THE QUEEN'S TOURNAMENT

I smelled a bit of her scent and I walked out of bed at that moment. I want this to get over and for me to continue my search for that Alpha of the rogues. I also got some other responsibilities and duties as a king.

This mate thing is really slowing me down. Once this is over, I will train and kill those pathetic rogues.

But where the hell is that girl? Is she playing hide and seek with me? I had better get going to find her.

We search for the seven packs of our land and come up with the last, but her scent is so faint and there is a mere possibility that she does not belong to a pack.

Is she a rogue? That's why she didn't belong to any pack?

We searched everywhere but I couldn't see her.

The air moves freely in my hair. I jumped out of the window. Something's telling me that I need to do this.

I sniff the air and the scent of vanilla and rose is now strong.

‘She's here.’ My wolf said.

‘What the hell is she doing in the forest in the middle of the night?’ I replied.

I walk slowly following the scent that leads me to a river. I saw clothes on the rocks near the tree.

‘She's here.’ My wolf said.

Through the light that comes from the moon, I can see a woman playing in the water. She splashes the waters in the sky and laughs. She continues doing it until she suddenly stops.

She’s looking around like she's feeling that someone is watching her.

"Is there anyone in there? Show yourself and don't hide in a stupid tree." She shouted in my direction.

I smirk at the thought that she thinks that I am scared of her.

She gets out of the water, I can see all of her. Her body, her sexy curves, and breasts, and when she turns around to pick up her clothes, I can see the whip marks on her back.

Who the hell did that to her?

"I can sense you, stop peeking around like a pervert and show yourself immediately" She shouted again, but now she's fully dressed.

I showed myself and automatically she froze in her place, looking surprised at my presence.

So, he knows who I am.....

••••••••••••••••

Katharina Point of View

I was so shocked the moment I saw his face. He is now looking at me without any emotion. For the Moon Goddess' sake, he is my King. What is he doing here?

I looked down, giving him my respect. "My King," I said.

I heard a growl coming from him. I automatically took a step back, scared that I had done something wrong.

"What are you doing here?" He asks.

"Swimming? This is my first time here, so I decided to take a swim. I didn't know that you would be here." I said, still not looking in his face.

"Why? Are you new here? And what is your name?" He is now moving towards me.

"I am Katharina Omnirous, and yes, I am new to the Alpha Duren pack. I joined them yesterday, My King," I answered.

He is now near me. I can feel the heat radiating from his body.

"Are you related to Alpha Ramus of the Omnirous pack?"

"Yes, My King. I am his daughter."

"It's the first time I heard that there is a female bloodline of Alpha. Though you’re not the firstborn, you are still born with Alpha's blood. And why did you leave your pack and join Alurious?" He said.

"I'm not aware of my rarity and I left the Omnirous pack because my father and I didn't get along," I said.

"Why are you nervous Kath?"

All of a sudden, I looked into his eyes as if my body had its own control.

"It's nothing, my King. I'm just shocked by your presence here right now. I don't know that you're in this pack." This is the first time I actually saw his face so close. He has honey-blond hair and striking silver eyes. His face was curved as if he was one of the living Gods of this world. Well, technically he is.

"I think you need to go back now in the pack. There are a lot of rogues in this area. They could attack you. Come on," he said.

"I will, my King."

"Okay." He said before he moved quickly and left me.

That's awkward. He saw me at the river naked. What a first encounter. But why didn't Alpha Duren tell me about the arrival of the King?

Maybe he's just busy. I said to myself.

I run as fast as I can into the room and bump into someone that I have never seen before. Oh, I forgot, I'm just new here.

"I'm sorry. I'm in a rush," I said.

"It’s fine, just be careful next time," he said.

"Yes, I'm sorry again," I said before leaving him and heading to my room.

Who is that man? I feel something wrong with him. Then I came to a realization. He's a rogue. I just shrug it off. Alpha Duren may allow him in here, but how about the King? He might feel him here.

I shake that thought off. Maybe they will talk about it and have an agreement about the rogues residing in his area.

*****************

Zeus point of View

I woke up early and told my Mother that I had already found her.

"This is great, so you're going to tell her that you are her mate and you will marry her and live happily ever after." She said giggling.

