by J. L. Wilder
“I don’t know either,” Margaret said. “Dress for something physical, I guess, just in case. And I’m bringing a spare set of clothes in a backpack.”
“Why?” Haley asked.
“In case we have to shift suddenly,” Margaret explained. “I’m sure there will be some part of the Games that we have to complete in animal form.”
“That makes sense.” Haley fished her backpack out from under her bed. “I guess you and I are rivals now, huh?”
“Oh, no, we’re not really,” Margaret said, laughing. “You know that Terrence and I aren’t going to win this thing. We’re entering for the fun of it, that’s all. We want to be able to tell our kids someday that their parents competed in the Alpha Games.”
Haley turned away quickly, unable to keep emotion from registering on her face.
“Haley?” Margaret said. “What is it? Did I say something wrong?”
“Of course not,” Haley said. “You’re right. It will be something to tell our kids one day.”
Focus, Haley. Keep your mind on what you need to do today.
She pulled on a pair of leggings and a racerback tank top. Then she threw a spare outfit and a bottle of water into her backpack. “I should go meet Jasper,” she said. And Dean and Tom.
She wished she could tell her friend about all of them. She wished she didn’t have to choose just one of her mates to name as her alpha.
That’s why we’re doing the Games the way we are, though, she reminded herself. If we win, we’ll be able to tell the whole world that we’re a pack. All four of us. And no one will be able to criticize us or question whether we belong together because we’ll be the champions of the Alpha Games. That will be all the evidence we need.
After the Games were over, she would be able to tell Margaret the truth. That would have to be enough.
She slung her backpack over her shoulder. “I’ll see you down on the field,” she said.
Margaret grinned. “Good luck today,” she said. “I hope you’ll introduce me to your mate at some point. I’d love to meet him.”
“I’d love for him to meet you too,” Haley said. I’d love for all of them to meet you.
She left the dorm and went out onto the grounds. Temporary seating had been erected in a semicircle on the lawn, and she could see that the students from Shifter U were starting to make their way over. Some of them—the majority—were finding seats with their friends, laughing and gossiping about the spectacle they were about to see.
The alphas had grouped up at the open end of the semicircle. Every now and then, one of them would peel off from the group and join his omega. Haley automatically scanned for her three alphas before remembering that she was only looking for one right now. The other two would be hidden away somewhere, waiting to step in and take their turn in the competition.
Finally, she spotted one of them. From this distance, she couldn’t tell who it was. She broke into a jog, eager to see him and to discuss the plan for the day.
A hand caught her arm. Haley turned.
She was face to face with Zach Porter.
Before she could speak, before she could protest, he had jerked her off her path and dragged her into the forest. He didn’t stop until they were about twenty yards past the tree line, until they had gone beyond the point where they could be seen.
He threw her roughly against a tree and pinned her there with a hand pressed against her sternum. “So,” he said, baring his teeth at her.
He looked so animalistic. Haley shuddered. “Zach—let me go.”
“Let you go?” he asked. “Let you run back to the Wood brothers? Is that it?”
He knows. He knew she had been seeing all three of the Wood brothers. Who had told him? She was sure none of her alphas would have done that. She trusted them. But who else knew?
“I heard them,” Zach said. “I heard them talking about you in the cafeteria. Talking about how they were going to cheat their way through the Alpha Games. How they’re all planning to compete with you as a partner. How you’ll all split the prize money if you win.” Zach shook his head. “And to think I bought it when you fed me all those lines about ethics and morality and how you couldn’t possibly enter the games with me because I already had a mate!”
She struggled against his hand, but it was useless. He had her pinned. “You’re hurting me,” she said.
“That prize money belongs to me,” Zach said. “I’m the strongest alpha at Shifter U. These are supposed to be my games. They’re definitely not supposed to belong to a slut of an omega and a cheating pack of betas masquerading as alphas.” He pushed her harder, so hard that Haley was afraid he might actually break her bones. “I’m going to have to tell the board what you’re trying to do.”
They’ll pull us from the competition. The guys will be expelled, and maybe I will too.
But Zach wouldn’t care about that. Zach might even enjoy that.
“What do you want?” she asked him quietly. “What can I do to make you leave us alone?”
He grinned. “You are a slut, aren’t you? You’ll do whatever I say.”
Haley felt like she was going to be sick.
“Don’t worry,” Zach said. “I don’t want anything much. Just for you to enter the games with me instead of with those cheaters.”
“I can’t enter with you,” Haley said blankly. “Registration is closed.”
“You didn’t mind when it was them you were breaking the rules to enter with,” Zach pointed out. “I know you’re not registered as a foursome. I heard those dumbasses talking, remember? They were discussing it right out in public, where anyone could hear.”
“What are you asking me to do?” Haley asked.
“Walk out onto the field with me,” Zach said. “Compete with me. They won’t be able to keep the prize away from us once everyone has seen that we’re the best team out there.”
“We’re not a team,” Haley said. “You’re not my alpha.”
