Chapter 35
Amie
e were all heading to the gathering point. It was the first day of theW games and there would be an opening ceremony. Attendance was mandatory for everyone, participants and support staff alike. Finlay and I had told our pack what had happened the day before, so everyone was aware. The support I had got was overwhelming. I knew it wasn’t a coincidence that I found myself in the middle of the group from our pack. I could have objected. As Beta I should be able to choose where to walk. But it was sweet and I kind of liked not having to worry about running into members from my old pack.
“You are taking this better than I thought,” Matilda told me as she walked next to me. I smiled at her.
“It makes them feel better, and it reminds me of what an amazing pack we have,” I said. She laughed.
“That’s the spirit.” We came to a building that resembled a big stadium.
We were all filled into it, we had designated seats. It was to keep packs with feuds from ending up next to each other. We were seated high up on the sloping stands. On the inside, the gathering point were a combination between a stadium and an amphitheatre. When everyone was seated, the head of the council stepped forward on the stage and held an opening speech. It was a long speech about the history of the games, their importance to our community and that we all should treat this coming month with the respect it deserved. Then, he reminded us that this was a time not only for the games, but for us to come together and talk between
packs. When he finally ended his speech, I felt relieved and joined in the howls that followed it. After him another council member took to the stage and went through the rules. We were free to adjust the groups who were to compete until we entered the first game, which would be tomorrow morning. The team that arrived for the first game was the team we needed to use throughout all games. If one, or more, members of the teams were injured to the point they couldn’t take part in further games, the team would not be allowed to fill their position with an alternate. They would need to continue with being a member short. They reminded us that fighting between teams was strictly forbidden if the game itself didn’t require it. We were told the games were dangerous, all games were what they were portrayed as. There were no safety nets, no fake dangers. There was real potential to get hurt or lose your life. We all knew this. But for me it became more real as I listened to the councilman. There would be games where each pack did the task separately and there would be games when all the packs performed the task at the same time. The rules for the support staff were more straightforward. No fighting between packs, no sabotaging another pack, not helping the own pack during the games. They were allowed to supply their pack with food and drink during a game, but the items should be handed into designated spots and the council staff would make sure it reached the correct team. They were welcome to watch the games and were encouraged to cheer for their own pack and taunt the others. When the rules had been read, another speech commenced and I felt myself lose focus. ‘He brought our mother,’ Finlay mindlinked me. I followed where he looked. In seats which were among the best in the stadium, I saw a woman that vaguely resembled Matilda. Even for my wolf sight, it was a little too far away to get a good view. Next to the woman, there was a man. I assumed it would be Finlay’s brother. I had expected some resemblance, but I didn’t see any. The man looked like he spent all his time lifting weights.
Where Finlay was tall, lean and powerful, this other Alpha just looked tall and strong. I looked at the group surrounding him and I could see all of them except three were men and all of them looked like their Alpha. ‘I can see why you and the others felt like you didn’t fit in,’ I couldn’t help but comment. ‘Yeah, my brother has a strong view of an ideal warrior. I see Martin’s sister is in the group as well,’ he linked. I looked over at the three women
and saw one I guessed was Martin’s sister. They had the same hair colour.
As if she could feel our gaze, she turned around and looked back at us. She inclined her head and both Finlay and I did the same. The big man sitting by her side with his arm around her shoulder looked in our direction as well when he noticed his mate had her attention away from the stage. His eyes grew bigger as he spotted Finlay. He quickly faced forward again and nudged his mate to do the same. It didn’t take many seconds before Finlay’s brother turned around to look at Finlay. His eyes narrowed. ‘No love lost there,’ Finlay linked me. I reached for his hand and covered it with mine. ‘Don’t mind him. We knew he would be grumpy,’ I told him. Finlay looked at me and I saw he was trying to contain a laughter. ‘What?’ I linked, wanting to get in on the joke. ‘My brother is giving me death glares and you call him grumpy?’ Finlay asked. I shrugged. ‘But you are right. We knew this would happen.’ ‘It’s not like it has been during your Alpha meetings. You are not alone and you don’t need to face your brother or mother on your own.’ I reminded him. He nodded. We both tried to focus back on what was being said. It was a long list of past achievements, heroic undertakings and the wolves who performed them. It kept going for three more hours before they finally let us go with a reminder to make sure we were ready for tomorrow and the first game. We all filed out of the stadium. Finlay, Sam and I made sure everyone in our pack stayed together. We had decided ahead of time we would go back to the cabin and eat lunch. Then we had a light training session planned for the team who were to take part in the games, and then we would rest in the evening.
