Challenged mate alpha ga.., p.1
Challenged Mate: Alpha Games Book Two, page 1
Challenged Mate
Alpha Games Book Two
Samantha Britt
Copyright © 2022 by Samantha Britt
Cover Design by Covers by Juan
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Shifting Magic
About the Author
Also by Samantha Britt
One
My forehead rested against the plane’s small oval window, staring at the sun as it rose and imparted its pink and orange glow on the delicate, white clouds below. Forty-eight hours had passed since leaving Montana, and this was the first peaceful moment I’d found since walking away from my shattered dreams.
I wouldn’t say I was resigned to my fate, but two days of traveling in silence had given me time to process everything.
I’d wallowed in self-pity and mourned the loss of my pack and the future I’d envisioned as their leader.
I’d seethed in anger, feeling the constant burn of betrayal when I thought about how my father had all but handed me over to the Wilds Pack, condemning me to mate a male I’d never met and separating me from everyone I’d ever known.
I’d also experienced a mix of denial, dismissal, and reluctant acceptance when I thought about the devastating realization my mother wasn’t who I thought she was. Apparently, she was a sorceress—a powerful sorceress, at that—and the fact I was her daughter marked me as an enemy to a group of rogue sorcerers.
I understood my father’s desire to protect me, but it wasn’t easy to accept. Part of me wished I had demanded more of an explanation from him before leaving with the Wilds Pack, but I had been too overwhelmed to think clearly. I considered calling him once I had a moment away from my current travel companions, but I wasn’t sure when that would be… or what I would say.
As if reading my mind, the pilot’s voice crackled in my headset, “We’re approximately sixty miles out. We will begin our descent shortly.”
I sat up and adjusted the bulky aviation headset over my ears, grateful for their protection. I’d never ridden in a small airplane before and was surprised by how loud the cabin was.
Chase leaned towards me. He sat on the other side of the very narrow walkway. “You feeling okay? Need water or anything?”
“I’m fine.” I replied into the mouthpiece.
Chase nodded, then sat back against his seat.
In the beginning of our trip, Chase had tried to make small talk, but after hour two of silence, he’d abandoned the plan and stuck to only asking me if I was hungry, thirsty, or needed to use the restroom.
We’d driven through Alberta, crossing into British Columbia, before finally reaching a dingy airfield in the Yukon and boarding this small, four-person plane in silence. Not even Asher and Chase spoke to one another.
I’d assumed the Wilds shifters used their pack’s unique ability to communicate in skins. They wouldn’t have spent the entire trip without speaking. They had too much to discuss. Namely, what to do with me and the bridge they just burned with the Coastal Pack by killing their alpha heir.
My stomach dropped as the plane began to descend. My eyes traveled to the front of the plane, landing on the dark-haired male who elicited equally disconcerting flips in my stomach.
Asher hadn’t said a word to me since we drove off Badlands’ territory, and I couldn’t deny his silence hurt. After everything that had been thrown my way, I’d hoped he—of all people—would feel a desire to console me.
Or offer an explanation.
Or say he was sorry.
Something.
But no.
Asher might as well be a stranger with how he ignored me.
Forget the fact we shared a fated mate bond, he barely even looked at me. Asher’s duty was to win the Alpha Games and bring me home to mate his alpha, and he seemed resigned to fulfill that duty.
No matter what it meant for us and our bond…
The plane vibrated with turbulence. I gripped the armrests on instinct. Chase spared me a reassuring smile.
I breathed in and out as the plane continued its descent. Within twenty minutes, it touched down on a runway flanked by untamed wilderness. I pressed myself back as the pilot hit the brakes. The plane shook as it slowed, then came to a stop.
Chase removed his headset and unbuckled his seatbelt. He stood, hunched over, and leaned over to open the cabin door. He exited the plane. I threw off my headset and followed.
When my feet touched solid ground, I sighed in relief. I wasn’t scared of flying, but I’d be lying if I said flying in the small plane hadn’t unnerved me.
Chase moved to the back of the plane and opened a small hatch holding our luggage. I walked over and grabbed my lone duffle bag, clutching it to me. I shivered as a crisp, fall breeze blew across the landing strip.
From the corner of my eye, I watched Asher exit the plane. Seeing Chase had retrieved our luggage, he turned back to the pilot and told him he was good to go. I was surprised the pilot wouldn’t be staying. I’d assumed he was a member of the Wilds Pack. And maybe he was. But a quick glance at my surroundings revealed no hangers to store the small plane. It seemed the airfield was only a drop-off or pick-up location.
