Rivalry - [noun] competition for the same objective or superiority in the same field.

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Everything slowed down and I scanned everyone's faces. All the alphas had straightened their backs and I knew they were hoping I wouldn't say what they thought I would.

That he had tried to kill me and break the treaty in the process, that what they thought was a meeting to uphold it was actually the beginning of another war.

"Um..." I willed myself not to shrink under all their gazes. "I cut my leg when I ran into the gate. I underestimated how big the break was."

Alpha Eryx's eyebrows twitched. "Why were you running, Rina?"

I looked at the face of my nightmares before squaring my shoulders and breaking the silence. "I was being chased. K—" His name stopped at the top of my throat. Thinking it was one thing but suddenly, I couldn't bring myself to say it. Not when I was remembering how terrifying he had been. "He was chasing me."

My mum gasped and her hand covered her mouth. My dad tensed and his brown eyes darkened in anger as he moved to stand up.

Alpha Eryx clamped a hand on his shoulder and forced him back into his seat. He spoke to him next. "You tried to kill a member of my pack and jeopardise the treaty. The treaty that was drawn up because of your desire for more territory."

My heart fell to my feet when Kane slammed his hand on the table and stood up. The wood creaked underneath the pressure and I knew if I was able to look away from him, I'd see a minuscule split in it.

"Territory that was taken from my pack when we couldn't do anything about it," he snarled. It was a deep and dark snarl like the anger would spill from him if he didn't contain himself. It seemed that Alpha Eryx had struck a nerve. "I wasn't jeopardising any treaty. Or has it escaped you that if I wanted to kill her, she wouldn't have made it to the gate?"

My dad remained seated but he was shaking with fury when he replied before Alpha Eryx could. "Why the hell were you chasing my daughter, Kane?"

His gaze cut to my dad and I could tell he was controlling his anger. "I'm going to overlook your disrespect this once because you're her father."

My dad looked as if he was going to trigger a shift.

"Control your beta, Eryx," he growled, standing up straight. "Or it'll be two people from your pack who have tried to kill me. Then we'll see who has jeopardised the treaty."

Alpha Eryx looked at my parents. "Ezra, take a walk. Vivian, go with him."

My mum wrapped her arm around my dad's and coaxed him out of his chair. "I'm not leaving my daughter with this monster," my dad spat.

When Kane's eyes began to glow the same fiery yellow they did last night, I forced myself up. "Enough!" Everyone turned to look at me and I shook my head. "This isn't going to end well."

"She's right." I felt relief when Alpha Owain, the most coolheaded of them nodded in agreement. "We don't know what happened to confirm if Kane wanted to kill her but we all saw her try to kill him."

The relief left my body as quickly as it entered.

"They're mates, he can't wage war on her," Alpha Myles replied incredulously.

"Ancient laws dictate an eye for an eye not war but since you haven't killed each other, we need another solution," Alpha Jax looked at both of us. "You have to both agree to reparations. One non-negotiable condition each that must be fulfilled to atone for...whatever madness you have dragged us into."

I shook my head vehemently. They had no idea that he had plagued my dreams for three years and I had to watch myself die at his hands every night. I'd be damned if I had to give him anything. "I refuse to do that."

Kane hadn't taken his eyes off me since I decided to speak. He seemed to be studying me and chuckled humourlessly. "I stop you from killing me and you refuse to atone for it? You really haven't thought of the alternative, have you? What ancient laws dictate for treason?"

"Kane," Alpha Eryx lost all his anger and looked at me sternly. I wasn't sure where my heart was anymore. The punishment for treason was death.

"I thought you didn't want me dead? What do you want?" I asked through gritted teeth. The anger I felt towards him was all-consuming. Why was he my mate?

"You." His gaze was unwavering. The silence was the next all-consuming thing until he spoke again. "As for my condition, I'll think of something."

"What's your condition, Rina?" Alpha Eryx inquired, eager to put the matter to bed.

"I want a choice." I lifted my head and willed myself to keep it up. "I want him to give me the choice of whether I go with him or not tomorrow."

