The Alpha's Prize

Cain sat at his desk, his feet resting on the wooden top and his hands rested behind his head. His muscles flexed, the definition in his biceps was more vivid. My breath caught at the sight before me. He didn't move. “What can I help you with, Freja?” Cain asked, almost sounding annoyed.

I stood there contemplating whether or not I wanted to tell him about Calyx; he has a right to know. But what danger would that put him in? What if the man in this room was working with Calyx?

I needed to do more digging first. “I was just wondering if I could go do some training with Samara today?” I asked, hoping he would agree and remember the conversation we had last night.

He looked at me hesitantly for a moment, as if trying to figure out if I was lying or not. I did want to see Samara but not to train.

His nostrils flared before he sucked in a deep breath. “Yes, that's fine. I will have Calyx escort you.” My eyes widened at his suggestion. “No!” I blurted out a little awkwardly, and Cain's brows furrowed together, so I chuckled a bit. “No, that's ok; I will be fine getting there myself,” I reassured him, hoping he wouldn't press it further.

“I don’t want you alone so soon, especially after what happened just a few days ago.” I could tell that he was trying his hardest not to start an argument, especially with a pack member in the room, who stood mere feet from us, who remained silent and just watched us.

I softened my gaze. “I know you don't, but remember what we had discussed last night, Cain. Plus, it's not far, it's daytime, and I'll be on pack grounds, so I'll be fine.” I said with a smile, hoping he would just give in already.

Cain remained silent as his eyes stared into mine. “Ok, fine, but straight to the training grounds and nowhere else.” He said in his alpha tone.

I nodded and smiled at him. “Of course, and thank you.” I was glad we didn’t get into another argument and that he was trying to respect my wishes.

I was about to leave the room when Cain's deep voice resonated throughout the air. “Freja, I mean it"

I didn't turn around, just glanced over my shoulder. “Yes, Cain, I know.” And with that, I hurried out of the room before he could stop me again or change his mind.

I went straight to the training grounds, looking for Samara, in hopes of her being able to tell me something about Calyx. I finally found her standing in the field, talking with a few others. I rushed over to her, taking long strides. Once I got closer, they all noticed me approaching, some bowed their heads in respect, and some didn't, but I paid no attention to them, as my goal was Samara. Samara smiled broadly. “Hello Luna, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

I wasn't sure if I could fully trust her, but something about her also told me I could. “Want to do some training?” I didn’t want to ask her my questions before the other members.

Her eyes lit up. "Yea, that would be great! Come on.”

We left the group and headed over to the archery equipment. I grabbed my lucky bow, and Samara chose her weapon. Finally, we approached the target lines, and I knew this was my chance; I glanced around, and we were finally alone.

We positioned ourselves and prepared to fire. “So, Samara, what can you tell me about Calyx?" I said as I released my arrow.

Her head whipped towards me, with a brow arched. “Why do you want to know about Calyx?" She asked with intrigue.

I shrugged. “Well, I've just realized I don't know much about Calyx and would like to be able to understand him better.” I tried to make it sound like I was just curious about my mate's brother. She lowered her weapon and glanced around. “Oh, I see. When Calyx was little, he was always off; as he and Cain got older, the previous Alpha and Luna favoured Cain, especially the Alpha. So Calyx was pretty much tossed aside, which made things worse for him. I remember when we were in our teen years, Calyx had tried to throw Cain from a cliff, at least that's what Cain had said. Calyx soon began to resent his parents and his brother. He never really interacted with others his age or anyone, period. He isolated himself, and before the battle that took his parents’ lives, his entire demeanour changed; he was excited and happy for the fight, which threw us all off. Afterwards, when we discovered that the Alpha and Luna had been killed, he didn’t seem as distraught as he should have been.” She paused and gave me an intense look. “And I could have sworn at one point, I saw him smiling, as he looked down at their bodies, it was fucking creepy, to say the least. After their death, he was no longer the Calyx we had all gotten to know; he had changed, that was until you arrived.”

My brows furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean until I arrived?” I asked her.

"After you arrived, I and some of the other members have noticed his old self coming out. Just little bits here and there, but enough for those of us who truly know him to be able to pick up on it. Also..." She paused and glanced around. “I could've sworn the other day, I seen him glaring at you with daggers in his eyes, but he noticed me and just smiled, then walked away.” She looked down at her feet as if she was reminiscing on the memory.

