Chapter 10
Gabriel
It was a simple enough challenge.
The first of many and designed to reveal the strengths and general character of the princesses.
I had watched this challenge four times before and it was one I never grew tired of.
Bodies on bodies, the first chance these women got to really go at each other.
Because underneath it all, we were all just wolves.
The princesses were gathered in a back courtyard. A large board nearby outlined the pairs for the day; each princess was matched with two others, and they would wrestle—the best out of three before moving on to pair up with another winner, and so on until only one princess was left.
As the first and most simple challenge, it was one of the most relaxed. Betas gathered along the edge of the main ring, chatting to one another, and pointing out their favorites.
“It’s always interesting,” a voice murmured, and I turned just as my mother sat beside me gracefully, “to see what they wear.”
I murmured back my agreement, though I thought we probably saw the matter differently. Mother was more concerned with fashion.
I sat back in the shade of a large tent, watching the supple bodies.
Princess Morgan from the Blue Pack was easily the least clothed. She was tall and so incredibly lean that it would have been easy to mistake her for an adolescent boy. No curves on this one, but as she moved, even slightly, the muscles in her upper arms and thighs grew taut.
I watched as she stretched only a few dozen feet away, back to me. She wore tight, black shorts that barely covered her ass cheeks and a band of fabric across her chest. Her long, black hair was up in a ponytail that reached most of the way down her back. She looked flawless, strong, intimidating.
Widening her stance so that her feet were a little more than shoulder width apart, Morgan bent forward, arching her back.
I loved sparring and knew immediately that this stretch wouldn’t be effective. Not the way she was perking her ass up in my direction. If anything, she was probably straining her spine.
It was a blatant show of seduction that had my interest and my mother’s disgust. Raquel turned away and watched the other contenders as they stretched, talked, or warmed up.
In a small dirt area not too far away was Sophia of the Autumn Pack. I barely glanced at her before paying much closer attention to her partner; the servant girl who had caught me the night before sneaking into their suite.
I had chosen Sophia to focus on because she seemed like easy prey. A girl from the outskirts of the territories, she was likely a little less civilized, not used to the games we played in the Kingdom. It would be easy to start with her and work my way through the rest.
But her servant...
I still didn’t know her name but recognized her body easily enough as my eyes ran over it. She wore a simple, grey t-shirt and fitted shorts, mirroring Sophia’s, though the princess’s clothes were clearly of a better make.
The two women circled one another. It was almost comical how different they were. Sophia was small and compact, her hair bright in the sunlight. The servant stood tall and poised, her darker hair in a simple braid that still managed to look haphazard.
I scoffed and Raquel glanced my way to see where my attention was, though I didn’t really notice.
I was too busy watching the servant as she ducked into a roll and came up on the other side of Sophia, reaching for the girl’s ankle.
Sophia hit the dirt and rolled quickly away.
My eyes lingered on the servant’s body as she stood.
I could practically feel her skin quivering beneath my fingers again.
The night before, the struggle between submission and defiance had been palpable in the air. It was a kind of aphrodisiac I hadn’t experienced before—watching the wolf fight so hard against the human.
Someone cleared their voice nearby, and I startled just slightly, turning to face Charles. Raquel had wandered off to greet other alphas—the mothers of some of the princesses who had been able to come for a short time.
“Your mother has asked me to mark Princess Sophia down as a woman of interest,” Charles said calmly, looking meaningfully at the sparring princess.
I lifted my brows.
“I wouldn’t say she’s a woman of interest,” I deadpanned, looking away from her and surveying the rest of the crowd.
The Yule princess was beautiful, but clearly struggling with basic wrestling moves. She still managed to look gorgeous with dirt and grass scraped across her knees. But it was clear she wouldn’t be moving up past the first round.
“So, someone else has your attention, then?” Charles asked a little too casually.
I glanced around to make sure we wouldn’t be overheard before turning back to him.
“Well, I did say I was planning on ruining every single one—”
“Ahh, so that’s where you were last night.”
Nothing surprised Charles anymore. And the whole reason I kept him around was because he was the one person who didn’t judge me for my escapades—real or rumored.
