The Alphas & The Heiress

Chapter 11 - Bonus

Thanks to @drogon_nymeria for this bonus chapter suggestion!

This takes place after that first day of training when everyone goes back to the packhouse for lunch.

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Syble (Magnolia)

"Impressive performance today, Syble." Runidar says smoothly, he must be getting a quick lunch before he goes back to training. I miss those days sometimes, days when all I did was train, the ache in my muscles at night was a physical indication of my growing strength.

"When he had you in that choke hold I thought you were done for, I nearly lost it when I saw you flip him over like that." One of the other male warriors fawns. I have to resist the urge to scoff.

Please.

His Alpha never stood a chance.

Some of the women in my morning group join us now, drawn in no doubt by all the raging testosterone wafting off these wolves.

"Wait what happened, what did I miss?" One of them all but squeals.

There's a small crowd gathering now around the kitchen island. It's not that I'm not claustrophobic or anything, I don't mind crowds. What I don't like is being the center of attention, I don't like when people make mundane activities like training seem like extraordinary events.

There's nothing extraordinary about me, except maybe how hard I've worked to be as strong as I am, as fast as I am. I've been hardened and strengthened from years of pressure and heat, like a diamond. But I'm not a beautiful well cut princess shape that's internally flawless.

No.

I'm an uncut gem — jagged, raw, and very much flawed.

"You didn't see it? She took down Alpha Rohanor!" the warrior continues.

I tune him out while he retells the story of Ro and me sparring together, but I do correct him when he tries to embellish. I don't take credit for things I haven't done. I know what I am — and what I'm not.

"Goddess, where did you learn to fight like that?!"

"Not in a gym." Incandis scoffs but not unkindly. "The king would drop us off in an undisclosed location with a backpack, a weapon, and a task. Then, we'd have to find our way home."

There's a buzz from the crowd, Incandis' words have excited them and they'll no doubt want a story. I roll my eyes beneath the blind fold – he's doing this on purpose. He knows I'd rather be in the background, not regaling people with tales of my childhood.

A chorus of comments flurries about.

"Holy shit!"

"No way!"

"Tell us about one!"

"Yeah, Syble, tell us about one." Incandis taunts.

I hesitate at first, but not because there aren't many memories to choose from, those I have in droves. I just don't relish the idea of my very real survival training becoming a spectator sport. But I am outnumbered and by the looks on the faces surrounding me, the only way I'm going to be able to eat my lunch in peace is by placating them with a story.

A deathly silence overtakes the room, I can practically hear every heartbeat in here.

"Alright," I acquiesce, "but what you need to first understand is that the tasks came later. We started out by simply surviving in a place for a week; the woods, a cave, a jungle, a city. We worked up to finding our way home, then executing a task, and then ultimately all three; survive, kill, go home."