Falling in love with my Ex's Alpha Chapter 19

***Katherine***

A few days have passed since Jake found out that Jason is his fated mate. At first, he freaked out, but now I see that he is already managing to do his daily tasks without focusing so much on this sudden information that feels like a weight on his shoulders.

It is not so common for mates of the same sex, but it happens. The problem, in this case, was that Jake never had any feelings for any male before, as I've known him my whole life, I can't deny it, I was just as surprised as he was. But after getting to know Jason more inside me, I feel that the two were just made for each other. I hope Jake can see it that way too.

After our meeting, Jason met me a few more times. He wanted to know more about Jake, what Jake likes, and what Jake doesn't like. I thought it was cute, I helped as much as I could, but I made it clear that he needs to understand and respect Jake's pace, too.

The funniest thing is that I made an instant friendship with Jason. It feels like I've known him my whole life. When I said I work out with Jake every day, he begged me to come along, and to tell the truth, I would love for him to come, too. However, I also have to respect Jake's pace. Still, I will support him in whatever decision he decides.

Today was a very quiet day at the hospital. Chad came to pick me up. I left early and invited him to my house for dinner together. He said he would prepare dinner, but first, he needed to talk to me about something important.

Please don't let it be about marking me! I mentally pleaded all the way in the car.

When we got to my apartment, I unpacked my things, and he sat on the couch, apparently, that's where he wanted to tell me the "important thing".

I sat next to him, still unsure of what he wanted to tell me.

"So, what did you want to tell me?" I pulled him out of his thoughts. I had sat next to him for some time, and he didn't even notice my presence. When I finally spoke, he looked at me with a sad smile.

"What do you know about the Alpha King?" he asked, I was confused. Definitely, I was not expecting this question.

"I think I know what everyone else knows. Why?" I said.

"The current Alpha King died, and there will be a tournament to decide the next one," he said, with a hopeful look to see if I understood him.

"Hm, Okay…" I didn't know how to respond to his statement. I knew that the Alpha King had died at the beginning of the semester and that there would be a tournament. My pack is small, so I never imagined my brother applying to be the next Alpha King. Just imagining the scene makes me want to laugh.

"So, our Alpha will participate," he snapped me out of my thoughts as he started mentioning Kaiden. "There's just one problem, one of the requirements to be eligible for the candidacy is having a mate, which can be either a fated mate or a chosen mate. In Kaiden's case, he has neither," he said.

"So he's going to have to choose someone to be able to participate?"

"Yes, and over a few days, Jason and I made a list of participants who might fit his standards," he said as he shifted in his seat, looking uncomfortable for saying this openly, I guess he's not used to saying about his work to someone else.

"We made a points system and found that one person could be perfect for him. He would consequently be eligible to enter the tournament," He said, still apprehensive.

"Nice... and he decided to accept her?" I asked, a little angry that he'd chosen someone else.

"Yes…" he answered and paused, looking like he was holding his breath. This suspense is killing me.

"And why are you telling me this? You rarely tell me about your services as a Gamma, Chad," I asked, confused.

"Baby... there's no easy way to say this, but you were the highest-scoring person," he said and finally took a breath. I widened my eyes and opened my mouth to say something, but there were so many questions that I didn't know where to start.

"What? How? You gotta be kidding, right?" I finally spoke.

"Unfortunately not, baby." He looked at the floor and then at me.

"Chad, first of all, your points are wrong because I'm human. That would be reason enough not to be classified. Second—" he interrupted me.

"Katie, that's all taken into consideration. And It's not wrong, you're the one with the most points," he said seriously. It seems that telling me these things is fine, but doubting his work makes him upset.

"You can only be crazy if you think I want anything to do with the alpha here, the whole pack respects him but is terrified of him, not to mention how cruel he is in everything people say about him." I got up and yelled at Chad, for the first time I yelled at him. Then, I spoke in a low voice, almost as if it were a whisper, "I thought I was your girlfriend. How come you say all this to me like that? Are you breaking up with me? Is that how you care about me?" my heart ached just knowing that he doesn't care about me. I know about Alpha's reputation and how merciless he is, if he decides that I'm the best option to enter this tournament, he won't give up and might even force me to stay by his side, as well as the stories about his achievements suggest.

