Offered to the Lycan King by Misha K
Chapter 221
With her h*ands clenched to her sides, Keya walked in the room where all the cameras were fitted. The whole family was gathered in that room including young Aidan. He waved at her cheerfully and she waved him back nervously.
“It’ll be fine, sweetheart,” Lia said to her as she wrapped her shoulders with her arm. “You just have to announce who is going to join the contest.”
Keya nodded lightly as she stared at the lights and camera. This was so absurd. After Ethan’s confession last night, she was so jittery that she woke up early next morning with a start. She remembered holding Ethan’s photo in her h*and but it wasn’t there anymore. Before she could think much about it, Aidan had opened the door and came inside, screaming Happy Birthday!
She rolled her eyes saying it was at midnight.
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“We decided to celebrate it today because tonight we will take you for a run after the first shift and then tomorrow you have to announce about the Alpha Trials,” Hunter said as River rolled in a trolley of cake near her bed. “Granny!” she whined.
“Just cut the cake and make us happy, sweetheart!” River grinned.
Keya couldn’t go to school because she was anxious about Ethan. She had called him numerous times, but his phone was coming off. That only added to her anxiety. She wanted to speak with him just once and find out if he was fine.
Her family didn’t understand her anxiety because they didn’t know about her meeting with Ethan the previous night. It was Lachlan who came to her and said that he knew about her meeting with Ethan. He warned her, “You shouldn’t have met him. That bear-shifter is nothing but danger!” She ignored his warning. Ethan wasn’t the danger. He was in danger. From a certain Alpha Ranger. He was a victim of circumstances. Throughout the day, she stayed at the castle because Gina informed them that the pack wasn’t safe to move for the royals. Holed up in the castle, she couldn’t think of anything else but Ethan for the whole day. Moreover, who was this, Alpha Ranger? At midnight, under the moon, her family gathered along the tree line for the run. All of them had gathered around her. Aidan mounted Lachlan who had already shifted and all of them were eagerly looking at her. However, h*ard as she waited, she didn’t shift.
Everyone in the family was taken aback, shocked about her not being able to shift. They sat there in the woods with her for the next three hours, encouraging her beast to surface, but nothing happened. She would feel tingling beneath her skin, but her beast refused to come out. It was getting bizarre. Finally, Arthur and Hawk made the decision to take her back to the castle and tell no one about her shift. At least not until the Alpha Trials were over. Keya started crying. “What is happening with me?” she asked between her sobs.
Lia hugged her h*ard. “It’s fine, love,” she said. “You are after all half-human.”
“But I can feel my Lycan. It’s like she doesn’t have enough motivation to come out.”
Hawk took a deep sigh. “Keya, maybe you are a late bloomer. Don’t worry, everything will be fine. Your Lycan will come out as long as you can feel it is there.”
“Why not today?” she cried.
Arthur, who was in his wolf form, nudged her to mount him. “Oh daddy!” she cried and hugged him. She sat on his wolf and as they walked back to the castle, with tension heavy in the air, she clasped him, wetting his fur with her tears. Nothing was going as she wanted. Life was being cruel to her. She hadn’t shifted and that had repercussions.
Alpha Trials was about to begin. If she didn’t shift, she wouldn’t be able to smell her mate. What if she shifted later and smelled her mate after the Alpha Trials? Would she reject her mate? Those thoughts consumed her mentally and exhausted her to the point that she just couldn’t be happy on her birthday.
That night Lia slept with her daughter just to placate her fears. Hawk and Arthur would come time and again to ask about her. She knew that she was a big disappointment to her grandparents and parents.
You are anything but that!” River chided her.
Lachlan leaned on his granny’s shoulder and smiled at his sister. “It’s fine, Keyu. It’s not the end of the world. Your beast will come out. She just needs a little motivation, okay?”
Keya sighed and buried her face in her mom’s n*eck. “I hope so…” Fresh tears came. Lia caressed her daughter, understanding her pain. “You have to look at the future, sweetie,” she said. “Tomorrow the camera crew will be here. It will be live TV. You will be taking out the names of the eligible Alphas who will join the trials. Don’t be nervous. Just take out the names from the box and we will cut it.”
So, right now, they were all in the parlor adjacent to the main hall. The cameraman looked eager to shoot the film and the anchor looked enthusiastic to do her work.
