STARLETTE
I quietly walked out of my hiding place like a thief sneaking out of a rat hole. I stood there and stared at them blankly, not knowing what to say.
“What are you doing here?” Came the Alpha’s question.
“Just…” I darted my gaze at the shelf behind us before looking back at him. “I was bored, so I decided to get a book to read.”
Without saying a word in response, he walked past me and headed towards one of the book shelves.
“Hey, Starlette.” Kade said, and I snapped my attention at him.
“Hi.” I breathed awkwardly.
“Uhm,” he said, swiping his palm across the back of his neck. “Don’t mind what he said. I’m sure he didn’t mean it.”
He didn’t need to try to soothe me with his words. I was used to getting hurt by the Alpha’s words anyway.
“Sure.” I nodded, smiling awkwardly.
I took another glance at Maximus, whose attention was now fixated on a particular book. Blowing out a sharp breath, I trotted out of the library.
My mind was a mess, and I wasn’t looking at where I was going when I suddenly bumped into someone.
“I’m totally sorry.” I quickly apologised.
Hoisting my head, I realised it was Lauren, and my eyes subconsciously rolled.
“Are you blind?” She yelled.
I let out a sigh.
“Answer me!” She yelled again.
Not wanting any trouble, especially when I was in the wrong, I humbly apologised again. “I am really sorry. I wasn’t looking.”
Without waiting for her response, I started walking away from her, but as expected, she grabbed me by my hair and pulled me back violently.
“Where do you think you are going?” she questioned, her voice filled with rage.
“I don’t want any trouble. I don’t want to fight you. Just let me go. Please.”
“Why?” A sinister smile touched her lips. “Are you scared that I’d beat you till you’re unrecognisable?”
“Let me go.” I gritted through my teeth, annoyance rumbling within me.
“Or what?” She fired intimidatingly.
“Just let me go. Please!” I gritted.
“You bitch!” She lifted her hand to smack me in the face, but suddenly, another hand caught her midair.
I flicked my head to the side to see Lucius standing next to us, a frown slated on his face.
“Lay a finger on her, and I’ll mess you up.” He threatened before yanking her hand off.
She blinked repeatedly, and as the trained actress that she was, tears started to form in her eyes.
“She started at it.” There she goes again with her lies.
“Look at me. We might look alike, but I’m not him.” He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “That won’t work on me, Lauren.”
A horrified look quickly settled on her face, and a satisfactory smile touched my lips.
“Run along.” Lucius continued, gesturing at her to leave.
She glared at me and mumbled something I didn’t quite get under her breath before dashing out.
I turned to look at Lucius. “I thought you asked me to keep to myself.”
A small smile touched his lips as he replied. “I did say so.”
His demeanour seemed softer than when we met earlier. He was really confusing.
“Then why did you-” I trailed off, not knowing the right way to put it.
“I just hate bullies.” He said.
Sighing, I said. “Thank you.”
He nodded in response. Dipping his hands in his pockets, he started walking away from me. Then suddenly, he stopped and half turned to look at me.
“Learn to defend yourself.”
I nodded.
With that, he continued on his way.
I wish I knew how to go about defending myself. Even if I tried, I would fail woefully and only end up embarrassing myself more. Lauren was stronger than me, so I didn’t stand a chance against her.
Sighing exasperatedly, I continued wandering around the pack. Bella had shown me around, so I knew my way. But walking alone felt really uncomfortable. The pack members kept casting stares my way, as if I were an alien that they had never seen before.
Soldiers were training when I got to the front yard, so I decided to stand and watch them out of boredom. They were so strong and built. The way they wielded their swords effortlessly was commendable. I couldn’t help but wish I was as strong as them.
Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind. I wondered if I could get strong enough to defend myself against Lauren if I trained. There was only one way to find out.
Without thinking twice, I trotted towards a group of training soldiers.
“Hi.” I waved at the four of them, smiling awkwardly.
They immediately stopped clanking their swords against each other and turned to look at me. The surprise on their faces was evident.
“Do you need something?” One of them asked. He looked to be around my age. He had coily blonde hair and a strikingly handsome face.
“Can I join you guys?” I blurted out.
Confusion masked their faces.
“I want to learn how to train.” I elaborated.
The other three let out full-blown laughter, and my cheeks turned red with embarrassment.
“Guys!” The guy who had initially answered me cautioned them.
“What?” One of them asked with a mocking smile lingering on his lips.
“She wants to train.” Another one said.
“Women don’t train in this park.” The third one added.
“We have female warriors.” Blondie challenged.
He snorted. “None of which are omegas.”
“It’s fine if you don’t want to train me. I’ll just leave.” I swiftly turned around and started walking away from them. I have had enough of the humiliation.
“I’ll train you.” Blondie blurted out.
I stopped in my tracks and quickly turned around, a wide smile playing on my lips.
“Really?” I beamed.
He nodded.
“Are you sure you want to do this? What do you think the Alpha will do when he finds out you hurt his breeder during training?” One of the other men tried to discourage him.
“She won’t get hurt.” Blondie asserted.
“Does she even know how to hold a sword?” One of them asked, then offered me his sword.
Fueled by ego, I wanted to prove to him that I could, so I took it. But I regretted it immediately when the sword weighed me down.
“Arghh!” I grunted, and another round of laughter from the three men followed. My cheeks burned with more embarrassment.
“She doesn’t have to start with a sword.” Blondie jogged away and came back with two staves.
“Here.” He said and handed me one of them. “We’ll start with this. Try to defend yourself.”
He didn’t even give me enough time to process his words before attempting to attack me. But I was quick to lift my staff and block his attack.
“Good.” He commended.
He withdrew the staff and tried to launch another attack, but I blocked him off again. I wasn’t so lucky the third time, as the attack was faster and the staff slightly hit my legs.
“Be fast. Try to attack me. Without restraint.” He instructed.
The fight got more intense as seconds passed. He kept evading my attacks, but I hardly evaded his. He was just too fast.
Subconsciously, I looked in a particular direction, and there he was. My mate. Looking at me with an expression I couldn’t quite read.
In that moment, Blondie landed an attack on my arm, causing me to groan in pain. I briefly cast my gaze away from Maximus to block the next attack.
By the time I looked back in the same direction I had seen him, he was gone.
“You’re learning fast.” Blondie said.
Returning my attention to him, I replied. “I’ve always been a fast learner.”
He chuckled. “Enough training for today. We’ll continue tomorrow.”
I nodded. “Sure.”
“I’m Tom, by the way.” He said as he extended his hand for a handshake.
“Starlette.” I replied, taking his hand, a smile playing on my lips. “Thank you.”
He chuckled softly. “I know you. I know your name, Starlette.”
His smile suddenly faltered when he looked in a particular direction. Curiously, I followed his line of sight, and my stomach immediately tightened when I caught sight of what he had seen.
Maximus. He stood a few feet away from us, with his arm wrapped around Lauren’s waist and his eyes never leaving mine.
Perfect!