Page 22 of Midnight Moon
“NO!” I jumped to my feet, shaking with rage and shock and horror. “You can’t do this.”
Chase kept his chin level with the floor. Neither he nor Asher looked my way. “Approve our request, and each pack will receive ten percent of our pack’s most valuable resource. No strings attached.”
“No strings attached?” My voice shrilled, but I couldn’t help it. “You are bribing everyone to get what you want!”
Again, I was ignored.
“Is the reward approved?” Chase asked Alpha Kurt.
At least the Badlands alpha had the decency to meet my eye as he asked the room, “Are there any objections to the Wilds Pack’s proposed prize?”
My father, Beta Nathan, and Hunter shouted their protest, but no one else said a word.
Dread coursed through my veins.
Alpha Kurt assessed the room, then dipped his head solemnly. “Very well. The Wilds Pack’s reward is confirmed. Should they win the Alpha Games, a mating alliance will take place between the Summit Pack’s heir and their alpha.”
My legs started to shake. I sat on the bench before they gave out beneath me. Hunter sat and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, tucking me into his side. I didn’t have the energy to worry if I should lean away or not.
“That concludes the opening ceremony,” I vaguely registered Alpha Kurt’s closing words. “The first game begins at dawn. You are all dismissed.”
Seven
Muffledconversations picked up as pack members stood from their seats and meandered away.
I stared at the now-empty wooden benches in front of me, wondering how I was going to get out of this ridiculous situation.
I only had basic knowledge of the Wilds Pack. They’d been isolated from the rest of us for decades. Only Mother Moon knew the likelihood of them winning, or not winning, the Alpha Games. Only She knew my fate.
For the first time in my life, I felt truly vulnerable. I despised the feeling.
“Blair?” Hunter gave me a gentle shake. “Did you hear me?”
I blinked, clearing my blurred vision. “No, sorry. What did you say?”
“We should go to our cabins. We need to rest before the first game.”
Rest?
How was I supposed to rest?
Confidence in my future had just been ripped out from underneath me. There would be no rest for me until I found a way out of this mess.
“Hunter is right.” Beta Nathan moved into view, standing over his son’s shoulder. “You cannot let this unconventional situation distract you from performing well in the games.”
Unconventional situation?
That was one way to put it.
I kept my lips closed and got to my feet. I swayed a bit, but Hunter was there to help me keep balance.
I sought out my dad and saw him speaking with Alpha Diego on the other side of the room. Sensing my gaze, he looked up. It was impossible to miss his uneasy frown.
I looked away. The last thing I needed was to see him upset. It would do nothing to relieve my own anxiety.
My feet were heavy as I walked out of the meeting hall. I could feel questioning stares and pitying looks, but I refused to acknowledge a single one. I made it outside without mishap.
Cool night air brushed against my cheeks, but the sensation wasn’t soothing. I didn’t think anything could soothe the turmoil within me. Nothing except seeing the Wilds Pack lose the Alpha Games.
