Gemma
She 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
DaleHe was having trouble fighting his instincts when it came to marking and mating with Gemma. He had been so close to marking her when she’d held him in their room. He had been shaking with the effort it took to contain his every alpha instinct.So he’d done the one thing he’d known would help to soothe his wolf’s possessive instincts. He’d knelt down and cared for her in the most submissive way possible. Gemma had been embarrassed and he guessed that Daisy had not informed her of the true meaning of what he had done. He had forced Duke to submit to his alpha.She was still embarrassed by the time he forced himself to release her hand and Jessica had obviously guessed something else entirely, considering the scent of arousal still hanging in the air from their interaction, both his and hers.He had to help himself in the hot shower in a bid to soothe their lust somewhat. This was going t
GemmaThey had held an outside movie night where families could have a picnic while watching a family movie at the end of the previous night; she was glad for the event since she had been exhausted after her busy day and had apparently fallen asleep in Dale’s arms, since he had been particularly clingy after her kidnapping attempt and his conversation with his family.This morning he had awakened her with hungry kisses that had her blood pumping long before she was completely awake, which only happened when he put her down outside for their morning run. She wasn’t sure how she felt about him driving her body insane before she had to run with the pack, but her attention was drawn to the other packs joining them for the morning run.Apparently, they thought it was part of the things to do for the guests. She was not about to tell them any differently, but they all started the casual run so everyone could keep up. After the run, they r
DaleShe had excused herself from the table while he watched the alphas challenge each other for the title of strongest. He didn’t have much interest in it; his wolf only wanted to stay close to their mate.After a while he noticed that she still had not returned; he became worried and excused himself to see if she had gone somewhere to be alone. He had noticed that she would do that sometimes and he was worried with her energy fading quickly sometimes from all the wolves present.She would get tired quickly and she never said anything. What if she’d overexerted herself and was helpless somewhere? He had just come down the corridor when he heard her scream; it sounded like an angry scream and he rushed towards the bathroom where he was sure she was now.His mate never got so angry that she would be aggressive about it. He tried the door, but it was locked. He heard the scuffle inside and he felt the small ha
Gemma“I love you, my Gem.” He growled when he finally broke their make-out session so they could both catch their breath.She froze in shock at his confession. Wasn’t it too soon to make such confessions? Were things different for wolves? Did he actually love her or was it simply the mate bond that made her endearing to him? Surely, he couldn’t care for her so soon if he hadn’t wanted her to begin with?In her mind Daisy rolled her eyes. “Stop overthinking it! He said he loves you, say something back!”“Like ‘thank you’ or ‘you’ll change your mind soon enough’ or ‘terrible idea’? What am I supposed to say?” With another roll of her eyes, Daisy pushed into the driving seat. “She’s overthinking, Commander. Maybe you should make her forget?”Dale c