The Claiming by Cooper (Jara & Mason)
Chapter 8
Mason
She’s magnificent. I already love her fire. To threaten a large group of males, half of us Alphas and Betas takes some grit. She didn’t even flinch, however, I think it probably had the opposite affect that she was going for. Now, most of us want her, some to tame, some to possess and some like me, to stoke her fire.
The Master of Ceremonies really doesn’t know what to do with these two ranked females. They refuse to submit to this process. I love it.
“And a round of applause for Alpha Jara.” The growling and howling are deafening. Yeah, that little stunt might have backfired on you, Jara.
“Before we pull the name of the first contestant, let’s make sure we’ve all heard and agreed to the rules of the competition.”
“Rule # 1: Only claimants pulled from the lottery are eligible to claim the identified female. The only exception is for the Alpha female’s claiming.”
“Jara.” I hear a shout behind me. I turn and see Alpha Seth.
“Excuse me?” Beta Michael asks, putting a hand over his eyes and trying to see who spoke out.
“The Alpha female has a name Beta, it’s Jara. She’s a person, not an object.”
“Of course. I meant the only exception is for Alpha Jara’s claiming where everyone who has not claimed a female will be eligible to enter the claimant pool.”
He waits a moment, I guess to see if Seth is going to say anything else before continuing.
“Rule #2: You will all have time to meet the contestant whose claim you’ve been drawn for. In the case of Alpha Jara,” he nods in the direction of Seth and I see Jara roll her eyes, “you will be split into groups of 20 and will be able to spend time with her during your allocated timeframe. During these social gatherings, you may attempt to draw the attention of the females, but it is up to them if they choose to spend time getting to know you. If you attempt to force any of the females into an unwanted interaction, you will be removed from the social gathering and potentially the entire claiming.”
There is some grumbling about this. It’s a new rule and I have to wonder if it’s because there are ranked members in the claiming this year.
“Rule #3: A claim is only confirmed when the bite mark of the male is set into the marking spot of the neck of the contestant. A bite on any other part of the body will not constitute a claiming mark.”
“Rule #4: A claim can only be made in the same form as the contestant. For instance, if she is in human form, the male can only mark her in human form. If she is in wolf form, the male can only mark her in wolf form. Any mixed breed markings will be excluded, and the claimant will be removed from the competition.”
“Rule #5: In most instances, the claimant will be of equal or greater rank than the female. When that happens, it is common for the female to black out during the marking. It is absolutely prohibited for any female to be mated while she is unconscious. If any male attempts to mate the female while she is unconscious, his claim becomes nullified, and he will be removed from this and all future claiming events.”
“What if she doesn’t black out? We do have two ranked females this year?” Some a*s*shole behind me asks.
“Because your mate would want you to pound into her in front of a field of your competitors?” I ask, turning to look at the a*s*shole Alpha who asked the question.
“Best way to prove she’s mine and not yours.” He snarls at me.
“The mark is sufficient on the claiming field.” Elder Carson says, stepping up to the microphone.
I see the Alpha pucker his lips, like he’s blowing a kiss to Jara and/or Hana. I turn just in time to see their matching snarls.
“What’s your name, Alpha?” Jara asks him.
“Alpha Terrance, gorgeous.”
“Alpha Terrance. Your balls come off second, right after my sister’s murderer.”
I snort at that, seeing the smirk drop off his face at Jara’s feral smile. There’s a lot of murmuring after Jara’s statement. No one has ever outwardly called Typhon a murderer. Not until today.
Goddess, I think I’m in love. This s*e*xy female is something else.
Beta Michael clears his throat before continuing. “Anyone who does not follow the rules as laid out, will be removed from this and all future claiming’s. Anyone who does not agree with all five of these rules is able to leave the claiming now.”
Not surprisingly, no one moves.
“All right then. Let’s find out who our first contestant will be.” A bowl with the names of the three omegas is brought out. Beta Michael reaches his hand into the bowl and pulls out a name.
“Mignon!”
There are cheers from the crowd, and she blows a kiss to everyone. She’s a sa*s*sy omega. She should be a good mate for someone.
“Before we begin our lottery, if anyone wants to be removed from the lottery for Mignon, please go to the tables to my left. Once we have all of the eligible, willing names, we’ll draw for today’s lottery.”
Elijah and I immediately begin to move toward the tables. I’m surprised there aren’t more Alphas and Betas removing themselves from the omega pools.
Maybe I’m just stupid to hope that I’ll catch Jara, but more and more, she’s all I want.
An hour later, we’re all back in front of the stage. Mignon’s group of claimants is called and there is only one ranked member, a Beta. He’s got a really good chance of claiming her, unless the other 19 omegas all work together to take him out.
When the last name is called. Mignon waves to her group of contestants. The Beta looks up at her. “You’re mine now ma jolie petite chose.” My pretty little thing.
I’m wondering if she knows French when she responds to him. “You have to catch me first, Beta.” She says, winking at him. His answering growl is all pleasure at her challenge.
“Tomorrow, we will pull the next contestant and her lottery of claimants. However, don’t go anywhere, we still need to draw the first 20 claimants for each of the four contestants for this afternoon’s social gathering.”
The two omegas are first, then the Beta. Surprisingly, I get called for the Beta. While I’m not intending to enter her claim, it’s a good opportunity to get to know her.
However, I few moments later. I’m more jealous than I think I’ve ever been in my life, when Elijah is pulled for Jara’s group.