The One He Claimed by Cooper

Chapter 185: Beta to Alpha

Lucas

Today is the day. Well, the next two days are the days where I will truly see if I have what it takes to become an Alpha. Hunter has faith in me. Sophie has faith in me. And my mate has faith in me. I can’t let any of them down.

When I’d first walked Alaric’s pack lands, I hadn’t seen the devastation or the amount of time it would take to rebuild what was broken in the pack. What I’d seen was opportunity. The opportunity to make something great out of what Alaric left.

Based on what I’d seen in Owen’s lands, this pack is in better shape overall, but it’s nothing like Hunter’s and Sophie’s pack. And while these pack lands are smaller than Hunter’s, I think I can make something great out of this area. No, I KNOW I can make something great here. A place that is better for the people who used to live here and a place that is better for my son to take over one day when it’s his turn to become an Alpha.

An Alpha. I never thought I’d say that about my son, but once the idea took hold in my head, I couldn’t let it go. If Kins hadn’t agreed with me, if she hadn’t been one hundred percent engaged in this process, I would have walked away. She is too important to me to risk our relationship. I’ve worked way too hard to build what we now have together for me to throw it away for a title. I’m happy as Hunter’s Beta. Hunter’s a good Alpha and I’m a good Beta. The pack respects both of us and it shows.

“You’ve got this, my love. Especially today. Today is the easy day,” Kinsley says, looking at me over her shoulder. I’m wrapped around her in bed, lost in my thoughts, not realizing that she was awake yet.

I kiss her shoulder before taking a deep breath.

“You won’t,” she says, watching me.

“Won’t what?” I ask her, knowing that she must feel it through the bond.

“You won’t disappoint me. You never have.”

“That’s not exactly true,” I say referencing how I claimed her.

“That was different, Lucas. Times were different. This is a chance for us, for our children to be better, to be a part of something better. And that wasn’t disappointment. You, my love, have never disappointed me. You’ve done everything in your power to make this bond between us what it is now.”

“You were and continue to be worth it every day,” I tell her.

“You should start today off right, Lucas, by reminding me of how much you love me,” she purrs.

I slide inside her, not able to take as much time as I want because of the competition starting this morning, but by the time we’re showered and headed to breakfast, my mind is settled for today.

When I walk in, I see Hunter across the room. He gives me an assessing look, then nods, apparently liking what he sees in me.

I get Kinsley some food, then get in line to find out where I fall in the order for the first round of competitions. I’m fourth in line to compete with Dutton as my referee. I’ll be taking on one of Kayce’s warriors. Since I have a little bit of time before my first competition, I grab some food and join my mate. Unlike at Jake’ s new pack where there was no other pack adjacent to it, we have access to Amelia’s packhouse and kitchens, so while breakfast is an outdoor affair, it’s hot food with all the normal breakfast options.

When we’re given the announcement that the battles will begin in thirty minutes, everyone begins making their way over to the vacant pack. Each referee has their own space where the competitors assigned to them will have their battles. There isn’t a time limit, but once one is done, the next one begins.

I get in line, introducing myself to the warrior that I’ll be battling. There are more fighters this time, so we expect that it will take two full days before one of us wins our pack. Today will be easier because the rounds will take so long, and we’ll have plenty of time to rest in between. Tomorrow will be much more grueling.

As expected, these rounds go more quickly and easily even though there are more of them, with those of us who are ranked members eliminating the omegas and warriors that we compete against. The warrior that competed against me was good, but not nearly good enough to become an Alpha.

It’s after lunch when the first rounds are complete, leaving one hundred and ten of us to compete in the afternoon. I’m farther back this time, competing against one of Robin’s warriors with Ezra as the referee.

These battles take longer as everyone in this round has already competed once and won. It’s well past dark when the last group finishes and the competition winds down for the day.

“We’ll start at six o’clock tomorrow morning. Get your assignments and your refs so you know where to go. We expect tomorrow’s competitions to last even longer, so even though we have fewer of them, we still expect a full day with the battles taking longer with each round.

Even though I only fought twice, I fall into bed, mentally exhausted. I watched other competitions, wanting to see the skill that others had. The Betas, Alpha Calvin, and some Gammas will be my biggest competition. All the warriors are strong, but very few are strong enough to go against those of us who are ranked.

1 spent some time watching Beta Miles, Dutton’s Beta. Of all of them, I’d say he’s my strongest competition. Normally, I’d think it would be an Alpha, but Calvin fights in an old school way. I’m not sure if it’s because his pack is segregated from the others and he hasn’t had a chance to learn other fighting techniques, but he seems limited and consistent in his fighting. He’s strong which is to his benefit, but his technique isn’t as varied as some of the rest of us.

