Gemma
She couldn’t help the rush of excitement as she spotted Dale without a shirt on the field. He wasn’t the only one without a shirt, it seemed most of the alphas preferred to stay in only shorts, but he was the only one that held her attention.
It was ridiculous how much Daisy was drooling in her mind; she’d have to find a mind mop and make her clean up the mess. She was torn from her thoughts as Tamara sat down with her and elbowed her with amusement clear on her face when she winked at her.
Gemma felt her face flush with embarrassment, before she took a handful of the trail mix and shoved it in her mouth. Jessica handed her another bottle of water and she mumbled a thanks through the mouthful.
She’d noticed that some of her pack members had set up stalls and some teenagers were walking through the assembled crowd, offering snacks or drinks for sale and she smiled. At least the pack was making a decent
DaleHe had seen her expression of excitement as they came running into the arena, he still had some speed to give, but the sparkle in her wide eyes and the sheer tension in her stance was so adorable to see. She was cheering for him, even if she wasn’t doing it out loud.He pushed himself and easily passed Alpha Daniels; it certainly already proved why he had tried to avoid the competition altogether. The man’s lavish lifestyle had made him less of a challenge. Of course, as an alpha it would take some serious decadence to show in his physique, but once he had to match other alphas, it would count against him, like it had the other alphas they had left behind.Perhaps they should do this tournament annually to bring the pride back into being an alpha. He was pleasantly surprised to find Attorney Thompson was indeed a true alpha, since he had had to push himself to pass him. It showed that Attorney Thompson was still a t
GemmaShe wasn’t sure what to make of the new version of Dale Cleaver that she was seeing now, so she was extra shy as he led her down the stairs to join the bonfire.She stopped off to check in with Moira; the woman seemed unflustered by the amount of people that needed to be fed. She seemed to be on top of things and in her element; she understood why when they stepped outside.There were four males cooking burgers, steaks and hotdogs over the fire and four females building the burgers and hotdogs or cutting up the steaks and placing them in individual cheesy waffles cones and adding them to the already huge pile of food waiting for their guests buffet style.A dancefloor had been erected a little bit away from the patio and bonfires with seats surrounding them. Fairy lights lit the dancefloor and a DJ was already playing some background music.The entire scene was welcoming and she could already see the pack members collecting around the bonfires while the different packs started
DaleHe was not the only one surprised when his Gemma released her alpha aura for the first time. No one had expected her to have managed it so soon and even less the immense power of it. He was both intimidated and aroused at the sheer power in her aura.On instinct alone he had massaged the back of her neck in an attempt to help her retract her intense alpha aura. But then she all but melted at his touch and her aura retracted almost instantly. At least he knew how to help her relax in future.As they followed her up the stairs to the office, he linked Jessica to bring refreshments and join them since he had a feeling this would be something else she would be adding to her list of things to do. Once inside, Charlie handed her two files and she sat down on the couch, ignoring everyone’s existence while she scanned through the information in the files.Dale indicated for everyone to sit and then found his seat next to h
GemmaShe was rather excited for today’s challenge. They had agreed to intersperse the active tests with the intelligence tests. That way there would be enough movement to keep the wolves happy, but they still got to test the human parts.They had marked off the arena, so every age group could compete at the same time. They males and females were combined for this challenge, according to their ages and titles. And each challenge was unique to their titles and age groups.The toddlers had a puzzle to build as two separate teams. And the challenges got trickier with every step it took in age. The kids’ activities were up first, since their challenges were shorter and easier.They actually had a glib wolf announcing the challenges and giving running commentary to keep it from being boring to the spectators. The male had even gone farther by adding little riddles and jokes in between and the crowds assembl
Dale Once again, he had been schooled about his mate’s intelligence; that puzzle set was pretty challenging and Grant gave him a meaningful look when he came back to sit with his Gem. He didn’t need to be reminded of his stupid decision that had almost cost him so much. He knew he’d fucked up and he was working so hard to fix it. He was just grateful that the mate bond was making things a little easier for him, since he doubted she would have given him the time of day if not for it drawing her to him. But he spent his time with her while the other wolves did their run. They would be in the middle somewhere, since the alphas all wanted to see the Messengers run. They had quite a few good runners in the army, but he was always measuring his warriors against others. It would not do for them to be less than the best. And though their runners might not be the fastest, they were definitely the best trained in evasion and battles, so they would have the best chance at carrying the me
Gemma She was already a little annoyed when Dale’s father made such a big thing about her not being in the competitions. It wasn’t really fair if she set out the competitions and then competed, was it? But then she was sure he was just being contrary and would have been the first to protest if she’d competed as well. It worsened when he tried to insinuate that she was not up to par with other alphas when she hadn’t even had her wolf for a full month. It was ridiculous how full of crap these self-righteous wolves were. But she shifted into Daisy after putting him in his place about his assumptions, considering that Daisy was looking forward to a run when they hadn’t had much time to shift with the tournament arrangements. So she let Daisy approach the starting line. At least the female wolves were not such pompous pricks as the males were. Daisy’s excitement was infectious as soon as they started the race. They stayed with most of the group heading out, knowing that the last
Dale At first he was just relieved that his mate was unhurt and he had to remind Duke that claiming her here and now with cameras on them was not the best time or place, especially considering that they still had to gain her trust before the planned marking at the end of the week. Duke had huffed and agreed that he did not want anyone to see her when he claimed her. But then he turned his attention to the wolf hanging miserably in Charlie’s hold and he was livid to realize it was his brother, someone he hadn’t expected to see ever again. But then he should have probably expected it when his father had shown up out of nowhere; they were like two peas in a pod. He felt like shit when he had to tell his Gem that it was his family who had made her life difficult this time and he honestly expected her to kick his butt out of the pack. But she surprised him at her acceptance of that fact. She might not be ready to deal with them, but
Gemma She had managed to calm down slightly by the time she had washed all the blood off her skin. She had just finished dressing, when she heard the bedroom door open and close. Holding her shoes in her hands, she stepped out of the closet and glanced curiously towards the door. Dale had just come in and he was still only dressed in the spare shorts they kept in shelves in each changing room. It was difficult to keep her eyes on his face when he had such a lovely chest and abs to drool over. He came up to her and pulled her into his arms, only then did she realize that he was upset. Instinctively, her arms went around his waist and she held him while he nuzzled into her hair, taking deep breaths “What’s wrong?” She asked when she sensed that he had managed to balance his emotions enough to not crush her in his arms. “I just found out that they intended to mark you against your will to gain the pack.” He answered without taking his face out of her neck. “You mean like ever