He leaned in close to her, so close that she could smell his breath. “I could be your alpha,” he said. “I’d be better for you than any of those tools. You’ll see by the time all this is over. You’ll be glad you chose me.”
“I don’t choose you,” Haley said. “I’ll never choose you.”
“You compete with me, or you don’t compete at all,” Zach said, his voice a snarl. “And the same goes for those fucking beta boys of yours. I’m not letting them into this competition. They’re an embarrassment. I’m going to tell everyone what you’re planning to do and you’ll be pulled. You’ll be expelled. You’re never going to get out onto that field unless you do it with me.”
Haley took a deep breath.
“You don’t have any proof,” she said.
His eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”
“Tell them anything you want,” Haley said. “You can’t prove it, and we’ll deny it. You’ll just look like a petty asshole making up stories about people because you’re afraid you’re going to lose the Games—which is exactly what you are.”
He slapped her across the face, hard. “How dare you?” he hissed. “I’m an alpha, and you’re nothing. You can’t talk to me that way.”
Haley’s cheek stung. She forced herself not to cry. She swallowed again and again, suppressing the tears that threatened to well up. “I’m not nothing,” she said. “If I were nothing, three men wouldn’t have imprinted on me.”
“Three betas. They’re trash. They’re trash, and you’re a whore.”
“Then you should have no problem beating us,” Haley said. “You have an omega. Enter with Clarisse.” She hesitated. “Or is it Janie?”
She had gone too far. She knew it the moment the words left her mouth. A shadow of rage crossed his face, and then he was on top of her, a snarl ripping from him, his teeth inches from her skin.
And all she could think was—the babies.
She tried to curl into a ball to protect herself, but he was too strong. His hands tore away her shirt. He gripped
her tightly, his fingers digging into her skin, bruising her. His teeth sank into her shoulder, marking the place where Jasper had once marked her. Haley felt a scream building up within her—
But the scream came from somewhere else.
It was closer to a howl, rage and pain and wildness all mingled together. She felt the force of bodies colliding above her, and suddenly the pain was gone. She was left curled in the dirt, panting.
Hands grabbed her. She was pulled in tight against a broad chest. The smell—old books and soap—was familiar and safe. Tom.
She burst into overwhelmed sobs.
His hands explored her body frantically. “Haley,” he murmured, squeezing her limbs, feeling for breaks. “Haley, honey. Talk to me. Are you okay?” Did he hurt you?”
She shook her head, pressing her face into his chest. “I’m okay. Tom—”
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ve got you. We’re all okay. Nothing else matters right now. Just breathe.”
She drew a few shuddery breaths and tried to make her body relax.
Voices emerged from the clamor off to the side. She looked up. Dean had his arms wrapped tightly around Jasper, who was straining to break free.
“I’m going to murder him!” Jasper howled. “Let me go! He’s getting away!”
“I know!” Dean had to yell back to be heard over Jasper’s outraged cries. “I know, Jasper. Calm down. Calm down, Jesus! Haley’s here. We have to see to Haley.”
Jasper stopped in his tracks. His body heaved a few times.
“You can’t kill him,” Dean said.
“Are you fucking kidding me? You saw what he was going to do to her. You want to let him get away with it?”
“Of course not,” Dean said. “Of fucking course not, Jasper. I want to tear his arms off and make him watch me eat them. But we can’t. The Games are about to start.”
“I don’t care about the fucking Games!”
“Jasper,” Haley said softly.
He turned and saw her huddled in Tom’s arms. All the aggression melted out of him in an instant, and he dropped to his knees beside her.
“Haley,” he said, touching her cheek.
“You’ll go to jail if you kill him,” she said. “I can’t lose you, okay? Don’t do that to me.”
He rested a hand on her shoulder. “I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “We’ll beat him in the Games.”
“He knows,” Haley said. “He knows the three of you are all planning to compete.” And she was crying again, leaning into the shared embrace of Tom and Jasper.
Dean was still on his feet, staring into the woods. Haley supposed he was watching to see if Zach would return. “It doesn’t matter what he knows,” he said. “He’s not going to be able to prove anything.”
“That’s what I said,” Haley said.
“We should tell the authorities he attacked Haley,” Tom said. “Just get him removed from the games.”
But Haley shook her head. “I don’t want him removed,” she said. “I want to beat him. I want him to quit walking around here thinking he’s the best alpha the world has ever seen.”
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Dean said.
“Okay,” Tom said. “But after the Games, we’ve got to tell someone. He could attack somebody else. It’s the right thing to do.”
Haley thought of Clarisse and nodded. She didn’t like the other girl very much, but Clarisse didn’t deserve to be treated the way Zach was treating her by sneaking around with Janie. And she definitely didn’t deserve to be attacked.
“He won’t tell anyone about us,” Jasper said. “He’ll be thinking that if he keeps quiet, we’ll keep quiet. And we will. But only for a little while.”
Haley relaxed in her alphas’ arms and closed her eyes.
