The Claiming by Cooper novel Chapter 12

Mason

I watched Jara throughout the night. I watched as she kept an eye on the omega females. I watched while she basically cut most of the males during the evening. I did notice that if the male omegas were polite, she was kinder to them than she was to the ranked members, but if they tried to act tough or self-important, she was just as harsh with them as she was with the others.

When we got back to our room, Elijah couldn’t stop talking about Layan. He’s really hoping he gets pulled for her lottery. I hope for both their sakes that he does get pulled.

The next morning, we all congregate at the pavilion. The Master of Ceremonies, Beta Michael, takes the stage and announces that it is time to pull the second contestant.

He makes a point of putting his hand into a bowl with only two contestants. When he finally pulls out the name, he takes his time opening the paper before looking out at all of us.

“Layan is our next contestant.” She will be second to enter the claiming territory.

I feel Elijah’s excitement beside me. “Anyone who does not want to be in Layan’s lottery, please go to the tables set to my left and have your name removed from the pool.”

I immediately move to have my name removed, not surprised when Elijah doesn’t follow me. I know Elijah is hoping to be called. As they prepare to draw for the lottery, I focus on Jara. I can tell, like all Alphas should, she feels a protectiveness for Layan. Unfortunately, not all Alphas recognize the need to protect the weaker members of the pack. But Jara does, and it’s just one

Dividing into pages now

more reason why she’s perfect to be my Luna.

Layan comes to the front of the stage as her claimants are called. I listen, but I’m watching Jara and her response to the names. When an Alpha is called, I watch as Jara’s eyes narrow on him. Then I watch as she makes eye contact with Beta Hana. They are not happy with this Alpha being pulled into the lottery.

At the end, Elijah isn’t called, and I can feel his disappointment. “Hey man, there’s still Beta Hana.”

“Yeah, of course.” He says.

Beta Michael then comes back to the microphone. “Gentlemen. Beta Hana and Alpha Jara are going to be sparring for the next two hours. Anyone who would like to be in the pool to spar with them should move to the tables and have their name entered into

the contest.”

I turn and immediately head to the table. A chance to spar with my girl. Hell yeah.

When they are ready, Beta Michael comes back to the microphone. “Okay, we hope that all of you, but especially our ranked members will take the time to spar. There is a lot of testosterone in this group, so this will give everyone a chance to burn off

their…..tension.”

Beta Michael stutters over his words, trying to say that this group of males is sexually frustrated being around these she-wolves. without outwardly being offensive to the contestants.

“There will only be four males identified for each of the two contestants. Each individual pulled into the sparring lottery will have 30 minutes to spar with their allotted female.”

They pull the names and I’m not one of the names in the lottery for

either Jara or Hana. I notice Seth is pulled for Hana’s sparring.

Rather than sparring with Elijah, I stand aside and watch Jara spar. Her first opponent is a Beta and she overpowers him easily. She doesn’t even break a sweat. Her second opponent is another Alpha and now I really get to see her skill. She’s good. Really good. She will be difficult to defeat in her claiming.