The Game Of Quadruplet Mates
Chapter 7

The quiet didn't last for long, as heads began to turn, the murmurs in the clearing getting louder and louder. I feel the weight of what seems to be thousands of eyes on me and I cannot speak.

Two pairs of eyes- of Beta eyes, stare at me, waiting.

The elder is too shocked for words, his mouth open and the mic shaking in his hands. He tried to form something, anything but no sound came.

Who wouldn't be surprised?

Farm packs are never chosen, we never even join these events. This wasn't just some miracle. It was an impossibility.

"Who will it be June?" I hear a scream from somewhere- it's Larissa. She's jumping up and down from the other side of the clearing.

She's smiling, happy for me and I can feel her excitement. It made me feel a little bit better.

"Who's it going to be?" She continued to shout, grinning widely.

Finally, the elder gathers himself, coughing and frowning.

"Yes, uh," He squinted at me, doing a double take, and it was not the flattering kind. "Who is this girl again?"

Another elder leans forward, equally looking confused. "They called her Jude or something? Farm pack, you know."

"It's June." Jeremy snapped. "Know your attendees name, old man. She's June Valentine and you will remember her."

Red in the face, the elder tries to answer back but Jeremy's rage filled expression stopped him. And he was frightening, his dominant rank showing. It was in the darkening of his eyes, his rigid posture and the height that towered over everyone. "Jeremy." I suddenly said. "I chose Jeremy."

He blinks, surprised and then his face breaks into a smile, the brightest smile I've ever seen on him. "That's my June."

Konstantin curses from behind Jeremy, shoving an elder to the side with a force that can break bones. "No, dimwit. I'm not choosing anyone else. Let us both represent her. It's only fair."

"That's not how it works-" The elder gets shoved again.

I want to say something but Jeremy blocks my view, stepping in front of me and takes my wrist in his hands. Slowly, painfully, slowly, he gently unfastens the bracelet and, with one hand and the help of his teeth, he ties it to his wrist. That stupid bracelet.

That stupid identifier that said I was nothing to everyone was on him, on his wrist. An Alpha blooded Beta had it.

And he wore it proudly like it was the bracelet of a Goddess. "I'll take good care of it."

It made me a little proud of myself too.

"Come here, pretty boy!" Konstantin shouted, already in his fighting stance. "I'll show you how a proper Beta fights."

Jeremy smirks, long fingers tracing his wrist- on my identifier. There was a confidence in him that made me realize he was going to do everything to win this.

He turns around to face Konstantin but not before smiling over his shoulder at me.

Jeremy and Konstantin now turn to each other, their energy pulsating through the air. Challenge is etched into every line of the Betas bodies. By the faces of the elders and the other attendees, a battle between two betas of this power is not normal in the games. This was something that only happened once. Alphas, Betas and other high ranking members usually steer clear of each other during the games in fear of starting a war between packs.

But here they were, two of the most powerful Betas in the world about to fight.

Worse.

It was happening because of a girl of low birth.

Me.

And I don't even know why.

The elder in between them talks about the rules, something about no shifting. I could barely hear over the beating of my heart as I watched the boys circle each other, their eyes sharp.

A bell is rung from somewhere in the clearing and Konstantin leaps forward with his closed fists, aiming right at Jeremy's face.

Jeremy dodges the attack easily, stepping to the side after reading Konstantin's move. He's quick on his feet despite his bulky body, they both are, but Jeremy's almost always a second faster than the other Beta.

But I don't think it's because Jeremy is faster... it looked more like Jeremy knows Konstantin so well that he almost always anticipates his next attack.

Quickly growing annoyed with Jeremy's easy sidestepping, Konstantin let out a shout, throwing punches left and right with a speed that blurred his movements. Jeremy dodges most of them but not all, as one lands on his chest, plowing him backwards. The crowd is on their feet, screaming and stomping and pointing. There's a betting going on but it's so muffled by my panic that I can't tell who they think will win.

Jeremy finally decides to stop playing the defensive and does a complicated move with his hands and legs- we were never taught to fight in the farm pack, so I cannot tell if this is amazing or something else. Whatever he was doing, it hits Konstantin in the jaw, making the city pack's Beta spin and fall on the ground. He stands up not too long after, ready for another round. The two boys spun, twisting and trying to get a better advantage than the other.

As scared as I was, it was beautiful, like a dance. Not to music but of this art like battle. They were warriors, born to fight, born to win. No one from our land moved like they did.

