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.”

be worth

should start today off right, Lucas, by reminding me of

competition starting this morning, but by the time we’re showered and headed to breakfast, my mind is settled

Hunter across the room. He gives me an assessing look, then nods, apparently liking

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

their way over to the vacant pack. Each referee has their own space where the competitors assigned to them will have their

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

there are more of them, with those of us who are ranked members eliminating the omegas and warriors that we compete against. The warrior

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

in this round has already competed once and won. It’s well past dark

last even longer, so even though we have fewer of them, we still expect a full day with the battles taking longer with

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

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 fighting approach. He’s a smart fighter, willing to take a hit to win the battle. I’m the same way, so if

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

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

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

watch my match, apparently taking in

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

get him to calm down and accept defeat. Like the poor loser he is, he doesn’t shake hands with me, he just

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

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

long have they been going?” I ask her, noticing that Hunter is refereeing