Lunar Bond

Pack

"Alex, you will have Claire Stone on your team this week," Coach announced, and my heart skipped a beat. The sound of Coach's voice became a distant hum as Alex motioned for me to join him.

"Good to see you again," he whispered in my ear, his proximity sending shivers down my spine.

"The feeling isn't mutual," I responded, crossing my arms and turning away from him. But despite my resistance, he lazily wrapped his arm around me and guided me towards the Betas. Familiar faces from my pack greeted me, but beyond that, I didn't know anyone or their skill levels.

"Today, Alphas, I want you to get to know your new pack," Coach Bill instructed, a smile playing on his lips as he surveyed the field. "Figure out all you can about them because tomorrow will be our first match. I want to see some good competition."

"Alright," Alex began, addressing the group. "Let's start by going around the circle. Share your name and one of your strengths. Mitchell and I know most of you, but my Luna here needs to get to know us." He pulled me closer under his arm, an act I tried to resist, but his strength prevailed.

Reluctantly, I listened as each member of the pack introduced themselves. "My name is Mason, and I'm pretty good at defending in most sports," one of the Betas named Mason said, giving a small wave in my direction. "Good to see you, Claire."

I smiled back at him, recognizing him from my previous pack. Mason had always been kind and fast, making him a formidable opponent in matches.

"Mason is quick on his feet. Back at our old pack, he was hard to pin down in a match because of those quick feet," I praised, appreciating his skills. However, I noticed a flicker of confusion in Alex's eyes as he glanced between Mason and me.

"Did you spend a lot of time watching him battle?" Alex asked, his tone tinged with annoyance, though he tried to mask it with a joke.

"Claire was one of the best at sparring and combat," Mason quickly interjected, sounding somewhat worried. The curious gazes of the others in the group turned towards us. "Her dad is second, and he trained her well."

Suddenly, I felt the weight of their stares, as if I was something out of the ordinary. I scanned the faces in the group, but my gaze settled on Alex. He was looking at me with a mixture of confusion and curiosity, trying to unravel the pieces of the puzzle that seemed to surround me.

"Now that we've cleared up that Mason and I aren't sleeping together, can we keep going?" I huffed, wanting to move past the misunderstanding. Even Mason seemed embarrassed by the assumption.

After everyone finished introducing themselves, Alex turned to me expectantly. "Claire?"

"I think Mason did a fine job introducing me," I replied with a sweet smile, though Alex could sense the underlying tension. I didn't care about his interest in me; I only wanted to represent my family well. If any of the other Alphas had witnessed our exchange, they wouldn't be particularly drawn to me.

"What's one of your strengths?" Alex asked, his tone indicating that much had changed since I'd been here.

"Strategy has always been my favorite," I shrugged, looking up at him.

"Great! Now that we have a couple of extra minutes, Mitchell will go over a few things. Claire, can I talk to you?" Alex grabbed my arm and pulled me to a corner, where we could have some privacy. I glanced around and noticed that all the other Alphas were engaged in similar conversations with their Lunas, but they all seemed more excited than us.