"No, you got it wrong! I don't want to break up with you, Katie. You are everything to me! You didn't let me finish talking," he stood up and grabbed my hands. "You would be his chosen mate, but it will be in the form of a contract until the tournament is over. He won't mark you or anything like that. It's just for him to be able to participate in the tournament." I was still without a reaction as he caressed my hand and made me sit on the sofa again with him. "Please accept it."

"You can't be serious! I can't accept this. This is madness!"

"Katie, I know it's not ideal, but other people are competing in the tournament who could win, and you have no idea how cruel those people are," he said with a cold look as he looked to the side as if remembering some horrible situation.

"And you think the alpha here would be a better option than them?" I mocked.

"Of course, I do, Katie! You don't know Kaiden, let alone them. You have no idea the gravity of the situation." He looked at me coldly, without any trace of the smile he always has on his face.

"Why me? There wasn't any other person with a wolf close to my score? It's not possible that in a big pack like this, you'd choose your girlfriend to be someone else's surrogate mate!" I couldn't believe this madness either.

"There were two more options, but one had already found their fated mate, and the other the score was too low to fit the Alpha standards," he said indifferently. I thought it was absurd!

"By Alpha standards?" I repeated, dumbfounded.

"He can't pick a random person. Otherwise, they might end up finding out about the contract," he tried to calm me down with his crazy logic.

"I can't take this, Chad. What about us?" I asked, looking down at our hands.

"The contract won't have anything you won't accept! You can include whatever you want! And we stay the same," he said in the last sentence with a smile on his face.

"How are we going to stay the same, Chad? What if someone finds out? What if—" he interrupted me.

"We'll find a way, but we won't be able to be so explicit because there will be many consequences if anyone finds out," he said, and I lost myself in thought.

This all seems crazy, I can't accept it, and worse, it hurts me to know that Chad is okay with it.

"Chad, I don't know if I can do this, I don't—" I tried to speak, but he interrupted me again.

"I didn't want to go to that extreme, but... Katie, you don't know the other competitors. There's one of them we're scared to win. If that happens, our world will turn upside down. It will be an unshakable tyranny with all the packs. Packs like yours will be the first to be destroyed." I widened my eyes and put my hand over my mouth. I can't let that happen! "I'm not saying this to scare you, I'm saying this because it's true, I'm your boyfriend. I would never propose this to you if I didn't know it's the only option," he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I can't, Chad. I'm sorry," I said, shaking my head still with my hands over my mouth.

"You can do it, Katie! I know that. I'll be by your side the whole time. The contract will only last for the duration of the tournament. Once it's over, you'll split up, and everything will go back to normal. Please say yes!" he begged me. Deep down, I had the feeling he was begging me not to have to use some other way to get me to accept.

I took a deep breath, still looking down, and tried to think about everything he said. I can't just ignore the fact that my pack will be in danger if some freak decides to turn a tyrant. The problem is if the freak guy I'm supporting will also be a tyrant, what guarantees me that he won't be like the others?

However, despite rumors of Kaiden's barbarity, he takes care of and protects his pack very well. I know he owns several packs and manages them all. I can't judge him on his reputation alone.

Ugh, I feel cornered. Just when I had stopped thinking about him, an opportunity arose for me to be close to him? An opportunity with an expiration date… I shook my head, trying not to follow that thought because I promised I wouldn't think about it that way again out of respect for Chad.

I looked at Chad, and he was in the kitchen starting to prepare dinner. I didn't realize when he left me lost in my thoughts.

I got up from the sofa, and he turned to me immediately. He was anxiously waiting for an answer. I walked towards him, only the dining table separating us from each other.

"I accept the contract," I said.

I barely made the decision, and I already feel like I'm going to regret it.