Simon is clearly irritated, even if his irritation is directed at his own father. He rolls his eyes and turns his face away, but his reaction isn’t surprising. He’s always been an egotistical, entitled brat.
It’s a wonder he didn’t join the black ops squad, but I have reason to believe that his father wanted him alive. Simon wouldn’t have survived the harsh conditions.
Alpha Sirius clears his throat, prompting his beta to pass him a clipboard that he reads from.
“Our contestants are as follows,” he begins, lifting his head to meet each of our eyes with a curt nod after he says our names. “Santo Ramirez; Nigel Marrock; Dominic Rivera; Alex Walker; Simon Barker; and Bart Howell.” Sirius lifts the first page to go to the next, but pauses. “The trials will be facilitated by the elders of the Lunaris Pack, as well as myself. It will be a fair trial, and we will not stand for any foul play.” Alpha Sirius purposely glances at his son before clearing his throat again, as if in warning. “Now, in line with age-old traditions we’ve observed for decades, no honorable alpha can be considered worthy of the title without a mate.”
Santo and I exchange sarcastic glances, since we’ve both agreed that this particular detail is ridiculous. Neither of us eversaw the purpose of having a mate, and Santo’s father suffered when Santo’s mother died. It’s a weakness, and we both know it.
“Since none of the contenders are mated, we will be pairing you up with single she-wolves from the pack for the duration of the trials.”
“What?!” Santo bursts out in disbelief, voicing my chagrin.
“Settle down, Santo,” Sirius warns. “This has already been decided by the elders, and having a partner will be crucial to the set of tests we’ve created. They’ve already been randomly picked for each of you, and there will be no objections. Unless you want to sit out the trials.”
Santo nods tersely, and I stare blankly at Alpha Sirius as he begins announcing the female partners of each of the participants, my ears buzzing with irritation that this is even a consideration.
I’ve been so adamant that I would change the law of the leader needing a mate to rule the pack, and now I’m forced to participate in the trials with a she-wolf?
How ridiculous!
While Alpha Sirius calls out our names again, adding a she-wolf to each name as our partners are announced, my breath shortens and I become impatient.
“Dominic Rivera, your partner, will be the she-wolf, Cecelia Morales.”
Just like that, my heart sinks and my jaw drops. A chorus of shocked gasps fills the air, and the tension in the room becomes a palpable construct of what everyone is probably thinking.
There’s no way I stand a chance of winning if I’ve been partnered up with the lowest-ranking omega in the pack.
What will the pack think of me?
How is this even possible?
As blood rushes to my ears in fury, I sit staring with horror at Alpha Sirius as he continues.
Not only does this jeopardize my chances of becoming the alpha, but there’s no way I’ll be able to focus on the trials if Cecelia is with me.
A cold shiver passes down my spine while the alpha continues to announce the rest of the pairings.
I was so sure I had the trials in the bag, but now, I’m faced with another challenge.
Cecelia Morales isn’t just the worst possible candidate to be partnered up with because she’s the hybrid omega, but she’s also my little sister’s best friend, whose virginity I took, only to reject her when she suggested we become mated.
This might be my chance to make the amends I was hoping for, but it’s also possible that I might lose my chance of ever being crowned this pack’s alpha.
I can’t afford to lose the latter.
Chapter 5 - Cecelia
“You’ve been scarce these past few days,” Donna observes as we make our way into the main hall for a pack meeting. “Is everything alright?”
Keeping my head lowered as we pass a group of werewolves on the left, I’m not in the mood for a confrontation. Donna seems to pick up on my cautiousness and skips to the left side of me, sliding her arm through mine, her chin tilted up as if she’s challenging them to make a move. We both know that won’t happen, especially now that her older brother is back.
But that’s the main trouble here, and I don’t have the heart to tell her that Dominic is the reason for my uneasiness. I’ve been avoiding bumping into him again, especially after that night outside the pack center. I’ve been on guard ever since, making sure he wasn’t anywhere near where I had to be.
“Yeah, everything’s fine, Donna,” I lie with a forced smile when we enter the main hall, and I spot the back of Dominic’s head among a group of wolves. It’s hard not to make out his athletic form when it’s hugged in a tight black T-shirt.
I instantly tense up, and it doesn’t go unnoticed when Donna frowns at me.