I sucked in a deep breath as I registered her words. All of this information was great but a bit overwhelming. “Has Calyx ever had a thing with Eve?” I asked her.

Her brows scrunched together as she thought over my question. “Not that I know of. So why are you asking all this?”

I pursed my lips and shrugged. “As I said, I just want to get to know him a bit more, that's all.” Then, I smiled, trying to reassure her.

She gave me a deadpan stare. “Bullshit! What's up? I can tell something is off; now spill.” I felt like I could trust her, but I also didn’t want to endanger her life.

“I swear, I just want to get to know......."” Samara raised her hand and stopped me from talking. "Freja, don't lie to me; you can trust me. I know something is going on, and I want to help.”

I remained silent and digested her words. Could I trust her? Could she help me? I closed my eyes and exhaled heavily, then glanced around, noticing a few pack members that were now too close for comfort and watching us intently.

I shook my head at her. “Not here.” I leaned in closer to Samara. “Meet me at the willow tree in 5.” She nodded in understanding and grinned.

I smiled broadly at her. “Well, this has been fun, Samara. Thank you for the training session.” I placed my bow back on the rack.

"Of course, Luna, it was a pleasure to see you, and I hope we can do this again sometime soon.” She smiled.

The other pack members kept their distance but were still observing us intently. Finally, I waved at Samara and left the area, hoping no one would follow me.

Cain POV:

Freja had seemed off; her attitude when mentioning Calyx had changed now. I found it curious and wondered why the sudden change? Did she know something? She hurried out of the room, closing the door behind her. I looked at Ryder and shook my head.

Ryder grinned. “She seems..." I gave him a warning glare. “Fun?” He said it almost like a question.

I snorted. “Oh, you have no fucking idea. Make sure the other guards keep an eye on her but tell them to stay at a distance; if she finds out I have people following her, I'll never hear the end of it.” I groaned.

Ryder chuckled. “I'll ensure she is safe, sir, and she won't suspect a thing.” He assured me.

Ryder sat in the seat across from my desk. “Now, about Calyx.” His expression was severe now. “He is planning to kill you and Freja to take over the pack.” He informed me.

I swivelled in my chair and glanced out the window. When my mother and father were killed, someone had told me that it was Calyx who had done it, but I couldn't and wouldn't bring myself to believe that. However, he has changed since Freja's arrival; I constantly catch him sneaking around, talking about a plan with someone on the phone and how I see him glaring at Freja or me when he thinks we aren't looking tells me he is up to something.

I turned back to face Ryder. “I want to figure out who he is working with first. Calyx has a partner or partners, and I want to know who they are, especially if they had anything to do with Freja’s kidnapping.” I said through gritted teeth, the memory of that made my blood boil.

Ryder nodded his head. “What do you want to do?”

Freja POV:

I walked around the house, looking around to see if I was being followed, and so far, I didn't notice anything. So I cut around the side of the house and headed straight for the willow tree. As I neared the tree, I didn't see Samara but hoped she would still show.

I was up close to the tree now, and as I admired its beauty, I heard footsteps from behind me. I looked over my shoulder, and it was Samara, with a big smile on her gorgeous face.

She stopped in front of me. “Ok, I'm here, now spill.” She said quickly, not wasting any time.

I grabbed her arm and pulled her to the other side of the tree, where we were a bit more secluded. I looked her dead in the eyes. “Calyx has a plan to kill Cain and me.”

Her eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She continued to stand there gaping at me for a moment, then rubbed her hands down her face. “This is a joke, right?” She asked incredulously.

I shook my head. “No, it's not. I overheard him and a woman talking about it the other day in the woods. Then last night, I heard him talking about it again on the phone to someone.” I was angry with Calyx and confused as to why he was doing this.

Samara stared off into the woods as she took in a deep breath of air and released it. “Ok, how can I help?”

I smiled, thankful she was willing to help me. “Well, I want to figure out who Calyx is working with, I suspect it is Eve, but I don’t want to make any accusations without any proof. I need to figure out what his plan is and why he is doing this.” I said, pacing around.

She pursed her lips. “I have to be honest; I'm not sure it's Eve; Calyx has always hated her and made that crystal clear numerous times. So, I wouldn't focus on just Eve, as it may be another woman, he could have others working with him too, from the sounds of things, and I think I may know why he is doing this.” She looked away from me and glanced at the pond.

