Second Chance

ALISON

Why did I ask Sean to join me in the ring?

Yes, I wanted his attention. But tonight—not right now.

Every warrior present stopped moving the moment the words left my mouth. They all stared at me as Sean made his way to Aaron’s office to change, not believing I would be so bold as to challenge him.

It was almost a sin to challenge the alpha, even for fun, but I just couldn’t help it. I couldn’t stand seeing the other females all over him.

The first year after the luna’s death, the females left him alone. Let him grieve the loss of his true mate.

But then, there was a shift. The unmated females of the pack started to think that they might have a shot with him. It didn’t deter them that he brushed their advances aside, ignoring their attempts to get close to him.

It was clear that all that mattered to them was to become the next luna, and they were ready to do anything to get the title.

It made me so mad, watching them fawn over Sean. And in this moment, with the Blood Moon so close, I couldn’t hold back. I wanted to put those females in their place. To show them that I held his attention, not them. That ~I~ was the one he wanted.

Sean emerged from the lockers wearing only a pair of shorts. The sight of his bare chest sent a shiver of desire down my spine. His muscles rolled with each step he took.

He harbored a cocky grin, certainly aware that I was ogling him. Yet I couldn’t look away from his perfect, chiseled chest and well-defined abs. My body was heating up, and it had nothing to do with the sun.

I swallowed hard as he entered the ring, willing myself to look into his clear, blue eyes full of mirth. I could tell he was enjoying my challenge, and it gave me the confidence to smile.

“Ready?” I asked.

“Ready when you are.”

I nodded and lifted my fists. He mimicked my stance, and Aaron gave us the go.

I knew that Sean was strong—he was the one that trained me to be a warrior, after all—and his moves confirmed that years away from rigorous training hadn’t diminished his abilities.

He knew how to move around the ring, and he tried to throw punches at every opportunity. But I had recent experience and daily training sessions on my side.

I was also smaller, five foot four compared to his six foot two, and lighter, which made me more agile.

His skin glistened with perspiration, showing that he was giving me his all, treating me like his equal. He wasn’t holding back because I was female, and I appreciated that.

Ten minutes in, and he hadn’t managed to touch me once.

“Is that all?” he taunted.

Clever, but that wouldn’t work on me.

I smirked. “What? Am I too fast for you, Alpha?”

“Remember those words when I have you pinned on the ground,” he growled, his voice deep and teasing.

Well, I certainly wouldn’t mind that.

I shook my head to erase those thoughts and focus on Sean’s movements. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of losing to him. I would show him how determined I was. Hopefully, he would keep that in mind when the Blood Moon rose that night.

He came at me, his brute force launching him across the ring. I waited until the very last second before lowering myself to the ground, kicking my leg out, and swiping at his feet.

He fell on his back, and I jumped up so I was hovering over him before hitting the ground with my fist right next to his face.

His eyes were wide with surprise, as well as something darker. I really liked that look, but I liked even more the position we were in. I could feel his heat through my own shorts. His chest rose and fell under me.

I had never been so close to him before, not even when he trained me to be a warrior, and it made me greedy for more. I moved closer to him, drawn by the darkness in his eyes that seemed to be calling me.

And he wasn’t doing anything to stop me.

“I never thought I’d witness our alpha getting his ass handed to him by a female in my lifetime.”

The voice of Nolan, the pack beta, jolted me back to reality. I blushed, suddenly very aware that we weren’t alone and that we were in a very delicate position.

I turned to look at the newcomer. Beta Nolan’s green eyes danced with amusement as he watched us disentangle from each other and stand up.

“And we’ve known him our whole lives,” Aaron added. “Did your father make the right choice to give you the pack seventeen years ago?”

“Shut up,” Sean said. “Alison is strong; she deserved the win.”

My wolf puffed up with pride at the comment. I trained hard to reach this level, and it felt good to be recognized by him.

He smiled at me, and I could sense something more in the way he looked at me. It gave me hope that maybe he felt something for me too.

“I did train her well,” Aaron said.

“I think you mean I trained her well,” Sean said.

I scoffed. “I did that on my own, thank you very much.”

The gamma let out a laugh, but I didn’t wait for him to add anything before turning to Sean.

“Thank you, Alpha. It was a great training session with you today.”

