The Claiming by Cooper Book 4
The Contest by Cooper (Jaxon & Evangeline)
Chapter 2
We’re all in the back of our packhouse while my father and my younger brother, Alejandro, stand on the stage to discuss the upcoming contest where I will finally be able to claim my own pack. A pack that I have to fight for because my father felt that my younger brother could run this pack better. So, there they are, on the stage, making the announcement.
“The contest will begin in three months’ time.” My father says and instantly, my sister, Magdalena’s hand goes up.
“Yes, Magdalena.” My father says and I know his patience with us is already running thin, but I don’t care. Both Maggie and I are older than Al. We should have had the opportunity to be the heir to this pack. Just because I don’t have the right package hanging between my legs doesn’t make me any less capable of being able to lead a pack.
“Why is the contest starting in three months? Hasn’t it already taken years to prepare for?” She asks. Good question.
“That is correct. However, the contest will be open to everyone over the age of 16. The Council and the current Alphas felt that it was only fair to give anyone that is not currently training at a warrior level time to get stronger in order to compete.”
My hand shoots up in the air. I’ m being petty, I know, but I don’ t care. I see my father sigh.
“Yes, Evangeline?”
“So, she-wolves can enter the contest? We are eligible to become Alphas? Is that correct?”
My father grits his teeth. “Yes, that is correct.”
I give him my best fake smile. “Good to know.”
I see my mother giving Maggie and I ‘the look’. Both of us ignore her.
I feel a strong arm go around my shoulder and look up to see another around Maggie’s. “Easy my sisters. Don’t keep challenging our father in front of the pack. Mother will kick both of you’re a*s*ses and you know it.”
“Don’t care.” I say.
“It would be worth it.” Maggie says.
Lazio chuckles. He’s an easy-going brother. I adore him. While my relationship with Alejandro has always been strained because I felt I deserved what he was being given, I have no such animosity toward Lazio. He will also be in the contest, fighting to claim a pack of his own. If I don’t win, I’ II be moving to Lazio’s pack.
Our youngest sister, Makayla is too young to enter the contest, but I doubt she cares. She’s perfectly happy being a Luna or even a Beta female. Her personality is much more like my father’s, relaxed and easygoing. Maggie and I couldn’t be more different than her. We both got our mother’s fire.
“Does anyone know what is going to happen to Alpha Quinton’s children?” I ask. His children are too young to participate in the contest.
“I heard that after the contest for the position of Alpha that they are planning to open up the positions of Beta. His sons will be eligible to participate in the Beta Trials.” Lazio says.
“Are there any more questions before I go into the discussion of the contest itself?” My father asks and we all refocus on him. My brother raises his hand. My father doesn’t look nearly as put upon when he nods at my brother to speak.
“Since the contest is open to those of us who are under 18, what happens if we win? Usually, Alphas aren’t eligible to take over their packs until they turn 18.”
Another good question.
“If a winner is under 18, the pack lands will be set aside for them to claim when they turn 18. In the meantime, I’m sure it would be acceptable for any winner to begin clearing out the areas of the pack lands and beginning to rebuild the packhouse or surrounding buildings that we know have fallen into disrepair.”
After that, no one has any questions, so my father continues.
“The contest will run over several months. It will incorporate several types of contests including endurance, strength, agility, sensory acknowledgement and finally logical reasoning. Each of these events will be elimination rounds with only those with the highest scores moving into the next round. After each elimination round, we will be giving the contestants a break, a chance to rest and an opportunity to prepare for the next round of eliminations. So, that is why the contest itself will run over several months.”
He stops, looking out over the crowd of pack members who are here hoping for their chance to become an Alpha of their own pack.
“The first elimination round will be a 100-mile run. This is the endurance challenge. Only the first 100 individuals to cross the finish line will progress to the next round. You have three months to prepare for this challenge. The Council will be judging the contest and we have chosen the area that will be used for the run. Since it is close to the area that was once used for the claiming, that will be the area the contest will start and where future events will be held.”