“You look beautiful, Miss Keya,” she said with a smile. “I am Jennifer!”
“Hello,” Keya replied softly.
“Please sit on that chair,” Jennifer pointed to a chair a few feet away from the camera.
Keya looked at her mother who gave her an encouraging smile and m*outhed ‘Go’. She walked to the chair and sat down with her l*egs crossed at the knee. Jennifer sat opposite to her. “Start the camera, Nolan!”
The lights came on and the camera started rolling. Jennifer began, “Miss Keya, it’s so nice to have you amongst us. We are so happy that you agreed to Alpha Trials. This is the first of its kind in the modern world. Such practices were there during ancient times. How do you feel about it?”
Keya looked at the camera and realized that her h*ands were clammy. She took a deep breath in quietly and said, “I am happy and I am doing it for my family.”
“That’s awesome!” Jennifer said with a bigger smile. She pointed at a red velvet box in front of them. “The names of the Alphas are over there. It would be great if you would pick them one by one and announce them to the pack members.”
They were on live TV and Keya was sure that everyone was only looking at this news. She had to quell all her fears and show a confident face to them. A lot depended on this. Her future and her pack’s future. “Sure,” she said softly. Jennifer picked up the box and put it in front of her. “Please pick up the names of the contestants,” she said. Keya shuffled the small chits and picked out one. She h*anded it to Jennifer. Jennifer opened it. “The first contestant is Alpha Beau from Blackfoot pack.” She went on to talk more about him and his unique abilities. When Keya gave her the next chit, Jennifer opened it eagerly. “Alpha Jorr of the Crimson pack.”
“Alpha Mickey of the Gray Mount pack.”
“Alpha Kenny of the Yellow Claw pack”
When she opened the fifth chit, Jennifer’s eyes popped out. “Alpha Ranger of the Shadows pack.”
Keya bit back her surprise, holding herself still to not show it. Her breath lodged in her t*hroat as a wave of terror gushed down her c*hest. This was getting ugly by the second. She heard a small gasp from behind, but she dared not look at who gasped.
Jennifer pointed out to the last chit saying, “I thought there would be only five Alphas.”
Bewildered, Keya picked up the last chit and gave it to her.
Jennifer’s m*outh dropped to the floor. “Ethan Torri, nephew of Alpha Torben of the bear shifters pack.”
Shock etched on her face as Keya couldn’t help but look at Arthur. If her father was surprised, he hid it well. He had a stone face and very cold expressions. Keya turned back to look at the camera.
“Thank you, Miss Keya,” Jennifer said in a polite voice. “Those are some very interesting choices. I hope the best Alpha wins your h*and.”
As soon as the cameras went offline, Arthur shouted, “Who put Ethan’s name in the box?”
Both Grisham and Lachlan clenched their jaws. “We will find out,” said Grisham and headed out along with his younger brother, Gina and Tina.
Jennifer and Nolan made a quick exit after bowing to the Alphas.
“This is insane!” Hunter growled. “Who could have added Ethan’s name? He’s a kid! And who the hell invited Alpha Ranger? He’s a bloody ruthless bastard who never thinks twice to murder his enemies!”
Arthur shook his head. “I have no idea how that happened. It must be a mistake. I think we should call back on the tournament! I wouldn’t want Ranger to win.”
“Are you mad?” Lia snapped. “If we call back the tournament, our public image is going to go down. We can’t do that, but—” she looked at Keya. “You can eliminate Ranger in the first round. Is that clear?”
If it was for Keya, she wouldn’t only allow him to enter the trials. Suddenly, she became scared for Ethan. What if Ranger k*illed Ethan during the first round? “Oh goddess, no!” she cried. She got up and ran back to her room where she crashed on her bed, crying as hell.
“Keya,” River came to her. “Why are you crying? Don’t you think you should be happy that you and Ethan have a chance?”
She whipped her head to look at her grandmother. “You know?”
River laughed. “Of course, silly. I know. Don’t get your knickers twisted. Ethan is a bear-shifter and very strong.”
“But he wasn’t interested in the trials, granny,” she said, wiping her tears. “I just can’t understand who added his name.”
“It doesn’t matter. Tomorrow we will announce the first trials. All you have to do is sit on your princess throne and watch them.”
Keya hoped that tomorrow never came but it came too fast.