My mother feared this day would happen.

When my father died and she learned that his brother wanted to step in as the new Alpha of our pack, she knew that wouldn't be good for anyone — not our pack, neither for our family.

Uncle Damian is not a criminal or one of those uncles who look at their nieces in a certain way — goddess forbid! He is a second son who never liked that his older brother always got more attention than him.

My father was an Alpha werewolf with no pack to lead, but will to fight. He made his own fortune in life when he decided to sign up for the King's army. He rose quickly to higher ranks, and it culminated with a fantastic victory chasing foreign invaders in the South.

The King was so pleased by my father's heroic actions that he decided to award my father his own pack to lead. It would have been a great move for my dad, but unfortunately the only packs that were available at the time were duds.

The King thought he was doing a good deed, but my dad was sent to a city with fewer than 30,000 citizens in cold Utah. Our economy isn't exactly booming, it is mostly farms and other small businesses.

But the King had named him the new Alpha, so he had to accept the honor and make do with what was given to him. At that point, he was already mated to my mother — they met each other in Château Blanc, the King's official residence. Mom was an employee of the castle. I must've listened to their 'meet cute' a hundred times when I was a kid.

My father was a celebrated royal soldier who was honored by the King with his own pack. My uncle never lifted a sword in his life. He never accomplished anything of the sort, but he studied for years. He has a double major in law and political science. As a matter of fact, he still practices law from time to time to supplement his income.

When I was a kid and he insisted on starting my training to be the next Alpha, I was flattered by his attention and I also was in desperate need of attention from a father figure. I thought it was so cool that he wanted to make sure I would be the best Alpha I could be for this pack.

He trained me in Kung Fu, Jiu Jitsu, hand-to-hand combat, the works. From the age of ten to now, I never stopped training. But after I shifted into a wolf for the first time, what we call our consecration to the Moon (Goddess), that is when he doubled down on my training.

Sometimes, I didn't know if he was preparing me to be Alpha or to become his assassin. My mother had to intervene several times when I had to focus on school. It's no wonder I failed sixth grade. Don't remind me of that...

"You are kidding, right? Because there is no way you are sending my son to compete in a tournament to the death for being the next in line to the throne, that we all know will go to the King's nephew. The one who has been preparing for this since he was born." Mom declared when Uncle Damian announced the news that the King will hold a tournament to choose his successor for the throne. She was not happy when my uncle suggested that I should compete for it.

"No one said that the tournament would be to the death." He rebuked her, playing innocent.

Mom gave him one of her signature 'mom glares' that I was so familiar with. Me and my two younger sisters.

"My son is already poised to be the next Alpha of our pack. That is what my mate dreamed for him, all he needs is for you to book his ascension ceremony." Mom declared, taking a jab at the fact that my uncle had been dragging his feet to do that.

My sisters and I just glanced at our uncle uncomfortably at the awkward exchange. Mom is fearless and she has survived much to be here today, raising a family alone. Not that she regrets meeting my father in any way. Nobody ever regrets meeting their mate.

Damian took a seat at the table and poured himself some coffee, stealing my mom's cup to do so, which angered her further for his impertinence. We had front-row seats for the battle that was no doubt going to be fought for my fate, not that anyone would bother to ask for my opinion.

King Lucius has two sisters and a baby brother, all with families of their own at this point. It is a slap on the face of His Majesty that all his siblings have had children except for him. I mean, his brother doesn't have any children yet, but he is already married, so that could happen any day now.

His older sister only has daughters, but the second one has a son with the Lord Chamberlain — one of the highest-ranking officials in the monarchy — who everybody always considered to be the King's natural successor.

Not only does he have an impeccable pedigree, but he is the only male heir of the entire family. I don't mean to suggest that women can't make for excellent monarchs, but patriarchy is alive and well in the 21st Century. Just ask my uncle about it, who barely lets his daughters go out with friends.

Prince Elton was raised with the clear conscious that he was the natural successor to the monarchy and all the power players in the country wanted him to be the next King of the United States. He is family and can be controlled by his father to attend to his interests and those of men like him.

There is no way in hell that they are going to allow anybody else to win this tournament but him. This smells like a smoke screen, even though the King is not required to put on a show for the country in order to select his nephew as his heir. He is the King and it's expected of him.

Some say, if you believe in gossip pages that publish anything related to the monarchy, King Lucius does not favor Prince Elton to be his successor. He does not like him for some reason nobody has ever been able to figure out.

"Sister, hear me out please, my brother wanted more for his son than to be stuck here, being the Alpha of a tiny pack. He wanted Bradley to have all the opportunities available to him." Uncle Damian argued as he sipped his coffee.

"Are you seriously trying to imply that you knew my mate better than me? That you know what's best for my son instead of his mother?" Now she is livid at his hubris. Her eyes are glowing in contained rage, and that is never a good sign.

"I would never suggest knowing better than a mother and a mate." He tried to appease her, knowing she was furious at him.

"I am merely suggesting that if Bradley were my son, I would want him to have all the best opportunities that life can offer." He argued respectfully.

"And the best opportunity for my son is to follow in his father's footsteps as Alpha of our pack. Not to be sent to his death in a reckless pursuit." Mom countered, irritated.

Damian breathed out a frustrated sigh and decided to pour some more coffee. At this rate, I won't have any to start my morning.

"Of course, I would go with him and watch out for his best interest. Brad is like a son to me." Damian insisted forcefully.

"Well, unless you stayed in a hospital for 6 hours giving birth to him, you don't get a vote." She stated, glaring daggers at him. It's the ultimate argument because no one can beat it.

"Do I get a vote?" I raised my hand, annoyed that they were discussing my future without asking my opinion.

"I'm glad you asked, son. No, you don't. Unless you're planning on leaving me and your sisters here with nobody to protect us?" She guilt-tripped me. Oh boy...

"Protect you from what? The last recorded criminal case here is the robbery of a chicken." Damian joked, causing my sisters to laugh nervously. I couldn't help but laugh as well.

Mom glared at all of us, but especially at Damian.

"Can you leave my house now before you drink all my coffee?" She demanded of him, aggravated.

"Are you really not going to ask my opinion? At all?" I interjected, annoyed at her.

"Fine, Bradley. What's your opinion? Do you have a death wish? Are you trying to make me mourn a son on top of a mate?" She challenged me furiously.

A|N: WOW. The fight is on.

I had no idea about this song, but it was a nice discovery. In fact, I am going to have to do a lot of googling in this book. I see that now.

Love,

Léo.