Miles, however, is creative in his fighting approach. He’s a smart fighter, willing to take a hit to win the battle. I’m the same way, so if I end up going against him, I’ll need to be careful.

In the morning, fifty-five of us are ready to begin battles. Apparently, they offered to let someone compete twice in case there is a tie at the end of the competition. Then the person with the most points wins. I put my name in for an extra battle and I notice that Miles does as well. Alpha Calvin doesn’t and I assume that’s because he’s the only Alpha and he assumes he’ll win.

There are two opportunities to fight twice, and Miles and I both get chosen to take those on. I’m chosen to have an extra fight during the first round this morning, with Miles getting one later in the day. I’m thankful mine is earlier. Because I’ll be fighting twice, my first battle is moved up, so I have my initial fight in the matchup with Alpha Amelia as our referee.

It does take longer to win this morning, my first battle lasting an hour. Since my next battle is with Gamma Caleb, Amelia’s Gamma, I’ll have to shift to a different referee. I get a couple of hours rest, before my next competition, going around and watching some of the other battles, keeping an eye on my biggest competitors. Alpha Calvin, Beta Miles, and both Robin’s and Kayce’s Betas move to the next round. Then it’s time for me to battle Gamma Caleb.

I notice the other Betas come to watch my match, apparently taking in their competition, me.

“You’ve got this, baby,” Kinsley says, giving me a kiss for luck. It turns out that I didn’t need it. Caleb is another one that isn’t as good as he thinks he is. However, he doesn’t want to give in, even after I’ve obviously defeated him. I take him down two more times before Alpha Robin calls it. Caleb becomes irate, screaming that Robin is cheating and that the entire thing is rigged.

It takes several Alphas’ presence to finally get him to calm down and accept defeat. Like the poor loser he is, he doesn’t shake hands with me, he just walks away in a huff.

Because we start early, we’re able to start the next round before lunch. This time, I’m closer to the end of the competition because I battled twice. I still feel good, but now that we’re down to twenty-seven, the battles are definitely lasting longer. This round, Miles takes the extra match, and he wins both of them.

Because we both won twice in our rounds, we’re still at odd numbers and Kayce’s Beta wins the toss for the next person to take an extra battle. While I’m interested in watching his matches, after mine is done, I realize that Miles and Calvin are fighting and most everyone who isn’t fighting is watching them. When I walk up, I see Kinsley watching their fight.

“How long have they been going?” I ask her, noticing that Hunter is refereeing this match.

She looks at her watch. “Nearly two hours.”

“Shit!” No wonder everyone is watching them. Both of them are pouring in sweat, but Calvin seems to be slowing down faster than Miles. Calvin is several years older than Miles, but I’m guessing it’s more than that. Whether he doesn’t train as hard, or everything going on with his mate and newborn daughter are taking a toll on him, it isn’t long before I can see the tide of the battle turning in Miles’ favor.

The battle goes on for another hour and by then, all the competitors in this round is done, even Kayce’s Beta who had to fight twice. Everyone has gathered around to watch this massive battle.

Since I know my Alpha, I know he wants to call it, but he’s hoping that Calvin will concede. I doubt he will. He’s an Alpha and unlike Hunter, Calvin would not want to concede to a Beta. I watch as the other Alphas gather around, probably expecting the fight from Calvin. When Hunter calls it a tie, it takes Calvin a moment to realize that means that Miles won. Miles took an extra fight earlier and the whole point of that is to give one person the benefit if there is a tie as there is now. Not unexpectedly, Calvin begins complaining, saying he can still fight, but the other Alphas all step up, supporting Hunter, before Calvin finally concedes. To his credit, he was a gracious loser and shook Miles’ hand before leaving the ring.

By the time that battle ended, it was well past lunch time, and the next round started. Each of these took longer and longer. In the end, it was me and Miles as the final two. It had been a long, exhausting day, but both of us wanted to be done, so we both agreed to fight.

As I expected, he was a formidable opponent. He and I had similar ways of fighting and when it was all done, I was able to hold out just long enough to defeat him.

When Alpha Kayce called me the winner, I stood there stunned.

“Congratulations. Best fight I’ve had all day man. You deserve it,” Miles says a moment before Kinsley rushes into my arms.

“I’m so proud of you! I knew you could do it!”

“Alpha Lucas!” Hunter calls and the rest of the crowd quiets down. “Congratulations on winning your pack and becoming. part of the group of Alphas.”

“Thank you!” I say, feeling overwhelmed with all of the emotions that are rushing through both me and Kinsley. So rather than do anything, I stand there, holding my mate, my Luna, looking out over our new pack lands.