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 it every day,” I

Lucas, by reminding me

not able to take as much time as I want because of the competition starting this morning, but

He gives me an assessing look, then nods, apparently

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

way over to the vacant pack. Each referee has their

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

those of us who are ranked members eliminating the omegas and warriors that we compete against.

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

once and won. It’s

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

that others had. The Betas, Alpha Calvin, and some Gammas will be my biggest competition. All the warriors are strong, but very few are

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

is creative in his fighting approach. He’s a smart fighter, willing to take a hit to win

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

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

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

other Betas come to watch my match, apparently

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

to finally get him to calm down and accept defeat. Like the poor

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

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,

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