The Claiming by Cooper novel Chapter 268

The Contest by Cooper (Jaxon & Evangeline)

Chapter 68 (Jaxon)

After collecting my reward from my mate, we head back downstairs to eat lunch and catch up with the rest of the contestants.

Rowan’s turn is after lunch and when she comes out of the territory with only six flags, I know her time in the contest was over. I try to console her, but it’s Enzo that makes the difference, basically telling her that since he is still in the competition, they still have a chance to get their own pack. He’s only a couple of months away from turning 18, so it’s pretty clear that they are mates.

In the end, four Alphas are eliminated from the contest including Rowan, Magdalena, my cousin Brooke and Ainsley, Reid’s mate.

No one collected all ten flags, and only three of us collected nine, so everyone who collected seven or more flags, moved into the next l*eg of the contest. The final competition.

After dinner, Councilman Jason steps up onto the stage. Many people have already left, knowing they were eliminated. Magdalena and Rowan stayed because Lazio, Caleb, Enzo, Eve, and I are all still in the competition.

When he gets up on the stage and announces that there isn’t a need for a final day of competition, everyone cheers.

“Congratulations to the final 20. You are the elite, but only half of you will be able to win the title of Alpha and claim your own pack. In one week’s time, you will all come back here where you will receive a written test. The test will consist of five scenarios, and you will have to write how you, as an Alpha, would respond to those scenarios. Each of you will be judged by all five council members on certain categories, such as thoughtfulness of your response, leadership, understanding of the true issue, and your ability to resolve conflict. The ten with the highest scores will be declared Alphas and will be given the opportunity to choose your pack lands based on the ranking you receive in the final test.”

The excitement in the room is palpable. In less than two weeks, Eve and I will know if we’ve become Alphas and we will get to choose our pack lands.

“All of you will receive the list of the pack lands, the current state of the land and the packhouses as well as basic information about the area. I suggest that you review the information and, if possible, go see the pack lands so that, if you win, you will know which pack you would like to claim.”

“See, Maggie. We need to go look at the pack lands, see which ones we may want to choose,” Caleb says.

“I agree, Rowan, we should do the same,” Enzo says.

“Why don’t we all go?” Eve says. “I mean, we all want to see the pack lands, see where they are in relation to each other. We could make it a fun getaway, a break before the final test.”

“I love that idea,” I say. “That way, I can make sure no one wants our pack lands,” I say, making the others laugh. We make a plan and rather than going back to our packs, we’re going to do a tour of the pack lands that are available for selection. The one we’re in now, we can wipe off the list and there is another one that is far away from all the others, and Eve and I agree we don’ t want that one, so that leaves eight pack lands to see in one week’s time.

“Let’s do it,” Lazio says.

“Let’s do it!” Eve says.

Jordan POV

I’m at my desk, pouring over the work that just keeps piling up. Elijah has been helping, but really, he had been passing a lot of the work to Carter. Now that Carter is out of the competition, he is helping more, but I need to make sure he wants to stay in this pack and isn’t planning to participate in The Beta Trials. It’s not a requirement that he becomes my Beta and not everyone would be okay becoming a Beta to the only Alpha female.

The rest of the work is coming from Jace’s workload. He’s been doing a great job of keeping up, when he can. But knowing that he’s so close to winning a spot as Alpha, I’m trying to make sure I know everything that he does, so that when he’s gone, I can train the next person.

The thought of Jace not being here any longer makes my heart hurt. I know what I said to him about needing to accept my rejection and maybe it’s because he hasn’t that I still have feelings for him. I’ve tried to move on, but I just haven’t been able to completely let go.

I’m just about ready to pack it in for the day when there’s a knock at the door. Just as I say, “Come in,” I smell the honey roasted almonds. Jace.

I look up, fighting the fluttering in my stomach. I paste a smile on my face. I’ ve already heard that he’s in the top 20, although I’m not surprised. He’s a born leader.

“Congratulations, Jace! I hear you are part of the elite, the final twenty.”

“Thanks, Jordan. That means a lot coming from you.”

I look down, unwilling to let him see the hurt in my eyes that I know very soon he’ll be leaving me. Jace is smart, I know he’ll pass the final test to become Alpha and then he’ll be gone. “I thought you’d be out celebrating,” I say, glancing up and jolting when I see that he’s laser focused on me.