Alpha Vincent.

“Gentlemen, attention, please!” The eldest Council member spoke up, silencing the crowd of Alphas. Many of the gathered men didn’t seem to appreciate how the older man approached them with little to no respect.

As Alpha blood wolves, the men expected to have a specific role in the society, even though none of them were leading a pack or territory, they still demanded basic respect. Even if it wasn’t earned, the males always assumed that such a thing should be mandatory.

“Thank you. First, with huge honor, I would like to introduce the newest addition to the Elders’ Council- Lord Anthony Lazarus. He is responsible for the wonderful setting of this year’s games as well as planning and building the most incredible plan for the competition. Later on today, he will explain how the games will work, how the Council shall look at the point system, and lastly, how and when the winner will be announced. Like any other year, before we jump into discussions about boring systems, the King will address this year’s contestants. So, without wasting any more of your precious time, King Damon.”

The Elder dropped to his knees while the crowd of Alphas bowed in front of the leader. King Damon was an Alpha that won the games about forty years ago. The man barely left his castle, spending most of his time working to ensure his Kingdom’s safety and bloom.

He had married his then-girlfriend within weeks to have a proper Queen by his side. Everyone remembered him as a tall, handsome man with darker features. However, time took its toll on the mighty man. He seemed weak, his eyes nearly lifeless, and the dark hair turned completely white. The void look in his eyes made many Alphas reconsider if they were ready to give up on their life and future for the throne and power.

“Good day, Alphas. I feel happy to see so many strong, young men in front of me today. Some of you might leave early, but for those who stay, I wish nothing but success. The journey won’t be easy, but the battle is worth the prize, trust me. Soon, I will leave the throne, and one of you will replace me. Whoever is it, make me proud.” The King smiled at the Alphas.

He was known to avoid small talk and flattery. His speeches would be short, yet the man always voiced everything on his mind. The King smiled again as the crowd of Alphas cheered for him.

Taking over the throne and Kingdom was a huge responsibility, but this was the moment any King in history awaited. Being honored by Alphas from across the globe. There was no bigger honor than that.

The King left the stage, and his security walked the male to a row of black SUV’s. As per usual, he couldn’t stay for longer than a couple of minutes; his life would be in danger wherever he went.

A younger male took the King’s place on the stage, probably the one mentioned before. His hands visibly shook in stress. “Gentlemen, welcome to the annual Alpha games. My name is Anthony, and I am here to replace my father, elder Lazarus. From now on, I will be responsible for planning the most significant events and later, serving the next King directly. Now, let’s get to the first-day program. After the meeting, a Swedish table will be offered in the great hall. Everyone will gather there for lunch and some time to relax. Afterward, all Alphas will be invited to the main building for a meeting. We will discuss the primary responsibilities of the next King and give out forms to fill. We understand if many of you would step down and refuse to participate, the winner will gain a lot of power, but along that, he will tie himself to the Kingdom. A leader is supposed to serve his people; please remember that.” The younger male spoke, eyeing the crowd.

His main intention was to notice all those Alphas that seemed to doubt their intentions. The Council accepted all who wanted to participate, yet only those ready to sacrifice would get to the next level. None of them knew that today was their first test, and Anthony noticed at least a dozen that failed.

“I will explain more later on, but now, I would like to invite everyone for lunch. Please, follow the server; he will lead the guests to where we will feast. Don’t hold back, enjoy the food, drinks, and build alliances. Get to know each other and build friendships; this is the last day you can be allies instead of enemies. I will join you later.” Anthony motioned towards the server that stood next to the building entrance.

One by one, Alphas left the gathering spot around the stage and disappeared into the vast building. The Council observed the men and their body language, curious to see how many contestants they would be left with and how many of those seem to be worthy.

“Anthony, my boy. How many failed?” The elder male approached his new ally.

It would be much easier to make decisions with the male’s father, but everyone had to accept a couple of things. They weren’t immortal, and sooner or later, everyone would be forced to leave the Council because of old age.

“At least a dozen. Some Alpha’s seemed distressed as soon as I spoke about the sacrifices they would have to make for the Kingdom. Those men will leave before the games begin tomorrow. We can’t afford a useless King, we need someone who can carry the weight. Some of those men look like they would avoid responsibilities even if those were a matter of life or death. Elder, we have to think smart, in favor of the Kingdom.” Anthony scribbled something in his book and met the eyes of the older male.

The rest of the Council left quite early, they had no responsibility towards the games or choosing the winners; it was a game of power, held by two men.

“Your father was right, indeed. My boy, you will become a great gatekeeper one day. I am proud of your success. Now, tell me, did you see him among other Alphas, or is he late again? I don’t believe that I’ve seen him around here yet, but my vision isn’t as great as it was twenty years ago as well.” The Elder stood close by his ally, speaking in a mere whisper.

Nobody wanted to share the information about the particular person, he was hated by way too many Alphas because of his success. However, most Council members hoped that the male would arrive, someone as ambitious as he would become a great King and leader.

“I believe he did. As far as I know, he did receive the house’s keys, and one of my men saw him taking a woman there yesterday. I assume she might be one of the kitchen staff.” Anthony chuckled.

He knew that even if the Council forbids women from being part of the serving staff, the Alphas will sweep some of the maids or cooks off their feet. Sooner or later, the whole territory would turn into the epicenter of orgies. The dominant men had high sex drives, and none of them could take more than two days without a woman.

Some Alphas were openly gay, which was even worse, they chose a server and kept fooling around till the end of the games; some had sex in open areas, unaffected by anyone that passed by.

“We could build up the suspense as viewers keep waiting. What do you think?” The Elder chuckled.

