Chapter 8: The Undoing

Aurora’s POV

Things with my mother only seemed to be getting worse. She refused to talk about what prompted this newfound hatred for training and thanks to Faith I couldn’t stop thinking about Alpha Liam either.

I felt the pain shoot through my back as Alpha Liam threw me once again down on the ground. There was nothing hot and sexy about today’s training. I was getting more bruised by the minute.

“Where is your head at? Whatever you’re going through doesn’t matter right now. Your opponent doesn’t care about your boy troubles or anything else for that matter. You’re supposed to be fighting for your life, but right now you don’t seem to care.”

I flinched at the harshness of Alpha Liam’s words, but I couldn’t blame him. Since we started training, I hadn’t been able to dodge a single one of his attacks or attempt to attack him myself.

“I’m sorry, I’ll do better.”

I picked myself up from the mat. I was determined to make the most of the time that we had here. We only practiced for an hour before he would send me home just for me to return an hour later for more gruesome training.

“Aurora, it seems like you’re just wasting my time. Just like you, I could be sleeping right now, but instead, I’m here with you. I saw potential in you, and I know you’re more than just an Omega, but right now you’re proving everyone right. Every person that doubts you, that mocked you, you’re giving them the satisfaction of winning.”

It felt impossible to focus. I threw myself at him and he shook his head disappointedly before tossing me to the side as if I weighed nothing. I slammed against the mat and groaned in pain.

“Go home Aurora.”

I looked up to protest, but his back was already facing me. He was walking away from me and there was nothing that I could do to stop him. My bones were weighed down from exhaustion and my voice was caught in my throat. I had let down the one person who believed in me. I didn’t move, I just lay there in defeat.

The sun started to rise, and more pack members began to file around the pack house. I stood up from the mat when I saw Faith walk in. She looked happy and well-rested unlike me. I’m sure I looked like a bag of sh*t.

“You look like sh*t,” Faith said when I was standing beside her.

I rolled my eyes already knowing that there was no use in arguing with her, she was right.

“That’s something we can agree on,” Jessica said as she walked past us.

I wanted to rip out her throat with my teeth, but what good would that do? I was still a weak Omega and after my training with the Alpha, I knew I wasn’t doing any better. I was distracted with my mind torn between how attracted I was to him and how pissed I was with my mother.

“Have you been here all night? Did you get any sleep from your training session?” Faith whispered.

I shook my head at her and turned my attention to the back doors as they opened. Alpha Liam walked out with Beta Alexander following closely behind him. His eyes searched the pack, but never went in my direction. Was he still mad that I was distracted at practice?

“Today as you can see, I’ve decided to combine training. I’m only one person and I want to witness the very best out of all of you. Regardless of rank and social status, here in this field, we are one pack. When one fails, we all fail and when it comes to war, we defend what is ours. I’m not a well-liked Alpha and I wouldn’t be surprised if someone was planning to wage war with us. Last time that happened, we conquered, and I plan to continue conquering,” Alpha Liam said.

He spoke with such pride as he looked at his pack members and I couldn’t help but want that for myself. I wanted him to be proud of me, and I wanted to be proud of myself. I wanted to prove that I was more than the ranking that I was born under.

“Everyone pair up with a partner except for you, Miss Hamilton. Your mother asked for you to be excused from training activities.”

My jaw dropped as the words left his mouth. There was no way that I was going to sit out of training today or any day. He had told my mother that her request had been denied and we trained a couple of hours ago, this couldn’t be happening.

“Alpha, I want to train,” I said.

I could hear the desperation in my voice, and I hated it. I hated that I felt like I needed this. I needed to train because I needed to improve. I hadn’t gotten in a fight with my mom to give up or be pushed out of training. I argued with her because I was prepared to do the work and accomplish what I wanted.

I had always wanted to be seen as more than the Omega and this was my shot. I may have been distracted during our private practice, but I wasn’t going to just give up on all that I had learned. He was teaching me discipline and I had never felt stronger than when I lost against him because even though I was losing, I was giving it my all.

“I just don’t think you take this seriously. I don’t know if it’s because you don’t care or something else entirely, but I refuse to have my time wasted by someone who doesn’t care.”

How could he think I didn’t care? I was putting in the work and I was trying every day. I considered his notes and applied them. What more did he want from me?

“Please Alpha, let me train,” I begged.

I didn’t care who heard or saw me. Alpha Robin wouldn’t give me the time of day, and neither would my mother. Alpha Liam was the only one willing to help me make more out of myself and I couldn’t just let that dream slip away.

I wasn’t just doing this for me, I was doing this for all the other girls like me. I had deemed myself the beacon of hope for Omegas and I couldn’t just play dead. I had to show him that I was serious and hopefully, that would be enough.

“I know I was distracted earlier, but please don’t take this away from me. I need this Alpha Liam, I want this,” I pleaded to him, forcing my thoughts into his mind.

I didn’t care who heard or watched me beg to train, but I did have some sort of dignity and self-respect left. I couldn’t just willingly give Jessica more ammunition to pick on me.

“I don’t have a partner for you. Everyone is already paired off,” he said.

Finally, he was talking to me, leaving me with some sort of hope. If I did well at training, then I was sure to win his trust back and he could see that I wasn’t here to play games. He would see that I was just as serious as he is.

“I’ll train with the mat by itself, just let me train. I thought I was getting better, and I don’t want to go back to the old me.”

Alpha Liam turned to look at me, those gray eyes that held so much disappointment softened, and he nodded. He seemed to always cave for me as if I was his soft spot. Maybe he saw something in me that reminded him of someone else, someone that he couldn’t say no to.

I smiled brightly at him which warranted a breathtaking smile of his own. His face was normally guarded and with a grimace, but when he smiled, it was the sexiest thing. His smile showcased his dimples and the perfect straight row of teeth that he had been hiding.

“I’ll find you a partner.”

That was all I needed to hear as I walked over to an empty mat and waited. Everyone else had begun sparring, throwing various jabs at one another. I started to feel self-conscious about what would transpire between me and my partner.

Would he send me someone weak to even out the playing field? Would he join me on the mat, and we have a repeat of last night? Would I just end up embarrassing myself?

The questions swirled around my mind, and I didn’t know how to stop them, but I needed to find a way and quickly. I couldn’t have a repeat of my practice with the Alpha. I needed to show him that I was worth teaching and that this was something I was going to fight for.