Alpha Tristan

Tristan cupped his hands around my fists and shook them briefly. "Remember what I said about using your whole body, αγάπη μου. The power is transferred to your fists so you should be able to feel it—let it determine your momentum."

When he released my hands, I acknowledge his words and raised my fists again. Heeding what he said during our last training session, I twisted at my h.i.p.s to transfer the power from my legs. My fist collided with the palm of his hands and he smiled in satisfaction as the skin flushed a light red. 

"Good. This is another basic move but for a double hit, when your fist collides into them you follow that up with your elbow to hit them square in the face."

I frowned at him. "I don't want to do that to you." Tilting my body slightly, I acted out the hit in thin air, hitting nothing as I planted myself in the snow to stay upright when I put a little too much power. He watched me closely and nodded before he reached for my hand and began pulling me in the opposite direction. 

I didn't say anything and before long, we had reached the indoor training room. It wasn't as expansive as the field but it had all the equipment I would need to train properly. The room was heated so I quickly pulled my jacket off, settling it on the bench as I went to stand in front of the punching bag. 

Tristan stood behind me, arms folded across his c.h.e.s.t as he watched me. "Practice all that I've taught you so far, Kara."

Nodding, I rained down punches on the bag, alternating between my right and left hand, and my elbow. The sound of my fists colliding with the meat of the bag reverberated around the room and when I had begun to work up a sweat, I stopped and turned around to look at Tristan. 

He seemed impressed. I could tell from the way he smiled subtly. "That was good. You have a lot of power." He walked across the room to a built-in cupboard in the wall and pulled out a towel. Stepping towards me, he dabbed my forehead and then neck before speaking again. "The best thing you can do is catch your opponent off-guard. It's the moment that could make or break a fight."

"Do you want me to catch you off-guard?" 

Tristan chuckled lightly. "Asking definitely defeats the purpose."

Rolling my eyes, I stepped closer towards him. "Yet I bet I could still do it." I went onto my tiptoes, locking my lips with his as I kissed him slowly. His heart rate picked up and I kicked it up a notch when I squeezed his shoulders in warning before jumping up and wrapping my legs around his waist. 

He caught me effortlessly and hoisted me up further to hold onto me properly. I sighed against his mouth and cupped his face, deepening the kiss as I smiled against his lips. 

"I bet that was the last thing you expected me to do."

Tristan leaned in to kiss me again. "I always know when you're going to kiss me. Your lips part ever so slightly and you get this s.e.xy look on your face. It drives me crazy." He spoke against my mouth, pulling back with a smirk when I tightened my legs around his waist. 

His voice was deep and husky, and I quickly realised that kissing him opened a door of opportunities we couldn't take in the training room.

When he reluctantly let me down, I turned back to the punching bag and rubbed my hand over my racing heart. "You drive me crazy." Throwing him a glance over my shoulder, I sighed quietly. "I don't want to do anything but be with you—n.a.k.e.d and underneath you."

It was silent between us for a long and tense moment before Tristan stepped forward to wrap his arm around my waist. He pulled me flush against his c.h.e.s.t and lowered his lips to my ear. His cool breath brushed the shell and I held my breath. 

"I can make that happen. Whenever you want." His hand flattened against my lower stomach and he applied pressure so I pressed myself against him. "What do you want right now, αγάπη μου?"

I leaned my head back against his sternum and a breathy m.o.a.n fell from my lips. "I want what you imagined yesterday." My eyes fluttered closed as I conjured you the image in my mind. "On the counter with your hand around my neck."

Tristan stiffened for a moment before he cupped my chin and tilted my head back to catch my m.o.a.n with his lips. It was passionate and heated. I had to pull away when I realised where we were and more importantly what time it was. 

"Tristan…" I murmured gently. "It's almost eleven o'clock. You have a call remember?"

He sighed before something seemingly clicked for him. "I'll do you one better. After my call is finished—against my desk with both my hands round your neck."

I would've melted into a puddle on the floor if it wasn't for his steady hands holding me up after his suggestion. I quickly nodded, turning around and grabbing his hand in mine. Picking up my coat, I didn't bother putting it on since I was hot enough with the anticipation of what Tristan would do to me. 

