Alpha's Spoiled Princess - Burgov Series VI

13. Cilia

"Are you ready?" - Lettie asked softly, and I gave myself one last look in the mirror and nodded.

We left the house surrounded by the entourage of guards and we walked hand in hand for the mob to see us. The female leader and the one that is about to leave. Two symbols.

People cheered watching us go, and even though my smile stayed on, Sean's visit got me a bit shaken up.

Was I really taking it too far? I'm not sure anymore, but it's already too late.

Our procession from Pack House to the arena didn't last very long, but it made it obvious how excited everyone was. There was rarely anything that spectacular in the Dark Woods in day-to-day life. The last time must've been Rodin's birth, and before that… Maybe Lettie's ceremony and Andrei's birth nineteen years ago.

Yes, at the very least the tournament will give my people something to talk about. A bright spot on the gray of their mundane existence in this cold, unwelcoming land.

At the entrance to the arena, my parents and Igor were waiting for us. We exchanged the customary greetings, with me bowing before the former Alpha couple and then before my brother, just to be embraced in a less formal, but still publically-appropriate way a second later. For every unsuspecting spectator, we were a picture-perfect family, strong, beautiful and happy. But if they only knew how many hours I had spent working on my shoulders to stay straight in uncomfortable situations, how many times I tried the most convincing fake smiles in front of the mirror or what feelings and grudges hid behind the masks we wore, they wouldn't be all that jealous.

Igor, as the head of the family, offered one arm to me and the second to Lettie and he walked us in with my parents trailing behind.

"Nervous?" - he asked as we were walking through a dimly-lit corridor to the Alpha's box from which I would make my speech starting the games.

"Yes." - I admitted truthfully. There was no point in pretending, after all, I was about to start my new life with a perfect stranger. Anyone would have cold feet.

"Don't worry." - Igor said, squeezing my hand in what he thought was a comforting way. - "Do you have your speech prepared?"

"I do. But it's not very long." - I said.

"Good. Keep them wanting more." - he chuckled, but I didn't find anything funny in it.

Since Sean's visit, I have started wondering if what I'm doing is really childish. How could I think that I would get to know my potential chosen mate during just three tasks? That's impossible. And his visit made me think what kind of man could be ready to compete over a woman he didn't even know? Certainly not the one who looks for a match made out of love. Neither of them has even the slightest feelings for me, so the only reason why they're here is for the benefits coming out of union with me. I know for a fact that Igor will not only want to work closely with his new brother-in-law, but he also made it quite clear that with me comes a hefty dowry that is supposed to ensure the life's standard I was used to.

So, am I merely a part of the transaction and not even the most important one?

I guess so.

We emerged from the tunnel into the lodge lit by daylight and I looked around the arena. There were more than five thousand spectators gathered on the high benches around the rectangular rink down below. Something about this construction always reminds me of the Colosseum building, that's probably for what my over-the-top ancestors were going while constructing it.

Our box was above everyone else, giving us the perfect view of each part of the arena. No surprise there also, after all, no one can be above Orlovs.

The crowd on the benches below was standing waiting impatiently to drink up words from our mouths. I glanced at my brother, who nodded with a smile.

"It's your show, sister." - Igor said encouragingly, for once not making everything about him.

I crossed a few steps separating us from the balustrade and I stopped in front of the awaiting mic. With one last deep breath for courage and a smile plastered on my face, I began.

"The Orlov family and the entire Dark Woods Pack welcome you all, our esteemed guests, and we thank you for coming all the way from your homes to witness history being made. Dark Woods tournaments have a long and wonderful tradition of bringing friends together, creating new alliances and expanding families. Each of my great-aunts before me assured a thoughtful and entertaining competition, where the best of the bests won. This year I hope to not disappoint either, actually I may become the most creative of us all." - I said mischievously, making the crowd laugh.

"So let the rivalry begin, and as always, we start with the presentation of our contestants." - I said, raising my hands, making the crowd erupt in cheers.

