The Alpha's Guardian

Wade POV

The moment she walks out of the locker room, my eyes find her. She looks stoic as usual as she eyes up the men training on the pitch in front of her. Oddly, I'm angry that she has dressed so scandalously. I look sideways to see Kane practically drooling at her when she treks our way. I roll my eyes. Maybe it's a dominance thing. She is trying to assert her own by showing off her femininity?

I'm not so blind that I can deny she is ripped. This girl has biceps that scream annihilation and abs so toned that I'm convinced she's made of stone. I mean, really, do women get abs that defined? My eyes wander up and I swallow hard. She has a perfect angular face and plush pink lips that are in a line, looking disappointed. Her eyes are busy watching, assessing, the men who are trying to show off and failing.

Snapping myself out of the daze, I clear my throat and whack Kane in the gut, grabbing his attention. He yelps and rubs his stomach, wearing a sheepish smile. I have no claim on her, but I don't like how the men in here are looking at her.

"Ali," I holler out and motion for her to come my way. She nods and moves towards us, looking regal. Francis sidles up next to me.

"I swear the bag had a shirt. Sammy told me she put everything she would need in it." He says. Great, this means he noticed me staring. Maybe it's because I'm still mateless and Francis isn't, but I hate that I'm staring at someone who is not my destined mate. I sigh at the thought. I really need to get this wolf under control.

"Alpha," she says as she approaches and I can't bring myself to look at her.

"My warriors can't have distractions since, as you said, they are average. Please find a shirt."

She frowns slightly at my words. I can see she wants to say something, but she reaches down to her waistband and pulls a thin black tank top out. Her breath hitches as she pulls it over her head, groaning only when it gets hung up on her sports bra. Kane reaches out, helping her straighten it, and a low growl rumbles through my chest. He quickly sticks his hands in his pockets and takes a step back.

"Where do you want to start?" She asks.

I think about it for a moment. Admittedly, my pack doesn't have any real special talents. But what we lack in talent, we make up for in loyalty. My pack knows I would die for each and every one of them, including my Omegas. What happened earlier was not anything remotely normal for us. My wolf was on high alert as it always is when I am that close to the woods. I couldn't for the life of me rein him in until Ali stepped in. She has this commanding presence that demands your full attention, and if you don't comply, she forces it.

"If I'm completely honest, I think we need to do a complete run-through of everyone's strengths and weaknesses. It's been so long that I really don't know where to start." I say.

She turns and looks at me. Her stare makes me uncomfortable. I feel exposed and self-conscious. Clearing my throat, I turn my head back to the guys who are still trying feebly to look tough and mighty in front of the beautiful guardian. I'm reminded of a small child wanting to show their mother this new cool trick they learned and the mom pretending to be thrilled. Admittedly, Ali has a great stoic face as she tries not to laugh at two 16-year-old boys wrestling.

"Right, well. Let's start with endurance training and see where they are. After that, we will turn to technique on the bags. I want to see who can throw a punch and who has potential. We need to sort out who we think would be better trackers than fighters." "I want trackers who can defend themselves," I add.

"Yes, I agree, but we can teach fighting skills. Tracking needs to be honed. Focus on getting them trained so they can get back on the pitch for sparring."

"How do we know who to pick for potential trackers?" Kane asks.

"The top 10 fastest runners in human and wolf form. The ones who are quick on their feet and have suitable form, but not much force behind it. We are looking for attention to detail and agility, not brute force." I tell Kane. "Exactly," Ali says, smirking at me.

"I also want a posting up for women to come train if they feel inclined to do so." She says taking a pad of paper that Francis just handed her. I tap into the mind link quickly reaching out to all the females in the pack inviting them to train today and then I listen back into the conversation happening next to me.

"We can take notes on the people with promise in certain areas and compare notes," Francis suggests,

"Well, let's get started," Ali says as she glances down at her watch.

"You have somewhere better to be?" I quirk a brow at her.