"Mother, are you insane? I will not let myself be drawn to that stupid mate bond thing. If she wants to be my wife, she needs to prove herself." I said, sitting and drinking coffee.

"How dare you do that to her?! She's your other half. This is a rare opportunity. You must accept her." She shouted.

"Mother, do not raise your voice at me. Remember, I'm your King. Now, if you insist that I should take her and be the wife, that is impossible. Father will kill this girl before she can say I do to me. We don't even know if she's capable of being my queen," I said. Father will surely kill this girl just to continue his plan of marrying me to that Loui girl.

"Well, as expected. Luckily, I have created a good plan for this. Since you prefer a strong Queen, I'm going to have a tournament in the palace. Whoever wins will be your Queen," she said.

I look at her, it picks my curiosity. Mother is really something else.

"Sounds fun to me," I said.

"We will bring your mate and another one from this pack and we will ask the other packs to give you two representatives from their pack." She said.

"Okay. So, shall we now announce it? I need to go back and do my work in the Kingdom, Mother." I said.

"Okay, I will talk to Duren about this. Come out after five minutes." She said, leaving me.

This game will be fun since I never thought about it before. The winner, the strongest among them all, will be my future Queen, regardless if she is my mate or not.

'You're insane! She is our mate. Why do we need to test her?' My wolf said.

'I told you, I don't want a girl who can't fight for the kingdom and can't protect herself when we are not around.'

'Nonsense.' My wolf replied.

*********************

Katharina Point of View

Alpha Duren calls all the female fighters of the pack early that morning. I don't have any idea why, but since it's important, I fix myself as fast as I can.

We fell in line in front of the packhouse.

I saw the King coming from one of the houses beside the packhouse, and to my surprise, the Queen was also with him talking to Alpha Duren and Beta Justin.

The Queen walks toward us before she looks at each and every one of us. Her eyes landed on me and I bowed slightly to her.

"Good morning ladies, today will be the best opportunity of your life. Two of you will be in a competition in the palace. I will be having a competition for my throne." We were all shocked by her announcement. Almost all the girls giggled at the thought of being the new Queen. "I see all of you are excited. My son, your king will choose only two female fighters from this pack to join the competition. My King, come here and start to choose." She said.

The King moves and looks at us one by one. His eyes landed on me and I looked down immediately. I don't want him to think that I don't have manners.

"This is a hard pick for me but looking at you girls.... hmmmmm I choose the blond girl and the one wearing pink leggings." He said.

I looked around and saw the girl with the blond hair stepping forward and, to my surprise, they were all looking at me.

Wait? Did I wear pink leggings? I look at my clothes and am surprised that I am indeed wearing pink leggings. I look at him but he looks irritated at my action.

I gulp and step forward.

"Wait! Katharina is my new female fighter, he can't join the competition." Alpha Duren said while holding my arm.

I feel weird though. It feels like I dislike it so much.

A low growl came from the King and suddenly my eyes found his. A shiver runs through my body. The way he looks at alpha Duren sends chills to my bones.

"Are you disobeying me, Duren?" I sensed the authority in his question. Even Alpha Duren shakes a little bit in his tone of voice.

"No, my King, but Katharina is my-----" He said, but before he could finish his sentence, King Zeus was now holding his neck.

"If I said she would compete, she would understand?" he said, emphasizing every word.

"Yes, my King," Alpha Duren said.

I pity him for what King Zeus did to him. But what will we actually say? I am his what?

"Alpha Duren will be fine, surely I will be eliminated early, so no need to worry," I reassured him.

"Okay, be careful there, Katharina, and come back here again, okay?" He said, holding my hands.

I'm confused about his actions.

"LET’S GO!!!" The King shouted.

"Wait, do we need to pack our things first?" I asked the King and regretted it when I saw him turn around to look at me like I'm his prey.

"I don't need your rags in my kingdom. We have a lot of clothes there, so hop in the car or I'll do it myself and throw you there right now." He said.

"S-sure, my King. I don't mean to offend you." Looking at the ground, I said.

He leaves me with no words.

"You would need to keep that mouth shut if I were you," the blond girl said.

"Yeah, you're right. What's your name?" I asked.

"Ruby and you are Katharina," She said.

"Yes, I am," I said.

We rode in the car quietly until we fell asleep immediately since it was too early.