Out Of The Blue

JADEN
All eyes were on me as I made my way towards one of the unoccupied chairs in the royal court room. I could feel Zaden's burning gaze at the back of my head, but it didn't bother me. The Alpha King's seat was unoccupied and a few Alphas were yet to arrive, including Matthias.
'He's annoying. I want to punch the hell out of him right now' Klaus said to me from his position beside me. 'You're not the only one who wants to do that. But, we can't do that here. You have to pull yourself together, Klaus' I said through the mindlink.
Matthias walked in with his Beta, Carl. Then, he approached me and shook hands with me.
"Good to see you again, Jaden" he said with a smile.
"Good to see you too, Matthias" I responded. He took his seat opposite me. Zaden glared at me, but I remained stoic. After a few more minutes, the chairs were all occupied. All except the Alpha King's Seat. When he finally walked in, we all stood up.
The Alpha King of the South had ascended the throne at the age of twenty four. He was much older now. His black hair had streaks of grey and he had intense blue eyes. He was quite tall and muscular for someone his age. But, it was clear in his sunken eyes, pale face and slow movements that he was not doing well. He lowered himself onto his chair and cleared his throat.
"You can all sit down" he said and we all did as he'd asked. His gaze rested on me. "You finally joined us" he said.
"Yes, I have" I responded, keeping my face expressionless.
"For how long have you been heading a pack?" He asked and Zaden smiled with his eyes glinting mischievously.
"Not long. Two years" I responded and Zaden's smile faded. The king raised a brow. "How then did your pack grow so much?"
"It's all thanks to the 'Jaden Blackwood' charm" I responded and he chuckled.
"You're just like your father. You're even better" he said and Klaus smiled.
"So, you've been his Beta for all these years, Klaus?"
"I was heading a minimal pack before that" Klaus responded.
I resisted the urge to smile. No one knew that I had placed Klaus to represent me before I finally took over.
"That's interesting. Keep up the good work, Alpha Jaden" the king said.
"I heard rumors of Alpha Jaden bringing in strays like werefoxes into his pack. Isn't that a wrong thing to do?" Zaden said with a cold look in his eyes.
"I don't think it's wrong. If he's keeping them in check, there's nothing 'wrong' about it" Alpha Killian, one of the oldest alphas among us, said.
"That's not right" Alpha Hudson, Zaden's friend said.
"What is not right? The fact that Jaden is building a home for the lost and maintaining his pack?" the king said and everyone went silent.
"Does anyone else have something to say about this?" He questioned, but no one said anything.
He cleared his throat.
"Now, let's get back to business. Some of you might be wondering why I've called for another meeting this year. Well, as you all know, I've been ill. I'm not getting any better and I do not have a heir. I am the only surviving member of the royal family" he said.
"What do you intend to do, your majesty?" Alpha Killian asked.
"Since there is no alternative, I'm going to set up a tournament to determine who is going to take over the throne after I step down from it"
"An Alpha Tournament?" Alpha Vincent said with a tone of disbelief.
"Yes, an alpha tournament. Only Alphas ranging from age 23-26 are eligible for the tournament" the king said and I stiffened. The glint in Zaden's eyes was riling me up. Matthias gave me a knowing look. He was right. Zaden was definitely going to jump at this opportunity like a starving dog.
"Now, listen carefully. You are free to strategize, but there must be no cheating. If you cheat in this competition, you will be stripped of your title. The tournament is going to have three rounds. There is going to be only one winner. The winner becomes the Alpha King. Once the winner is crowned, he has only three weeks to find his mate and claim her"
"What happens if he fails to claim his mate at the end of the three weeks?" Alpha Hudson asked.
"Then, he forfeits his right to the throne. The second runner up takes over" the king responded.
The rest of the alphas began to murmur among themselves.
"There's a box in the court room. If you're interested in joining the tournament, write on a piece of paper, your name, the name of your Beta and the name of your pack as well. Then, drop the paper in the box. You have until the third day"
'Jaden, what are you going to do about this? Zaden is clearly ready to do everything he can to win. Will you join the tournament?' Klaus asked through the mindlink.
I didn't have the answer to that question yet. If I had to join the tournament, then I would have to destroy Zaden because he wouldn't go down without a fight.
...
RHEA
"Tell us. What are you? We can see your wolf but we can sense something else. You're a hybrid, aren't you?" Haru said with an excited look in her eyes.
"I'm half werewolf, half witch" I told them and the smiles faded from their faces. They exchanged intense glances that immediately made me uncomfortable. Then, both women laughed.
"Did we scare you? Sorry, it's our ritual. Welcome to Silver Claw Park, honey. You are perfect for our Alpha. Besides, you're the first of your kind that we have here and that's great" Dana said, smiling at me. I gave her a nervous smile.
"You guys scared me"I said and they laughed harder.
"Don't worry about that. We apologise. I'm sure you've met our Beta, Delta and Gamma. But, there's still one person you have to meet" Haru said, taking my hand in hers. The door opened and a young man walked in. He was tall and leanly muscled. He also had a charming smile. "Here he comes" Dana said and he smiled at her.
"Hello, ladies" he stated. He exchanged handshakes with Darryl who was now sitting on the couch throwing popcorns into his mouth. The newcomer approached me. When he got to me, he held out a hand for a handshake.
"My name is Chase. I'm the head of the sentinels. Pleasure to meet you, miss" he said and I gave him a smile.
"Nice to meet you, Chase" I said and he grinned. The air became colder and I turned to look at Darryl. But, he wasn't there on the couch. He was lying by the wall, unconscious. There was a pool of blood forming on the floor around his head. I let out a gasp and when I turned to look at Chase, he was no longer standing right in front of me. Someone who looked like me had him in a head lock with the glinting edge of a knife pressed to his throat. His eyes were wide and he was bleeding from his nose. The door was jerked open and Jaden stormed in, his eyes darkened with rage.
"Rhea?!"
I blinked, shocked to see that Chase, Darryl, Haru and Dana were looking at me with concern. Chase released my hand and I took a step backwards.
"You look so pale. Are you alright?" Chase asked me and I parted my lips to say something. But, my mouth felt dry. My limbs were trembling as sweat slid down my spine and temples.
"Rhea?" Darryl said as he rose to his feet, a small frown on his face. I took another step backwards and fell to the ground as my knees gave out.
I felt a hand on my forehead, but I was already losing consciousness.
"She's burning up" I heard Darryl say, right before I sank into oblivion.
...
I awoke only to find myself in an unfamiliar room. The room was quite spacious and the bluish glow from the bed lamp illuminated the room.
I sat up with a wince, holding a hand to my aching head. Haru walked in and gave me a small smile.
"You're awake," she said, handing me a glass of water.
"Yeah" I breathed and drank the water.
"Your fever was brief" she told me and I lowered my gaze.
"What happened? Did you see something?" She asked and I raised my head to look at her.
"I saw... something" I breathed.