally, we reached the dining room, where our breakfast was ready and laid out on the table, waiting for us; it looked so damn delicious. We both took our seats and began eating. After a while, Cain finally entered the dining room and looked furious. What else is new!

Cain didn't even glance at me, just stormed past me, went to his seat and began eating his food. He was tense, irritated and on edge, like a ticking time bomb.

Calyx looked at me and then back at Cain. “So, brother, Freja was telling me that she is good with a bow, thought I'd show her the archery range today, maybe let her go a few rounds, see how she likes our equipment. What do you think?” His tone was hopeful.

Cain was quiet, just continued eating. He finally paused, looked up from his plate and stared in my direction, an irritated expression on his features.

“She told you about our little disagreement, didn’t she?” He said while narrowing his eyes.

I glared at him. “Yes, I did. So what? Am I not allowed to talk to other people now either?”

Cain slowly stood from his chair. “Do whatever you want, Freja.” He said calmly, “I'm done.” Cain then left the room peacefully. Ok, that was really fucking weird! He would usually storm out or holler at me or do something, but this time he didn’t. Why?

I looked at Calyx. “That was weird, right?”

"Yea, it was.” He looked just as puzzled as I was.

After finishing breakfast, Calyx took me to the archery range; it was much larger than the one we had back home. There were numerous targets ready to be fired at and various bows and arrows. Ok, I take it back; this is my favourite place now, not the bathroom.

As I stood there, drooling over everything, Eve approached us. My wolf's hackles raised as she began growling at the venomous woman coming towards us.

"Hey Calyx, did you bring her down here to put her out of our misery.” She said, smiling from ear to ear.

Calyx let out a low growl “Eve, I'm warning you. One more snarky remark like that, and you will be stripped of your title and placed on toilet duty for a month.” He said with a smirk.

She huffed. “Whatever, Calyx. Have fun, bitch.”

I shook my head at her stupid words. However, I didn't retort back; I just considered using her as a target, which may hurt my reputation. Also, I was sure Cain wouldn't be too happy with me, and I didn't need any more of his shit right now.

Calyx turned to me with a smile. “We have tons of bows to choose from. Would you like to pick one out?”

I snorted. “Hell yea.”

I skipped over to the rack like a child; they were all so beautiful. I didn't know how I would choose, but just then, one bow, in particular, stood out to me. It was black, with gold dusting embedded within the grain of the wood. On the one side of the bow, words were engraved into the wood. “Be true, be straight.” Oh, yea, this was the one; it spoke to me on multiple levels.

I turned to face him and held it up, still admiring the craftsmanship of the weapon. “This beauty right here.”

“Nice choice; that was Mom's favourite bow too.” He told me with a smile.

“Really? Well then, I chose wisely.” It gave me a sense of pleasure that I had unknowingly chosen the favoured bow of the previous Luna.

He nodded in agreement. “Come on; I want to introduce you to someone.”

We walked over to a small clearing, and a tall woman stood there with a bow in hand. She was built and bulky with short blonde hair, numerous tattoos, and had bright golden-brown eyes. She also had this aura about her, like, “Don't fuck with me, or I'll crack your skull open.” So we should get along nicely, I thought to myself.

We walked closer to the woman, and she was even more beautiful and badass looking up close. She immediately caught sight of us and stood from the ground to greet us.

Her smile was bright and warm. “Hey, Calyx.” She flicked her chin in my direction. “Who's this?” Calyx looked down at me. “Samara, this is Freja, your soon to be Luna.”

She pursed her lips and raised a brow, examining me as she did. Finally, the corner of her lip tilted up in a smile “Hey Freja, nice to meet you.”

I gave her a half-smile as I took her in. “Yea, you too,” I said shortly.

She raised a questioning brow. “So, what brings you two to my neck of the woods?”

“Freja is big into archery and wanted to see what we had. Also, practice a little.” He said as his head wavered side to side a little.

Samara smirked and nodded lightly. “Nice, another archery fan. Think you can keep up with the champ?” She asked cockily.

I chuckled at her words, “Oh, I'm confident I can.”

She peered down at the bow in my hand. “I see you've chosen your poison; let's go.” She raised a hand and urged for me to follow her.

We walked over to the target range and took our positions 10 feet from the targets.

She pointed to the white line painted on the ground. “We will start here and see how you do.”

I looked down at the marker and raised a brow. “This is the beginner lines?” I know she didn't know me or my skills, but this was insulting.

She shrugged. “Show me you're not a beginner, and I'll move you back.” She was testing me and my abilities, wanting to see and know exactly what I was capable of doing.

I raised my bow, resting the string slightly against my cheek and pulled back my arrow. I focused on my target, wiping away all other thoughts, as I sucked in a deep breath and released my arrow, hitting the bullseye.

I turned to face her, grinning. “How's that for a beginner?”

She nodded. "Ok, ok, nice shot. Try again.”

Both of my brows shot up. “Seriously?” I asked her incredulously.

Samara shrugged. “Could be beginners’ luck.” She grinned.

I repeated my actions and hit the bullseye dead on, once again.

I cocked an eyebrow. “I'm moving back; this is child's play.”

A satisfied smile placated her features. “Ok then, Luna, move back to the 20-foot line.”

I did as she said and again pulled back on my arrow, took in a deep, calming breath and nailed the bull's eye with ferocity. The feel of the bows strings and the sound of my arrow whistling towards the target was like a drug, one I couldn't get enough of and didn’t want to.

“Move back to the 40-foot line.” She told me in a serious tone. I could tell she was now curious about my skills and what I was fully capable of doing.

I did so and still hit my target. I was always practicing with my bow; every opportunity I had was spent at the range back home.

A broad smile spread on her face. “Damn, I like your style Freja. Your good with a bow. You should join the team and help me train the others; I could really use another person here who knows what they're doing.”

I snorted. “I doubt your Alpha would ever allow me. He was against me doing this.” I told her.

She pursed her lips and exhaled heavily. “Well, that sucks; it would be nice having you around.” Samara made me feel welcomed and admired.

"Yea, I'll try talking to him, but neither of us can get our hopes up,” I said sadly, knowing that Cain wouldn't let me.

Samara and I continued talking and shooting targets. I was having so much fun; I forgot about everything for that short period of time. That was until Cain approached us; I guess the fun is over now.