They're already sweating, little beads of perspiration trailing down their bare chests. One punch after another came, followed by kicks and elbows.

At one point, it seems that Konstantin has the advantage, pushing Jeremy backward with every attack he does. Right as Jeremy is close enough to a tree, he turns and runs up the truck with a perfect backflip that goes over Konstantin.

Now it was Konstantin with his back to the tree, panting and growling and cornered. He was tired, his lips pale and his face scrunched up. And then it was Jeremy's turn to attack, his fists flying. There was a deadly grace to his movements, the way he twists and bends.

Jeremy closes in quickly, close enough that his punches get harder and faster. His blows land every time, never missing its mark: Konstantin's face.

The impact of Jeremy's fist against Konstantin sounded like a wall breaking in two and I winced every single time.

In a desperate attempt to get Jeremy off him, Konstantin reaches for the closest thing he could reach for, an entire table, and brings it down on Jeremy's head. The wooden table nearly disintegrates on his back, fragments of wood and pieces of cutlery flying everywhere.

It doesn't help. Jeremy stays in place and continues hammering him with his fists. I can see blood now, splattering about and spilling from Konstantin's nose. "When will this stop?" I ask randomly to whoever was beside me.

The girl standing next to me, gives a glare that could burn. "Who are you to ask? You're the one that started all of this, cheap s hit."

"It will only stop when one of them yields." Someone answers from behind me. He's from the nameless pack-Jeremy's pack member. "Nothing else will stop it."

"He should yield now, right?" I asked, looking up at him. He's tall and powerfully built like the rest of them.

He shakes his head, a small smile playing on his lips. It's clear no one from their pack like Konstantin. "Lover boy would rather die than yield to Jeremy."

"Then his Alpha should yield for him." I suggest, searching the crowd for the beautiful Alpha to be. "She can do that right? She's above law."

He laughs, crossing his arms across his chest. "Do you see her anywhere?"

He was right. Cora was nowhere to be seen and no one was going to stop the two Betas from killing each other in the clearing. So I take a step forward, not really thinking, but acting on my instincts or rather my emotions. The man grabs my arm in a hurry. "Sorry, I can't let you get between those guys."

There was nothing condescending about his tone, nothing that said he's commanding me because he can. It was a tone of concern that I've never heard from someone other than my father or a few pack members. "They've got history that I wouldn't even want to touch." He muses, smiling without a worry in the world.

Again I'm surprised at how carefree he is with me. Doesn't he know he has every right to remind me of my place? Doesn't he know that I'm the lowest of the low?

It must have been on my face, the question, the wonder.

"Not everyone cares about ranking." He says with a shrug before moving away to stand beside his other pack members.

I see them place bets. All on Jeremy.

They fist bump, grinning and looking really happy.

I wonder what it's like... to be like them.

To never worry.

My thoughts threaten to distract me some more until I hear the crowd gasp in shock. Alarmed, I whirl back to face the two Betas to replace Jeremy grasping his cheek with blood dripping down his arm. Konstantin is still on the ground, his nose busted and his eyes swollen shut but the evidence of what he's done is there: his hand red with Jeremy's blood, the claws out.

He shifted.

His hand at least.

He was now fair game.

The nameless pack move like predators, their strides lithe and soundless. They're on Konstantin before I can blink ready to defend their Beta from the illegal attack but Jeremy stops them with one sharp look. With his hand down, I can see the gashes on his face. It's deep but already healing. Five long slashes ran from his eye down to his jaw.

"Let him live with his embarrassment." Jeremy loudly orders, standing up to his full height as he roughly wiped his cheek off with his hand. Blood smeared all over his beautiful face. He doesn't flinch. He doesn't show any kind of weakness. He only smiles down at Konstantin. "And you call yourself a Beta."

His words hurt even for me.

The nameless pack disperses, shooting death like stares towards Konstantin before flanking their Beta back to the crowd who have now started cheering Jeremy's name. He did not accept the praises or wallow too much in his victory. Instead his eyes searched for something... for me.

I know it's me because his fingers are running through the fabric on his wrist, my identifier, he's looking and just as I'm about to call for him...

"June, come with me." It's Pete. Breathless and red in the face.

"What is it?" I asked, surprised to see him and momentarily forgetting how he left me for another.

He takes me to the woods, far enough that we can't hear the noise from the clearing. I follow him purely for our friendship but also to finally get it over with. He doesn't have to say it. I know he will say he made a hasty decision before we left for the games and now that he's here, he's seen better and knows better than to settle.

