Alpha's Daughter: Surviving The Claim

Who I Am

“What about you, Miss Conri? Any lucky wolf at the top of your list this year?”

Catherine’s head snapped towards Elder Beau, examining his crinkly eyes as she sat down her fork.

Dinner was beyond boring for Catherine. Jade and Opal were seated across from her, on either side of Elder Beau, and Augustine was seated next to Jose at the far end of the table, around Elder Theodore. The two elders were the only ones who made an appearance tonight.

She met his gaze head on. “If you ask me who is not at the top of my list, I may have an easier time answering you, Elder Beau.”

He raised an eyebrow, his eyes sparkling at the challenge in her tone. “Is that so? Have you been displeased by your possible claimants this year?”

She straightened her shoulders. “I find it odd that the council would allow a murderer and tyrant such as Killian Black to enter my claim, considering she-wolves are in short supply.”

“Catherine..” Jade hissed, glancing anxiously at both of the elders.

“It was thought that—“ Elder Beau started.

“It wasn’t thought, Beau,” Elder Theodore croaked, sitting his napkin down and adjusting his tie. “It was determined that Alpha Black was a suitable claimant, should he enter a claim this year. He passed every psychological and physical exam we gave him, Miss Conri. His tactics on the battlefield have very little to do with his ambitions to have a mate.”

Josie spoke up from the end of the table, seated at one of the heads by herself. “So it’s your belief that she will be safe should he manage to mark her in the claim?” She challenged, surprising Catherine. Her eyes were narrowed in challenge at the elders.

“With all due respect, the application process for those wishing to enter the claim were much stricter this year,” Elder Theo shot daggers at Josie. “After the incident last year, we made sure of it.”

A dark cloud fell over Catherine. Last year. She remembered the news as clear as day. Everyone had been sure they would cancel next year’s claim.

The girl’s face had been everywhere. A small blonde with wide, doe-like brown eyes.. a beta female in last year’s claim. She had gone into the Arena, and after just seventeen days, war broke out in the arena. The unstable Alpha allowed in her claim had r***d her to the point of near death while in the Arena, trying to get her to submit. She never did. When she refused to give him her submission, he’d ripped her throat out. She never made it out of the arena.

It was the first time anything so violent had happened inside the arena. What happened to the females after they were claimed— back in their new packs— that never made the news. Emily Newfoundland made the news. Her face had haunted the dreams of every girl in the claim this year.

“If I may ask, Elder, what is different this year that you think makes the screening process so effective?” Catherine asked.

“We added an extensive physiological examination to the screening process, Miss Conri, and we also had council members conduct interviews in each Alpha’s packland.”

Josie laughed, a sudden chuckle that broke the tension in the room. “And you’re telling me that Killian Black passed with flying colors? I don’t buy it.”

“With all due respect, ladies,” Alpha Beau cleared his throat. “This dinner is a formality for us to enjoy your company and get to know you, as we are responsible for your care this year. It is not appropriate for you to question the decisions of the council— and I order this conversation to stop now.”

Catherine’s eyes met Josie’s, unspoken words traveling between them— respect. Josie smirked at Catherine, turning back to her food.

The rest of dinner went by quickly, with Catherine speaking only when spoken to. She had no desire to converse with the old bigots in the room. Her mind was too busy devising a plan to avoid capture in the arena. She knew if she was going to survive in the arena, avoiding Killian Black would be her biggest challenge.

She just wasn’t sure what tactic would work best. Keeping the Alpha as far away as possible— now allowing him to see her battle strategies, or keeping him close. Her father had always taught her to keep her enemies close, to face them head on, to learn their weak spots— but she was sure the blood crazed alpha would be assessing her the exact same way.

Her mother’s words echoed in her head, and she found herself considering whether or not her mother was right. Should she pick the best one— set up a meeting place in the arena— and let him mark her? The thought made her veins run ice cold. It seemed cowardly, and she wasn’t a coward.

Absentmindedly, the reached up and touched the silver wolf hanging off her neck. She ran her fingertips across the cool metal and reminded herself of who she was. And this claim— regardless of how it turned out— she wouldn’t let it turn her into someone she wasn’t. She would handle this with grace, like she had been trained to do her entire life. She would conduct herself with poise like the Luna she was trained to be one day, even if she never got the chance to become one to a man she loved or a pack she respected. She would show everyone here what it meant to be a member of Silver Moon. She would make her father proud. She would not become a coward.

She would not let Killian Black turn her into someone she wasn’t.