For once, I kept up with his natural pace and before we knew it, we were back at the house. Tristan pulled me up the stairs to his office and when I went to sit down on the small sofa in the room, he tugged me into his l.a.p. 

"Stay still for me, okay?" his voice was gentle but I didn't miss the commanding tone. 

I nodded, resting my head against his shoulder as he waited for his call. Only two minutes passed before the phone rang and he picked it up with a small smile. 

"Good afternoon, θείος." At the sound of his native language, I peered at the way his tongue enunciated the words differently and how his accent switched to suit the Greek. I had no idea what he was saying when he continued speaking in his language, but I definitely couldn't deny that it was alluring. 

Tristan glanced at me when I sighed quietly. He refocused my attention on solely him when he said my name. It sounded different with Greek and he smiled softly, nodding his head when the man on the other end laughed out a response. He was definitely talking about me, but with who?

Much to my frustration, the call took an hour and all throughout it, I couldn't stop my l.u.s.tful thoughts. Tristan speaking his native language turned me on more than I wanted to admit.

When he hung up, he softly pressed his lips to mine. Kissing me slowly, he dug his fingers into my curls and sighed into my mouth. "If I do everything you just thought of, you won't be able to walk for the rest of the day, Kara." He pulled back slightly and his warm blues settled on my honey brown eyes. "We have the pack hunt remember?"

I lifted my fingers to brush across his flushed lips. "It was the Greek. I couldn't control my thoughts once you started speaking Greek."

He smirked slowly. "I'll speak it more often from now on." Manoeuvring me in his l.a.p, he placed my feet on the floor and stood up. Pressing himself tightly against me, he flattened a hand on my back and bent me over the table. "Maybe I'll start now."

————

"Five hundred people?" my mother exclaimed, placing a hand on her c.h.e.s.t with her eyes wide in shock. "Are they all going on the hunt?"

Tristan shook his head. "One hundred and fifty people haven't had their first shift yet. And the numbers are then split in half for more manageable numbers." I could tell that it wasn't the first pack hunt because he seemed so organised. "Greenland is a very large territory. There are many alphas and smaller packs. I just have bigger numbers because of…the war." 

My mother swallowed audibly and nodded. "And I need to be there?" 

"You and Kara will be introduced together. I introduce all new pack members this way, but Kara isn't just any pack member. She's their Luna."

I could see the cogs turning in my mother's head and she tilted her head to the side slightly in confusion. "But is she their Luna if she hasn't done your barbaric initiation process-the fight to the death?"

I sighed tiredly and frowned in her direction. "Mum." With a warning tone, I shook my head at her. "Stop. I told you to stop interfering."

She held her hands up and her eyebrows shot up. "Hey, forgive me if I worry about you—my only daughter."

The anger peaked within Tristan's c.h.e.s.t and his expression froze over. "You seem to have so many misconceptions about me. Kara is my mate. I would never hurt her nor would I let her be hurt." His hand found mine and he pulled me closer against his c.h.e.s.t. "She's their Luna. There's no doubt about it."

I placed my hand on his c.h.e.s.t and peered up at him. "Can you wait outside for me?"

He tore his icy gaze from my mother and levelled it with mine. His jaw tightened and he nodded briefly, lifting his hand to cup my face. Delivering an almost bruising kiss to my lips, the anger simmered within him and I could tell what my mother had said had gotten to him. 

When he left the house, I crossed my arms and sighed defeatedly. "You're not trying, Mum." With a disappointed shake of my head, I frowned at her. "I'm connected to him. Whatever he feels, I feel and if you're purposely trying to hurt him then do you care about me at all?"

She protested with a shake of her head. "I do care about you, Kara. But you can't expect me to like him."

"I expect you to respect my decision." I lifted a hand to the daffodil necklace Tristan had given to me. "I chose to be with him. I made the right decision, the only decision, and chose to be with my mate. You're forgetting that whatever you had with that man will never compare to what I have with Tristan." I didn't want to deliver any low blows, but I had to drive my point home. "You're not a spiteful person, Mum. That's not the person who raised me—and if this is the person you've become then just go back to London. I don't want you if it'll be like this."

