I watch as the wolves prepare the arena for the fight happening in less than four hours.

This arena was built solely for contenders to fight against their rivals for the Alpha position, but no one has ever dared to challenge the mate of a royal. Until now.

To say I'm worried for Lorenzo is an understatement. I know he's strong, but is he strong enough?

I've never seen him come to training.

"Chloe! Chloe!" A pup about six years old runs to me. I scoop him up and carry him on my right hip. He squeals in delight.

"Yes, Joshie?" I ask.

"Dewek told me to tell you nobody has seen Lowenzo."

"Dang it! He needs to prepare right now if he wants to win." I sigh in frustration.

"Chloe, why they fighting?"

"To see who's strong enough to be the Alpha King."

"But strong enough to be Alpha King!" He tugs my sash.

"Yeah. But I'm going to be queen. And a queen gets lonely without a king."

"I'll be your king! Then you'll never get lonely!"

I chuckle at his words. I honestly love kids.

"What kind of a king will a pup make?" I turn around and see Xander shirtless and glistening with sweat. He must be preparing for the fight.

I give him a once-over and let Joshie hold my scepter.

"I don't know. Probably better than you, though."

Joshie sticks his tongue out at Xander. I turn around and leave Xander gaping at us with his bruised ego. His ego isn't going to be the only bruised thing tonight.

Speaking of, where in the name of Selene is my mate!?

Lorenzo

"Harder."

I throw a hard blow to the tree, efficiently cracking it and splitting it in two.

"Good. We're done here."

I slacken my muscles and stand in front of my sister. She puts a gloved hand on my shoulder.

"Make me proud, little brother. Go fight for what's yours."

I wrap my arms around her for a hug, but she pulls my arms, twists them and pins me to the ground.

"Sorry bro. I don't do hugs."

Her look alone is cogent enough that she does not do PDAs, but I still give her a questioning look.

"Private reasons. Now go. Show em what I taught you."

I give her a small smile. I open my mouth to say something but end up with a hoarse, "Thank y-you."

"Don't sweat it. Now get the fuck outta here. My wolf needs to hunt."

I take that as my cue to run.

I don't want to be around when her beast is out.

~

"Please step forward, Lorenzo Helia." My mate's beautiful voice is heard throughout the entire arena filled to the brim with wolves.

The spectators cheer quietly for me.

Either they understand that I don't like noisy attention, or they were just reluctant. Or sleepy for that matter.

I emerge from the wings and stop at the center of the arena.

"First contender, step forward."

Marshall imperiously strides in from the other side of the arena. His smirk that used to scare me to the core is present.

But I am insusceptible to his intimidation.

"The rules follow. You may not let your wolf take control in this fight. You may not kill your opponent, but drawing blood is accepted. You may not cause fatal injury to your opponent. The victor is the last wolf standing, and to forfeit the fight, you must show your neck in submission to your opponent. Failure to comply with these rules will result in immediate disqualification and/or imprisonment.

May the moon goddess bless this battle for the throne. You may begin."

My mate explains while standing in the VIP box with the high ranking wolves.

I return my focus back to my opponent. I throw off my hoodie and we start circling each other.

"I see coercing the princess gave you some balls." Marshall snarls.

I give him a smirk to show his pathetically futile attempt at insulting me has no effect.

He swings his right fist and I easily dodge the blow. He tries to throw another punch at me, but I catch his fist and pull his arm downwards. He tumbles forward and I manage to land quite a hit on his nose.

He groans as his now broken nose leaks blood.

His brown eyes darken and he lunges at me. I grab onto his shoulders mid-run and kick him with both feet in the stomach using all my body weight to knock him to the ground.

"Shift!" Alpha regent Mia shouts.

Finally. Ford growls.

Marshall shifts and lunges for me before I have the chance to shift into my own wolf.

He knocks me to the ground and growls.

I grab his thick neck and use every ounce of strength to push him off of me. He doesn't budge and starts snapping at my throat.

I let go of his neck and pound my fists on his bloodlusted eyes.

He momentarily lets down his guard. I use his distraction as an opportunity to shift into my wolf.

I let out a much needed howl and growl at the reddish brown wolf that is Marshall. He growls back.

Ford stirs, not liking the disrespect shown by Marshall. I reign him in and prevent him from taking control.

Marshall sees my inner battle for control and uses it as a chance to lunge at my throat.

