The Alpha Trials

Chapter 10

To say that dinner left me questioning everything was an understatement. My heart was left racing in my chest, and I lost my appetite for the rest of dinner.
Ryker seemed to be the only one that noticed and actually cared that I wasn't eating, which he showed with a raised eyebrow. I shrugged him off with a reassuring smile that made me hope that he thought I was just as alright as I seemed.
Ryker didn't seem all too convinced by my facade, and he quietly but very firmly ordered me to eat the salad and chicken that I had piled on my plate. Something else about all of the group members have to be strong in order for us to do well in the future.
I was touched by his actions and care, but I was also confused by them. What made him care so much? I was a girl he had only met today and had zero ties to before now. There was no reason for him to try and take care of me like he did, and it made me a bit on edge.
For all of our camaraderie and friendship that we had shown walking in and when the other groups were staring us down, we didn't really feel it in real life.
Dariya also cast me a few glances at dinner, and then once the others had left us for their own rooms, she finally spoke up once more.
"Are you alright? Don't be shaken by the words of the Captain, alpha, or beta. They're really just trying to be asses and pit all of us against each other. That's part of the trials, they want us to know who we can really trust, and they also want to test us to see how we do when we're left on our own to build alliances," she said, a small smile on her face as she tried to comfort me in the only way that she seemed to know how to.
"Thank you, Dariya. I'm fine I really am. It's just been a long day and this really is so different from the life at home that I knew before this. Ghost Tear values knowledge and beauty. If you don't fit into those categories, then they have no real interest in you. For me, I was only of average intelligence, and I look nothing like the typical Ghost Tear wolf. I have the hair for sure, but the eyes, not so much. My older brother was far superior to me in both of those things, and so he was the one my parents flaunted around. He was the prized possession and I was kept locked away in the corner like a dog."
Her expression didn't change as I told her my story, but I could see some form of understanding in her eyes as she nodded.
We didn't share anymore words till after she had unlocked our door and stepped into the shared room. From there she went to her dresser and started looking around to find what she was wearing to sleep.
I hadn't even started to unpack yet, so I went to my suitcase and pulled out some clothes that looked comfortable enough to sleep in, but also something that would be appropriate to wear in front of an alpha. Or at least the most appropriate thing I could find.
The shorts were still very much booty shorts by anyone's stretch of imagination, and then there was the loose shirt that I was wearing that was more than long enough to cover those very short shorts.
At least it would fool Dariya into thinking that I was going to be. As far as I was concerned that was going to be the most important task of them all.
Beta Logan hadn't specifically asked me to keep my meetings with him and the alpha as a secret, but it had been heavily implied. Whatever I had been caught up in at this point, I had no desire to get more caught up in, so I was going to do my best into fooling all of them of my innocence.
I climbed into bed and curled up into my sheets, allowing my eyes to close for a moment, but what felt like barely an hour later, a hand had been placed on my shoulder.
Since I had fallen asleep, of course the hand to the shoulder was more than enough to scare me, and it was quickly followed by a hand to my mouth. I opened my eyes wide and stared at the person who was seemingly either about to steal me out of my bed or end my life in it.
Instead I came face to face with the Captain himself. Sorrenson didn't seem amused by his midnight trip into my room, and he seemed even less amused by having to hold me down like this.
He placed one gloved finger to his lips to motion for me to be silent, before removing his hand and stepping back away from me towards the door.
I quickly got out of bed as quietly as I could manage, and shoved my shoes back on. After that I followed him out the door that he closed quietly behind us, before he started walking down the hallway.
He didn't say anything and I didn't say anything either till we got to the next hall, at which he turned and chuckled at me. "I thought Logan warned you that you were going to meet with the alpha tonight? How on earth did you manage to fall asleep with an invitation like that just hanging around in the air?"
Based on his much softer tone, I was assuming that it was okay for me to speak now, so I gave him a smile of my own and nodded. "I'm tired, it's been an incredibly long and trying day. All my wolf and I could possibly think to do would be curl up in bed and sleep for as long as possible," I said, watching him laugh in amusement.
His cyan colored eyes seemed amused with what I was saying and doing, but they were studying me at the same time. It was a look I was sure to not forget for a long time.
"Oh I remember those tiring days of the trials. Don't worry, it's hard work no doubt, but it gets easier that farther along you get. Since you seem smarter than the others, I have no doubt that you won't have much trouble with any of it," he told me, offering me another smile as we walked.
After that we fell into a slightly awakened silence before I just had to open my dumb mouth and start talking again. "Do you by any chance know why the alpha wants to meet with me? I can't imagine anything that would've made me stick out to him aside from my parents rank in my previous pack."
Sorrenson only raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "I do not know, Brynn? I only do what our great alpha commands that I do. Personally, I do not know what he could want from you. I'm only the puppet dog carrying out his tasks, don't you see?"
I may have nodded at his words, but my wolf and I both knew that he was lying, and neither of us liked him for it.
