Chapter 18

The next six months passed quickly. I continued training and working hard to become the best Alpha that I could become. The Elders continued to push back. They did not think I was capable of ever becoming an Alpha. They thought that it was okay to let me maintain the “title” until my mate came along and then the right should go to my mate. I still think that is bullshit. I do not need my mate to take my role. Skye and I still struggled with seeing eye-to-eye with the idea of having a mate, but I promised her I would try and think before giving her a rejection. I continued to try and branch out into the pack. I started with the warriors. I knew most of them from training and it was easier to be around them. I continued to hang out with Justin, but I would only hang out with him if Oliver, Michael, or Elijah were present. Even though, Elijah did not always like hanging out around us, which I understood, since there was a small age gap between Michael, Justin, and Elijah. However, if I asked Elijah to, he would come and hang out with us, so I would not be alone with him. This was an improvement in itself, since before I did not even like talking to anyone of the male population.

It was now the day before my 17th birthday. The day before, I can officially find my mate and I was nervous. After the day that my father announced that Michael was stepping down and I was taking his place, Elijah had not said anything else about my fated mate and rejected them. I could tell that Elijah did not approve of me rejecting a mate, but it was also not his decision. If I found my mate tomorrow, what would I do?

I was heading to my father’s office. The Elders decided they finally wanted a meeting with me, instead of just talking about everything with my father. I told my dad if they wanted to continue to bad mouth me, then they could at least grow a pair of balls and tell me to my damn face.

Once I reached my father’s office, I opened the door and walked in. My father was sitting behind his desk, and I made my way to the couch in his office. The Elders were already present, and Christopher scoffed when I walked into the room.

“See? No manners, Michael. Your daughter just barged into your office with no manners, and you did not even say one word about her disrespect towards you.” Christopher sneered towards my father. Uh oh. Christopher is going to piss off the wrong person today. I can already see my father’s face, he is angry.

“Christopher, first, you will address me as my title, which is Alpha, in case you have forgotten. That is showing me disrespect. Next, you and I both know that she has every right to walk in, since she is going to be the future Alpha. You never said one word when Michael would come into my office without knocking. Also, for all you know, she could have mind-linked me for permission to enter my office. Christopher, I am not going to handle your disrespect today. You will respect my daughter and I when you are in my office.” I could tell that my father was warning Christopher to watch his mouth without actually threatening him.

“Elder Christopher, I am sorry if you think I meant disrespect. I know the rules and my father told me that I did not need to knock when entering his office, especially since this meeting you called involves me as well.” I quietly stated.

Christopher just glared at me. Benjamin picked this time to intervene and start the meeting. “Kataleya, Alpha. I am sure you are wondering why we decided to actually hold this meeting, since you think it might be futile. We are still concerned about Kataleya’s ability to effectively lead our pack as a female. We have decided that there is one thing that would appease us and show that Kataleya had the will and ability to lead us.”

My father and I looked at each other. I raised my eyebrows. ‘Let’s hear them out, Kat. What is the worse they could want you to do?’ My father linked me. I nodded my head at him and looked at Benjamin to continue.

Elder Remington took over from Benjamin, “We want you to compete in a small competition to see if you really have what it takes to become Alpha. An Alpha needs to be strong and fierce. We worry that you lack that. First, we want you to go against some warriors that we choose. If you are able to defeat all the warriors, then we want you to go against both of your brothers. Elijah now has his wolf and, from what I have heard, he has been succeeding in training and surpassing many others, so it would be a fair fight. Elijah and Michael are fierce fighters, and we would be nearly satisfied if you were able to take them on. We, also, want to see how you compare against the future Beta. Lastly, if the Alpha and Beta agree, we want to see how you compare to them together. So, we will insist that you take the two of them on at once. Of course, we would allow you a small break in between each battle and the fights can take place over the course of several days if it is needed. This is what we feel is needed to make sure that you are capable of protecting our pack.”

I looked at father and I laughed. Of course. They wanted me to essentially fight a shit ton of people to prove my worth, not that I was worried about that. I have taken down at least half of the warriors so far. I just don’t understand why this is necessary. Michael never had to prove himself like that. Why do I have to?

‘What are you thinking?’ My father liked me.

‘Why the hell is any of this necessary? They never even questioned Michael and his ability to lead. I have no qualms about fighting whoever they want me to fight. I am confident in my abilities, but do you think this is necessary, Alpha?’

‘You are right. This should not be necessary, Kataleya, but it might be the only thing that will appease them. You know that Beta Damon and I will not be able to take it easy on you? And I already know your brothers will not go easy on you, but that is not a concern, you spar with them all the time. I think you can do it, Kat, and if it gets them off your back, then I think it is worth it. I know that it is not fair. Once you become Alpha, you can work on dissolving the Elder system for the pack or at the very least replacing some of the old hags.’

‘Fine, Alpha. I will do it.’

I looked at Elder Remington. “Fine, I will do it. Can it at least wait until after my birthday? That would also give you time to get it set up, since I am sure that you want to make sure the entire pack is present for this challenge. Are you planning to have any extra guests attend this,” I inquired.

Remington, Benjamin, and Christopher all looked at each other and I could tell they were mind-linking each other.

Christopher was the first to speak. “Since this is going to be an official challenge, there are a few extra people that will be invited. Most likely there will be several nearby Alphas present, plus the Lycan King Lucas and his mate. If I remember correctly, Lucas has a Guardian, and he will come with King Lucas. We will also invite one of the Guardian Elders. We can give you a week from today, since it will take about that long to get everything set up and coordinate with all the appropriate channels. We will need to speak with Beta Damon and see if he agrees to the fight with you and handpick our list of warriors.”

Guardians. The Guardians were a set of Elite protectors. Typically, they are sent to protect any supernatural creature that has warranted some form of protection. The bond that a Guardian and their charge has is said to run extremely deep, but only those that have been granted a Guardian get one. The Guardians have a ranking system as well. When you are first picked to join them, you start as a Protector. If you prove yourself, you are then ranked as a Guardian, and then you can become an Elder. From Elder, you can become a high Elder. I have never met anyone from the organization or anyone that has been warranted a protector, but it made sense that the Lycan King in this region would have one. They, also, help with mates, with keeping them together, since it is said that we are stronger with our mates.

“So, it is set. We will meet again in a few days’ time. You will give us the list of warriors that you plan on having Kataleya fight and a list of those that will be entering my territory, so we can make sure the proper security measures and accommodations are handled.”