16.

The day of the Beta Royale was filled with excitement for the pack despite the knowledge of some unknown group who may or may not pose a threat. There had been no new signs since the Fae siblings had arrived but they had been surprisingly good at making themselves useful. Celeste had a problem with getting in everyone’s way, especially Tony’s seeing as how strongly he had reacted in her presence the first time. Her favorite pastime had become following the male around and getting under his skin.

Vini seemed to step up and take the pact much more seriously than he had in the beginning. He still had a strong dislike of Farryn but hardly let anyone come near her. He claimed that it was because his people took oaths and pacts seriously, especially blood pacts. She felt that it was because he was hoping for an excuse to hurt or kill anyone. Farryn breathed softly as she braided her thick brown hair back as best as she could with its shorter length. She braced her hands on either side of her bathroom sink as she gazed at herself.

She no longer had any hint of her previous starvation left, instead, her face was lean, her nose slightly crooked from Vini breaking it and her not setting it before it healed. Her eyes looked healthy, not haunted. Her body was back to the healthy state it had been in before her life had gone to hell. A small part of her, the part that actually enjoyed being an alpha, wondered if the emptiness she felt inside wasn’t because she was trying so hard to reject the wolf inside. The wolf seemed to roll her eyes at the question inside.

“I don’t like you, I don’t care to know who you are. But I know that today… today I am going to need your help.” She whispered to her reflection. The large white wolf sat up in attention when she spoke to her, it was the first time since her first shift that she truly gave the wolf attention. The relationship was an odd one, to say the least. Farryn didn’t hold any bitterness towards the wolf, it wasn’t her fault. It was the Moon Goddess who did this to them. No one was at fault but her.

The knock at her bathroom door drew her from her thoughts. “Alpha Farryn it’s time.” Amelia had come to get her. It had taken her a few days to brave being around the Alpha after what had happened, she had expected the rage she had received in the living room, she had expected more. But Farryn had been understanding, it wasn’t Amelia’s fault. Farryn pushed herself up from the sink and smoothed out her sky blue t-shirt. There was no avoiding the inevitable.

Farryn turned and opened up the door, the kind twin was dressed in a floral sundress that matched her sunny disposition. “They’re waiting for you.” Amelia smiled as she placed a hand on Farryn’s arm before heading out of the room. When she opened Farryn’s bedroom door Farryn spotted Vini waiting just outside the door. She was beginning to grow used to him hovering like he did though sometimes it still threw her off.

She followed behind Amelia much slower, her eyes met Vini’s who threw her a lazy grin. “You look like you’re going to your own funeral.” Farryn arched a brow as he pushed off the wall and walked at her side. Vini and his sister were the only two who dared to walk at her side.

“People don’t usually wear bright colors at funerals Vini, usually it’s black.” He hummed softly as he pushed his hands into his front pockets.

“Not for us, the color doesn’t matter so much as the look on the person's face. The defeat in someone's eyes.” She grunted but didn’t dare look up at him.

He chuckled softly before reaching out and opening the front door for her. Her pack was waiting outside for her gathered near her home. It wasn’t truly right to use those words. This wasn’t her pack and this wasn’t her home. There was still a small handful who doubted and hated but none who questioned her. Today in the back of her mind she knew this was not going to be easy. Though she didn’t know what to expect she just knew she had to be prepared.

“No need to delay today any longer huh? Let’s get to the training grounds and begin.” Farryn walked among the pack as they headed to the training grounds. The excitement buzzing around was just slightly contagious. Giving the pack something else to think about, even just for the day, was somewhat of a relief. The last few weeks had been filled with stress and while some might not even be participating in hopes of winning, many would be fighting just to blow off steam.

Anyone was allowed to participate, male or female, Emily was actually the only female who wanted to try her hand at it. Vini and Celeste stood with Farryn as the pack began to break off into smaller groups, the younger members who were participating and the older members who were participating, and those who were just watching. Her eyes drifted around the groups as many began to warm up when Chandler approached.

