Alpha Luke and His Unwilling Mate
Chapter 23

~Nyla~

Someone was knocking on the door nonstop, ruining my beautiful dream about once upon a time when I was with Maya at my home, happy and carefree. I rubbed the sleep away from my eyes and turned to the window to look outside.

What time was it?

The treetops formed dark silhouettes against the deep blue skies. I suddenly jumped out of my bed with renewed enthusiasm.

Two more days to go for the full moon.

“Riley… Wake up!”

“Oh Rae, just a second.”

What was there to wake up so early? I have been grounded for about ten days now, and Luke was gone for almost a week on some pack business again.

“Is everything okay?” Rachel was falling asleep while waiting for me to open the door. She said she was supposed to be on the night patrolling duty tonight.

“Hell yeah! Talked to my brother just now. He said you can train again!! And we can go shopping in my new car after that.”

“Whoa! What changed?”

Rachel bought her new car with Luke before he left town. She had begged him to let me join her and her friends for a trip to the town square. His answer was a flat-out no to everything.

There was a special training event a few days back where the she-wolves fought one on one with the best of the male warriors. It seemed to be a big deal because the males were all mostly twice as big with brute strength, and the trainer was going to see how her special focus on speed and agility paid off.

I was so excited to watch some of those big, bad wolves get their asses kicked by strong females. But Luke refused to answer my call and said no to Rachel when she asked a few times.

“He returned last night and seems to say yes to everything I asked for.” Rachel giggled happily.

My stomach did a little flip.

“He’s back…”

My mate missed me but was too scared to meet me alone in my room. I stifled a snicker.

He wanted to see me while I was training or eating food with his sister. I was super mad at him and wouldn’t mind if he suffered longer. But I was going crazy too. This was the longest we went without seeing each other.

“I will go sleep for a few hours and join you later. Just wanted to tell you to not be late. You know how mad Madison is.” Rachel smiled happily and went down to the hallway where Luke’s room was located.

Madison was the trainer. She hated humans and told me training me was a lost cause because humans would never be a match for a wolf’s abilities.

I fed Ari and complained to her about Luke yet again. She sensed the excitement in my voice and wiggled around smiling and clapping.

The first slivers of daylight filtered through the sequoias and redwood groves. I watched Olivia walk into the kitchens down below with a big basket full of herbs she collected from the back garden. Staring out of the window for hours is what I had been doing these last few days.

After slipping into a purple sports bra and a pair of black leggings, I combed through my dark mocha brown curls. I missed my waist-length hair, but it was finally growing back and reached my shoulders even when tied into a high ponytail.

Darting down the stairs and humming a cheery tune, I grabbed an apple from the kitchen before running towards the packhouse. I was feeling a little too happy and had to tell myself it had nothing to do with Luke.

He hurt me and then grounded me when I was this excited last time. I told myself the excitement this time was for the upcoming full moon and not for him.

Leaving a pair of clean clothes in the locker room, I ran to the training grounds. Guess I was too enthusiastic and early.

The trainer hadn’t arrived, and it was just me and two other girls who were not my friends. They were Tiana’s friends. I heard her talk to them about Luke and his d**k quite a few times.

Anger bubbled within me when I remembered what he said about sleeping around, even after he found me. I had totally ignored Tiana and her loud bragging in the locker room two weeks back because I didn’t believe her. But after Luke confessing to his whoring activities, I hated this Tiana and her loud mouth.

The trainer arrived while I was warming up and scoffed at my sight. She was the most muscled female I had ever seen. A gruesome scar ran down from her collarbone to the forearm.

“You have to be regular, can’t show up whenever you want.”

“It’s not up to me. I was grounded like a teenager.”

“Twenty laps.”

“What?”

“Move it. Be back before the others arrive.”

I glared at her and did as she said. The laps covered the grounds where the men were training. I smiled and jogged over to that side, straining my eyes to see if my mate was kicking some a*s already.

Nope.

I continued with my run while Rachel and a few girls I knew were now out of the locker room.

“Want one?” Rachel waved a banana and an apple at me. “What are you getting punished for so early?”

“For being a human!”

I finished a few more laps and was close to the area outside the locker when my eyes fell on Tiana and her skimpy shorts. Her boobs were spilling out of her cropped tank top as she sniggered at my sweaty face.

I returned to Madison, and she nodded in satisfaction.

“Pair off!” She pointed to me to join Tiana, who was tying her shoelace while chatting with her friends about her night with Luke.

“Stop making shit up.” I stood next to her and was ready to punch her in the name of training.

“I’m his favorite! Don’t be a sour bitch if the Alpha isn’t interested in you.” I heard some silly laughter before her friends dispersed and she stared me down in spite. Too bad sparring only involved light blows.

My heart lurched when I saw a hickey on her neck. She was always vying for his attention with constant displays of her excessive cleavage, but he looked totally disinterested even when he thought I wasn’t watching him. I’ll kick his butt if he actually f****d this woman last night.

