Falling in love with my Ex's Alpha Chapter 37

***Katherine***

As I stepped into the grand ballroom, my eyes widened in awe and delight. The opulent space unfolded before me, radiating an air of elegance and majesty that befit the commencement of the tournament's opening ceremony. I couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement mingled with a touch of nervous anticipation.

The ballroom was bathed in soft, golden light that spilled from the shimmering chandeliers suspended high above. Their dazzling crystals cast prismatic reflections across the polished marble floor as if stars had descended from the heavens to grace the gathering. The room seemed to twinkle and shimmer, setting a magical ambiance that would linger throughout the ceremony.

As I was walking with Kaiden to Jake and Jason, I couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration for the meticulous craftsmanship, the attention to detail, and the palpable sense of anticipation that enveloped the ballroom. It was a space that embodied the grandeur and magic of the werewolf tournament, a stage upon which legends would be written, and the future of our kind would be shaped.

When Kaiden smugly asked me that I couldn't stay away from him, I had to lie. Instead of thanking me for not being dropped from the tournament, he simply continued with a cruel smile on his lips.

I could tell him about the reasons that really made me decide to side with him. But how can I say them out loud without feeling ashamed of myself for being such an idiot?

Especially after everything he said about me... I couldn't tell him. On the contrary, I decided to tease him back.

As soon as I looked at him, my knees were like jelly, he was so handsome, I didn't want to go to him when they called his name, but when I found myself, I was already on my feet proclaiming his Luna. It feels like I lost complete control of my body, a whirlwind of feelings that I couldn't explain why I couldn't leave him alone.

While we were whispering next to the statue of the goddess Selena, I saw that in his suit pocket, there was a little edge of a handkerchief sticking out, which was exactly the color of my dress, and looking at the suit and my dress looks like the two complement each other.

Did Will know, or was it a coincidence? I was intrigued by this.

It seems that all signs were pointing to us being together.

Wait, *what am I thinking*? Ugh. Pathetic, Katie, pathetic.

"Did you go talk to Ben? He's here," Jake said as soon as we got close to him, Chad, and Jason.

"Yes," I answered shyly, I didn't want Kaiden to hear what Ben told me.

"Who is this Ben guy?" Chad asked jealously, and immediately, Kaiden looked at me, I blushed.

"Hmm...Jake and I know his family, they are very decent people," I replied, and Kaiden shook his head dismissively as if being decent meant nothing. Of course, it doesn't mean anything to him, he's cruel and vile, he doesn't care about anyone but himself.

"Have you ever dated him?" Chad asked bluntly. I nearly choked on the water that was in my hand that I'd grabbed off the table a second ago.

"What? Of course not," I replied immediately.

"That's because you never gave it a chance because Ben always had a crush on you. Do you remember how his sister wanted you two to stay together to live in her pack forever?" Jake said with a smile on his face that I knew what it meant, he was teasing me to see Chad's reaction to that. I glared at him, and he just smiled. When I looked at Kaiden, he had an enraged face, he wasn't looking at me, but he had the angry face he always does regardless of what's going on.

"I don't want you to be near him, beautiful," Chad said, and I looked around to see if anyone was looking at him calling me that.

"It's so nice to have your mate close to you," Jason said, looking at Jake. "You don't have to worry about those things, you know what I mean?" he made fun of Chad, and Jake rolled his eyes. Everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else, right, Jake? I smiled.

I was going to make a little joke but before I could say anything Wylder caught the attention of everyone present.

"Attention, please, I need to announce a few more things about the tournament. Firstly, it will consist of some elimination rounds before the final coronation. These knockout stages will be decided by the royal council, and each member will determine a different type of stage. However, it could be more than one member creates a specific round. We'll explain each step as it's about to happen unless you need to be told something beforehand. Well, that being said," Wylder said with a short pause, I think he was waiting for everyone to understand before continuing, and then he held up a parchment that looked a little torn and a little old "I need to inform you that this tournament is very important not only for the consecration of the new Alpha King," he made another brief pause and continued "here in my hands is a sacred prophecy, in which it says that the next Alpha King will have an extremely powerful heir, someone as powerful as our ancestors, who were visited in dreams by the goddess Selena," everyone cheered and clapped, he smiled gratefully for the audience's commotion and added. "Unfortunately, the parchment was torn," he showed the end of the parchment in which it was with torn pieces. "We have no way of knowing the end of the prophecy, but the most important part of it for sure is this one! I hope you feel invigorated to hear about this additional prize in this tournament. Good luck, everyone, may the goddess Selena choose the best among you," he finished, and everyone clapped.

"Don't you guys find that a little suspicious?" Jake asked, looking at Chad.

"We already knew about the prophecy, but we didn't know it was incomplete," Chad replied.

"Who are the royal council members, Jake?" I asked, I know little about the royal council.

"The royal council, composed of elder and former Alphas, some of them have some gifts given by the goddess Selena, operated under a hierarchical structure that reflected the wisdom, experience, and seniority of its members," Jake answered, sounding like he memorized a book, I mentally rolled my eyes as I wanted to know who the people were and not a history lesson.

"At the pinnacle of the hierarchy sat the Alpha King," Kaiden interjected, with a triumphant look, I'd bet my arm he's right now thinking about himself sitting on the throne. "The most revered and distinguished ruler among the council members," Kaiden added. Yep, I won that bet easily.

"Beneath the Alpha King, the royal council held positions of honor and influence, their stature determined by the longevity and significance of their packs. These werewolves formed the core council members, acting as advisers and decision-makers alongside the Alpha King. Each member's voice carried weight and authority, their opinions shaping the direction of discussions and the ultimate decisions made. It allowed for the sharing of knowledge, the transmission of tradition, and the preservation of the collective wisdom amassed by these ancient rulers throughout the reigns," Jake concluded.

"Boring," Jason replied, and Jake glared at him.

"Okay, Professor Jake, I would like to know who the members are, the people. Do I know any?" I asked, if I had met anyone Jake would definitely know because everyone I met in my life before coming to the Diamond Claw he met too. When we were kids, we liked to play who knows more people, and we always were neck and neck because we both knew the same people. We were so silly.

"You don't know them, when we were going to travel to the Crowned Moon Pack, you got sick, and our parents pulled out of the trip." He replied.

"Oh," I sighed. I remember that day, I was excited to travel to Crowned Moon because there is the pack where the Alpha King lived. It is far away from my pack, and it would be a trip of several days.

Unfortunately, two days before the trip, I got sick, then my family and Jake's family gave up on the trip. I felt so guilty for having ruined everyone's plans, for me, it was like I had done something wrong because no one gets sick that easily in the pack, and I did.

Of course, I got sick, the only human in the pack. Just remembering that I'm human, I immediately remember Kaiden's words. I took a deep breath and tried to swallow the lump in my throat.

I looked into the corner of my eye, and Kaiden had his usual angry face. No doubt he's thinking how right he was about me being human. Just thinking about him being so disdainful of me hurts so bad.

Way to go to end the night, Katie.