Everyone turned and awaited his answer. Kane stared at me and his lips pressed together before he spoke. "I'll honour the terms and give you your choice."

"That's settled, then," Alpha Eryx sighed. "Now why don't we continue what we came here for so the hunt can go ahead as planned?"

—————

An hour later, the treaty had been revisited and all alphas renewed their commitment to the terms. The itinerary of the day for the alphas included the meeting, a joint hunt and then a meal to foster peace and friendship.

According to my parents, the betas of the pack would join the alphas on the hunt. I, however, wasn't in any state to hunt so I knew I would stay on the sidelines.

As they all stood from the table, my attention instantly turned to him. Alpha Eryx was the first to move towards the door and I stayed back a moment to meet my parents. My dad's jaw ticked as he passed by Kane and I stood up slowly.

My dad came towards me and wrapped an arm around me. "Are you sure you don't want to go home and rest up, sweetheart?"

I hooked my arm around his shoulder. "You know me, Dad. I can't sit still," I joked.

My mum was quiet and a deep frown was etched on her face. I could tell she was digesting everything that had happened. I didn't know what to say and instead let my dad lead the way out.

Kane was silent behind us and it was only until we made it to the gates that he spoke. The pack had gathered to welcome the alphas and my parents went to stand with Alpha Eryx.

"You should shift—you'll heal quicker."

I scanned the crowd and noticed how a few people were starting to notice him speaking to me.

I glanced at him and shook my head. I didn't want to shift, especially in front of him. I didn't know how I would feel seeing his wolf again. My blood was still on the snow but the gate had been cleaned and fixed. What did it mean if my mate terrified me?

"I'm good with watching." I tipped my head in their direction. "You should stand with them."

He lingered for a moment, scanning my features. I was sure my hair was more frizzy than wavy now because of the cold and my erratic movements earlier. I smoothed a hand over my head as he turned to join the alphas.

I tuned out when Alpha Eryx introduced each alpha and my attention was caught by my best friends sidling up beside me. On my right was Tiana and on my left was Levi.

Levi bumped my shoulder with his arm gently. "How was your morning, Ri?" he smiled charmingly and the back of his hand brushed mine.

It was painful to notice how it didn't have the same effect as his touch did.

I glanced up at him, at the green eyes I had wanted to find so much comfort in. "As crazy as you would expect." I pulled the ends of my sleeves into my palms and crossed my arms.

We watched as the alphas stripped down to their boxers and shifted. My heart began to race when I set my eyes on him. Seeing him up close sent the adrenaline spiking in my body and I tried to control my breathing. I could smell my fear and he could too because he turned slightly until he decided against it and kept his back to me.

His wolf was larger up close and his fur was as black as midnight. I forced myself to look away so I wouldn't accidentally see his eyes.

They set off and I blew out a relieved breath. Levi noticed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked softly.

I nodded, unsure if I should step away. Levi and I weren't together but I was aware, and Tiana confirmed, that he wanted us to be. We all shared the same birthday and when words had appeared on their wrists and not mine, I didn't know how to feel. I did know, however, that I wasn't going to take someone else's mate just because I didn't have one.

Yet.

Kane was my mate and I had no idea how or why. He was older than me so had his wrist been bare too?

"Hey," Tiana nudged me when I stared into the distance. "Something happened. What's wrong?"

The tears clouded my vision and I blinked them away. They both turned to look at me and I blew out a breath. I couldn't say anything so I uncrossed my arms and pulled up my sleeve. They gasped as they saw his name burned into my skin and I quickly covered it so no one else could see it.

"I don't know what happened. I touched him and the same thing happened to him." The words were supposed to just appear, no pain and no marks left on your skin.

I couldn't miss the way Levi frowned.

Tiana linked our fingers and squeezed my hand. "I can't imagine how this all feels, Ri. How do you feel?"

Before I could answer, Levi spoke. "What did your parents say? What did the alphas say?"

I didn't want to spill the events of the morning, especially in front of the entire pack so I kept it brief. "My parents don't like him and the alphas made sure it strengthened the treaty."

They looked shocked and I couldn't blame them. I was too.