My hand goes up. “Evangeline?”
“Isn’t that one of the ten areas being considered as pack lands for the contest?” I ask, pretty sure I’m right.
“Yes, that is correct. Of all the pack lands, that one will be in the best shape when it is claimed.” My father answers.
Another hand goes up. My father nods at the person to ask their question.
“Who decides which lands go to which of the new Alphas?”
“It will be based on the rankings that the final ten receive over the course of the contest. The person with the highest score will chose their territory first and so on until all of the ten territories are claimed.”
There are a few more questions before my father ends the announcement.
“Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you girls on the running paths quite a bit over the next few months.” My brother says, smiling. “Let me know if you want a running buddy.”
“I do.” Both Maggie and I say together.
“I’ll set it up around our school schedules.” He says to us, smiling. “We’d better plan to give up our weekends though. One hundred miles can’t be run in one day. We’ll need to try to run it as fast as possible, but I think the fastest time I’m heard of is about 26 hours.”
“Damn.” Maggie says.
“Okay. Let’s plan for every weekend to train and then on Mondays, we take the day off and do our homework for the week.” I say.
Since our school is pack run and all of the kids go to the same school, they will know what is going on, so hopefully they will allow us to get our schedules early so we can train in the evenings.
“Sounds like a plan.”
As Maggie and I start to walk into the packhouse, our mother calls us over.
“Do you want to explain to me why you felt the need to challenge your father in front of the entire pack?”
“You know why mother.” I say to her.
Her eyes narrow and her hands go on her hips. Where my father is tolerant and does a lot of heavy sighing, my mother is more of a ‘take the bull by the horns’ kind of woman. “Let me explain something to both of you. You want to be Alphas?” She asks.
We look at each other and then at her. “Yes.”
“Then you’d both better start acting like it. Do you see your father whining and complaining when he doesn’t get his way? When he doesn’t like something? No, he bucks up and either deals with it or manages it. That’s what Alphas do. They maturely handle the issues that are presented to them. I guarantee you both that if you continue to b*itc*h and moan like little school girls, you won’t ever be Alphas of anything. You won’t deserve it and all you’ll have done is alienate your brother for no good reason. I expect more from both of you.”
I grit my teeth. My mother’s words ring true with me in a lot of ways. And I want to be a good Alpha, I really do.
“How do you think you’d feel if you were Alphas of a pack and your family, your FAMILY, challenged you, basically tried to embarrass you in front of the people you lead? Do you think that would feel good? Do you think you’d appreciate that?” She snaps at us.
Maggie and I shake our heads no.
“I suggest that both of you think about what I’ve said and decide if you really, truly think that you have what it takes to be an Alpha. If you do, I suggest you do some serious soul-searching and figure out what makes a good Alpha. It’s not just having Alpha blood, it’s more than that. It’s about realizing that you won’t always get what you want, but you find a way to live with that and you do it without complaining about it all the time. I hope you both make the right decision.” She says before turning on her heel and walking away.
We watch her go.
“We should apologize to dad.” Maggie asks.
“It won’t change what we did, but yeah, we probably should.” I say and we turn, heading toward our father so we can apologize for putting him on the spot in front of the pack.
When we walk up to him, he must see something on our faces. He opens his arms and we both walk into his embrace, apologizing to him. I realize I just received my first lesson in Alpha training: forgive easily.
The next day, we meet up with Lazio, ready to start our training. Alejandro comes up to us.
“Mind if I join you?” He asks.
I look at him a moment before going over to hug him. “I haven’ t been a very good sister to you, have I?” I ask him.
“You have your reasons.” He says and I realize, he already learned the lesson of forgiveness, probably a long time ago.
“We’d love it if you’d join us.” We tell him.
“Good, because it would be great if we had four Alphas with their own packs in our family.” He says, smiling.