Chapter 27

**Kataleya’s POV**

I woke up to an empty bed. Maybe it was all just a dream that Justin had stayed the night with me. I stretched and got out of bed to go shower and get ready for the challenge. As I was walking to the bathroom, something taped to my dresser caught my attention. It was a folded piece of paper with my name written on it.

“Kataleya, thank you for allowing me to share your bed last night. It was the best sleep that I have had in a while. I am sorry that I had to leave before you woke up. Christopher linked the warriors participating in the challenge and we are required to meet with him before you arrive, so I had to leave to get ready. I will see you later. I am rooting for you. Good luck, even if you don’t need it. –Justin.”

So, I guess it wasn’t my imagination. I did break down and asked him to stay the night with me…Oh no, that means he was really there and woke me up from my nightmare...

I hope he forgets that it happened and doesn’t ask me about what happened during the dream.

I hopped in the shower and I let the steaming hot water run over my body. I cannot wait until this challenge is over. I wonder which warriors I will be dealing with. I know Justin is one and I am sure that Garrison will be one too; he is one of the top ranked warriors in the pack.

I finished my shower and grabbed a pair of short leggings and a sports bra. As I was about to leave the room, there was a knock on the door. I yelled for them to come in as I started to put my shoes and socks on.

Michael, Elijah, and Oliver opened the door and walked in.

“How are you doing,” Oliver asked me.

I shrugged. “I am fine. A little nervous, but nothing I cannot handle.”

“I wouldn’t be worried. I know you are going to kick ass. You always do.” Michael encouraged me.

“Yeah, I wish I had not had to participate in this. I will never admit that you scare me sometimes, except this once. You are brutal and you are not going to care that I am your brother,” Elijah joked.

He isn’t wrong though. I will take him down and, unfortunately, Elijah’s training was not as rigorous as Michael and I’s training. He is strong and fierce, but I have more experience and training than he does. His main saving grace is the fact that he will be fighting me alongside Michael, which gives him someone closer to my caliber.

“Maybe you will get lucky and by the time that I fight you, I will be too tired to do too much damage to you.”

Everyone laughed at my comment to Elijah. I finished putting on my shoes and we started to make our way to the training grounds.

“I was surprised dad did not want you there when King Lucas arrived. He arrived about two hours ago. The visiting Alphas and the King are currently waiting at the training grounds,” Michael told me.

“Speaking of the training grounds, what in the world did Christopher want with the warriors that were scheduled for the challenge?” I asked.

“Hm…I am shocked that you heard about that. He did it at the last minute because he was hoping you would not find out…he was giving them final ground rules. I, also, think he was trying to convince them all that you did not need to win and that none of them should ‘take it easy on you.’ Not that any of them they chose would take it easy on you. Some of them have waited ages to take you on.” Michael said as he was laughing.

“I doubt anyone is going to take it easy on me,” I told Michael.

The training grounds were transformed overnight and it was sort of miraculous. Over by the training outhouse stood a stage that had been added and it now had several seats. Then, encompassing the circumference of the grounds, were bleachers. The bleachers were mostly full and there were even more people loitering around the edges of the field.

I stopped and took a deep breath, allowing the boys to walk ahead of me.

‘We can do this, Kat,’ Skye encouraged me.

I gulped. Goddess I hoped I could do this. There were roughly 17 “challengers” if I counted correctly.

The more I thought about this, the more I thought about how much the Elders must hate me in order to try to force me to step down. If they couldn’t get me to willingly step down, then they were going to try and force it with this fucking challenge. I can and I will do this.

I looked at the stage and I saw a tall man with dark brown hair and forest green hair and sitting next to him was a female with light blonde hair and baby blue eyes.

‘Who is that?’ I linked Michael.

‘That would be King Lucas and his Luna, Everleigh. Standing behind him is his guardian, Sebastian. Sebastian is supposed to be the guardian for Lucas and Everleigh. However, Lucas made it known that if need arose while he was in our territory that his primary focus would be Everleigh and not him,’ Michael told me through the link.

At that moment, my father finally noticed I was there. He was talking to Christopher when he waved me over.

‘Are you ready for this?’ He linked me.

‘As ready as I will ever be.’

“Ah, Kataleya, you have finally arrived. Thank you for agreeing to do this for us to show us old folk what you are truly capable of.” Christopher said to me.

“Anything for you, Elder. Too bad you decided to have anyone participate in this challenge besides any of the Elders. I would have died to fight one of you instead of a warrior.” I sarcastically responded to him. As I responded, the King and his Luna walked up, with his guardian trailing behind them.

“She is a feisty one.” The King says as he looks at his Luna, “This must be the young Kataleya. I have heard so many things about you. This is my Luna, Everleigh.”

I bowed slightly to the King and his Luna. “It is a pleasure to meet you King Lucas, Luna Everleigh. Thank you for attending this pointless challenge that the Elders have presented me with.”

Luna Everleigh chuckled. “She is definitely feisty, Lucas. I like her already. I can tell she is definitely like you, Alpha Michael. She has your fire and the mouth that will get her into trouble. These are my favorite type of women.”

My father chuckled at the Luna’s remarks. “Luna, she is definitely something else. She is a sight to behold. I just know she is going to do great things with this pack.”

Christopher did not respond to any of my comments. He just stood there glaring at me. I do not know what he expected. He knew I was not pleased about this challenge. He knew that I thought it was fucking pointless.

“Your highness, Luna. It is about time we started if you should go ahead and take your seats,” Christopher said. Once the King sat in his seat, my father cleared his throat.

“Ladies and gentleman, it is time we began the challenge. Will the challengers please come to the front of the stage.” As I am watching, I see the ten warriors that the Elders picked, along with the Beta, Gamma, my brothers, Oliver, and James. This was going to be fun. Not.

It looks like my challengers consisted of Justin, Gael, Garrison, Liam, Caleb, Jean, Elias, Amir, Jessica, and Aziel. I was surprised to see Jessica there. I did not think the Elders would have chosen any of the female warriors.

Justin gave me a small smile and nodded his head to me.

“This is a challenge to determine if Kataleya is strong and capable enough to be your next Alpha. Kataleya will fight with the first ten warriors before you. This will be done in a battle royale style. At any point in time, any of the warriors can join the fight. The only rule is that you cannot kill. The fight continues until either one submits or they are rendered unconscious. I expect a nice, clean fight out of all of you. If I suspect that anyone is cheating or is using any enhancers during this fight, they will be automatically disqualified.

She will then be challenged by the future Beta and Gamma, Oliver and James. Once Kataleya successfully clears that trial, she will go against Michael and Elijah. Finally, if she is able to clear that trial, she will then fight the current Beta, Gamma, and myself. In between each trial, Kataleya will be given the chance to be checked by the pack doctor, rest, and rehydrate before returning to the battlefield once given the all clear.

Are there any questions?” he asked. All my challengers shook their heads no. My father looked at me and nodded his head.

‘Good luck, Kataleya. Remember your training. I believe in you. Prove to them why you deserve this title,’ my father linked me before he told my first set of challengers to get ready.