Claimed By The Enemy Alpha

Chapter 4

Faye

Maids ran helter skelter through the packhouse, making sure the food and drinks were ready for the feast that would follow the hunt. The gentlemen polished their weapons until they gleamed in the morning light, and my father sat on his throne, applauding his son, Stephen as he marched into the arena with his chest puffed out and his sword held high.

It was then I realized my father had never once applauded me for anything.

"What are you looking at?" Scarlet's voice cut through the air like a sharp knife, and I did not flinch. The old me would have, but the new me had sensed her footsteps from a mile away.

To fuel her inflated ego, I faked a shiver. "I am sorry I got distracted, Mother."

"Do not linger around here. Get out. You have brought enough shame to our pack, and the last thing anyone wants to see is your face." She hissed the words like a snake striking at prey.

"I am sorry, Mother," I said, maintaining the same soft tone even though anger boiled in my chest like hot lava.

"Get out!" She repeated and shoved me hard enough that I stumbled.

I hurried out of the canopy, and the second I was clear of her watchful eyes, I straightened my spine and walked down the path where I had hidden my armour and my arrows.

The arena was packed with wolves from every corner of our dying territory. My father stood on the raised platform in the center, his voice booming across the crowd with practiced authority.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you all to the Moon Raid. Tonight, we will feast but first, we hunt."

The crowd roared in reply, cheering and whistling and stomping their feet. I hid in the shadows at the edge of the arena, waiting for the moment of truth.

"Our best warriors will raid the night, and the winner will be crowned my second in command."

I rolled my eyes. I already knew my father had already decided who his winner would be. Stephen lifted his sword as soon as my father finished his speech, eliciting cheers from the women and howls from the men. They had rigged the hunt to let him win before it had even started.

Too bad they would not see me coming.

I threw my hood over my head and vanished into the crowd, slipping through the gaps between bodies like smoke through a cracked window. No one saw me when I slipped into the arena with the men and vanished into the forest. No one saw me when I slaughtered over twenty boars, my arrows flying true and silent in the darkness.

I withdrew an arrow from a dead boar and locked eyes with him, the i***t who had called me a useless thing.

His eyes widened in disbelief. "You... what are you doing here?"

"The same thing you are doing here," I said with a careless shrug.

"Women are forbidden from the Moon Raid." His grip around his weapon tightened, and I could see the fear creeping into his expression.

"They are not anymore," I smirked.

"Get out of here or I will teach you a lesson you will never forget," he warned, but his voice shook.

I drew an arrow and aimed it at his chest. "Make me."

He charged at me like a headless boar, and like the loser he was, he went down on his back within seconds. I stomped my foot over his chest, and he groaned in pain. Then I leaned forward and asked, "Where is Stephen?"

He whimpered and told me everything I needed to know. I thanked him with my fist and went to find my stepbrother.

It was not difficult to locate him. I could smell his stench from a mile away, cheap wine and cheaper cologne and the sour sweat of a man who had never worked a day in his life. He sat comfortably behind a line of already slaughtered animals, waiting for the horn to be blown so he could claim victory.

What a loser.

I stepped on a twig to announce my presence, and he snapped to alert, swinging his sword at me before he even knew who I was.

"You scared the s**t out of me," he hissed, lowering his weapon. "I thought I paid you enough gold to sit this one out. Go wait with your friends on the other side of the forest."

I did not move.

"Hello? I believe I am speaking to someone." He snapped his fingers at me like I was a dog. When I did not respond, he took a step back and gave me a scrutinizing look. "I did not see you at the training grounds yesterday. Who are you?"

That was the question I had been waiting for.

I peeled off the mask and threw my hood back. "Hey there, Stephen."

His face had never been paler. "What the hell are you doing here, you little s**t?"

"I am here to win," I said.

He scoffed, but there was no confidence behind it. "Please, do not make me laugh. Women do not join the Moon Raid. Run along. It is what you do best."

I watched him for a second, and then I agreed. "Okay."

He blinked in confusion. "Wait. You will?"

"Yup. You told me to leave, did you not?" I shrugged and turned to leave.

"Yeah. You better run," he laughed behind me, the sound hollow and forced.

"Oh, I will run," I smiled. "Just not away from you."

"What?"

I turned around and gave him a sharp roundhouse kick to the side of his head. His body slumped to the forest floor like a sack of grain, and I dragged his unconscious heap all the way back to the arena.

We arrived just in time for the announcer to begin. Beta Gavin, whom my father had probably paid to ensure Stephen's victory, announced in a loud voice, "Someone is emerging from the shadows. It looks like Stephen."

As if.

I dragged Stephen's body toward the center of the arena and dumped him on the ground. The crowd went wild with whispers and confused murmurs, and my father, as if forgetting this was a game, snapped at my masked face.

"How dare you cause harm to my son?"

Scarlet must have reminded him that this was a competition, because he cleared his throat and sighed heavily, forcing calm into his voice.

"It seems you have won, stranger," he said. "May we all be acquainted with you, gentleman."

"Take off the mask and acknowledge your victory," Gavin added.

I put one leg on Stephen's chest, and he hissed in pain as he regained consciousness. Then I reached for my mask and peeled it off.

Sharp gasps filled the air. My father rose from his throne and stared at me with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"Faye?" He blinked as if he could not recognize his own daughter.

I tossed the bow and arrow to the ground and stood with my other foot planted firmly on Stephen's chest. "I won, Father. I am now your second in command."