“Over here, Blair.” Holding a bag in each hand, Chase tossed his head toward the lone building in the narrow clearing. It was one story and made of wood, but it appeared well maintained despite its isolated location. Smoke billowed from its chimney. Someone was inside.
I followed Chase, choosing to ignore the burn of Asher’s eyes on the back of my head. I would need to speak with him eventually, but I hadn’t yet decided what to say. My father may have been the one to betray me, but Asher went along with it. Even knowing the consequences of winning the Alpha Games, he still did it.
And, worst of all, he kept his actions a secret until the last possible moment.
The betrayal stung.
Chase opened the door to the building and ushered me inside. I pulled up short, surprised to see three people in the room. A quick inhale confirmed they were shifters, and their scent resembled Chase and Asher, identifying them as Wilds Pack shifters.
I made a quick sweep of the room. Two bunk beds, a four-person card table and chairs, and a small kitchenette were all that filled the space.
This must be an outpost of some kind.
The shifters—two males and one female—eyed me from head to toe.
I stayed where I was, wearing a blank expression. I wouldn’t let anyone know what I was really thinking. I was resigned to being a shell of a person as I embarked on the latest tragedy that was my life.
“Orin, Peter, Jenifer,” Chase greeted, stomping his boots off on the mat in front of the door. “Great to see you.”
The trio murmured their own greetings, but their attention continued to rest on me.
“This is Blair Hemmings,” Chase introduced me. “Future alpha of the Summit Pack.”
Swift pain lanced through my chest. I narrowed my eyes, hoping to hide my pain. “Not anymore,” I bit out.
Chase’s lips set in a firm line. He didn’t correct himself.
None of the shifters said a word. Their gazes traveled between me and Chase, dissecting the tension between us.
Chase finally looked away and changed the subject, “Is the truck ready?”
“Gassed up and ready to go,” the female, Jenifer, replied. Even under her heavy jacket, I could tell she was in shape. Her legs were packed with muscle. “It’s parked just outside.” She hitched her thumb to a door on the other side of the room.
“Great.” Chase ambled towards the door. “This way, Blair.”
I took a step to follow him, but then I felt a pull in my core. I glanced over my shoulder right as Asher stepped through the open door.
Our eyes met.
My stomach clenched, and my breath hitched. Immediately, I frowned.
I hated my reaction to him, and I hated that it couldn’t be helped.
The Mother had deigned to place a
I forced myself to turn around and follow Chase. Behind me, I heard the Wilds shifters greet their packmate. Asher’s voice rumbled, returning their greeting. My toes curled at the sound. I picked up my pace and stepped outside.
Chase was throwing the bags he carried into the back of a black Land Rover with thirty-inch mud tires. He reached out to take my bag. I handed it over.
“Feel free to take shot gun,” he told me. “I can sit in the back.”
And sit beside Asher for Mother knows how long?
No, thank you.
“I’m good in the back,” I said. “I can lie down.”
Before Chase could object, I opened the second-row door and slid onto fancy leather seats.
Moments later, Asher exited the building and put his own bags into the back. Then, he closed the trunk and walked to the driver’s side. Once he and Chase were buckled in, he turned the key in the ignition and drove towards the trees.
An objection formed on my lips, prepared to point out the vehicle was way too wide to squeeze between the large cedars up ahead when a blue glow appeared in front of us.
I blinked and the large cedars disappeared, revealing a rugged dirt road winding through the forest ahead.
“What in the world?” I muttered under my breath. I recognized the color of Asher’s magic, but he hadn’t even muttered a spell or waved his hand. Could he control his power with a simple thought?
Chase turned around, wearing a secretive smile. “The Wilds Pack takes pack security very seriously. We can’t have just anyone finding the road leading to our territory.”
“Of course not.” Not for the first time, I was stunned by their abilities.
I’d grown up believing only sorcerers and sorceresses could wield magic. I had no idea a pack of half-blood shifters existed. Of whom, I guessed most could wield spells and charms like any of the pure-blooded magical race.
I wonder what I can do.
I shoved the thought aside.
My mother might’ve been a sorceress, but I had no knowledge of magic. Whatever power the rogue shifters believed I had, didn’t exist. It was all a misunderstanding—one that managed to ruin my life.
“How long is the drive?” How much longer before I met the male I was intended to mate?
