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“No, he was pulled away again with alpha business,” Willow said. “In this instance, I’ll make the call and let it pass since individual rankings are based on how each woman has played.”
“There are gray areas? No one told us this.”
Willow smiled. “Then let this be a good lesson for you. No matter what you’re doing in classes or competitions, you are constantly being watched and judged by various parties. After all, whoever wins will be the alpha’s mate. We don’t take that lightly.”
It made sense and fell in line with what Faye had hinted at.
“Remember,” she continued, “despite the group nature of many dates and competitions, only one woman can win. You are always working alone to win Holden’s heart.”
I took a moment to let that settle in. Then I wasn’t likely to get eliminated. Still, anything could happen.
“So, where is Holden?” Would he be reviewing the video feeds to make an elimination?
Willow smiled. “Something came up. Don’t worry about it.”
But of course, I did. Even as I watched Sydnee on the screen, carrying the flag to almost certain victory, I worried about the situation with my pack. Had Branson gone and done something else crazy? What was the situation back home, and was Jenna safe?
In a shocking turn of events, Sydnee was cornered by two wolves just before making it to the base. Jessica was still standing, defending our base and fighting off a different wolf, but Sydnee simply couldn’t find a way to get past. The other team took the red flag from Sydnee while one teammate managed to get the flag and dart back to their home base.
I was distracted by thoughts of Jenna, Branson, and Holden as Willow concluded the competition, congratulating the winning team.
“Each team had a VIP—Jessica for the blue team and Rosely for the red team,” she said, leading a round of applause.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Sydnee cross her arms and scoff. Then she trained that contemptuous gaze on me. “Let me guess,” she said loudly enough for everyone to hear. “Kayden will be the one getting eliminated today. Her attempt at leadership was a massive failure.”
I rounded on her, ready to tell her exactly what I thought of her lying, tricks, and deceptive tactics, but Willow interjected.
“Kayden protected her team, then was betrayed. She walked away a good sport.” The look in Willow’s eyes was scathing as she met Sydnee’s gaze. “You might want to rethink making enemies so early on.”
Willow was typically pretty even-keeled in how she spoke to all of us, never showing preference to anyone, so that was a pretty big statement coming from her. Sydnee’s cheeks turned red as she scowled, her death glare beating into me.
“Maybe Kayden should learn to be more careful who she trusts,” Sydnee muttered.
I didn’t bother responding, but she was right. It had been a lesson learned the hard way. A mistake I didn’t plan on repeating.
14
HOLDEN
Istared across the conference table at Branson, beyond irritated he was the reason I was missing the first competition of the Contention. After speaking with Kayden yesterday, my father and I agreed that we couldn’t let this go on until the Contention had ended, as much as I wished we could.
So far, I hadn’t had nearly as much time to get to know the women as I’d hoped. But my role as alpha came above everything, including my future mate. So, I’d gathered several regional alphas to meet with Garrett and me under the guise of establishing relationships under my leadership.
Honestly, I was surprised Branson showed up at all. He’d made a habit of ignoring my authority. After touching on some mundane pack check-ins, where I didn’t learn anything I didn’t already know, I moved on to the topic I mainly wanted to discuss.
“So, Branson,” I began. “It’s come to my attention that you’ve been adding to your pack numbers lately.”
He gave me a bland stare, not responding, not even changing his expression. He wasn’t going to recognize my authority without some hard work on my part.
“It seems you’ve been recruiting them from other packs.” I arched a brow and glanced around the table, making eye contact with Raoul, one of the alphas who’d come to us with the information. “Raoul mentioned you even reached out to him about joining you.”
He wasn’t the only one. It seemed that Branson was not only adding to his numbers but was approaching various alphas to “join him” in what I was quickly viewing as the beginnings of a rebellion. One that needed to be quelled and fast.
Branson narrowed his eyes as he flicked his gaze to Raoul, seated two chairs down on the other side of Garrett. We weren’t throwing him under the bus—we’d spoken to Raoul before the meeting, and he’d given permission to bring it up.
“What are you playing at, Branson?” Garrett asked.
Branson chuckled and held his hands up. “Not sure where you’re going with this, but the last time I checked, it’s not illegal to make friends with other alphas. Nor is there anything wrong with me accepting shifters that want to leave their packs and request to join mine.”
