Page 16 of Midnight Moon
My father led the way to the benches. The front and back rows were already filled. Our group settled on the third bench from the fireplace. I sat between my father and Hunter. Beta Nathan sat next to his son—the same son who watched me from the corner of his eye like I was a ticking time bomb.
I met his stare. “What?”
“You’ve got to keep your cool.”
“I am.”
He jerked his head slightly. The fluorescent light bulbs casted shadows under his eyes. “No, you aren’t. You’re the only female in this competition. I know you feel like you have something to prove, but the others feel the same. They will try to take advantage of your emotions if you aren’t careful.”
I crossed my arms and stared at the massive moose antlers hanging above the fireplace. I had no plans to let my emotions get the better of me, and I would think it sexist of Hunter to assume so—except he knew me almost as well as his sister.
I wouldn’t say I had a temper, but I was certainly competitive. And that competitiveness could make me impulsive. As one of my training partners over the past few years, Hunter knew all about that.
I took a deep breath and looked at my future beta. “I’ll do better.”
Hunter’s eyes softened. “I don’t doubt it.”
I turned my attention to the front of the room, pretending I didn’t see the affection in his expression.
Hunter was strong, smart, and loyal. I wanted him as my beta, but I didn’t know how I could make my feelings any clearer. I wasn’t interested in a relationship—not with him.
Not withanyone.
The memory of penetrating blue eyes tried to paint me as a liar, but not even Asher could tempt me into a relationship. Dating a human would be doomed from the start, and I would never willingly cause myself, or a guy I dated, pain.
No matter how much my stomach fluttered just thinking about him…
Minutes passed. I managed to clear my head of all thoughts of Asher while the rest of the shifters settled into their seats. A cherry oak podium was placed a few feet from the fireplace, facing the crowd. We waited for the Badlands alpha to begin the ceremony.
Just as I was beginning to wonder what caused the delay, Alpha Kurt approached the podium.
“Good evening,” his voice carried over the crowd, filling the warm meeting hall all the way to the doors. “Welcome to Badlands Pack lands and the opening ceremony of our historical Alpha Games. Every five years, leaders from our nation’s shifter communities compete against one another to establish who among us will be designated as Top Pack and foster peace among us. It has been my honor to oversee inter-pack disputes these past years, and I look forward to passing the honor of Top Pack onto a new alpha.” His wrinkled eyes traveled along the wood benches.
Alpha Kurt was the longest serving alpha of all the North American shifter packs. He hadn’t mated until later in life, and his heir was only sixteen. The older alpha might’ve been ready to step down, but until his heir was of age, he wouldn’t—not unless he wanted to pass the alpha line onto another family in his pack, which no alpha would ever willingly choose to do.
Once, a group of Summit shifters tried to convince my father to let the alpha line go to Beta Nathan’s family. I didn’t remember many details, but my father managed to shut their idea down. He and Beta Nathan were distant for a while. I only remembered because their disagreement meant I didn’t see Stephanie as often as usual.
Eventually, the tension between the two leaders dissipated, and my pack abandoned the idea of Hunter becoming alpha. Instead, their goal pivoted. Now, they focused their energy on persuading me to mate with him.
Alpha Kurt continued to drone on about the accomplishments his pack had achieved during their reign as Top Pack, until he finally got to the good stuff.
“To begin the ceremony, each pack will state their requested prize. This award will be granted to the winning pack at the end of the Alpha Games.”
Excitement flowed through me. I shifted in my seat, eager to get this part of the ceremony underway. If the Summit Pack won, we would be requesting temporary land acquisition from each of the packs for the term of one year each. The Summit Pack had access to lumber, but the other packs had access to other natural resources that we could use to build up our community.
Alpha Kurt continued, “As always, each pack must agree to each of the proposed prizes. Debates are welcomed, and even encouraged.” He smiled broadly. “First up is the Moors Pack. Alpha Diego, what is your pack’s requested prize?”
The bench creaked as the massive shifter rose from his seat. “The Moors Pack requests trade agreements for our fishing industry. Each pack will agree to fulfill all seafood related purchases through our vendors and no one else.”
Alpha Orlando stood. “Objection. The Coastal Pack has no need for such an agreement. We source our own seafood.”
“You do not have an industry for it, and much of your pack’s purchases come from local fisher markets, run by humans in nearby communities,” Alpha Diego countered.
Before Alpha Orlando could object, Alpha Kurt stepped in. “Diego is correct, Orlando. This trade agreement does not directly impact any of your pack’s own businesses or sources of income. The objection is overruled. Do any other packs have an objection to the Moors Pack’s proposed prize?”
No one said a word.
As far as prizes went, that one was pretty tame.