"Yup. I have a lunch date." She says, smiling widely. I swear my heart skips a beat. I have never seen a genuine smile from her before and I'll be damned if this is the last one.

"Right. Well, we only have an hour lunch break." I say, intentionally trying to break her date short. She shrugs at me, smiling defiantly. This woman is going to be trouble.

"All right, guys. Circle up." Francis calls out. Immediately, they all stop what they are doing and run over, standing in front of us.

"As you know, we have been lacking in our training regime as of late. We can no longer get by with just relying on our senses and endorphins. You need to be stronger, faster, smarter than the rogues that are coming our way. We will do the basics today. You will be judged and sorted into warriors and trackers. Just because we selected you for one does not mean you can't be both or that you are terrible at the other. It just means for the time being we are going to assess your skills where you are placed. Understood?" I am the first to notice the 3 women walking in timidly. Well, that was fast. Ali seems to follow my line of sight as she grins with excitement.

"Did you mind link everyone?" she asks quietly.

"Just all the females." I smile, proud of myself for doing something right in her eyes. It's a nice change of pace.

"Ladies." She hollers, "Come on up please."

All three ladies walk up. As they get closer, I see Sammy, Francis' mate, Talia, who is Kane's older sister, and Marie. Talia looks confident and ready to go where Marie looks timid and afraid. Sammy, however, looks as stoic as Ali usually is. I smirk. Francis must be in her head and she is trying to ignore him.

"Why are girls here?" One of the larger guys named Derrick, asks.

"Because women are warriors too." Ali states. Derrick rolls his eyes.

"I'm sorry. If I'm fighting a massive rogue, don't expect me to feel relieved seeing a small wolf cheering for me to fight harder."

"What's your name?" Ali says, stepping up to him.

"Derrick"Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

"Hi Derrick. It's nice to meet you. I'm a female warrior who could in a split second rip your throat out with my bare hands-" She stops when Derrick's chuckling grows louder. "Oh, I'm sorry, is something funny?"

"Yeah, you have such cute little tiny hands, and you don't have a wolf. Explain to me how you plan to rip my throat out?"

I can feel my face growing red as I step forward, but she places her hand out to stop me. Can she handle this? Absolutely. Do I want her to have to? Not at all. Ali chuckles now, stopping when she sniffs and touches her thumb to her nose.

"I have worked far too hard to be where I am, do what I do, to be laughed at by the likes of you. You will go first." She says in a low voice. She steps back, raising her voice to make a new announcement. "Ladies and gentleman, Derrick here has upped our training rur to a 50k instead of the 25k I was planning. And for fun, we will do the whole thing in human form. Derrick will lead."

"Sure thing, Omega," Derrick says as he starts to jog.

The moment he comes close, I reach out and grab his ear, pulling him closer; I turn to my remaining warriors, who are watching in shock. I can feel Ali's eyes on me, but I refuse to look over at her. This asshole is done pissing me off.

"Derrick. She may be an Omega but she is your superior and fights more like a man than you ever will." I release his ear, tossing him back to the group.

"She isn't my superior until she does the Guardian ceremony, Alpha." He spits. "And what do you need a guardian for? I bet you could destroy her?" I'm mad at the guy, but I also like his backhanded compliment. Looking over, I see Ali, who is smirking at me. Her face speaks volumes.

"You disagree?" I ask her.

"About which part, Alpha? Technically, he is correct. I am not their superior until we do the ceremony."

"I mean about me destroying you," I clarify. Her head tilts back as she laughs.

"Oh Alpha, no disrespect. But I promise you, you wouldn't even come close." I'm enjoying our playful banter. Does this qualify as flirting, or is she being serious? My wolf wakes up and fights for control again. I have to figure out why my wolf is becoming so defiant. "Well, let's see, shall we?" I taunt, taking a step closer to her. "You win and we will do the guardian ceremony tonight. You lose and you will have to work with me without it for a while."

She shrugs. "Fine with me. I've been wanting to hit you since I got here."