MATED TO THE STRONGEST ALPHA
Chapter Sixteen

*Selene's POV

At last, our training for the day was over! I let my body rest in my soft bed; my eyes were closed for a moment. My whole being was tired and hurt. I didn't know if I would still be able to walk the next day. I was tired; I wanted to sleep, but dinner was about to begin in a minute.

As my eyes closed, I remembered Axel's face. I didn't deny that he was handsome, but his attitude was not attractive. He didn't consider anyone's emotions; he would tell what he wanted to tell. He was brutally honest. Probably too honest. "I am so tired," I said to myself. I didn't know when the last day of training was. I was thinking too far already. I didn't want Axel to be my trainer anymore; could I request it from my father?

Being alone, I heard one knock on my door. I couldn't get up, so I gave that person permission to open the door and enter. My eyes were closed, so I only heard the footsteps, but even though I didn't see someone, I knew those footsteps belonged to my mom. I wanted to open my eyes, but my tired body didn't let me.

I felt her seat next to me. "Tired?"

I nodded. Even opening my mouth to speak felt like a herculean task. I felt like my words were not with me anymore. All my energy was gone at that moment.

She just laughed sweetly. She came even closer to me and swept the hair over my face.

"You want me to have your food brought here?"

I tried to talk. "I want to sleep."

"But you haven't eaten your dinner yet."

"Yeah, but I don't have the energy to eat."

"Just try your very best."

I pouted for a while before finally nodding in agreement. "Is Axel still here?"

My mom didn't respond for a while.

I didn't want to see Axel's face for now. I hated him for making me feel like this.

"He is talking to your father. Why did you ask? Anything wrong?"

Could I tell my mom how cruel that man was?

I opened my tired eyes and looked at my mom, who looked at me with her sweet and gentle eyes.

"He tortured me. That was not training anymore." I sounded like a kid, while my eyes were pleading to stop this training.

"Can we change my trainer? He is a monster," I added.

My mom just laughed at me. And for a second, she told me what was on her mind.

"That is part of the training. All of us experienced that at some point or another when we went through training. You will never be strong if you're not pushed beyond your limits." Because your body is prepared for that hardship and finally adapts to it, you will be far stronger than originally planned."

Maybe when she told me those words, she didn't want to mention the fact that I have a weak body. The reason I easily felt tired.

"I will tell Axel that he needs to be gentle. It was your first time training," my mom added when she noticed that I couldn't talk anymore.

"For now, you need to eat your dinner. Do I still bring it here for you as earlier discussed?"

I gently shook my head. "No need. I will come out in a minute. I just need to rest my body for a bit more."

My mom stood up. "I will wait for you at the dining table. Lady Malia prepared one of your favorite foods, steak. She said Axel forbade you to eat that earlier."

I remembered again how he tapped my hand. And forced me to eat vegetables. It was good my mom was here; I could eat meat again.

"Okay Mom," I managed to gather up the strength to mutter.

"All right, I will wait for you outside." After she said that, she kissed me on my forehead.

My body was still tired, but I needed to go outside for dinner. I hoped my training tomorrow would be better than today. My body couldn't accept the hardship that Axel made me go through.

When my body was a bit, I got up to change my clothes and then went outside. On my way to the dining room, I saw Axel walking towards me. I looked away just to make him realize that I was mad at him. He stopped in front of me but quickly walked past him.

"Okay, weak princess." He started his words again. "I wanted to apologize for what I put you through earlier."

I stopped when I heard it, but I didn't turn back to look at him.

I pondered for a split second if he was actually sincere or was just bluffing.

"Are you sincere?" I blurted out my thoughts.

He didn't respond for a moment; I heard his footsteps. He walked toward me.

"No... I just said it, so you could attend the training tomorrow," he said when he came from behind and stopped in front of me.

I rolled my eyes. "Seriously?"

"Just kidding. Don't be mad at me. You will understand that soon." He gave me his smile. I didn't know, but I felt strange.

"You did a great job. See you tomorrow, princess." He smiled widely and started walking away but stopped when I called his name.

"Axel..." I paused until he turned back to look at me. "I thought you would join us for dinner tonight."

In a split second, he responded. "That is a good idea. The Lycan king also told me to join you guys for dinner. It almost slipped my mind."

At least, for a moment, he seemed like a normal and nice person, not a monster. But still, I hated him for the kind of training he made me pass through.

I walked side by side with him to the dining hall, continually stealing glances at him. I would admit he's pretty good-looking. The only unattractive thing I could notice about him was his crappy attitude. I was still heavily pissed off about the training.

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