Thanks to my fast reflexes, I launch myself to the left and grab his right hind leg in my mouth. I chomp down on it, causing him to growl in response.

I use my wolf's strength and headbutt his side. His body lurches into the air before falling back down and rolling over.

He stands on three paws then circles me.

I snap my jaws at him, giving a small warning. He snarls at me at snaps his saliva-filled jaws back.

I will rip this common wolf's head off. Ford growls and fights me for control.

Ford, instead of fighting me, please work with me! For Chloe, our mate.

A surge of energy swarms through my body and I growl as loudly as I could. I could feel power radiating off of me and affecting Marshall's wolf and every other wolf in the arena.

An eerie silence follows, daring anybody to make a sound. I look around the arena and see every wolf staring at me with bewilderment and confusion, but none of them dare to meet my gaze.

I turn my head back to the whimpering wolf in front of me. Marshall stands with his right paw extended, tail in between his legs and his head lowered.

He is admitting defeat.

I nudge his side, giving him the alternative of a pat on the back.

The silence is shattered as the seven hundred or so wolves stand up and cheer. For me.

Two separate towels are thrown over me and Marshall. I shift back first and wrap the towel around my waist.

I make my way to Marshall, who is in human form, but his head hangs low in shame.

I outstretch a hand for him to grab.

He looks at it with confusion, then at me.

"What the?"

I give him a nod and he takes my hand.

He hoists himself up and gives me a bro hug.

"All hail Alpha King Lorenzo!" Marshall shouts and all the other wolves cheer in agreement.

I look over to the VIP box and see my mate smiling at me with pride.

She's proud. Of me.

"Not until he beats me!" An angry voice says.

Xander marches to the center of the arena where Marshall and I stand.

The cheering and merriment dies down as the pack registers what Xander just said.

Xander aggressively shoves me. "You are going to take throne!"

"Xander stop!" Marshall shouts.

"Fuck off, traitor!"

"No Xander! What you're doing is wrong! Rejecting your mate so you can challenge the future alpha king? Taking HCS pills to enhance your strength? You're taking it too far!"

Gasps and outcries arise from the pack members. Hydrochrystaliptus or HCS is used as a performance enhancing drug for werewolves because normal human drugs don't work on us. The substance has been forbidden and outlawed in every pack.

If what Marshall is saying is true, Xander is in deep trouble. Especially since he was going to fight me under the influence of the drug.

"No way are we going to be ruled by that cheat!" Jessica Barnes shouts.

"Yeah! Lock him up and throw away the key!" Tristan adds.

"We want Lorenzo! We want Lorenzo!" Linkin starts chanting and soon, all the wolves follow.

I give him a warm smile to show my gratitude for his support. He returns the smile.

"We want Lorenzo! We want Lorenzo! We want Lorenzo!"

My heart swells up with pride.

My pack wants as their Alpha.

A growl comes from my left. I snap my head to the imminent danger.

A large brown paw swipes across my face before I have time to realize what's going on. I clutch my bleeding right cheek.

The wolf that attacked me bares its jaws and leaps, aiming for my throat.

I dodge Xander's attack with only a gash on my arm and no sooner had I landed on the ground, he is back to attack me again.

I hit the ground hard and my body is pressed firmly to the ground. Xander snaps at me, aiming for my throat but missing it by inches. His claws pierce my chest, not deep enough to kill me instantly but deep enough to inflict great pain and bleed me out.

I clench my jaw and grit my teeth as his jaws capture my shoulder. Blood gushes out of my wounds like running water. I start feeling light-headed and dark spots start clouding up my vision.

Marshall's reddish brown wolf jumps onto Xander's back and claws at him.

A powerful growl reverberates in the night air.

Suddenly, Xander is ripped away from me and tossed aside like he weighs nothing.

The scent of peaches and honey that I have come to love embraces me.

"Lorenzo? Lori? Stay with me please!" Soft tingles erupt from where my mate's delicate hands touch.

I turn my heavy head and take in my mate's beautiful face. Her gentle hands caress my face as tears run down her cheeks.

"Lorenzo, focus on my voice okay? Don't close your eyes. Please." Her voice sounds so far away.

I blink slowly, listening to my slow heartbeat.

Maybe this is the end. This is what everything was leading up to. I wish I could've said more to my mate. Now I'll never be able to tell her how I feel about her.

"Lorenzo, I-I love you."