The Alpha and The Enforcer [TATE]

Chapter 17

Ellie's P.O.V

I wiped the blood from my mouth as I stepped inside my house, steering clear of the pack house. Right now, the last thing I wanted was to run into Alpha Brian, Luna Aubrey, or Uncle Ted. Instead, I made a wide U-turn and headed to my own place, craving the quiet and the walls that felt like my sanctuary.

Alice. Just the name made a cold knot tighten in my chest. She could throw a punch like no one else—no surprise there—but it was never just about fighting with Alice. Our history was tangled and ugly, filled with grudges that ran deep. We go way back, long before I was named the pack's next Enforcer. And let me be clear: we were never friends. Not even close.

Alice was always... different. Quiet, yes, but with a simmering fire underneath. She kept to herself mostly, but whenever I was around, I could feel her eyes—watching, waiting. It wasn't simple rivalry or competition. It was something colder, sharper. A quiet hatred.

She was the daughter of an alpha. But unlike my family, her pack was weak, fractured. She left them behind and came here, to our pack, like she was trying to escape something—or maybe run toward something. And what she wanted was clear: she wanted to be the best warrior here. She wanted my spot.

That's where it got ugly.

She hated me. Not in a healthy, competitive way. It was venomous—like she believed I didn't deserve anything I had. She accused me of getting special treatment, saying Uncle Ted favored me because I'm his daughter. That I was handed everything on a silver platter. The truth? I earned every damn thing with sweat and blood, just like everyone else.

Our rivalry reached its peak on the day we fought in the ring. Alice fought dirty, and she didn't care who she hurt or how far she had to go to win. She was relentless, brutal even. I took hits I didn't know I could survive. She clawed and scratched and used every dirty trick she knew, but I never stopped fighting.

When the clock hit one, I got up. I refused to lose to her.

I won that match, and she exploded with rage, claiming I cheated, accusing me of every unfair thing she could think of. That was when her hatred turned bitter—poisonous.

After the fight, she didn't stop. She started stalking me—catching me off guard, attacking when I least expected it. Even when I was sleeping. Alpha Brian had to step in, using his alpha voice to warn her off, but it didn't work. She's stubborn—too stubborn for threats to mean much.

Eventually, she disappeared for a year. I thought maybe I'd finally gotten a break. But no. She came back—hungrier, angrier—and ready to take what she thinks is hers. The next warrior competition isn't for years, but Alice isn't willing to wait. She wants to see me fall, and I know she'll do whatever it takes to make that happen.

The moment I stepped through my front door, the silence hit me.

No patrol schedules. No reports. No training alarms.
Just the echo of my own footsteps and the dull ache in my ribs from the fight.

My first suspension.
Three days off.
I should've been furious, but I wasn't. Just... numb.

I dropped my keys on the counter and headed straight for the bathroom, stripping out of the torn, blood-specked clothes on the way. The water ran hot, steam curling around the edges of the mirror as I stood under the spray and tried to feel like myself again.

The bruises were already fading. Perks of being a werewolf.

By the time I stepped out of the shower and pulled on a pair of leggings and an oversized hoodie, I just wanted the day to be over. 

I didn't want cake. Or candles. Or conversation.

I just wanted quiet.

I was halfway to throwing myself into the couch cushions when a knock came at the door.