Anthony was a man of a few words; he didn’t like to get into too in-depth discussions. On the other hand, the older man was rather happy to talk about everything and nothing in general.

Anthony sighed in relief, the male felt as if he was saved by the bell when the room was filled with collective gasps. He hadn’t noticed how they had followed the other Alphas to the hall.

The one and only Alpha Vincent joined the crowd. The young Lord met him for the first time; in fact, he had no idea how the infamous Alpha looked in the first place.

The man was tall, muscular, yet it was still hard to judge since the male was dressed in a loose tracksuit. He didn’t seem like someone that attended a fancy party, more like someone who just returned from the gym.

Alpha Vincent ignored the rest of the Alpha’s and headed straight towards two Council members. No wonder everyone hated him that much, he didn’t acknowledge the presence of men who stood as high in rank as he did. “Good morning, gentlemen,” Alpha greeted them.

The male didn’t sound as Anthony had imagined, there was no trace of disgust in the overly serious man. He sounded joyful, a slight southern accent evident in the male’s voice. It was quite weird to see such a massive and dangerous-looking male, sounding like a friend rather than an enemy.

“Alpha Vincent, it’s always a pleasure. We do hope you are happy about the household, and it suits your needs. Are the brothers here as well, or did they decide to stay out of the competition?” Anthony decided to involve himself in the conversation.

Even though he recently joined the Council, it was his obligation to greet and know every Alpha from across the world. Even if Alpha Vincent wouldn’t acknowledge his existence, the male did try to face his responsibility and kept his face as emotionless as possible.

His father once warned him that one day the young male might meet Alpha Vincent. The man could sense fear from miles away and use it against anyone. He was one of the last, rare firstborn Alphas that possessed more dominance than one would want. Being near the male made most people’s skin crawl; he was more intimidating than the King.

Anthony let out a shaky breath, looking anywhere but at the Alpha, pretending that he was trying to notice someone important. If Alpha Vincent didn’t stop staring at the young male, he would act like someone called for him and run for his life. The first day in the new position was a bad day to die.

“I am very much happy about the setting and location; thank you,” Alpha replied kindly, still eyeing the newcomer with suspicion. He noticed the Council robe on the male’s shoulders instantly, yet a piece of fabric wasn’t enough to earn his trust.

The Alpha turned his attention back to the elder male and spoke again. “The brothers wouldn’t stay home even if I tried to kill the idiots; those annoying fuckers are here, somewhere. They are joining the competition, actually, quite fun if you ask me. Another reason to beat the Hell out of them.” Alpha laughed; the elder male joined him instantly.

It was clear that both men had a special bond, something unique and unknown. The Alpha never spoke about personally knowing someone from the council; he was not the man to use others’ influence for his good. If the male needed something, he earned everything on his own.

However, most of the time, he just took whatever he wanted. It was part of his nature, the savagery and barbaric approach to whatever the Alpha saw as worthy, women including.

“Splendid, we appreciate tighter competition each year. Let’s see if they are here for the prize or the women. I think we both know the reason they arrived. But remember, the prize is important and so should be the winner. We can’t let anyone take the title and power over us, after all. It was nice talking to you, Alpha Vincent.” The elder male placed a hand on the Alphas shoulder, ignoring how the large man bent in his knees to appear shorter. He did it whenever the elder repeated the same action, it was one of respect and adoration.

“It’s getting on my nerves, as always, and you damn well know that. Stop addressing me by the last name; my father used to be a friend of yours. I consider you a part of our family; please stop acting as if we were strangers. If my annoying ass brother wants to be addressed by the last name, I don’t care; it doesn’t matter what floats his carrots or whatever. Friends don’t call each other by their last names.” The Alpha groaned, rolling his eyes.

Most of the men and women addressed him by his last name, and he didn’t care, yet when close people did it, it pissed him off. At home or among friends, he wasn’t an Alpha, he was a person, same as others. Well, perhaps, a little bit bigger asshole of a person than others, but he didn’t care.

“Old habits don’t die, I guess. I’m an old dog; it’s hard to learn new tricks, as humans might say. Sorry, my boy, I’ll try to remember next time. Have a great day, Luciano.” The Elder laughed it off and left, shaking his head.

The Alpha turned away, ready to leave, but a man followed him, blocking his way out. The male grinned. “Alpha Vincent, why don’t you join us?” He wiggled his eyebrows, imitating the same stance he had in high school.

“I don’t know, probably because I don’t want to, fuckface?” Luciano laughed at his effort to sound inviting. Who would have thought that the two idiots would have a chance to reunite once again?

“Come on, stop, we are supposed to be friends. Come on, give your best friend a fucking hug; I haven’t seen you in ages!” He grinned, opening his arms, and both Alphas collided, holding each other tightly. The reunion was quite emotional for them, probably way too intimate for others to see, but they didn’t care. “Come on, loser, let’s go and get something to eat!” He laughed, inviting Luciano to join the table, taken by the higher status Alphas.

Bobby was the heart and soul of every party; that annoying dork had a way to build connections everywhere. Luciano was sure that his friend could build an army of tadpoles if he wanted to. “Listen, we’re planning the weekend. The boys said that they have a nice club in the nearest city, so we should definitely go. Plus, they have some hot ass women around there; you know, since they are trying to rob us of our pleasure during the week in this damn place. Are you in?” Bobby looked up at his friend, hoping that he would agree.

As it seemed, everyone but Luciano tried to live by the rules around there. The Alpha had found his pleasure in the territory, and for some odd reasons, he didn’t feel like sleeping around anymore. Then again, Luciano didn’t want to seem dependent on a woman in front of his friend or even in his own thoughts. “Sure, sounds fun.”