She frowned deeply. "You would choose him over me?"

"Are you not choosing Carew over me?" I stunned her into silence and I just hoped that she was finally beginning to see things from my side. The silence reigned for a few long moments before I turned around and headed towards the door. I tilted my head to say one last thing to her. "If you truly care about me, you'll come to the hunt and show Tristan the respect he deserves."

Opening the door, I stepped out onto the snow as a shaky breath fell from my lips. I could count on one hand how many times my mother had argued and almost all of them were as a result of her behaviour towards Tristan. It was beginning to take a toll on me. I loved my mother more than anything and I just wished that it didn't feel like I was torn between family and my soulmate. 

My throat closed up and I tried to swallow down the lump of emotion as Tristan stepped towards me. Silently, he pulled me into his arms and I gripped onto his jacket before I squeezed my eyes shut. I dug my face into his shoulder and willed the tears back. 

"It's okay, αγάπη μου. It's okay." He murmured into my hair and pressed kisses to my temple. 

With my eyes still closed, I sought out his lips and slowly kissed him to find solace in his touch. He delicately curved a hand around the back of my head and deepened the kiss. There was nothing l.u.s.tful about it—it was comforting and solely an act of support.

I pulled away for air but gently rested my forehead against his. He cradled my face in his and proceeded to do the exact same thing I did when he cried in my arms. His lips first pressed to my forehead then my eyelids, down to the tip of my nose before he softly kissed my lips. 

"I'm here for you, Kara. Always." He pulled back and c.a.r.e.s.sed under my eyes until I opened them to see him gazing at me. "Okay?"

I nodded and he cracked a small smile before reaching down to hold my hand. 

"Come on, let's go." He walked by my side and his hand was warm and wholly comforting. It wasn't a long walk but halfway through, I heard my mother's footsteps behind me. 

I carried on walking because I still hadn't gathered my bearings, and focused on Tristan's touch to keep me together. When we reached a clearing of sorts, I widened my eyes slightly at the sight in front of me.

Five hundred people all gathered together and bowing their heads when Tristan and I stepped onto a raised part of the snow. I tried to take it all in and spotted a few familiar faces at the front. Brielle, Christian, Markus and Mindy, the beautiful woman from the training field. 

Tristan squeezed my hand and I could feel my cheeks heat up when Brielle visibly fought a smirk from appearing on her face. I knew she could tell that Tristan and I had mated—I knew everyone could tell. His scent was heavily mixed with mine and since he had me only six hours ago, it was stronger than normal. His mark on my neck certainly didn't make it any less obvious that he had claimed me in more ways than one. 

I was his in every sense of the word.

"Before we go on the hunt," his voice carried all the way to the person at the very back and he wasn't even shouting. His power projected his voice and I couldn't help but stare at him. "I wanted to formally introduce my mate and her mother to you all, Kara and Dahliah." He paused when my mother stood slightly behind us. "This pack finally has a Luna again, and I'm positive that you'll love her as you love me. We all know that yesterday was the anniversary of my parents' death. I wouldn't have gotten through it as best as I did without her."

Brielle grinned warmly at me and I returned the grin before turning back to Tristan. He glanced down at me and affectionately pressed his lips to my forehead. He was met with howls of happiness and he wrapped an arm around my shoulders to pull me closer to him. Once he made his announcement, he declared the start of the hunt and people began to shift. 

Before I pulled my jacket off, I glanced at my mother and ended doing a double-take when I caught frozen in her spot. She was holding her breath and I followed her gaze to a man with a mix of apprehension and shock on his face. He had the exact look I did when I first saw Tristan.

He was tall and his eyes were a stormy grey. They never wavered from my mother's and as he slowly walked towards her, Tristan picked up on it and watched them both. His hand reached towards hers and I heard the shaky breath fall from my mother's slightly trembling lips. When their hands met, the recognition flashed in his eyes and my mother expelled a harsh sigh of relief.

My lips parted in a bright grin and I watched as my mother's mate pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly. I couldn't look away when my mum held onto him tightly. I knew that she had always believed her mate had died and it must have been a relief to know that he had been alive all along, just in a different part of the world.

She was no longer alone, and she gained the chance to know true love, just like I did.