On the other side of the arena, the double gate opened and a group of men started emerging through it. I counted twenty-four of them in total, but as tradition required it, each contestant usually came with his second. Whether it was out of fear of being in this pack alone, or because they were meant to overlook the rules being followed properly, wasn't clear, but each pair took a place right in front of the balcony bowing their respects to me.

I smiled politely, not making too long eye contact with either of them, just like Igor told me not to do, but as I was about to start the introduction part, the gate located right under the balcony opened and I saw my brother coming out of it, to the arena. I took a double take, and locked eyes with Leticia, who just shrugged helplessly, clearly as much in the dark as I was.

'What the hell are you doing?' - I mind-linked my brother, but he just looked up, straight into my eyes and smirked.

Cocky rat-bastard!

"Gentlemen," - he said to the gathered contestants - "as this year is very special, because Cilia is not only a daughter of a Great Taigan Beast, but also a sister to the Dark Death, and not just any sister, but my beloved twin, I feel obligated to make a pre-selection myself."

I gripped the balustrade till my knuckles went white. Of course, he would even make this moment about himself! Ugh! To be an only child…

"My future brother-in-law can't be a weakling, he has to keep up to a certain standard, otherwise I don't see a way of entrusting him with the most precious gem, my sister is." - Igor looked up at me, and it cost me almost everything to not scowl at him.

"So in order to test whether you're worthy, you're gonna fight me." - some of the contestants looked scared, appalled even, others took instinctively a step back as if knowing exactly what kind of bad fame follows my brother, but being the sick f**k he is, Igor just grinned. - "Don't be afraid, this will be a friendly match, and if it makes you feel any better all twelve of the candidates will fight me together." - that made the spectators on the benches gasp in shock. That wasn't normal, no single wolf would want to stand against twelve others, especially not twelve Alphas. But my brother wasn't a normal wolf. He was bigger than most Alphas, actually I only ever saw Dean matching his size. But his size wasn't even the biggest issue, but the bloodlust his wolf felt was. I have very bad feelings about it.

"Alpha Orlov, are you going to fight us all at once? Am I getting this right?" - a contestant with a strong French accent asked.

"You are getting it perfectly, my friend. And to make it easier for you, gentlemen, those who would still be standing after three minutes in the arena with me, will get my permission to contend for my sister." - still baffled men exchanged looks as if deciding if this was a joke. - "If you are not interested, now will be the best moment to leave the arena." - Igor added with a menacing smile on his face, but no one made a move to leave. The stakes were high, but they had a pretty good chance, given there were twelve against one. At least that's what I could read on their faces. - "Okay, if there aren't any quitters, let's begin. I must warn you that if your seconds try to play tricks on me, I won't be this forgiving." - Igor said, and a few Betas that came with their leaders moved to the edge of the arena, making room for the true contestants.

My brother didn't waste a moment and he shifted into his pitch-black wolf, with eyes as dark as the hollow pit of hell. Yes, he looked scary. His appearance alone could probably win him most of the battles.

"There went a 6k Tom Ford suit." - Lettie chimed in with an irritated huff, seeing the shredded fabrics by Igor's paws.

The big black wolf turned towards the balcony we were standing on and he nodded at someone.

"The three minutes starts now. Alphas shift!" - Andrei yelled, putting on the railing an hourglass for everyone to see. And when the first few grains of sand fell to the bottom half, Igor started charging.

The first contestant didn't even get a chance to shift, before his body was flown twelve feet above the ground and he fell with a loud thud and stomach-flipping c***k of breaking bones. Others took it as proof that my brother wasn't f*****g around, and he really meant what he said about only those standing going further, and they began shifting one right after the other, exposing the pallette of colorful furs viciously growling at my brother.