“You know you could always just pick someone right? Tony probably would have been a good choice.” Farryn rolled her eyes before they settled on him, she could feel Celeste shift just slightly closer to her in curiosity.

“He probably would have been, but this is more fun.” She smirked as he scoffed in disbelief though a smile did grace his lips.

“You couldn’t do this the easy way and just pick?” She chuckled and reached her hand out naturally as if she was going to pat his arm but stopped herself short. “The easy way isn’t fun, right Celeste?”

Farryn drew the tall male’s eyes off of herself and to the Fae peering around her shoulder who quickly stood up at the sound of her name.

“Oh, that’s right! It’s always fun when it’s hard.” Celeste purred. Her silver eyes slid down the male’s body as she smiled. Chandler cleared his throat as he shifted his weight from foot to foot, his cheeks surprisingly turned a light shade of pink.

“I-I’ll take your word for it. Farryn I’ll see you later.” He turned quickly and headed to where Amelia was with some friends to watch.

“He is yummy to look at, he looks like he would win this thing why isn’t he playing?” Farryn pursed her lips. Neither sibling had ever asked how she had gotten her title before.

“He can’t. He used to be Alpha.” She could feel the eyes of both siblings for a moment and then it was gone, no doubt they turned to look to Chandler.

“You beat him in a fight?” Vini asked in surprise. Farryn clicked her tongue as she looked over her shoulder at him. “It wasn’t a fair fight.” She admitted before drawing herself forward and clapping her hands loudly.

“Alright, everyone! Let’s not burn any more daylight, shall we? Let’s get started!” Because he couldn’t participate Farryn had enlisted Chandler to help Amelia with keeping the royale organized and keep track of who beat who. The day started off with the group of wolves who just wanted to blow off steam, who didn’t care if they won or lost. It was exciting to watch even the less serious fights. There were about twenty short fights before they all either bowed out or lost. By midday, the real fights began. Tony and Darius both were participating, both wolf’s were bloodied messes, Vini and Celeste were placing bets that one of them would be named the next Beta. Farryn however had her eyes on another male.

A young male with dark black hair that almost seemed blue in the sunlight was who Farryn watched. His wolf was a beautiful grey beast with vibrant blue eyes. The wolf had a white chest that extended up to his muzzle, the top of his head and back was a darker grey. His size could easily rival Chandler’s though his fur wasn’t nearly as thick so it was easy to see his wolf was pure muscle. Even in his human form his tanned backed revealed nothing but muscles. He had yet to turn around, Farryn had only seen him from behind after each fight in his human form, he had yet to acknowledge the female alpha as he was purely focused on the fights.

Celeste seemed to notice her attention as she leaned towards Farryn. “He is pretty yummy to look at too, what’s his name?”

Farryn snorted as she looked to the shorter Fae. “I think that might be Xavier. I don’t know everyone in the pack yet, not well at least so until I see his face I really am just guessing.” Celeste hummed softly but watched as the large grey wolf grabbed Darius’ wolf by the back of the neck and threw him to the ground with ease as if he had been a pup. The grey wolf placed his large paw on the ribs of the smaller wolf and growled until the wolf on the ground whined in submission.

The crowd clapped as the wolf backed up and turned, shifting once more into the human form and dressing into the shorts that were handed to him. “Alright everyone, with that we are at the finale!” Amelia's announcement drew several howls from the crowd, many were probably hungry by now.

“Alright alright calm down everyone! The last fight of the day! Tony versus Xavier!” Farryn felt proud of herself for being right on knowing her packmate’s name from behind. Other than her council members and a small handful of others she didn’t know many names. Tony stepped forward and rolled his neck, the sound of two cracks could barely be heard over the roaring crowd.

When Xavier stepped forward Farryn could barely see his lips parted in what looked like a feral grin. He cracked his knuckles before looking over his shoulder to the Alpha in acknowledgment. She inhaled sharply with surprise as her moss green eyes met amber for just a split second before he shifted and the fight was on.