“My pleasure.” He nodded. “It was…pleasant to be out of the office for once.”

My heart dropped to my stomach. Of course. He was only here to get out of the office. I didn’t know what I was expecting, but I was apparently the only one who felt a connection between us.

I nodded in his direction and left for the lockers.

It cut my heart to hear those words. I took a long shower to calm down. As the water poured down on me, I thought about my plan for tonight. Should I still go through with it?

My wolf growled at me. It was obvious she thought we should stick to our plan. She was convinced there would be no other male worthy of us.

I shut off the water with a harsh flick of my wrist. She was right. Sean was who I wanted as my chosen mate, and no other male would do. I had to at least try.

By the time I finally left the locker room, Sean and Nolan were gone.

“He already went back to his office, if you were wondering.”

I turned to see Elijah waiting for me so we could grab lunch.

“Yeah, I figured,” I said with a sigh.

“Don’t look so down. You were amazing out there! You kicked the alpha’s ass. He’s the strongest wolf in the entire pack.”

Elijah shook his head as we started to move toward the pack house. “I mean, shit, his own father saw his strength and trusted him enough to hand Sean the pack when he turned eighteen. That’s unheard of! And you took him down like it was nothing.”

Sean’s ascension to pack alpha at such a young age was unusual. Many members of the pack had thought Alpha Arthur was crazy to let Sean, his firstborn, take over as alpha when he was still so young.

It created jealousy in the pack, but also with our neighbors. Though most of that died down when the Council of Elders, led by Sean’s grandmother, backed Alpha Arthur’s decision.

“You don’t have to remind me how amazing he is, I know that.” I smiled at my best friend. “I’m just…I don’t know. I hoped that he would recognize me a bit more for me and not just as one of his deltas.”

“Oh, he did, hun. He did. He did not take his eyes off you as you made your way to the locker room. Believe me, he noticed you.”

My heart fluttered in my chest. Did he really look at me for once? It certainly gave me some hope that I actually had a shot at this.

“I even heard Beta Nolan say that the elders were right to propose you as a candidate for luna.”

“What? They did?” I asked, surprised both that the elders knew who I was and that they thought well enough of me to recommend me for the position.

It was a well-known fact that the council, as the alpha’s advisors in all pack matters, was pushing Sean to find a new mate, but I never imagined in a million years that they would suggest me.

“Yes,” he said with a smirk. “They did. Alpha said that he was still considering it.”

“I don’t blame him.” I shrugged. “Luna Brittany was killed by rogues, and I know better than anyone how it feels to lose your true mate to them.”

“Maybe she was killed by rogues,” Elijah commented. “You know the rumors just as well as I do.”

At the time of her death five years ago, it was announced that Luna Brittany had been killed in a rogue attack. But that didn’t stop rumors from circulating that she had been unfaithful and it was actually one of her lovers who killed her in a fit of jealousy.

I hoped for Sean that that wasn’t the truth.

It was rare, but not impossible, for true mates to be unfaithful. The bond between a mated pair usually made us so in love with the other that we shouldn’t be interested in anyone else, but some still had other ambitions. Some people were ready to do anything for more power, and if someone was capable of such a thing, Brittany fell into this category.

I knew I shouldn’t speak evil about the dead, but Brittany had sought any opportunity to get ahead, to insert herself into pack politics and negotiations with the neighboring packs. It had caused tensions to grow in the pack, and many resented her for it.

“Don’t let it get into your head,” Elijah said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and pulling me close to him. “Let’s get some lunch and fuel up. We’re on patrol duty again this afternoon and will need our strength to make it to moonrise.”

“You know the only reason we’re on duty this afternoon is because we’ll be too busy during the next three nights for patrol duty.” I chuckled.

Nobody worked during the nights of the Blood Moon. We couldn’t handle it. Our wolves took control, and we would only be interested in finding a partner to mate.

It was the one time when we were sure no rogues would attack because they, too, were influenced by the power of the moon.

“You’re right!” Elijah said, wiggling his eyebrows. “Do you want to know what Tom planned for me?”

I looped my arm around Elijah’s waist. “Tell me.”

As we continued toward the pack house, Elijah detailed Tom’s plans for their Blood Moon, and as I let his voice wash over me, I thought of Sean and how it must be nice to be mated already.

I hoped, by the end of tonight, it would be my turn.