The Tournament: Round One

JADEN
Zaden's smirk faded and his eyes darkened. He'd clearly underestimated me.
"The first round is probably going to be the easiest" the king stated, an amused look on his face.
"Two contestants will face each other in their wolf forms. The first wolf whose back hits the ground, loses" the royal Beta announced. Klaus snorted from his position on my left.
"It's definitely a piece of cake for you and Tarus" he commented. He wasn't being overconfident, he knew what Tarus was capable of.
"The contestants will compete in this order: Alpha Jared and Alpha Dylan, Alpha Vincent and Alpha Zaden, Alpha Thalia and Alpha Finn.."
'The tournament is for the next king... she's not supposed to be here' Darryl pointed out through the mind link. I sighed, wondering what Alpha Thalia was up to now.
'This is a tournament for Alphas. She's an Alpha, you can't deny or change that' Klaus said.
I watched her as she stood beside her opponent, Alpha Finn. He was huge, approximately three times her size. He had a fierce look in his eyes, but Thalia looked unbothered. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. She was always trying to show off the fact that she was a werewolf-witch hybrid.
"...Alpha Jaden and Alpha Hudson..."
My ears perked up at the statement.
'Well, well...look's like round one is going to b pretty easy' Haru said to me through the mind link.
The first two contestants were asked to enter two different holding cells which was opposite each other. After which they would transform in their cells. At the sound of the whistle, both doors would open up at the same time, and the wolves would step out.
The first two contestants didn't last long in the fighting arena. In less than ten minutes, one of the wolves had pinned the other to the ground with the defeated wolf's back to the ground. There was a loud cheer. Both wolves retreated to their stations and the royal Beta announced the name of the first winner.
"Alpha Dylan, congratulations. You have made it to round two"
Zaden's match with Vincent was as expected. He used the sand to his advantage and hurt Vincent so badly, he had to be carted away immediately. Zaden had made it the second round. There was no big deal about that.
After a couple of longer matches, Alpha Thalia and Alpha Finn's match arrived. When Thalia's wolf prowled out of the holding cell and started to stalk Finn's grey and white wolf, the crowd cheered.
Her wolf had copper colored fur with blue and green eyes, like that of Rhea's. I wondered if Rhea's wolf was copper colored. The size of Thalia's wolf was also quite impressive. She was large for a female. She took slow calculated movements towards Finn. As soon as he pounced, she dodged.
Then, she attacked him ferociously. The match was tough. Finn was not ready to face 'the shame of bring defeated by a female alpha'. Thalia, on the other hand, was not ready to accept defeat either. Fourty five minutes passed. Thalia had a couple of claw wounds on her sides and legs. Finn seemed to have broken a leg.
He kept limping around. Snarling, Thalia attacked again. It happened in a blur. Finn fell to the ground, his wolf trembling uncontrollably. Thalia nudged his body until his back touched the ground. Finn's wolf was carried away by the royal pack doctors.
"Congratulations, Alpha Thalia. You have made it to the second round" the royal beta announced.
'She's a Savage. I feel sorry for Alpha Finn' Dana said.
Thalia had probably used her magic on him. She was definitely a Savage.
I winced at the thought of Tarus going berserk. Things would definitely get rough if that ended up happening.
'Don't worry, I'm going to make it an easy win. Nobody has to get hurt' he assured me.
"Alpha Jaden and Alpha Hudson, step into the holding cells" the royal Beta announced.
Klaus patted my back.
"You've got this" he said and I made my way towards one of the holding cell while Hudson entered the other. Once I'd shed my clothes, I shifted. Tarus was chill about the tournament. I hoped no one would piss us off. The door creaked open and I stepped out, feeling the cool air ruffling my fur. Scents of different kinds assaulted my senses.
The crowd went wild at the sight of me.
Hudson's wolf was large, I'll give him that. It was a grey wolf with white tipped tail. His eyes were glowing a bright green.
His hackles rose, and his muzzle curled back to expose his sharp fangs. Ears shoved forward, tail held high, he circled me. I remained on a spot, observing his every move. Neither of us had made a move yet. But, I knew he was going to attack first and he did. Usually, Tarus and I preferred toying with our prey before killing them. But, at this point, this was like a minute exercise we just had to get over with.
Hudson snapped his jaws at me but I didn't flinch.