Those less experienced tried taking him head-first, ganging up two or three at a time, but I knew how Igor was trained, and a couple of wolves were like a flea bite to him. And so the brave group of three Alphas was disarmed within seconds, one ending up unconscious and right away shifting into his human form, and two writhing on the ground in pain from a bite, or a broken limb my brother left them with.

The rest proved to be a little more sensible and they tried to avoid direct interaction with Igor, hoping that would keep them safe for the three minutes they had to stay in the arena. But without an open attack, Igor started picking them up like sitting ducks and I started understanding his motives.

My damn baby brother wanted to leave as little to fate as possible, and he was on his path to hand-pick my future mate. I couldn't believe his audacity. Was he thinking I was dumb enough to not see right through him?

That's it! I'm officially going to hunt him down for it!

I glanced at the hourglass and the sand was almost coming to an end, with still five wolves standing in the arena. It's not so bad, but I wish I had given a good look at each of them before they shifted, in order to decipher if I actually liked any of them.

Damn Igor and his big ego.

"Oh, no!" - Lettie gasped, gripping my hand and making me look at the arena, where Igor soared into the sky, above the heads of two wolves who seemed to not know what the hell was going on, because he landed on two others in the back, tackling them to the ground and requiring submission with his canines bared, making two wolves go perfectly still.

"Time!" - Andrei yelled, and just like that, Igor got off the two wolves and shifted right back, without a care about standing naked before thousands.

"It looks like we have three winners." - my brother exclaimed, coming over to one gray, one dark-brown and one sandy wolves. - "Congratulations, my friends. You have passed my test. Shift back and introduce yourselves."

All three, one right after the other, shifted back, and it was really hard to keep my sight focused on their faces. Maybe I should thank Igor after all. With his little stunt, he left me no place to wonder what I was getting myself into, because everything they were bringing into this union was right there, in my face. And I always had a healthy appreciation for a male's body.

The first one, a tall man with a long scar going along his entire torso, and with blonde hair reaching his shoulders and a matching thick beard bowed to me.

"Miss Orlov, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Alpha Hakon Enberg, and I represent the beautiful Norwegian fjords and the Cliff Divers Pack."

I nodded at him with a smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Alpha Enberg. I, indeed, heard about the beauty of your land that matches no other." - I said, and the Alpha smiled approvingly at my praise.

The second one came to the front. This one had his hair cut short, with just some on the top of his head left longer, and he wasn't as fair as the Norwegian Alpha, his coloring was something between dark blonde and light brown. But it was his eyes I found really captivating. I don't think I've ever seen a man with eyes as blue as his.

"Miss Cilia, it's my honor to stand before you." - he bowed with respect - "My name is Erich Schwerin, and I lay the beauty of the Austrian mountains at your feet."

"Welcome to the Dark Woods, Alpha Schwerin, it's a pleasure to host such an accomplished scholar." - I said, faintly remembering hearing about him having a degree in law and economics, which was rather unusual for any Alpha.

He smiled approvingly and stepped back, leaving the room for the third one.

This one had dark-brown longish, disheveled hair that combined with his short stubble, that wasn't an effect of a visit to the barber's, but rather lack of shaving for the last three days, making him look the most wild of the three. He was also the one with the most impressive physique, even Igor looked lean next to him.

"The name's Bodwen Galloway, Miss Cilia." - he said with a melodic accent - "And I represent the vast Scottish Highlands."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Alpha Galloway. It seems I visited your land once, as just a mere girl, and it's true, it's a magical place." - I greeted him politely, and he turned to his rivals with a grin, as if I had just promised him the world. Something tells me he's the most careless of the bunch.

But all and all, I think I could have ended up with a far worse selection. At least out of those three, neither is awful or downright unacceptable.

"It seems we have our top contestants." - my brother started with a big smile. - "Having the official part ov…" - he was cut off by loud banging on the arena gate through which the contestants were initially let in.

The sound spread through the arena a couple of more times, making the shivers travel down my spine, because nothing this unexpected ever meant good news.