Wyatt had personally trained me every day until I was too pregnant to move. I was naturally very fast, and even when I was no match for Maya, months of training had made me stronger. Taking Tiana to the ground was a piece of cake.

She was never really focused on her training and lacked dedication. Even Sadie was much better.

Tiana wanted to submit after receiving only a few light punches from me, but I wasn’t done with her. I saw more than one mark on her neck.

“Riley! Stop!” I ignored the stupid trainer and her dumb instructions.

“Tiana, shift!”

Oh shit! It would be so foolish if I lost too much b***d or sustained a brain injury and ended up in a coma while the full moon night slipped right by. I should have given it more thought before pouncing on her.

She stripped off her clothes and was down on all fours within seconds. A beautiful brown wolf.

I felt like a dumb deer waiting to be slaughtered for trespassing in the wolf’s lair. Somebody stop this! Madison won’t because she thrived on proving a point over and over: never mess with their kind.

I looked at Rachel, and she was staring back at me with fear-stricken eyes. She looked up as if expecting someone’s arrival when Tiana shook out her fur and ran towards me growling.

“Madi, what the f**k is happening here?!” Just the man I was hoping for.

God, I missed that husky voice. It sounded cold and angry right now. And sexy. Was he always so drop-dead hot?

I stood up in a daze, watching his tousled dark hair and piercing green eyes. Thick and powerful thighs, beautifully carved pecs showing through the tight black t-shirt. All my plans to ignore him flew out the window. Who was I kidding anyway?

He dragged a hand down his face, unwilling to talk to me when the trainer told him it was my fault. Walking over to me, he folded his arms over his chest. I couldn’t tear my eyes from his body. Blame those sexy forearms!

“What the f**k were you thinking? Had a death wish? Want to go back to your room for another ten days.”

“It’s not entirely my fault.”

The rest of the words got stuck in my throat when I looked into his eyes. He was struggling to stay in control. But first things first.

“Did you sleep with Tiana last night? She wouldn’t stop talking about how big your d**k is. Would you be okay if one of your men talk about my a*s—.”

“Pair off, everyone!” He sent the trainer out of the earshot and looked back at me. “Do you think this is some high school drama? Thirty laps.”

I ignored his order and stared at his neck for any marks.

“Did I stutter? Thirty laps.”

I rolled my eyes, unwilling to run so much again.

“Are you disobeying your Alpha?”

“You’re not my f*****g Alpha. I asked if you were f*****g around and you want to send me away to run laps. You know your commanding voice and authority have no effect on me. My nonexistent wolf doesn’t cower in fear… Alpha.”

He remained calm and even stifled a smile while I expected him to throw me back into my room. I sucked in air sharply when I saw a dimple in his cheek.

“I soo want to whip your a*s for this attitude.”

“Too bad! You know you fear me. Admit it.” I missed everything about him and wanted this conversation to never end.

“Start with offense. Fight me with some action, not words.”

“I-what?!” I rather fight that stupid Tiana in her wolf form and be mauled. One powerful punch from this hot mate and my jaw will fall off.

“Too late. When you defy your Alpha, you have to get your a*s kicked or take whatever punishment.”

He took off his shirt, showing off his toned chest and a deep carved V. Sweat trickled down the ripped lines of his abs. Now, that was very unfair! How was I supposed to put up even a decent fight when he looks like some s*x god?

“Close your mouth first. And don’t waste my time.”

Should probably close my eyes too. What a terrible mate! Wants to break my back instead of raining k****s on me.

I started with lunging forward to throw a punch, which he caught effortlessly. It was impossible to ignore the intense sparks of his skin to mine.

He parried and dodged all my moves like it was child’s play. After many failed attempts, I threw a high kick with all I had and he moved out of the way, looking unphased. I was exhausted after a dozen open palm hits and roundhouse kicks but couldn’t do any damage at all. His abs were rock hard, no point in kicking them.

“You know where to hit. Come on.”

Offense was my strong point. Now comes the defense. We were a few minutes in and I barely dodged his kicks and blows when his fist connected with my h*p and I winced in pain. I thought he would give me a moment to recover, but he slammed me to the ground in one quick move.

A*****e!

I considered springing up on my feet and standing my ground but didn’t want to be slammed so hard again. He was a merciless guy who pretended to go easy on me during my offense. I called it quits.

He looked down at me smirking before extending an arm to help me get up. I ignored it and rolled over my stomach, closing my eyes. That was embarrassing.

“That was impressive!” His voice was supposed to be laced with sarcasm, but when I turned my neck around, his eyes looked at me with admiration.

I watched his brow furrow when it looked like he received a mindlink from someone. Rolling over to the side, I got up to grab my drink.

“Adalyn is back.”

I choked on the Gatorade and sprayed it all over the grass.

“What?”

Impossible!