In fact, there were times when I thought I might be able to tell him the truth. That I wasn’t sure I would ever meet my match and didn’t feel the need that I’d heard other alphas talk about when it came to longing to find a mate. I was perfectly fine feeling alone and sexually sated.
“Actually, I didn’t manage to get started last night,” I admitted.
Charles looked surprised. “I thought you said Sophia had invited you to her rooms?”
“Oh, she did. Very forwardly. The girl has no tact, and to be honest, if I hadn’t made it my goal to cross them off one by one, I wouldn’t have bothered with her at all. But when I got to her rooms, the maid was up and prowling about.”
Charles’s gaze cut over to the pair of women, Sophia in the middle of locking her servant in a hold. My eyes narrowed as I realized the servant could easily get out of it but was submitting.
“So, you’re starting at the bottom and working your way up?”
“No. I… teased her a bit, but I ended up taking my leave.”
Charles’s frown was reflective of exactly how I felt about the situation.
Why hadn’t I taken advantage of the girl? It wasn’t as though I’d been lacking an appetite the night before, and I had been attracted to her. The girl was tall, challenging, despite her omega standing, supple and soft.
My mind flashed back to her hair, wild around her determined face.
Why hadn’t I…?
“She’s a virgin,” I murmured, still staring at the women. If I wasn’t careful, others would notice.
“Of course she is. Does that surprise you?”
“No,” I answered truthfully. Often, omegas from the outlying tribes followed the old ways and traditions of staying celibate until a mating moon.
I wondered if this girl would be protecting her virtue for the next month, then go home to pair up with some country boy and birth a litter of pups.
The thought of her tumbling in the woods with another male set the wolf growling inside me.
Her body the night before had been deliciously responsive…
“It’s not as if I haven’t had a virgin before,” I sighed, straightening up in my chair and missing the way Charles had to fight not to roll his eyes.
“So, what was it then that still has your attention?”
I couldn’t answer but didn’t need to.
The announcer had stepped into the ring and was explaining the rules, facing the princesses, who stood in a line with their training partners behind them.
I glanced at Sophia’s servant, who slicked her wild hair back, face dewy with sweat. Then turned my attention to the challenge.
The Blue Pack didn’t disappoint. From my place at the northern edge of the sparring ring, I could hear Morgan growling as she took down the princess from the Dagger Pack. It was a close, satisfying first fight that put both women on my list of those to watch.
How ironic if I ended up with Morgan, I mused as they noted down that she would be moving on to spar with whoever won the next match. I wonder if she has anything to do with the stirrings of an uprising.
Although, choosing the princess of the pack who wanted most to betray and replace me would show my strength and keep them oppressed.
The next pair were Princess Caroline of the Sturgeon Pack and Princess Daniele of the Hickory.
Mother was at my side again, watching intently.
The wrestling matches were an excellent way to see which princesses were naturally dominant, and which were more cunning or subtle.
Morgan had been obvious, glaringly powerful, and oppressive.
Daniele had a stealth to her that drew his eye, and I mentioned this quietly to Mother.
“Mmm,” she hummed in response, eyes locked on the battle. It was frustratingly even, with neither woman gaining ground. “Well, there are rumors of Daniele, just as there are rumors of you.”
A smirk graced my lips. “Ahhh, so she’s made her way through the men of her pack then?”
“Not quite.” Raquel’s face was perfectly straight, and I frowned, looking to Charles, who leaned in close.
“The women,” the manservant whispered, and my expression flickered briefly with shock before I laughed loudly.
The sound was jarring enough that Caroline lost her concentration and Daniele got the better of her, flipping her and pinning her down with her wrists over her head.
Now that I knew what to look for, I could see that the princess was enjoying this just a little too much. Her eyes were dark as she panted, breasts heaving over Caroline’s face.
The announcer called the win and I stood, bowing to Daniele with a slightly mocking smile.
She didn’t seem to notice, too distracted by Caroline’s swaying hips as she moved dejectedly to the other side of the ring to watch.
The match continued, some winning almost immediately, others evenly matched.
Sophia did surprisingly well, and it didn’t skip my notice that Mother seemed pleased. She clearly had her own favorites among the group.