The Alpha King's Hunt

Chapter 10

Gabriel

It was a simple enough challenge.

The first of many, and designed to reveal the strengths and general character of the princesses. I had watched this challenge four times before and it was one that I never grew tired of. Bodies on bodies, the first chance these women got to really go at each other. Because underneath it all, we were all just wolves.

The princesses were gathered in a back courtyard. A large board nearby outlined the pairs for the day; each princess was matched with two others, and they would wrestle – the best out of three before moving on to pair up with another winner, and so on until only one princess was left.

As the first and most simple challenge it was one of the most relaxed. Betas gathered along the edge of the main ring, chatting to one another and pointing out their favorites.

"It's always interesting," a voice murmured, and I turned just as my mother sat beside me gracefully, "to see what they wear."

I murmured back my agreement, though I thought we probably saw the matter differently. Mother was more concerned with fashion.

I sat back in the shade of a large tent, watching the supple bodies.

Princess Morgan from the Blue Pack was easily the least clothed. She was tall and so incredibly lean that it would have been easy to mistake her for an adolescent boy. No curves on this one, but as she moved, even slightly, the muscles in her upper arms and thighs grew taunt.

I watched as she stretched only a few dozen feet away, back to me. She wore tight black shorts that barely covered her ass cheeks and a band of fabric across her chest. Her long, black hair was up in a ponytail that reached most of the way down her back. She looked flawless, strong, intimidating.

Widening her stance so that her feet were a little more than shoulder width apart, Morgan bent forward, arching her back.

I loved sparring and knew immediately that this stretch wouldn't be affective. Not the way she was perking her ass up in my direction. If anything she was probably straining her spine.

It was a blatant show of seduction that had my interest and my mother's disgust. Raquel turned away and watched the other contenders as they stretched, talked, or warmed up.

In a small dirt area not too far away was Sophia of the Autumn Pack. I barely glanced at her before paying much closer attention to her partner; the servant girl who had caught me the night before sneaking into their suite.

I had chosen Sophia to focus on because she seemed like easy prey. A girl from the outskirts of the territories, she was likely a little less civilized, not used to the games we played in the Kingdom. It would be easy to start with her and work my way through the rest.

But her servant...

I still didn't know her name, but recognized her body easily enough as my eyes ran over it. She wore a simple grey t-shirt and fitted shorts, mirroring Sophia's, though the princess's clothes were clearly of a better make.

The two women circled one another. It was almost comical how different they were. Sophia was small and compact, her hair bright in the sunlight. The servant stood tall and poised, her darker hair in a simple braid that still managed to look haphazard.

I scoffed and Raquel glanced my way to see where my attention was, though I didn't really notice.

I was too busy watching the servant as she ducked into a roll and came up on the other side of Sophia, reaching for the girl's ankle. Sophia hit the dirt and rolled quickly away. My eyes lingered on the servant's body as she stood. I could practically feel her skin quivering beneath my fingers again.