Chapter 12 TRIALS OF AN OMEGA
Sebastian’s POV
Sundown arrives faster than I would like.
My stomach twists into tight knots as I approach Alpha Ragnar’s quarters once again, the hallways echoing with the quiet but firm tap of my only good pair of boots.
My mind was spinning with questions about tonight.
What exactly would I be expected to do?
Why does his Beta want him to get a guard?
And he is in some kind of danger?
Yeah right.
Like I am the best choice and fit to protect his life.
I knock nervously.
“Enter,” came the low, commanding voice I already knew too well.
I stepped inside. Ragnar was leaning against the wall again.
What is with him and not just sitting?
He wasted no words on greetings.
After giving me a once-over he gestures to a chair that I sit gingerly on.
“Talk to him.”
“No way in hell Alisander!”
I immediately shut that down.
Not wanting to appear the crazy wolf, I open a mental link and reply to Alisander.
Already he thinks I’m a bold person so I don't want him to think I am crazy too.
“Change into this, it's your training gear,” he said simply, tossing a set of dark tunic and trousers toward me.
I hesitated. “Training… gear?”
His gaze pinned me to the spot. “Do I need to explain why?”
I shook my head, swallowing the lump in my throat.
Thank the goddess for the clothes he's given me.
I wouldn't want to ruin my only good pair of shirt and trousers.
I walk towards a vacant room to change mentally prepping myself. This is it. My first real test as his guard. I was about to be thrown into the fire with the other candidates who are stronger, deadlier and confident wolves who looked like they had been born to fight.
I changed quickly, my hands trembling, and stepped into the training yard. The moment I emerged, I understood exactly what I was up against.
The other guards were already lined up, their bodies honed and lethal.
There was a sea of broad shoulders, thick arms with muscles and scars all around me.
Everyone looked like they had a story of a touch history and there I was… small, scrawny and shaking in my own skin.
A couple of whispers pass through my ears and I caught snippets:
“Seriously? That’s him?”
“Alpha lost his mind.”
“He looks like he might snap in half if someone sneezes on him.”
My face burns in embarrassment.
Don’t let them see you break. Don’t let them see you break. Don’t let them see you break.
I mentally chant over and over finding a little corner to stash myself willing this time to be all over.
Alpha Ragnar steps forward, hands clasped behind his back. The air around him seemed to hum with authority as everyone went quiet.
“Training begins,” he announced. “Strength. Stamina. Endurance. You’ll be tested in every way. Each and everyone one of you, there will be no preferential treatment.”
My pulse thuds as I feel people looking at me. Well there goes my hiding nook.
The first practice exercise was simple in theory: lift a weighted log.
The others hoisted it up with ease, muscles barely straining even jeering at each other as they did it.
When it came to me… I could barely lift it off the ground.
The first time, I tripped and hit the log with my face.
The second time, I rolled with the log.
The third time, the log wobbled in my hands, heavy and uncooperative as my hands shook but I barely lifted it from the ground.
A few guards snickered behind me.
“Careful, omega,” one drawled. “Don’t want to embarrass the Alpha by breaking your own arms.”
My face burned hot, but I forced my jaw tight and tried again.
The log lifted a few inches before dropping with a humiliating thud.
Laughter echoed across the training grounds.
My heart sank. I don’t belong here. I made a mistake. This was a mistake.
Alpha Ragnar must regret choosing me already.
I spot Alpha Ragnar’s eyes on me. He didn't look impressed but at the same time he didn't look disappointed.
I don't think I've seen him with another expression when he's looking at me.
Except that night Sebastian.
I mentally shake that thought away from me.
The training grounds were the worst place to get a boner.
I grew red with shame as I pulled the tunic a little lower trying to hide my reaction.
It took a lot of trials but I was finally able to carry the log for a few seconds.
Next was the stamina course.
Sprinting laps, obstacle courses you have to weave across and jumping over barriers were what we had to do.
The others once again cleared through this effortlessly with ease.
While me?
I tripped.
More than once too, scraping my hands and knees, and everytime, the guards jeered.
“Move it, omega! You call that a run?”
“Try using your legs instead of daydreaming!”
“My grandma runs faster than you.”
And the sad part, he was right.
I've seen his grandmother, that woman looks like she's on hemlock with the way she runs around all day.
My face flushed scarlet, but I pushed through.
Sweat poured down my back.
My lungs were burning.
My muscles screamed in protest. I was pathetic, I knew it. But I also… I couldn’t stop. I wouldn’t stop.
Because despite it all, only one thought blazed hotter than shame or fear: Alpha Ragnar was watching. He was seeing every failure. Every misstep. And yet… he hadn’t stopped me. He hadn’t sent me away. So I wouldn't stop.
After what felt like an eternity, Alpha Ragnar clapped his hands sharply. “Enough.”
The yard fell silent. Even the mocking whispers froze.
“Sebastian,” Alpha Ragnar said, his eyes scanning my trembling frame. “Step forward.”
I obeyed, knees weak.
“You’re not strong. Not yet. You’re not fast. Not yet. But you’re… still here. You haven’t quit. And for that—” He paused, voice low and deliberate, “You will remain in your position.”
My pulse thundered painfully.
Relief flooded my veins as I and Alisander were mentally screaming.
Chosen.
I was chosen.
Not because I was strong or because I was ready.
Only because I wouldn’t give up.
The other guards snorted.
“Yeah, right. Chosen for what? To trip over his own feet?”
“Alpha’s clearly got a soft spot for him,” another muttered.
His eyes returned to me, and I felt my breath hitch. He took a step closer, just enough that I could feel his body heat.
“You will train harder than anyone else,” he said. “And one day, you will be more than just an Omega.”
I swallowed hard, trying to steady myself.
“You understand?” he asked.
“Yes, Alpha,” I managed, voice trembling.
“Good.” He stepped back, surveying the yard. And then, I felt it. That pull again- the one that had hit me the moment I first saw him in the courtyard.
My mate.
And by the look of his eyes, I'm certain he feels it too.