The Alpha's Guardian

I follow the scent of the Alpha for about a quarter of a mile until I come up to a group of people. I can see the top of Alpha Wade's head as I angrily push through and freeze when I see what's happening before me. In the mud are the young omegas I met the other day. They shiver in fear as Alpha Wade hoovers over them, demanding answers they are too frightened to give.

Robin is covered in mud as her brother tries to cover her frame from the line of sight of the onlookers. Her shirt appears to be slightly ripped and her hair is matted to her cheeks as she sobs about being sorry. Mason looks feral as he growls like a beast with rabies at anyone who comes near. Alpha Wade grows weary of their crying and lack of answer as they hand him a whip and he raises it above his head. My feet are moving as fast as I can push them as I land myself in front of the shaking teenagers my back facing the Alpha.

The whip comes down hard across my left shoulder and carries through to my right hip, igniting everything in between with intense pain. Alphas are indeed much stronger than the average wolf. I hiss and growl at the impact as everyone gasps. My head is turned to protect my face and Mason looks up, our eyes locking, and I can see the innocence there. Whatever the crime, these two scrawny kids aren't the perpetrator. I turn my fury to Alpha Wade who is glaring daggers into my eyes. "You have no right to interfere here, Guardian." he spews his words as if they are rotten.

"You would really beat innocent kids?" I ask, ignoring his declaration.

"They aren't innocent."

"How would you know? You haven't given them a chance to respond"Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

"I have been trying to get them to speak for 10 minutes. All she says is 'I'm sorry repeatedly. Her brother sits in silence." Mason growls.

"Is this how you treat your pack members?" I ask. He snaps his eyes to mine. His beast is trying to lead. He needs to do a better job of reining him in.

"They are Omegas." He says. His words hit harder than the strike of his whip, and a low growl vibrates through my chest as I step closer to him.

"So they are less worthy of justice than Alpha Wade? Do you not take it out of the lead Omega?" I hear Robin whimper behind me, and Mason gasps. I turn to look at his worried expression as he pleads for me to stop with his eyes. "Our lead Omega is their grandmother. Would you rather strike an old woman?" he says, thinking he has me in a tight spot.

What he doesn't yet know is that I am an Omega. And I am the highest in rank here outside of him. Which means I must carry their sentence. I never wished to reveal my heritage, what I am. But I am so beyond sick of se*xist, prejudiced assholes that I'm willing to be sacrificed to show these onlookers and Alpha Wade just how wrong they are with their outdated thought process.

"If you were to lash a strong Omega, how many would it be?" I ask cooly. The crowd murmurs and grows. More and more people arriving to check out what the ruckus is. A few chuckles sound from various so-called warriors as one shouts from the back. 'No such thing as a strong omega.'

Looking directly into Alpha Wade's now normal eyes, I can see he has himself in control once again. Good, he is about to learn a valuable lesson today. I step back without breaking eye contact and I lift my shirt over my head and toss it to the side, standing in just my sports bra. Everyone is silent, and I roll my eyes at them. Alpha Wade stuns me when he steps in front of me, blocking me from the view of everyone else.

"What the hell are you doing?" he demands in a whisper.

"Teaching everyone here a little humility Alpha." I step back and raise my arms up. "How many lashes were these pups to get?"

"six each❞ Francis says remorsefully. He is the only one who looks sick over what is unfolding before him.

"For what?" I demand.

"three for the girl for instigating, and three for fighting a warrior unwarranted." My eyes dart to Robin who sobs and Mason who proudly defends her. My heart swells for them.

"Send the accuser up to stand next to me then." A young wolf about only 18 walks up and mournfully stares at Robin and I can practically see it. The mate bond. This warrior is mated to Robin, and he broke her heart.

"Did you reject her?" I ask him loudly. He looks at me guiltily but does not answer I tsk and move on.

"Alpha Wade. Double the lashing. twelve each for a total of twenty-four." He looks at me, speechless. "I, Aliauna, Guardian of Alpha Wade, 115th Warrior of the Guardian committee, and OMEGA WOLF will take this punishment that has been wrongfully imposed on two young omegas under my charge."

I turn around and brace myself for my lashings and when they do not come; I spin and look at the still shocked crowd. Rolling my eyes, I reach out and close Alpha Wade's gaping jaw.

"Would you start already? We have warrior training to get to so I can teach your pack how to be real men." I spin back around and the crowd murmurs to life.

I have a second's notice when the sound of the whip whistles through the air and lands on my bareback. Pain ripples through my body as I focus on removing myself from my body and escape into my meditation. My body forcefully lurches with every hit, each strike landing lighter than the last. Alpha Wade is tired, or he doesn't enjoy whipping me. Perhaps he is more human than I thought.

The final lash lands and I allow myself back from my meditation space. I am almost bowled over by the pain that was awaiting me. Damn, it's been a while since I was whipped. I take a deep breath and spin around to see the group has nearly tripled in size and is stunned to silence. I walk over to Robin and Mason, reaching down only to scoop up my shirt. I help Robin up and hand her my shirt, smiling sweetly at her.

"Are you ok?" I ask and she nods, looking at me stunned.

"Aliauna." Mason starts, but I put my hand up to stop him.

"I want to see you both later for dinner. We need to have a discussion. Now take your sister home and get cleaned up."

I walk over to Alpha Wade, who is watching me intently.

"Let's finish training," I say, continuing on and back the quarter-mile to the training pitch. When I get back I realize that I have completely forgotten I didn't have a shirt on. The back of my sports bra seems to be in tatters, as it is not nearly as snug as it once was. I huff out in annoyance and spin around to find Mason running directly for me with a small bag in his hand. I eye him suspiciously.

"Beta Francis asked me to give this to you. He mind linked his mate to go and find you a replacement in your room," he says shyly as he hands me the bag containing a fresh sports bra and a black tank top. I smile gratefully. "Thank you, Mason. Beta Francis seems like a good guy"

"He is the best, though Alpha Wade used to be pretty cool too," Mason mumbles just as Alpha Wade walks through the doors with Francis by his side. I raise the bag to Francis, as a thank you, and he nods to me and smiles kindly.

"Ali!" Alpha shouts. "Get changed and let's get started."

I slip to the woman's locker room, which is run down and dusty. I can tell there are very few if any, female fighters in this pack, and I'm oddly annoyed by this realization. Gingerly, I rip what's left of my sports bra off and wince when I slowly pull the other one on. I move to put my tank top on but the fabric feels like sandpaper on my tender back so I quickly remove it and decide today I will train a little more scandalously. With my head held high, my back red, and my body on what feels like full display, I saunter out to the men who are flopping around like dying fish attempting to show off their so-called skills.

This is going to be a really long day. I'm actually almost wishing the lashing had taken longer.