She hadn’t planned on telling them her secret until after the Games were over. She had worried that they might decide she needed to be sidelined if they knew the truth about what had been going on with her. And she didn’t want them pulling her out of the Games. Not now.
But it felt vital, suddenly, to be honest with her alphas. She didn’t want them to go into the Games with secrets between them. It would be wrong.
She drew a breath.
“I have to tell you all something,” she said, hearing the waver in her voice.
Tom’s arms tightened around her. “You can tell us anything,” he said. “What is it?”
She closed her eyes, hoping against hope that they would take her news well.
“I’m pregnant,” she whispered.
Chapter Eighteen
JASPER
For the first time in weeks, Jasper did not want to compete in the Alpha Games.
He wanted to go back to the river, the place where he had spent so many hours with Haley. He wanted to sit with her and talk to her about the news she had revealed. He wanted to ask the thousands of questions he had.
Who the hell is the father?
It was paramount in his mind.
Of course, she couldn’t know the answer to that any more than he could. But it was driving him crazy. Was she carrying his babies? Or did they belong to Dean, or to Tom? He had no way of knowing.
We’ll never have any way of knowing.
They were identical. Even a DNA test wouldn’t reveal the answer.
He wanted to sit with his pack and go over all these issues, try to figure out the answers to all these questions. But the Games were beginning.
And they had all agreed that Jasper would compete first.
The fact that they had made the decision about who would compete when without knowing what events they would be facing made Jasper feel even more confident than he already had that they weren’t really cheating. They had no way of choosing the best competitor for each event. They would just have to take what came to them.
I hope it’s fighting, he thought as he took his place on the field beside Haley.
The event MC cleared his throat. “Welcome, everyone, to the first day of the Alpha Games!” he said. “Our alphas will compete in three events over the next two days. Meanwhile, our omegas will be assigned a project that will be judged separately. At the end of the two-day competition, the partnership with the highest score across all four events will be declared the winner.”
One event each, then, Jasper thought. One challenge for him and for each of his brothers, and one challenge for Haley. It was perfect.
“The task for the omegas will be to create, using materials found in nature, baskets that might be used as cradles for babies,” the MC said. “Because you are all mated, you are all quickly approaching the day when you might become mothers.”
It took everything Jasper had in him not to look over at Haley.
“Prove that you are ready for the challenges ahead by creating a minimum of three baskets,” the MC said. “You will be judged on sturdiness and creativity. Omegas are dismissed and may get to work. You’ll be expected to report back here at noon tomorrow for your judging.”
Haley turned to Jasper and stood on her toes to kiss him quickly. “Good luck,” she said. “I guess I won’t see any of you again until tomorrow.”
“Try to stay safe, will you?” he asked.
“I’ll be all right,” she said. “Zach can’t do anything to me. He’s here where you can see him.”
Jasper nodded. “Okay. Good luck.”
Haley turned and jogged off the field. Jasper knew that she would be heading down to the river, down to her usual spot, to collect reeds for her baskets.
The MC was speaking again. “Alphas, for your first challenge of the Games, you will be required to remain in your human form. Any shifting will mean disqualification.”
Damn it. Jasper knew he was more effective in animal form. This challenge would have been much better suited to Tom. But it was too late to switch places now.
“The challenge is fishing,” the MC said. “You will have one hour to return to the Shifter U campus, go down to the water, and catch as man
y fish as you can without relying on your animal form. Returning after one hour will result in disqualification. Every fish you bring back will be worth one point for your team. Any questions?”
They couldn’t have come up with a challenge I’d be worse at.
The MC rang the bell to signal the start of their time and Jasper set off at a run, hoping to lay claim to a stretch of river quickly.
One point per fish.
It wasn’t about the poundage, or how many people you could feed with your catch. That was the way Jasper would have structured the event if it had been up to him. But that wasn’t what was being tested.
The test was to see how many fish you could bring back.
And as he ran, a plan began to take shape in his mind.
It was a long shot. But he thought it was probably the only chance he had at staying near the top of the field in this event. And if he didn’t do at least pretty well, it wasn’t going to matter how well Tom, Dean, or Haley did.
One failure could sink their whole team.
DEAN
“He sucks at fishing,” Dean murmured.
“He doesn’t have to catch the most,” Tom said. “He just has to get some. Enough to keep us competitive. You and I can make up for whatever ground he loses on the next leg of the competition.”
“You or I should have done this one,” Dean said. “Either one of us would have been better at it.”
“We had no way of knowing what it was going to be,” Tom pointed out. “Anyway, it’s good that it was Jasper. If there hadn’t been three of us, if Haley had just had one alpha, whoever it was would have had to figure out how to do well in every event. There are going to be other people who suck at fishing.”
“Yeah,” Dean agreed. “But they’ll be good at something else. Like Jasper’s good at fighting. But now, because we wasted him in this round, we won’t be able to use him if there’s a fighting round.”
“We could,” Tom said. “Whichever of us is called up for that round could always sit out and let Jasper compete twice.”
“Haley wouldn’t like that,” Dean said.