'Alright, let's end this boring game' Tarus said. With the speed of light, I moved backwards, as far away as I could get. Hudson's wolf was confused by this. He realized what I was about to do, only too late. I was charging at him and he remained frozen to the spot like a deer caught in the headlights. When we collided, he flew several feet away and fell right on his back. The crowd went wide again and Klaus' voice echoed in my mind.
'You went easy on him. He might've landed on his side, ya know'
'Well, he didn't. Case closed' I said, feeling amused by this. I felt Zaden's gaze on me the whole time, but I was no longer bothered by it.
"Congratulations, Alpha Jaden. You have made it to the second round"
...
RHEA
"Luna?" I looked up at the young woman standing in front of me with a smile on her face. She had warm brown eyes and hair a shade darker than her eyes. She was a pack member.
"Hey" I breathed.
"My name is Reina. But, my family call me Rain" she said and I smiled at her.
"Nice to meet you, Rain" I said and her smile widened.
"Can I sit here with you?" She asked.
"Sure."
"You know what I think?" She said and I shrugged.
"I don't"
"I think you're perfect for Alpha Jaden. You're really beautiful, too" she said.
"Thank you, Rain. I think you're really pretty too" I told her. She let out a sigh, gazing at the sky.
"I don't have a lot of friends since I'm quite new in this pack" she said.
"You were turned?" I asked, surprised.
"Yes. I was gravelly ill. Darryl saved my life by turning me" she told me, a dreamy look in her eyes.
"You like him" I said, amused. She blushed, her cheek turning pink.
"I think he's my mate" she said and my eyes widened.
"You think? Girl, why haven't you approached him, yet?" I asked, raising a brow.
"He knows that I'm his mate and he's hesitating because he probably doesn't want to rush things" she said and I chuckled.
"If you're ready, all you have to do is tell him"
She sighed.
"I wish it was that easy, but I get very nervous" she confessed. I watched her carefully, she looked like she'd been through a lot. She was a foot shorter than me, but I believed that she was either the same age with me or a year younger.
I gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
"Don't be afraid, Rain. He was made for you. You have to push past the fear and make up your mind. Think of the fact that he will care for you and love you the way he should" I said and she smiled.
"Thank you, Luna"
"Call me Rhea" I said and she nodded, her eyes brightening. I watched her as she left, a smile still tugging at my lips.
"Good gracious, you are a natural" came Chase's voice from the corner.
I snorted in amusement, folding my arms across my chest.
"Should I come for counseling too?" He teased.
"Shut it" I said, wrinkling my nose. He laughed warmly.
"Alright, Luna"
I heaved a sigh, thoughts of Jaden drifting into my mind and saturating it. I wondered how he was faring. I hoped he was being careful around his brother.
"Don't worry, Jaden can handle Zaden just fine" Chase said and I frowned.
"Did you just read my mind?!"
"Certainly not. It was clear by the look on your face, that you were thinking about Alpha Jaden.
'Is it that obvious?' I thought, looking away.
"Relax. Dana, Haru and some other pack members went with him" Chase said. He left shortly after that.
I thought about the third vision I'd seen. The mere thought of it made shivers to run down my spine. I didn't want to accept that it might come true because it was something I wanted to prevent at all cost.
"Regretting all your recent decisions, already?"
I turned to look at Trisha who was leaning on the wall a few feet away from the bench I was sitting on. She looked like she'd been having sleepless nights.
She strode towards me, giving me a rueful smile.
"I'm sorry" she breathed when she stopped in front of me. I was startled by this. What happened to the mean lady who wouldn't stop getting on my nerves because she was obsessed with becoming Luna? Did she have an ulterior motive? Sudden apologies like this could be sketchy.
"I shouldn't have acted like a bitch. I apologise for all the nasty words I said to you" she said, lowering her gaze. I rose to my feet, giving her a scrutinizing stare.
"I've had feelings for Jaden for quite a long time, Rhea. When he found you, I felt crushed knowing that you had a soul bond with him. Something I would never have with him. I've been by his side even when grief and vengeance threatened to tear him apart. I just couldn't bear to lose it all. I was so sure that Jaden was going to make me his Luna" she said, her eyes filling up with tears. Her voice was shaky, full of emotions. It was hard not to get swayed by this. She had to either be telling the truth or had a great acting skill which she'd reserved for occasions like this.
"I swear, I won't do it anymore. You and Jaden deserve to be happy together, I get that now. So, please forgive me...Luna"