The gate finally fell off its hinges and I gasped to see Sean, followed by a white medium-sized Alpha she-wolf, that I couldn't mistake with no one but Anya, because I hadn't seen any other snow-white fur like hers. Although, with her snout covered in red blood contrasting with her fur, she wasn't that spotless anymore.

They walked to the center of the arena, close to where Igor and the three contestants stood. Anya tilted her big furry head towards my brother, as if to say hey, how you doing, then she sat down, as if nothing was amiss and began cleaning herself with her tongue and paws, showing no interest whatsoever in the conversation that was just about to take place between hers and my brothers.

"What the f**k is this, Maslow?" - Igor hissed at Sean, clearly pissed.

"Your guards wouldn't let us through, so we made them. One or two might need stitches." - Sean answered stoically.

"I didn't ask about that, but why are you in the arena?" - my brother articulated his words carefully, and for those who didn't know him it might have gone unnoticed, but for me it was clear as day that he was on the verge of losing his temper.

"Because I want to participate too." - Sean announced, making my heart skip a beat. No! He is not doing this to me! - "I meet all your criteria. I'm single, I have my own pack and you know I can keep myself standing against you for three minutes if that's what it takes." - Sean said confidently, keeping my brother's gaze.

Igor looked at the balcony, where we all stood, but surprisingly, his eyes hadn't found me, but they seemed to be looking at someone behind my back. I turned around just in time to find Lalo shrugging his shoulders helplessly while looking straight at Igor, and it clicked.

"You've been spying on me for my brother?!" - I asked accusingly, making Lettie gasp and point her glare at her Alejandro.

"I wasn't spying, I was merely making sure you were fine. Igor and I have an understanding when it comes to our sisters' safety." - the young Alpha said, without even an ounce of shame.

"I thought you were my friend." - I whispered, feeling betrayed.

"And I am. I had only your best interest at heart, Cilia." - he said nonchalantly - "So am I guessing right this is our Mr Fucker?" - he pointed with his chin down to the arena. But I was too angry and too overwhelmed to even dignify him with an answer, instead I turned my attention back to two relatives who looked like they were about to start a brawl.

"So are you going to let me participate or are we fighting?" - Sean asked my brother, and Igor looked utterly torn. He glanced from Sean to me and then at the crowd that seemed to stop inhaling at this unexpected arrival. This was an impasse, and I knew Igor had no other choice than to at least accept his challenge.

"Let's see if you can still hold yourself against me." - my brother said, shifting back into his wolf, and Sean did the same. The black and the chocolate- brown wolves were circling one another for a second, moving further from Anya, who still seemed disinterested in everything that was going on around her, meticulously wiping the blood off her snout.

In the corner of my eyes I noticed Andrei turning the hourglass once more, starting the three-minute countdown.

And then they went at it. They tugged at each other's furs, trying to get a better grip, but it was hard, because there was hardly any element of surprise between them. We grew up together and Sean and Igor fought on numerous occasions throughout the years. And it may have been my imagination, but they seem less determined to cause harm to the other.

The three minutes ran up so fast, and when Andrei yelled, the time was over I felt like collapsing from not enough air in my lungs.

Sean was still standing, and I knew exactly what that meant.

Igor and Sean shifted back into their human forms, and my brother nodded at him, before addressing the crowd.

"Alpha Sean Maslow will be our fourth contestant."

A confused and slightly selective wave of applause spread through the arena and I swallowed the lump in my throat. He really is going through with that. I can't f*****g believe him. My perfect idea suddenly started feeling like a noose closing around my neck.

"The introduction is over, the next item on the agenda is a ball in my sister's name, hosted tonight in the Pack House." - Igor boomed and he whispered something into Sean's ear, to which the second nodded, before locking eyes with me.

'I want you in my office. NOW!' - Igor mind-linked me before storming back through the gate he used previously in a fast stride that indicated I was in deep s**t.