Luna Athalia

11. Challenge

Vincent John Reyes

Vince heard Athalia get up and go to the bathroom. He could hear her panicked breathing up until she had turned on the shower to drown out the noise. Regret crept into his chest. As much as he had enjoyed the night before, he knew it wasn't right. Though he never found his mate, it wasn't hard to imagine what it must feel like to do something so intimate with someone who you weren't meant to. 

The challenge between him and Remy was just a few hours away. He should get up and arrange patrols, get ready and train a little bit before. He wasn't too worried. He had fought against Remy countless times before and very rarely was he defeated. But maybe this time was different. Remy was not only fighting for the Alpha position, but for his mate. Very little got between fate.

The interim Alpha decided to spare himself some grief and leave before Athalia got out of the shower. He pulled on his clothes and left, closing the door behind him. 

Outside, the gathered Scouts were waiting for him patiently, lounging about as they talked amongst themselves. Julian perked up at the sight of his brother, "Alpha, you look like you had a rough night." He smirked a bit, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Vince snorted, palming him in the forehead and shoving him back slightly, "What I do in my own bed chambers is none of your business, little brother."

The group snickered before one of the Scouts piped up, "I'm sure it'll help for your fight later, huh, Alpha?"

Vince's smile faltered just slightly, but only laughed good-naturedly, "Just another day in the life, boys. Now let's get to it." As he dismissed the Scouts to their proper areas, he caught site of movement just beyond the packhouse's gardens. Beau wiggled his haunches, A Union spy perhaps?

The large male moved towards the shadow, surprised when it suddenly stepped out into full view.

"Dominique?"

The she-wolf had her arms crossed over her chest, a scowl on her face. Vince briefly thought about how pretty she would be if she wasn't such a b***h all the time. But he steeled his expression as he looked down at her, "A little early to be sneaking around, isn't it?"

"Who's sneaking?" She shot back, her brow furrowing almost instantly in a glare, "I was just waiting for you to finish talking to your lackeys."

He forced an exaggerated sigh as he crossed his arms as well, mimicking her pose, "What do you want?"

"To talk." Her voice suddenly turned sweet, almost innocent as she dropped her annoyed demeanor in favor of an easily manipulative casual one, "I hope you're planning on laying out Remy Bell tonight."

"All of a sudden you're not the number one wolf in Remy's fan club?" Vince failed to be phased by her faux-hurt expression, "What's it matter to you?"

"Remy needs to be put in his place." She said flatly, "He's going off the rails and no longer thinking about the good of the pack. If that means you beating him for the umpteenth time and solidifying your place as Alpha, then so be it. At least Roaming Ember would be led by someone who actually cares about it."

Vince didn't immediately respond as he scanned her face. Dominique may be conniving and as self-serving as they come, but there seemed to be a degree of honesty in her words that gave Vince pause. He stayed quiet for a beat longer, making her shift uncomfortably. But he finally asked, "So is that why you came here? To make sure I beat Remy? What are you not telling me?"

She feigned innocence once again, batting her lashes as she tapped her cheek thoughtfully, "I just wanted to make sure you were properly motivated."

"The best thing for Roaming Ember is having strong leadership. And Athalia is the strongest Luna we've ever had." Vince prodded the beast, bringing up Athalia had to be part of Dominique's plan. She never did anything that didn't involve dethroning the Luna.

A twitch of annoyance cracked her face as the Luna's name was mentioned. A hint of animosity crept into her tone as she responded, "You're right. Roaming Ember needs strong leadership, the strongest being fated mates. Which we both know is not the sham you've concocted with Athalia."

"What the hell are you talking about? Athalia is my mate." Vince bit back a growl. Beyond knowing they had to keep the lie up, he clearly so desperately wanted to believe it as well.

"Oh really?" Dominique's eyes fell into slits, mischief in her gaze and a sickly sweet poison on her tongue, "Then what of the pretty little she-wolf who joined the Union claiming to feel the mate bond for our beloved Alpha Vince?"

Vince instantly felt his expression change, his defense shattering at the very idea that his mate was out there. It was all the confirmation Dominique needed that he and Athalia really were lying to the whole pack. His heart began beating faster, blood rushing to his ears as he stammered, "Wh-what are you talking about? Who are you talking about?"

Dominique smirked, lifting her chin up defiantly, "Again, I just wanted to make sure you were properly motivated. If you truly believe Roaming Ember deserves the strongest possible royalty, you should lead us with your fated mate. Or would you dare break her heart again like you did when you kissed Athalia?"

Vince felt his mind reel. His mate was there when he was made Alpha? No, she had to be lying. He would have felt the mate pull just as badly as Athalia did with Remy. He grit his teeth as his glare returned, "You're talking out of your ass, Dominique. I don't know what you're playing at, but Athalia is my mate. I will beat Remy in this duel and finally kick out every last one of you rebellious wolves once and for all."

