Alpha Benji

♕Chapter Twenty-Six♕

My breath was ragged as I ran through the clearing, beads of sweat beginning to form at my temple. 

Victory was just in sight. I could almost grasp it.

A sharp burst of energy caught me off guard, making me stumble over my feet. I barely managed to twist my body to avoid hitting the small child grabbing at my ankles as I crashed down on the floor.

"Geez, Tommy, you're strong." I comment, groaning as I roll on to my back, shaking the little boy from my feet. My chest rose erratically as I took the momentarily time out to catch my breath. These pups were a lot faster then I expected - and stronger. I always knew I was a weak wolf, especially for my age, considering my Omega status. But, I didn't think I was this weak.

It was midweek and the kids were antsy from being inside all day. Elise usually liked to have at least two outdoor activities, but it has been hard getting guard approval for us to take all the pups out. The pack patrol has been strict lately, which is odd. 

I tried to question Benji about it at dinner last night, but he didn't offer up much information. I was tempted to push my limits, but didn't want to sour his mood. True to his word, he's been trying to make more of an effort this week.

Now it was up to me to do the same.

"I'm really strong. I'm a big wolf." Tommy proudly responded, flexing his arms before running off to find his friends. 

A snort escaped my lips as I pushed myself up to peer at the group of pups gathered in the clearing. It was lovely outside, so we decided to play a game of tag. The daycare guards were reluctant, but eventually agreed to let us out as long as we didn't stray from the clearing. 

The originally calm game of tag, however, has turned into a complete tackling disaster. Instead of one person being 'it', it has somehow turned into a free for all where all the children are teaming up and aiming for only Elise, Noah, and myself. 

"Are you alright?" Noah's smiling face came into view as he jogged over. His lips were spread thin from how hard he was smiling, fighting off laughter. "I didn't expect you to go down so fast. Who knew that little kid had so much power?" 

"I think it's more about the fact that I have such little strength compared to him, but whatever." I shrugged, trying my best to fight off the creeping embarrassment. "But, yeah, I'm fine. Look, perfect." In an effort to show I was fine, I held my arms up in front of myself. 

Instead of being scratch-free, a trail of blood was rolling down my left arm. 

"Are you serious..." I muttered underneath my breath, quickly pulling my arm into my chest so I could inspect it. I hadn't noticed the pain before. It wasn't anything bad, just a skinned elbow from falling. 

Noah immediately went into doctor mode, bending down to get eye-to-eye so he could take a look for himself. "Don't worry, you're in safe hands. I happen to know a really great pack doctor that can get you all cleaned up." He joked, pulling against my arm so he could gaze at the surface level wound. 

"Very funny," I sarcastically commented back, but quickly regretted my coy words as soon as he touched the exposed skin. A hiss escaped my lips as I tried to pull my arm away from him, but he held it still. "ouch, it hurts. This is so embarrassing. I can't believe I have to tell Benji I got injured playing with pups." 

For a brief second, Noah's face contorted in annoyance before returning to his usual calm expression. "You don't have to tell Alpha anything." He mumbled, almost too quiet for me to catch. "I'm sure your babysitter will tell him before you could, anyways." He added, louder this time with a more playful tone.