SUBMISSION TO THE ALPHA

h to Izzy..." "Hello?" Derek said, waving his hand in front of my face. I shook my head, pushing my dirty thoughts to the back of my mind, and clasped Luna Raya's keychain onto my gym winning

always did. Robert grasped my chin harder, his fingers digging into my skin. His golden eyes were smirking at me, like I was right where he wanted, like he had pure control over me. "Do I make myself clear?" "Yes, Alpha." He released his grip and turned back to the warrior wolves, whispering something to his beta, Cayden. Cayden nodded and looked curiously at me. I let out a breath, fixed my gaze on the kicked-up grass under my feet, and clenched my fists behind my back. Damn him. "Five-mile run. Human form only." Robert stared out at the thick green brush. "When you get back here, we will partner up and start the training." The warriors led the run through the forest, some peeling away and running faster than the others. I gazed at Derek, itching to sprint past everyone and to go at my own pace, but not wanting to be disrespectful. Cayden slowed down until he was running beside us. "Keep up," he said to me, running faster. "If you can!" I glanced at Derek and ran after Cayden, weaving in and out of the other warriors, jumping over fallen tree trunks, and pushing myself harder than I ever had. Cayden ran past Robert , and I followed. My breathing was heavy, my lungs were full, my mind felt so free. I felt like the forest and I were one. Running had always been a way to connect with my wolf. When we were small, Robert and I would love getting lost in the woods, running for hours just to get nowhere. Cayden slowed down when we reached the clearing near the packhouse. He peeled o his shirt, his abdomen glistening with sweat, and pointed to me. "You ready?" I doubled over, placing my hands on my knees and gasping for air. "Don't we have to wait for-" He lunged at me, catching me o guard, and slammed me against the dirt. "No. Warriors don't wait for anyone. They fight when they need to fight." Without waiting another moment, I hopped back up and crouched in my fighting stance. Well... I guess we weren't waiting for them. I circled around Cayden, trying to find an opening to attack. But each time I went in to take him down, he stopped me and threw me to the ground. As the others walked into the backyard, I watched Cayden's ear continuously fly back-as if he was listening to them and not paying as close attention to me as he should have. I socked him hard in the stomach with my fist, stepped in toward him, and threw him over my shoulder. It was the only takedown I had gotten in ten minutes. Almost immediately, he hopped back up and smirked, turning his attention back to me. We continued to fight for the next fifteen minutes, and he didn't let up once, pushing me harder than anyone had. But it seemed like everyone else was getting a special treatment. Derek. Melissa from geometry. Even Vanessa who was trying hard to fight Robert . He actually let her work her moves-whether those moves were rubbing herself on him or actually doing some type of takedown. When I was too preoccupied with her, Cayden slammed me down. I laid against the ground for a moment, taking a deep breath and envying how easily everyone else had it. Robert jumped up from Vanessa's takedown, helped her up, and looked over at me. My heart raced with anger, jealousy, a need to prove my worthiness as a warrior to him. I slammed my palms onto the ground and jumped up. "Come on, Arabella. You're stronger and smarter than that," Cayden said to me. I growled under my breath and stormed at him. After finding an opening, I came at him with everything I had, lifted him o of the ground, and drove him into the dirt. Hard. When his body collided with the ground, he grunted. "Damn." He took a deep breath, as if he had the wind knocked out of him. "I didn't know you had that in you." After practice, I growled and hurled my sweaty t-shirt at my gym bag. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Nobody went easy on me -not that I wanted them to. I just didn't want to look like I didn't know what I was doing. Because I did know. I had studied and trained for longer than anyone. Yet they had gone harder on me-purposefully. "Growling will get you nowhere," Robert said, standing a few feet to my left. Most of the warriors and recruits had disappeared into the forest to return home for the night. I pressed my lips together, wanting to do nothing more than to sink into my sheets and release all the tension from today. I tossed my bag over my shoulder and clenched my fist around the strap, turning to him. Covered in a layer of sweat that made his whole body glisten, arms crossed over his chest, biceps swelling from the sheer amount of pressure put on them from training toda