001. Alpha of the Arena

Alex's POV:

“Again.” I roared, standing on the training arena; it was loud enough to cut the morning fog.

I was already sweaty. My temple was the proof due to the drip down. It's just that the scent of the earth was top-notch. The team around me straightened at once.  None could disobey when I gave an order. Not at Midnight Academy. Dare to? Please. The scent of a future alpha is all the warning they need. Alex Thorne doesn't take challenges; he ends them.

The arena stretched before us. It was a perfect circle of packed, unforgiving dirt. The forest was part of us, part of every future alpha who trained here.

“Let’s finish this drill,” I said, rolling my shoulders. “You lose focus, you lose your rank.”

“Always so dramatic,” Maya teased from the stands.

Her voice made me turn. She was swinging her legs with an easy confidence while sitting on the lowest step of the spectator row. I always admire her long, dark hair and pale blue eyes, and that warm smile that could disarm any fight.

I let a grin slip. “That’s how you train a pack, Luna.”

Her cheeks warmed instantly. “Don’t call me that here, Alex.”

“Why not?” I stepped closer, my thumb just brushing the back of her hand. “You’ll have to get used to being my problem. Luna of the Thorne Pack has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

She bit her lip, fighting a smile. “You’re impossible.”

“I’m an alpha,” I smirked.

She winked by smacking her lips, “Same thing.”

I laughed and leaned down to kiss her. Just a warm touch; soft, familiar, and grounding. She was smiling when I pulled back, though her eyes flicked toward me as if something was off.

“I just don’t understand all this rivalry stuff,” she said quietly. “Silver Pack, Thorne Pack. Why can’t it all just end?”

Because it never ends. Because my family’s blood and theirs are bound by hatred older than either of us.

I didn’t say it aloud. I only smiled. “It’s politics, Maya. Years of war. Just simply ignore it for now.”

Before she could answer, Coach Vega entered the arena. A tall figure I didn’t recognize was following him.

The murmurs started at once.

“That’s the new transfer.”

“From the Silver Pack, I heard.”

“No way they’re letting a Silver into the Academy after last year.”

The figure stepped into the light, and my focus narrowed immediately.

A more than perfect height, dark hair with gray eyes. He wore a black training t-shirt like us. The body-hugging cloth was showing his ab lines perfectly. Especially his strong chest. I moved my gaze and focused on his forearms as the sleeves were pulled up to his elbows. The powerful, attractive veins were visible. He was giving the vibe of being the king of all alphas.

“Students,” Vega said, his voice rough as usual, “meet Blake Silver. Junior trainee. He’ll be joining the alpha division this term.”

Silver. Whatever! Actually, it rhymes well.

The environment in the arena grew colder. My wolf moved. The slow hum of its heartbeat pulsing under my skin. It wasn’t a full awakening yet but close enough that my senses sharpened. I caught his fragrance before he even looked at me. Something cool and sharp. Like pine after rain.

Blake’s eyes met mine for the first time. The silence between us wasn’t friendly. He smirked slightly, like he already knew I hated him.

Vega’s voice abruptly snatched my attention. “Thorne and Silver. Front and center. Let’s see if you can work together.”

“Together?” Blake raised a brow. “Or until one of us bleeds?”

“Until I tell you to stop,” Vega said simply.

I dropped into a stance. “Try to keep up, Silver.”

He nodded slightly. “Best of luck to you, Thorne.”

We stared at each other. The other trainees stepped back. The arena lights glint off the silver veins cut into the dirt. My pulse beat slowly. Focus. Control.

Then he lunged.

Fast, faster than my expectation. I blocked, twisted, and drove an elbow toward his ribs. He ducked under, sweeping a leg at mine. I countered, claws pushing at the edges of my fingertips; not a full shift, just enough for power. The air hummed with energy.

“Not bad,” I muttered, pushing him back.

He grinned. “Nice trick but you’ll need more than compliments to win.”

We clashed again, blows and counters echoing through the arena. Each strike carried more heat than it should have: anger, rivalry, something I couldn’t name. The faint glow in his eyes told me his wolf was close to the surface, too.

He caught my arm, twisted, and almost threw me off balance. Almost. I used the momentum, grabbed his shoulder, flipped him onto his back, and pinned him down.

The crowd shouted, some cheering, some gasping.

But I wasn’t listening.

His breath hit my neck, rough and uneven. His scent flooded my senses again, cool pine and something electric. For one second, it was all I could smell. All I could feel.

My chest tightened. My wolf moved beneath my skin, restless.

I pushed harder against the instinct clawing inside me. No. Not him. Not a Silver.

Blake stared up at me, his eyes glowing faint silver. “What’s wrong, Thorne?” he said softly. “Afraid of getting too close?”

My jaw clenched. I shoved off him and stood, stepping back fast. “Know your place, Silver.”

He rose slowly, brushing dirt from his arm, that same smirk tugging at his mouth. “Maybe one day I’ll take yours.”

The growl that came out of me wasn’t human.

Vega’s voice gro before I could move again. “Enough! Thorne wins this round.”

I straightened, trying to steady my breathing. Around us, the other trainees murmured. I didn’t look at Maya. I didn’t want to see her face: confusion, worry, maybe jealousy.

I should have felt triumph. I’d humiliated him in front of everyone.

But I didn’t.

All I could think about was the way his eyes looked under the light; sharp gray, steady, unbroken. The way his scent still lingered in my head. The way my wolf wouldn’t calm down, no matter how hard I tried.

When the crowd started to disperse, Blake caught my gaze one last time before turning to leave. There was no anger in his expression. Just something unreadable. Something that made my pulse jump for reasons I refused to understand.

Maya came to me, touching my arm gently. “You okay?”

“Fine,” I said too quickly.

Her smile was soft and uncertain. “You look like you saw a ghost.”

“Maybe I did.”

She laughed lightly. I forced myself to smile back, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as we left the arena.

But even as she leaned into me, warmth against my side, my thoughts were somewhere else entirely.

I could still smell him, faint but distinct, in the air, under my skin, and in my lungs.

For a moment, I didn’t see an enemy. I saw fire. And my wolf. He wanted to burn.

"What was that?" I murmured to myself. Confused about the adrenaline sensation, which I never felt before.