Chapter 113: Dormant Alpha

Chapter 113: Dormant Alpha

Elena

I pulled out from Bernard's embrace, I brushed away a few of the tears that had fallen from my eyes, suddenly feeling a little stupid. He intertwined his fingers with mine and rubbed his thumb on the outer part of my hand. His touch calmed the chaos inside me and I was starting to find my center a bit.

His forest green eyes bared into mine searching for something, I could feel him pushing against my wall but I didn't want to let him in. I didn't want him to see the ugly mess in my head. I wanted to be the fearless Luna that he needed and deserved, I wanted to be strong and capable but right now, I just felt weak and defeated. I was years behind the training of others and I am trying to play catch up.

"Let me in," he brought our interconnected hands to his lips and kissed them gently.

"I can't fix it if I don't know what's wrong."

He pushed again but I didn't give in, I didn't want him to see that side of me. He deserves more from me, this pack deserves more from me.

"I just had a moment there but I am okay now."

"No, you are not. You may not let me enter your mind but I can tell that you are not okay, I can feel it. Your emotions are really hard to hide from me, my love." I sighed.

"I just want to be a good Luna."

"For your first session, that was actually pretty good, Elena. You were able to hold your own with Doris. She is one of my best female warriors."

"I landed on the mat every single time, l think I lost." I let go of his hand and ran a frustrated hand through my hair.

"Richard is coming with a bloodthirsty force and here I am. I can barely throw a punch correctly, let alone fight."

"I think you are being a bit dramatic, my love. You won't be a hindrance, you forget that you carry the blood of an Alpha within you."

"Dormant Alpha, my ancestors haven't been full fledged Alphas in decades. I was a wolf for the majority of my adolescent and early adult life. How am I meant to pick up these fighting techniques in the next few days."

He reached for me and circled his arms around me. He kissed the top of my head, I curled my arms around his neck and rested my head on his chest.

An Alpha gene is not something you can steal or acquire naturally. It is given by the moon goddess to those who she seems as worthy. Your bloodline was worthy of the gene, it was unfortunate what played out between your ancestors and Richard's but things have a way of correcting themselves."

"What do you mean?"

"Richard is not the true Alpha of your Pack, you are. I know you have mixed emotions about your old Pack but regardless of that fact, they need you. They need you to set them free from the chains of Richard." I pulled back slightly to look at him.

"You were born for this, Elena. No matter what you think about yourself, you were born to be an Alpha. You survived ten years in the wild, you have evaded danger at every turn and you taught yourself how to survive on your own. You are remarkable, Elena. You have everything you need to do this, you just need to dig deep and activate what is already in you."

Was this his indirect way of saying that I could fight Richard? He must have seen the look on my face because the next thing his eyebrows furrowed.

"No, you are not fighting Richard, I will not compromise on that one. You won't be ready quick enough for such a fight but I do believe that you can fight in this battle."

I knew he would never let me fight Richard. After my training session, I even felt like it would be a suicidal mission, I didn't want to be dramatic but I had to be honest with myself.

"Okay." I relented.

"I won't lie to you, Bernard. I wanted to fight Richard but even now I can see that I have a long way to go in terms of skills set in battle but I will learn over time."

"That's my girl," he smiled, causing that familiar fluttering feeling to return to my chest.

"Back to training then." He nodded.

"You got this, I can guarantee you that soon enough, you will get the hang of it."

After my back landed on the mat so many times, I was thoroughly done with hand-to-hand combat.

"You will get the hang of it soon enough. You just need a little more practice, just make sure you practice those sequences I taught you and you will be kicking Richard's ass on time."

Doris offered me a smile and left me standing on the mat alone. Bernard walked onto the mat and pulled me into his arms. He kissed the side of my head and gave me a little squeeze. He had been there throughout the entire training session, I pulled out of his embrace and gave him a small smile.

"I tried?"

"You were getting better as time went on. You were even able to hold her off quite a few times."

It was that which made me feel a little proud of myself. I knew with time, I would get better and I only needed to be patient.

"I am sure you are hungry."

Right in the queue, my stomach growled loudly, I was sure that the whole training ground heard it. My cheeks blushed and I nodded. Bernard let out a soft chuckle and threaded his fingers through mine so he could lead us back home.

We enjoyed our lunch while running over a few things for the Pack. Bernard wanted me to get accustomed to how things ran within the Pack. There was a lot there, it felt overwhelming. I was handed a rocket design and told to build it on my own. I knew this role would be demanding but I didn't think it would be this demanding. But Bernard kept reassuring me that I was doing okay and I would be alright.

Alpha Kaba walked in with a smile on his face. We both stood to greet each other. He hugged Bernard and kissed both of my cheeks which was a little weird for me but apparently, it was part of custom.

"Please sit down." Bernard gestured to the other seat opposite ours.

"How are you today, Elena? I heard you did well with your hand-to-hand combat with Doris."

"I wouldn't call what I did good but it was decent enough."

"You will get the hang of it." He encourages me.

"Okay, I did some more research into the Alpha gene or whatever you want to call it, Elena. You have a dormant gene and we needed to find a way to activate it again." I nodded, and he turned to Bernard.

"Bernard, as you know, the Alpha gene allows us to be connected with our roots. It places us in a long chain of all the Alphas who came before us. Now in Elena's case, her chain has been severed and we need to reattach that chain once more." I was confused.

"How do we do that exactly?"

"From what my head doctor had told me, it is like a mental and supernatural wound that needs to be healed. For you to heal that wound, you need to reconnect with your roots."

"I am still confused. How exactly am I supposed to do that?"

"You need to accept the gene and allow it to give you the power which you need. The gene is a gift from the moon goddess and like any gift, you need to accept it to receive it."

"But I am not running from the gene." He nodded.

"You may say that but I see it in your eyes. You are scared about what all of this means for you. That is all completely understandable, Richard currently heads the second largest Pack next to Bernard's. It is a lot of responsibilities to take on."

But I didn't want to head the Pack. Bernard must have felt my anxiety rising because he threaded his fingers through mine and gave my hand a gentle squeeze. He looked at me asking if I was okay and I nodded.

"I have a theory." Kaba's face turned solemn.

"I don't think Richard is coming to kill Elena." Bernard furrowed his eyebrows.

"What do you mean? If he doesn't kill her, of which he won't. He won't have a full claim to the Alpha title." Kaba nodded.

"There is another way to ensure that no one ever challenges his title again. Instead of killing Elena, he will mate with her. This way, they will become interconnected and his heirs will hold the true Alpha gene and his gene. If Elena and Richard were to mate, he would then have every right to lead the Pack."

I felt my heart hammer hard in my chest and the faint wave of anger that rolled over me. I looked at Bernard and I could see his face changing color. It was his anger that I was feeling.

"But he can't mate with me, I already have Bernard's mark." I pointed to the now healed mark on my neck.

"It is rare but there have been cases where another wolf can remove the mark of another. It would be excruciating for you but it would erase Bernard's mark and sever your tie to him."

I could feel the wave of anger growing and I knew Bernard was about to lose his cool and so was l. But I wasn't angry, I was filled with anxiety.

"He will not mate with her, it will be over my dead body," Bernard seethed.

"I will kill him before he gets any closer to her."

We only had a few days before Richard's arrival. War was coming and it was coming in hot.