My brows drew together, and my curiosity peaked. “Why do you think he is doing this?”

Her shoulders slumped. “Because Calyx wants to be Alpha and be rid of Cain.”

I reared back a little as I considered this. “What makes you think that?” I questioned.

She pursed her lips and was silent for a moment before clearing her throat. “Calyx had always wanted to be Alpha. When he was younger, he tried his hardest to prove to his father that he was Alpha material and was fit for the position, not Cain. As the boys got older, Cain proved to be the better fit for the position and that had fucked with Calyx's head; he had wanted to be Alpha so bad. After he realized that he would never be Alpha with Cain around, that was when he got worse and shortly after, was when Cain accused him of trying to push him over a cliff.”

I blinked rapidly, a little taken aback by her words. I couldn't quite comprehend the fact that Calyx would want to kill his own brother over some stupid title. I slowly began to consider everything; it did make sense, as I have heard stories of wars starting because of someone else wanting the title of Alpha. “So, with that in mind, we just have to find out who he is working with and what the plan is."

I paced around for a moment, running everything through my head. I wished that Gunnar was here; he would help me and give me the advice that I so desperately need right now.

Samara watched me, a curious expression on her face, as she watched me spin around in circles like a madwoman. Then, finally, she put her hands on my shoulders and stopped me. “Stop! You are making me dizzy. Listen, I might be able to get close to him.”

My eyes bore into hers. “What? How?" I asked quickly.

She pursed her lips. “If I can make Calyx think that I am against you and Cain, he might let me in on the plan and have me join his team to take you guys out.”

I considered this for a beat. “But...what if Calyx finds out that you intend on betraying him? You will get hurt or worse.” That was something I didn't want to happen; I didn't want her to get hurt.

She tilted her head and gave me a small smile. “I'll be fine, don’t worry, if at any point I feel like I may be in any danger, I will get out immediately.” She said, trying to reassure me, but it didn't help much.

My expression turned serious “You better! I mean it, Samara.”

She chuckled lightly. “Yes, ma'am.”

I rolled my eyes at her playfulness; then, something had caught our attention. We both glanced at each other and leaned against the tree, pretending that we were having a casual conversation about archery. Then, suddenly, a large man appeared from around the tree; he nodded at Samara and bowed his head to me. “Luna, there is someone here at the gate to see you.” He said in a deep voice.

My brows scrunched together in confusion. “What, someone is here to see me? Who is it?" I asked. He straightened himself, a rather unpleased look on his features. “He said he is your brother.”

My eyes widened as tears began to pool around my lids, and without wasting another second, I bolted from my spot, running towards the front gate. I could hear the man behind me yelling my name, telling me to stop, but no one and nothing would stop me from seeing my big brother.

I was now mere feet from the gate, and Gunnar’s large form was clear in my sights now. I picked up speed and jumped into his arms, wrapping my arms tightly around his neck.

Gunnar caught me without effort and wrapped those big ass arms of his around my back, holding me tightly to him. My breathing faltered, as I couldn't believe he was here, it had felt like eons since I had seen him last, and him being here now almost felt too good to be true. I wasn't one to cry, but at this moment, I couldn't stop the few tears that streamed down my face. We finally pulled back; Gunnar gently set me down on my feet and smiled before wiping the tears from my face. I closed my eyes and let out a shaky breath, attempting to calm myself.

After feeling a bit more relaxed, I opened my eyes and looked up at him. “I can't believe you are here,” I said, almost unable to believe it.

He chuckled. “I know me too. I thought I would never see you again, to be honest, but I couldn't take it anymore and needed to know that you were safe, no matter the cost.”

Abruptly, I heard a large bang and someone not too far in the distance growl out my name. I turned around to see Cain stomping towards us, fuming mad. Being the mad man he is, my brother grabbed ahold of me and shoved me behind him, protecting me like he always had. His muscles were tense, and his body was rigid as he prepared himself for whatever Cain would deliver.

I peeked around Gunnar and could see Cain closing in on us now. Cain's eyes were black, his jaw and fists clenched tightly, and his muscles were protruding out of his shirt, making me drool a little. He stopped a few feet from us; his enforcers huddled together behind him. Cain glared around Gunnar at me, and a look of hurt flashed on his features before his threatening gaze went back to my brother.