“Finlay!” someone called out. We stopped as one and turned in the direction of the voice. I saw who I guessed was Finlay’s mother, come walking. Behind her came his brother and another male, who looked like he also spent too much time lifting heavy things. Matilda, Sam and I all joined Finlay as the three wolves got closer to him.
“Go on ahead of us, we will be right there,” I told the rest out loud. They seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then started to walk again. It made me smile, they wanted to be there for their Alpha.
“Finlay, it’s nice to see you. You look well,” his mother said and fired off a weak smile at him. Now when we were up close, I could see Finlay had got his eyes from her. But otherwise I didn’t see a resemblance between them. Finlay even looked more like Matilda than his own mother. His
brother, on the other hand, was a spitting image of their mother. If she had
spent her days at the gym.
“Hi, Mom. So do you,” Finlay said.
“Are you getting enough sleep? I know it can be hard being an Alpha and you were never trained to be one,” she said.
“Tamara, Finlay is an exemplary Alpha,” Matilda interjected.
“Oh, hi Matilda. Well, that is good to hear,” his mother said, she didn’t sound sincere.
“Mom, Ryder, you know Matilda and Sam. This is Armeria Sage, our Beta,” Finlay introduced me. I inclined my head to the three wolves.
Finlay’s mother returned the gesture, the two males did not. I wasn’t surprised, but I felt Finlay tense up next to me.
“Really, brother? A female Beta? What, couldn’t get one of the males to accept the role after what happened to your last one?” his brother said. I could feel the tension rise.
“Martin gave his life for the safety of the pack. Any Beta would do the same and it’s a testament of how great of a Beta he was. Amie is as dedicated and powerful Beta in her own right,” Finlay told his brother.
“The pack loves her, and we are lucky to have her,” Matilda said and Sam nodded along. It was really sweet to stand up for me like this. It wasn’t needed, I could care less what these men thought of me.
“We were so worried when we heard about the attack. Wouldn’t it be better to just come back to the pack?” his mother asked.
“No. The attack was unfortunate and we mourn the loss of the three pack members who had to give their life for saving the pack. But we are more determined than ever to stay as a pack. After these weeks it won’t be an issue any longer,” Finlay told her. None of the three wolves liked the answer.
“Still not mated, I see,” his brother scoffed after looking at Finlay’s neck where a marking bite would be displayed. “If you can’t even produce an heir, the pack won’t survive.” Now it was me that tensed up and I had to use all my self control not to growl at the other Alpha. Finlay scoffed.
“I heard you found your mate, congratulations. I’m sorry to see she didn’t join you. I would have loved to meet her. And don’t be too worried about me and the pack’s future. There is more than one way to get an heir,” Finlay told his brother. It was his brother’s turn to scoff.
“She is too weak to go to a place like this. An Omega, who would have thought the gods would give me one of those for a mate. But at least she will bear me sons,” Alpha Ryder said. His voice was so cold and void of feelings it made me flinch. Finlay glared at his brother.
“You sound very happy, again, congratulations.”
“Back to the important topic. Stop being so fucking stubborn and come back to the pack before something goes really wrong. I will even agree to include the strays you have picked up on the way. It could be… interesting,” his brother said, looking me up and down in a way which made me feel like I needed a shower and then be scrubbed with rubbing alcohol.
“No thank you. I would rather be dipped in honey and dragged through a fire ants’ nest,” I said. Matilda laughed, as did Sam. Even Finlay’s mouth twitched.
“What did you say, bitch?” the other male wolf asked with a growl.
“Keep your Beta in check,” Finlay growled at his brother. “I won’t have him insult anyone from my pack.”
“I could say the same for you. That b… Beta has a mouth which will lead her into trouble,” his brother retorted.
“Amie had all the right in the world to snap back at you after the way you looked at her. You are a mated wolf,” Finlay said. The tension between our groups increased by the minute.
“Okay. I think we all need some food in our system. Let’s head back before we start a growling contest, or worse, a dick measuring one,” I said.
“So true, Beta, lunch is waiting for us. I prepared it before we left,”
Matilda said in a cheery voice.
“Mom, Ryder, I hope to see you again and good luck in the games,”
Finlay said. His brother made a face.