The she-wolf didn't waver, her smirk remaining as she turned away, "If you say so. But wouldn't it be a pity if you were wrong?" 

She ran off before he could retort, leaving the Alpha seething. But he couldn't help the worm of prospect in the back of his mind, begging to know if there was even a grain of truth in what Dominique had said. Was his mate somewhere among the Union? Did he scare or piss her off when he declared Athalia his mate? But why hadn't she come up to him sooner if she knew? Why didn't he feel any sort of pull? There were far too many questions that there was no way of answering. 

The Alpha turned away, still stewing in questions. Suddenly he felt the need to train harder. For the pack. He reasoned. Nothing else matters.

But there was a lump in his throat as he headed to the training grounds, wondering just how much this changed his motivation to beat Remy in just a few hours.

Remy Samuel Bell

Remy had been training non-stop since he had mindlinked with Athalia. Each time his sore muscles ached to stop, he would hear the whispers of her voice, his name on her lips as she found pleasure and release. And suddenly he was re-motivated. He had to win the duel, had to make the clearest and most concise path to his mate, one that would satisfy her professional needs so he could satisfy her physical ones. 

He had only won against Vince a handful of times. A very small handful of times. And they usually were because of external factors - like when Vince was hungover after a long night of debauchery when he turned 18 or when Remy challenged him right after a small rogue invasion that dislocated the Beta's shoulder. But they were tasteless victories, ones that many did not even acknowledge since Remy usually took advantage of a weakened Vince to win. He knew that if they were a betting sort, every bet would be against him. Remy wasn't a weak wolf, he was head Fighter for a reason. But Vince simply had the upper hand.

But he had to try, had to do whatever he could to get to Athalia. She clearly prioritized being Luna over being his mate, a fact that pained him to his very core, but if becoming Alpha was what it took to get her, he would do it. He would do anything for her.

Suddenly, the door to the gym burst open, a seething Alpha appearing. For a moment, it didn't even seem like he registered that someone else was there. But as he looked up, he met Remy's eye, undeniable rage in his gaze as he lifted and pointed a finger at him, "What's your game, Bell?"

Remy set down his weights, leaning forward to rest his elbow on his knee as he shot back, "The hell you talking about?"

"Sending Dominique over to psyche me out?" Vince stalked forward a few steps, still wagging his finger, "You always relied on dirty tricks to win against me in fights and they almost never work. I shouldn't expect anything less for this one."

Remy glared, though confusion clearly swirled in his eyes, "I mean, I can't deny that but I still have no idea what you're talking about."

"Dominique!" He shouted again, his hand closing into a fist as he pounded it against the machine next to him, "Taunting me with the prospect of a mate, telling me that I broke her heart when Athalia and I-" He stopped short, biting at his bottom lip in frustration as he shook the machine once more with another pound of his fist.

"A mate?" Remy blinked, attempting to piece it together. And then it made sense. Dominique was trying to motivate Vince by saying he had a real mate to fight for, likely in the hopes of dethroning Athalia. It wasn't a bad plan. Except for the fact that Dominique herself is the reason why Vince's mate wasn't around. She was as deluded and desperate as he felt.

If Remy was a better wolf, he would tell Vince his mate was dead. He would stop the clear turmoil in his eyes, a desperation Remy was all too familiar with whenever he thought about Athalia. But Remy was not a better wolf. Already, his mind was turning to see just how he could spin this in his favor. 

Finally, he crossed his arms, "I'll tell you who she is if you back down as Alpha."

Vince scoffed, "You can't possibly think I'd do that. I don't even know if she exists."

"And if she did?" Remy stood up, forcing down the protest in his sore muscles, "What would happen? You would claim her and make her Luna? Push Athalia out of her home just because you found an actual mate to replace her?"

Vince seemed to falter a bit in his anger. Mate or not, he clearly still cared about Athalia, "N-no. I wouldn't do that. I suppose I haven't thought about what I'd do if she was real."

"Of course you haven't." Remy leaned back against the machine he had been using, crossing his legs at the ankles as he did so, "If she's real, the best thing to do would be to step back down to Beta and let Roaming Ember have their destined royalty."

"You and Athalia?" Vince scoffed again, "How utterly convenient. It's just that easy is it? I hand over my position to you, you and Athalia live happily ever after, along with my so-called mate that just happens to show up right before I kick your ass?"

"Would you question fate so vehemently?" Remy shot back.

Vince quieted, turmoil swirling so clearly in his eyes that Remy felt a worm of pride and hope that Dominique's plan was as effective as she had hoped. Maybe he would have to make amends with the she-wolf after all. But of course, he was ignoring the glaring fact that Alexia Lane was decomposing at the lake as they spoke.

The faux-Alpha met his gaze, a renewed determination and vigor in his expression, "No, I wouldn't. Let's hope my 'mate' shows up to our challenge later. Or your lies may just be enough reason to send you packing before I even lay a claw on you."