The One He Claimed by Cooper

Chapter 168: The Packs

Hunter

There was something about spending the day with the other Alphas, away from our mates that had all of us

missing them. | missed Sophie, missed her smell, her laugh, her loving gaze when she looks at me, and | missed

playing with my son. I'll admit, it really is my new favorite pastime, only knocked out of first place by making

love to my mate. That will always be my number one favorite thing to do in this world.

So yeah, after being away from her all day, | scooped her up and took her to a secluded area where I could enjoy

her, reconnect with her after being away from her all day, and yeah, | buried myself deep inside her, finding my

happy place and capturing her screams of pleasure with my kiss.

| know | wasn’t the only one. By the twe returned to the packhouse, nearly all of Sophie’s friends had messy

hair, swith grass or twigs still sticking out of them. The notable exception was Margot and Ezra, but |

noticed that he took advantage of the twe were away to spend with his mate.

Most of the single warriors and ranked members who cto see the pack lands pitched tents and the group set

up a couple of fire pits outside where people congregated overnight, talking about the pack, their possible future,

and asking questions about the other available packs.

Robin, Kayce, Dutton, Erza and | spent most of the late evening talking with the group, answering their questions

and making note of things that we to make decisions about. Calvin was around, but he didn’t really engage with

us. I'm not sure how to feel about that. He's an Alpha, but he was excluded from this process. It wasn't until

much later, after Sophie and the other pregnant mates found space in the packhouse to sleep and had gone to

bed that he finally approached us.

“So, is this the plan for Alaric’s pack as well?”

“Besides the part of having to mark the boundaries, yes,” Dutton says to him.

He nods, looking around. “Will you be opening it to all the packs?”

“Not all of them,” | say. “Aiden and Zahn'’s packs are not part of

our alliance; therefore, they won't be participating.”

“What about my pack?” he asks, turning to look at us.

I look at the others, not wanting to speak for everyone.

“I guess that depends on where you stand, Alpha Calvin. You haven't been against us, but you haven't actually

been with us either,” Robin says.

“For that pack, in particular, I'd like to be included. Letknow what you need fromto be a part of that.”

“Are you planning to join packs with your mate, Alpha Calvin?” Kayce asks him.

“Amelia and | are discussing how things will work in the future,” is all he says, before turning and walking away.

“Discussing?” Margot asks.

“Arguing,” Ezra clarifies. “Which reminds me, Margot and | neve filled you in on her father and Joshua's previous

packs.”

| notice he doesn’t call Joshua Margot’s previous mate.

“How did that go?” Dutton asks.

“There was sdisagreement about opening up the packs. Not as much after the packs saw my mother and I,

but they had already created their own, new hierarchy and the ‘Alphas’ didn’t want the contest. Ezra shut that

down quickly,” she says, smiling at him.

| raise an eyebrow at him. “How did you do that?”

Margot smile widens before she dips her head to hide it. Ezra looks at her, his lips twitching at their shared joke.

“Did you want to tell them, since you got such enjoyment out of it?” he asks.

She looks up at him, smiling more openly than | remember seeing her smile in my pack. Then she turns to us.

“Joshua’s Ga**a was p**k, always has been. He's always thought more highly of himself than he should have. He

may have also made the mistake of tellingthat | should know my place and that it was beneath him since

he’s the new Alpha.”

Several of us whistle low at that. Erza may not be wearing Margot’s mark, but they've both identified that they

are mates. There's no way that Ezra would have tolerated anyone disrespecting Margot, much less like that.

“Ezra showed Franklin what it means to actually be an Alpha by Jifting him off his feet by his throat. Then he

proceeded to scare him so badly that he literally pis**ed himself in front of the pack,” she says, smiling at Ezra.

She's looking at him differently now. Whether it’s because of that event or because he’s working his way into her

heart, her gaze and her smile are much warmer now, much more open.

“D**n. I'd probably have gone straight for the kill, but humiliation like that makes a much bigger impact,” Robin

says.

“It did, and word travelled fast. No one else questioned the need to open the pack to a challenge in Joshua's or

my father’s packs,” Margot says, holding Ezra’s gaze. The heat and chemistry between them is thick in the air.

I'm surprised, and pleased, when she leans in and kisses him lightly and quickly on the lips. I'm not sure which of

them was more shocked at her action, her or Ezra.

“I should, um...get to bed,” she says, obviously embarrassed by

her outward display of affection.

“Do you have everything you need?” Ezra asks her, as she stands.

“Yes, thank you,” she says, before saying goodnight and walking inside the packhouse.

Ezra’s gazes follows her until she’s inside before turning back to see all of us smirking at him.

“Shut up,” he growls, making all of us laugh.

“So, things are going well?” | ask him.

“They are. It's taking time, but | knew it would. Having Luna June there with us is making things easier, | think.

She's such a natural Luna. The pack adores her and Margot. Margot’s just more hesitant to act like a Luna

because she hasn't acceptedyet.”

“Doesn't look like it will be that much longer,” Kayce says to him.

Ezra shrugs. “However long it takes, I'll wait. It'll be worth every minute of waiting if | can one day have what all

of you have.”

Since we all agree, we call it a night, going to snuggle with our mates.

The next morning, we sit around the fire pits again, eating breakfast and letting the group know that they can

sign up to compete if they are interested.

We go through the rules, explaining that names will be drawn at random and it’s a single elimination, meaning if

you lose, you're out. We, the Alphas, will be referees to ensure that no one continues to the point where their

lives are at stake, as this is meant to be a friendly competition, not a death match. Alphas will not be able to

referee fights with one of their pack members in it, but since there are so many of us, we don’t see the issue.

Once the first round of fights are over, there will be a short break and then the second round of fights will begin.

This will continue until one person is left standing and that person will be given the title of Alpha.

In the end, I'm excited to see that over two hundred individuals sign up to compete. We set the date for one

week from today and then it’s tto pack up and head home.