“As if we need it.” I urged Finlay and Sam to move. I knew if they stayed, it would end up bad. Probably in the realm of disqualification type bad. Me and Matilda got the boys moving and we walked back to the cabin.
The others were waiting for us and even if no one asked, they all wanted to know what had happened.
“We are all fine. We exchanged some pleasantries and then they kindly offered us to join their pack, and we politely declined. Now it’s time to eat.
If you want to join in, make sure to help set the table and bring out the food,” Matilda said. It put an end to the hesitant looks. The lunch was as amazing as always. But Finlay’s mood stayed the same. During our light
training in the afternoon, Finlay almost ran Jake into the wall and when he threw Ramses clear across the room, Sam decided we had trained enough for the day. His bad mood continued during dinner and it affected everyone.
I helped Matilda with the dishes and afterwards I found Finlay in the living room, flipping through the channels on the TV. I sat down next to him on
the couch and took the remote from him.
“Hey! I was using that,” he objected.
“Hey yourself. How many times have you flipped through the ten channels we have on this thing?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he said. I flipped through the channels, but at a much slower rate until I found some type of game show. It looked good enough, so I stopped and placed the remote on the table. ‘What has got you in this bad mood? Okay, I know what has got you in the mood to begin with, but why can’t you shake it?’ I asked him in a mindlink. ‘It’s stupid, I should just let it go. But then I think of the way Ryder looked at you and it pisses me off, or the way my mother just assumed I couldn’t handle the role as Alpha, or the way they look down on our pack and I just get angry. And I hate that I question my own judgment after I have talked to them. He seems so fucking confident. Did we go wrong when we went for a mixed team?’ Finlay answered. It was a long list of things. But I started with the last one. ‘Sure, they are strong. But let's face it; they make an ox look slender and I bet they weigh more than an ocean liner. I for one am looking forward to the game when we are made to crawl through some tight space and the first of them will get stuck like chuck. I hope it will be an individual game so we get to watch,’ I told him. Finlay looked at me and started laughing. ‘It paints a nice picture,’ he agreed. ‘Sure does. There are a lot of situations when their build and weight will act against them. And they will be forced to use their brains as well. They don’t seem too well endowed in that department. Sorry, he is your brother,’ I then corrected myself. Finlay was still chuckling and shook his head. ‘Don’t apologise, you are right,’ he told me. ‘Thank you. I needed a laugh.’ ‘I’m always here. Just talk to me. Don’t be a brooding Alpha.’ I elbowed him in his side, which made him laugh again. Sam popped his head into the living room.
“What are you watching?” he asked.
“Some game show, they are trying to crawl up a mountain of slime at the moment,” I answered.
“Cool.” His head vanished again and five minutes later he was back with a giant bowl of popcorn and sat down on Finlay’s other side. Soon we were joined by Matilda who picked up her knitting. One by one, the others dropped in and found a seat. Some brought snacks, some brought beer and pop. For each pack member who joined us, I felt Finlay relax a little more.
It was nice. We all relaxed and watched humans make fools of themselves. I looked at Matilda, she looked to be enjoying herself as well. ‘Is that a new project?’ I asked in a mindlink, not wanting to disturb the others' ongoing comments about the show.
‘It is,’ she agreed. ‘What is it?’ ‘You know the rules,’ she reminded me, and I smiled. She never told me what she was making, I had to guess. I looked at the project. It was a couple of inches long at this time and around twenty to twenty-five inches wide I would guess. Matilda was knitting in a pale green yarn that looked soft, but
the outer edge was in a cream colour. ‘A baby blanket?’ I asked. ‘You are getting good at this,’ she said with a nod. ‘For who?’ ‘That I won’t say,’ she told me with one of her sly smiles. I frowned.
Then I realised it was probably for Alpha Ryder. She may not like what he was doing, but he was still her nephew. As he had mated, it was likely he and his Luna would produce the first in the next generation of the family. I nodded. It wasn’t easy trying to navigate family dynamics. When it was time for bed, the mood in the cabin had drastically changed. Everyone was happier and fired up for the next day.
“Hey, Red,” Finlay said as I was heading into my bedroom.
“Yeah?” I asked.
“Thanks for getting everyone in the right headspace. I should have been the one doing that,” he said.
“Finn, you can’t do everything. You are allowed to have bad days as well.
That’s why you have a Beta. I’m happy to do it. Sleep tight, Alpha, we will need you tomorrow.”
“You too, Red. We will show them not to underestimate us,” he said with a smile.
