The Alpha's Prize

8

Word Count: 1588

~Hunter

I grit my teeth, pain searing down my back.

"Stand."

"I can stand."

"Then do it."

Huffing out a breath, I stare at my legs stretched out in front of me. I was instructed by Kaan to lay down on the grass and now I'm going through the painful process of trying to get to my feet.

Sliding from the bed is one thing. Actually standing up entirely is a whole other battle.

And it doesn't help that Kaan is staring down at me with his arms folded, his brows raised.

"Give me a second..." I mumble, trying to manoeuvre my legs under me so I can rest on them.

The pain isn't even the difficult part to overcome. It's how weak my legs have become, how little they respond to my silent demands.

"You're overthinking. Use your legs," Kaan instructs.

I glare at his boots, wishing he didn't feel obliged to help me. Regardless of how I feel about it, I'm letting him aid me in my recovery in hopes it gets me out of here quicker.

"Grab me if you need to," he murmurs, extending a hand.

I ignore it.

"I'll sooner fall on my ass."

"And I would love to see it." I don't look up but I can hear the smile in his voice.

Mustering a deep breath, I pull my legs under me before forcing as much of my energy into propelling me upwards. My legs shudder and shake, yet I manage to stay standing, not needing to brace myself on Kaan at all.

If he weren't looking I may have clapped for myself in celebration.

"Now take a few steps," he commands. I see he's very interested in praise. "Standing is the hard part. I want you to do a lap of this area."

I stare at him, wiping sweat from my brow.

Thankfully he hasn't laughed, nor made vicious comments about my multiple failed attempts to stand so far. He's been relatively stoic, like something else is plaguing his mind.

He is an Alpha. The fact that he is deigning to help me at all is a miracle.

"I would appreciate it if you wouldn't stand and stare while I do it," I grumble, taking another step.

My feet sink into the grass, making the process harder. Kaan insisted that the damp ground would be an incentive for me to stand faster, although all that ended up achieving was giving me a wet ass.

Not once does his eyes drift from me as I take a few steps. "Now, I can't make any promises."

"How do you sisters put up with you?" I mutter, shaking my head in wonder.

"They don't. My whole family hardly speaks to each other," he admits.

He doesn't sound heartbroken by the reality, although his dark green gaze does wander off out to the forest line. In fact, the colour of his irises share many similarities to those woods.

"I understand that," I mutter under my breath.

Maybe it's the curse of being in a family that is destined to produce Alpha's. My childhood was cold and procedural, and I understood from a young age that I was there to make my parents a lot of money.

"Is that why you ran away?" Kaan asks softly, dragging me back to reality.

I blink. "What?"

"I'm assuming that's why you're here. You ran away from home," he comments.