“Two hours, give or take,” Asher answered, speaking to me for the first time in days. Just like before, the sound of his voice made my toes curl. My heart rate increased.
I looked up and met the dark-haired shifter’s gaze in the rearview mirror. His lips moved, but I didn’t hear what he said.
His gaze turned questioning. “Blair?”
I tore my eyes away, focusing on the cleared path through the front windshield.
Ignoring whatever it was Asher had said, I stated, “I think I’ll take a nap.”
I’d barely slept a wink since leaving Montana, and even if I didn’t sleep in the vehicle, at least I could pretend and avoid any awkward interactions with the ruggedly handsome driver.
“Good idea,” Chase said. “I’ll wake you when we’re close.”
I nodded, then pulled more slack from the belt around my waist and managed to lie down across the back seats. Tucking my hands under my head, I closed my eyes. The hum of the vehicle beneath my body relaxed me, but the silence from the two shifters upfront was unnerving. Knowing they were communicating and not knowing what they discussed was unnerving.
I exhaled and forced myself to stop wondering what they were saying. I doubted it would make me feel better about my predicament, anyway.
My thoughts traveled to what I could expect when we arrived on Wilds Pack territory.
Would the pack be welcoming?
Had they known what prize their packmates requested in the Alpha Games? Did they know I was coming?
What did they think about an outsider mating their alpha?
Mate selection for alphas was a huge ordeal for every pack.
The powerful pack leaders only mated with the strongest females in their pack, ensuring their children would be strong enough to inherit the position one day.
Without a doubt, there would be females in the Wilds Pack who’d feel slighted by their alpha’s choice to mate with an outsider.
I spent my entire young adult life avoiding all romantic entanglements; I’d never had to deal with the drama that could be embroiled in relationships. I hoped it wouldn’t be too bad.
Especially considering I didn’t want to mate the Wilds alpha in the first place.
I had no interest in the unknown male. In fact, there was only one male I could even imagine—
No.
I shut down the thought.
Don’t go there.
It didn’t matter what I felt for Asher.
He betrayed me and all but condemned me to a lifetime of disappointment by winning the Alpha Games… by winning me for his alpha.
My heart ached. My wolf whined inside my mind. She felt our connection to Asher and his wolf, and she didn’t want me to sever it. I buried my face into the leather seat, urging her to calm down. I had enough trouble handling my own emotions, I didn’t need the stress of dealing with hers.
Thankfully, her protests grew silent and my mind was, once again, left to wander…
Lying on the back seats, thoughts jumping from one subject to another, I dozed off.
Then, my shoulder jostled.
I sprang into a seated position. My head swung from side to side, and I wiped drool from my chin.
Chase leaned over the back of his seat, his hand still stretched out towards me. “Hey, sleepyhead. We’re about five minutes out.”
I rubbed my eyes and nodded. Pushing loose strands of hair behind my ears, I turned to take in our surroundings.
We were still on the dirt road, driving through the forest. The trees were green with no traces of snow or ice. Vaguely, I remembered learning approximately eighty-five percent of Alaska was permafrost. Either we were in the southern portion of the largest state, or the Wilds Pack magic made their environment more hospitable than the frigid parts of the state.
Honestly, I didn’t know which was more likely. I knew so little about the Wilds Pack, their territory, or the magic they wielded.
The minutes ticked by.
A bright clearing peeked through the forest ahead. Asher drove past the last row of trees, and I knew we’d entered Wilds Pack territory.
Two
Breath caught in my throat as I got my first view of Wilds Pack lands. We drove down, approaching the community at an incline, allowing me to see the entire area in one frame.
Blue, red, and gray buildings were organized in neat rows, bordering smooth streets. Their height ranged from one story to three stories. I noted the three-story buildings were concentrated on the periphery of the small town. Sharpening my sight, I noted the pristine, green lawns in front—recognizing they were actually homes.
Figures moved along the streets—small dots from this distance. Some traveled quickly, but it didn’t look like those individuals drove a car. A motorcycle, maybe?
I drank it all in. There were playgrounds and well-kept parks. And there wasn’t a speck of snow to be seen.
Definitely magic.
“You look shocked.” I pulled my eyes from the stunning community and noticed Chase watching me with a smile.
“I am,” I admitted. I thought the Wilds shifters lived like frontiersmen from the eighteen-hundreds, but the community look like a well-run, modern, and populated town.
“This is our largest community,” Chase provided. “But we have several more spread across the state.”