"I haven't decided what I'm going to do. He's given me a choice."

Levi cocked his head in confusion. "Are you going to...?" he trailed off but what he wanted to say was reject him. Was I going to reject him?"

I shook my head. "I don't know."

Tiana squeezed my hand again. "Well, whatever you do, we're here for you."

I wrapped an arm around them each and they came closer to hug me between them. I closed my eyes tightly and tried to forget that any of it was real.

We all waited by the gates as it was customary for the alphas to display their catches in front of the pack. The hunt took an hour and Alphas Eryx, Leander, Owain, Myles and Jax all emerged from the woods. Their canines were clamped around one foot each of a deer and they were dragging the animal out of the forest.

It was a large deer and the kill looked to be clean. It showed the extent of their hunting skills. My parents must have been the spotters.

Kane was at the back and I was surprised to see him dragging a smaller deer by himself. And instead of bringing it to the people who were going to prepare it, he was heading for me. I gulped when I saw his glowing eyes, a deep fiery yellow that I could never forget.

I gripped Tiana's hand behind my back as he stopped in front of me and dragged the deer to my feet. He was offering it to me. I heard the gasps and the murmurs as he pushed it closer to me with his muzzle.

To offer someone your catch was a public display of respect and was done to signify they were your equal. He was publicly acknowledging me as his Luna. It seemed as if it was a peace offering too—to show me that he meant me no harm.

I looked around. Everyone was waiting to see what I would do. The customary response was to place your head against theirs. I wasn't ready to touch him in wolf form and I didn't think I ever would be.

Instead, I bowed my head in gratitude and spoke. "Thank you."

He bowed his head in return and stepped backwards. He padded back towards where his clothes were and a towel was placed on his back. The snow had soaked his fur and I watched as he shifted back, standing to his full height as he stopped the towel from falling.

I couldn't look at his bare skin or return his stare and instead turned my gaze to Levi. He was looking at the deer in front of me with a small frown. I felt my heart twist. In any other circumstance, I would have wished for him to be my mate.

There weren't any words to comfort him so I reached for his hand. I was still holding Tiana's and I glanced between them. He squeezed my hand and I leaned on him when my leg began to throb again.

He noticed and pulled my arm over his shoulder. "I thought I noticed a limp. Are you okay?"

I nodded. "I saw Sara. It's just hard to keep my weight on it. We've been standing for a long time." We had been talking the entire time we were waiting for the alphas to finish their hunt so I hadn't felt it much but now it was over, my leg was aching.

"Let me carry you then," Levi offered, making a move to lift me when Kane suddenly materialised in front of us.

"Get your hands off her before I break them," he spoke calmly. It was like the calm before the storm.

Alpha Eryx sighed before I could even react. I couldn't tell where he was directing his disapproval but I had a feeling it was towards Levi. Everyone knew there was something more than friendship between us and it wasn't a good idea to show that in front of Kane.

Levi straightened his back but kept my arm around his shoulders. It also wasn't a secret that my pack didn't like Kane or his pack. We had been allies with Alpha Leander whom Kane initially went to war with.

"She's hurt," he replied dryly.

From the way Kane's body went rigid, I could tell he had had enough of the constant disrespect. First me, then my father and now Levi.

"For the sake of this day, I'm going to give you one more chance to get your hands off my mate." He curled his fingers into fists and clenched his jaw.

"Levi—" I started to pull my arm back, unwilling to provoke him any further.

The jealousy was clear to see on Levi's face and I could see he was unwilling to accept recent events. "Or what?"

There was an almost collective groan before Kane snapped and punched him square in the jaw. Tiana was quick to pull me back and hold most of my weight as Levi stumbled back. He spat blood onto the snow and swung his arm to hit back.

It was like Kane saw red because he blocked it effortlessly and kicked his leg from underneath him. He kneeled and lifted Levi by the collar of his hoodie and when he punched him again, I stepped towards them.

"Kane! Stop!"

Kane growled and when he looked at me, his eyes were ablaze. "No. That's my condition. You're going to stand there and watch me show what happens when someone challenges me for you."