The Captain finally led me through some security doors that led to nicer hallways with wooden floors and paintings of past Ghost Tear alphas and leaders on the wall.
I didn't ask anymore questions and the Captain didn't offer any more answers to my curious gazes.
When we stopped in front of a big wooden door, my heart sank down into my stomach once more. For the longest time I had been able to convince myself that this was all a part of the adventure, and I had distracted myself with my surroundings, but this was real now. It was real in a way that I didn't like.
"We're here. No need to be nervous, Alpha Tristan is rough around the edges, but he's not cruel without reason unless you do something to deserve it. A little scrap like you will be just fine. So long as you remember your manners, keep in mind your titles and tongue, everything will work out for the best," he assured me, before he opened the door and more or less pushed me inside of the room.
I could barely keep my feet underneath me as I stumbled inside. The Captain kept a hand on my back as he walked me towards the desk that sat menacingly at the end of the room.
A fire roared behind said desk, and it was more than enough to keep me plenty warm as I got closer.
Alpha Tristan seemed occupied by the papers in front of him as we walked in, but I could feel the eyes of his wolf on the both of us the moment I had cleared the doorway.
When I finally got to the front of the desk, I kept my head bowed and silently cursed the Captain for leaving my side to go and stand with the alpha.
"Thank you, Tyler. I can only imagine how tired you are with everything that you've had to do today, but I still thank you for bringing Miss Tenrith to my office in one piece. You are dismissed for bed. Lupus only knows that you need the rest," he said, to which the Captain nodded his head and turned on his head to leave the room.
I could feel the alphas silent gaze on me the whole time until I heard the door close behind the Captain. It was only then that the alpha spoke again.
"Miss Tenrith, I do apologize about the circumstances under which you were brought here to me. I understand that you are tired, and this meeting time is not exactly ideal for you. I can assure you that I will try to explain everything to you as best as I am capable of. Do you have any questions?"
His voice seemed to soothe my wolf, and she cooed in the back of my mind in a way that made my legs feel weak. No! My new alpha should not be making me feel weak in the legs. I would not stand for it.
"I'm so sorry, Alpha Tristan. I do not know if I've done something wrong, but if so I do apologize for whatever it was. I am obviously curious as to what I've been called here for. I was quite the unimpressive member of my former pack. I don't think that I could serve any real role of significance in this one either. I would think myself to be a very average future member of the pack."
Alpha Tristan nodded slowly and studied my face as I spoke. "You can look me in the eyes when you speak. You aren't in trouble, you haven't been here long enough to do anything wrong," he said, adding a small chuckle into his words. "And based on your leadership and what we all saw in the first test today, you very are not an average recruit or she wolf."
I looked him in the eyes, and hoped that I didn't seem as desperate as I felt. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but I went off of a gut feeling that we were all lucky about in the trials. Really, I'm not special like that. Not like you think I am."
When Alpha Tristan rose to his feet, I couldn't help but take a few steps away from him. Unlike in the hall before, he wasn't hiding any of his alpha feeling this time. It threatened to drown me, and no matter how much my wolf purred at the feeling of it, my more human side begged me to take a few steps back and away from it.
"You are more special than you could ever know, Brynn. I've called you to my office to prove to you just how important and special you are. You are going to play a much more important role in this pack than you know. I've called you here tonight to prove just that to you," he said, walking out from behind his desk and stepping towards me one foot at a time.
I couldn't help but start to back away from him once again, but this time it was more of an active trying to escape instead of just a few steps.
His words had a way of chilling me to the bone while my wolf ran circles in my head. It was as though the two of them knew something that I didn't and had ganged up on me.
How was I going to hold an important role in the pack one day? I could barely take care of myself to get into the trials and get away from my past life, let alone doing something actually important here. All I had wanted was a good new home and a pack that would actually stand by me and make me feel more needed than I had before.
I had no interest in having this grand important role here, even more so a role that I probably wouldn't do well in.
"How would you go about proving this to me?" I managed to squeak out, just as he reached out and took my hand.
It was then that I felt like I got electrocuted and my wolf let out a loud joyful howl in the back of my head. Goosebumps started to crawl on my skin, and my already weak legs finally decided to go ahead and give up on me as I collapsed.
I closed my eyes to prepare to hit the ground, but I never did. Instead, the alpha caught me and held me close to him.
"I didn't think it would be hard to prove to you. Skin on skin contact will usually do the trick. So yes, Brynn, you are important to this pack. You will one day serve as their Luna, because you are my mate."
His words were soft, but those sharp silver eyes of his could only get so soft as he held me firmly so I had no chance of escape.
My mate.
I had found my mate.
I had found my mate, and he was the most bloodthirsty, cruel, heartless, and feared alpha in all of the pack lands. How had this come to be my fate?

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I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter. Feel free to let me know in the comments, I love reading what y'all have to say!