The Alpha's Guardian

"How can you know that?" I ask, exasperated.

My ears are still ringing with verification from yet another person that, what I once dreamed of, I now can have. Only now, that dream has changed. A girlish fantasy and crush over a boy morphed into the desire for companionship with an equal mate. And something about Liam and how he speaks about omegas makes me think he will never view me as an equal to him. "It's complicated," he says, sounding distracted. "Ali, we will talk soon. Something came up." and the line clicks dead.

"Fvck!" I scream angrily, running my hand through my loose locks.

I walk out from my wooded shelter and stalk towards the training center. Maybe I should do a little training. I need to burn off some energy. I slide in the doors unnoticed. Everyone looks like rigid soldiers following one instructor's moves.

Liam walks around proudly with a long stick and when anyone steps out of line, he whacks their ankles with a loud thwack. I gawk in horror as I look over and see the omegas in the corner blundering about trying to toss punches. Frank and Mason are the only pair that seem to farewell. I make my way to them, and Mason stops looking up at me. Instead of looking excited to see me, he looks ashamed and ducks his head.

"Mason," I whisper, trying not to be noticed by Liam.

"Ms. Guardian," he says, still averting my gaze.

"Excuse me? It's Ali to you, young man." I joke.

Mason says nothing and shoots a worried glance toward Liam, who is still blissfully unaware of my presence as he tortures Wade's warriors.

"Alpha Liam says if we call his mate by her first name we are disrespecting him and you."

"Liam claimed I was his mate?" I ask, now royally pissed off about the whole mate situation.

"He told us all."

"Fvcking sh!t," I mutter, placing my hands on my h!ps.

I look at him and the other omegas who are now bowing their heads in my presence as if I were some queen. I couldn't hate anything more than this.

"Why are all of you over here when you should train with the rest?"Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

"Omegas train with omegas," Mason says. "Alpha Liam's orders."

"Does Alpha Wade know?"

"We don't want to burden him with such trivial things," Frank interjects.

"My love!" Liam calls through the building.

I close my eyes tight, groaning in frustration. This as*shole is starting to really piss me off. Liam closes in on me but I stay rooted where I am. He puts his arms out wide with a smug look on his face and tries to embrace me. I duck out and around him, tsking. "Nope," I say, turning to find him annoyed with my rebuff.

He stalks closer to me, leaning in and forcing me into a hug that would normally hurt a human.

"Don't embarrass me in front of my students and pack members, my love."

"I am not your love," I say, wiggling out and pushing him back.

He ignores my anger.

"Come train with us! Maybe you can show us some moves."

He takes me away from the omegas who stay rooted where they are watching the spectacle with wanting eyes. I can see how much they want to contribute to the safety of their pack.

"I was going to show them," I say, pointing back over to the omegas.

Liam laughs loudly at me until he realizes I'm not joking. Then he stops short, scoffing at me.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, I am serious!"

"Ali, they are omegas. Teaching them to fight is useless. Plus, they live sh!tty lives anyway, let whatever happens happen,"

"What?" I fume, trying to follow his sick mindset.

"Are you saying that being an omega is so sh!tty we should just let them die without even giving them the chance to defend themselves?"

"You said it, not me."

"I'M AN OMEGA!" I seethe through clenched teeth.

"Not anymore. You are mated to an Alpha. Your status is about to go up."

Liam looks so happy with himself. Like he is winning over my heart by doing me some drastic favor.

"I will always be an omega," I say.

Liam's face softens, and for the first time, he resembles a kind person.

"Baby. You don't have to remain an omega. I will make you better." He coos, trying to calm me down.

His words feel like a snake lashing out and clinging to my skin. Its venom is trying to disperse through my veins and fast-tracking poison to my heart. H is words, how he is saying them, is all the proof in the world to know that he is not my mate. Forget the fvcking mate bond. He is not the mate I choose. Where my anger and frustration for him sat now blooms a deep-seated hatred. He has turned something so beautiful and pure into something meaningless and degrading. "Alpha Liam, I challenge you to a fight," I say, fire in my eyes.

"Oh, yes. Baby, I accept." he blurts.

I roll my eyes and step back into the center of the pitch. Liam is a formidable fighter. Hell, he taught me the basics of what I know. But I have grown and learned a lot these past 7 years. I have picked up skills he once told me, even he was afraid to try. Learning one martial art wasn't enough for me. I wanted to impress him and be better for him. Now I'm just excited to prove I am better than him.

Liam follows behind and then turns to face everyone in the center.

"My mate wants to spar with me. Watch and learn ladies and gentlemen."

"This OMEGA wants to spar," I correct him.

I can see the rage in his eyes. His pack members murmur, trying to understand what is happening. I glance at Wade's pack and they all stand proud; the warriors move over to find their omegas friends and they intermingle standing together. With no warning, I can see the blur that is Liam charging towards me.

I sidestep just in time to miss his tackle by his hand swipes out, grabbing hold of my wrist and whipping me around. Liam firmly places his chest to my back and runs his nose along my captured neck. Growling when he can't catch my scent.

Dropping my weight, I lift my knees and he loses his single arm hold on me as I fall to the ground below us. I roll to the side, tossing out a quick jab to his inner thigh, making contact with my target. He grunts in pain as he steps back. Standing, I pull my hands up in my defensive position. We dance around each other for a moment until he tosses a punch I deem slow enough. I step forward to the right of his punch, spinning back to back with him, my right hand coming over his left fist and I spin him towards me. I surprise him as I grip onto his arm tightly, insert my body back up and under his h!ps and throw him over top of me, releasing him mid toss. I watch Liam as he flies a few feet, landing with a thud on the ground. Fury flashes across his face as he bounces and slowly stands up, dusting himself off.

Liam howls loudly as he partially shifts and barrels towards me. Any other omega would be struck with fear at this moment. Partial shifts are insanely difficult to manage. So difficult that many believe that it is the result of taking drugs, a sort of steroid for werewolves, though it's never been proven. What most don't know is that partially shifted wolves are much slower than your typical werewolf.

Liam fakes me out to the left and successfully latches onto my waist, pulling me to the ground as he wrestles with me for top control. He straddles my waist and I smirk up at him. "Rookie mistakes," I whisper.

I buck my h!ps as hard as I can and Liam jolts forward, smashing his face against mine. There is no time to focus on my pain as I throw my legs straight up just as he sits back up. I toss my ankles around the front of his neck and yank with all my force. Liam falls back, his legs flailing. I release with breakneck speed and roll to my feet, my hands up again.

Liam stands and his eyes go black. Oh sh!t. I may have pissed him off. Liam, in all his anger, charges directly for him. And instead of dodging, this time I muster all my speed and I run directly for him, matching his fervor.