It's okay. I try to convince myself. He was always going to leave me for someone better and that's not his fault. It's okay...

"What do you think you're doing, June?" He says sharply. "Who are these guys and why are you entertaining them?"

For a moment I think I heard wrong.

For a moment I thought... that can't be right.

Surely he didn't just say what I think he just said.

But his sour and accusatory expression doesn't change and I just know he means it.

"Excuse me?" I managed, wide eyed. "What are you on about?"

Impatient and childishly angry, he stomps towards me. "You're promised to me, remember? We spoke about it only yesterday and now you're off selling yourself to Betas you don't even know."

"Exactly. We only spoke about it yesterday." I repeated his words. "And yet you were eating the face of the first girl that spoke to you."

Pete had the audacity to blush. "That's different."

"How is that different?" I argued, losing patience. I didn't understand this Pete. He was always so nice and sweet. Playful but never hurtful.

He shrugs, looking proud of himself. "I'm a man."

"A man keeps his word." I shoot back. It's true what they say about the Games. It changes people.

Pete rolls his eyes at me. He's acting like I was being dramatic and nothing more. "I'm still claiming you. Don't you know the games is about a little fun before settling down in a boring life?" I laughed, very bitterly. "I do now."

He gives me a pointed look, staring at me up and down. "You're acting like a slut, June."

"Fuck you, Pete." I snapped hatefully, hugging myself tight. I suddenly felt dirty all over.

"What?" Another roll of his eyes. "Everyone's saying it. Sad little farm girl looking for the biggest fish to catch. Two Betas, huh? You wanna taste them both? Do you want to taste them all?"

I shuddered at the insinuation. "Stop it."

"You're hurt because it's true?" He challenged. There was a flash of jealousy in his eyes, his face red and angry. "What did you even do to get them to notice you? You're not pretty. Everyone says so. I say so. That's a common fact. You're like a pug; ugly and pathetic. You're always sad and have this stupid abandonment issue."

Of all the things I could have said, I wasn't expecting to say: "Pugs are cute! Everyone loves their pugs!"

"Shut up, June." He says, poking his finger on my forehead and pushing me back a step. "I was claiming you because I felt sorry for you and I knew you'd be obsessed about me enough, not to mention desperate, to do whatever I wanted once mated." "Enough." I nearly begged, having enough of this conversation. "Just stop it, Pete."

"It hurts, huh?" He pushed, smiling at me proudly. "You think these Betas will claim you at the end of the week? They only want to pick on the weakest girl in the bunch. It's a game. That's why they call it The Games. You're their little play thing until they finally choose one of the hot city pack girls to mate."

I turn my back to him and start to walk away, unable to hear more. Pete is my oldest friend and for a while, he was my only hope. We've spent countless nights staring our into the woods, wondering what our life would be like, what the future would hold. We were pals, we were close as friends could get.

And we promised.

It was hard to hear from him.

It was harder to accept that he has turned on me and was acting like I was the one at the wrong.

I begin to doubt myself... that maybe I was wrong.

"Go on. Run away but you know it's true. By the end of the weekend, you'll only have me." He shouted after me. "Do you hear me? No one else is going to choose you!"

Thankfully, he didn't follow me as I hurried back to the Assembly but his last words still echoed in my head. It poisoned the last of my hopefulness.

I know I won't be chosen.

I know these two Betas won't be choosing me and that this is just some game they're playing. I'm not expecting to be made a Beta's mate or anyone's mate.

I know this better than anyone.

I've learned that I am easy to leave and easy to forget.

I know this. I know this.

So why did it still hurt when I arrived back at the beautiful white stone mansion and the attendees all turned to glare? Why did it hurt when they looked me up and down, disgusted and unimpressed? Why did I feel even worse when they whispered what I already knew they would say?

"Slut."

"Trash."

"She's nothing."

"She thinks she's the shit because Beta Jeremy and Beta Konstantin chose her."

"She's a toy."

"A cheap one."

Tears started to well up in my eyes as I take a step back, my knees shaking. Their words are like daggers to the heart, twisting and hitting deep. Before I knew it, I was running away from the beauty and magic of the mansion and headed towards the lake to be far away from everyone.

There was nothing for me here. The mansion, the paradise, the promised fun and the glamour, it's all a lie.

I stop right as I make it to the water, my feet feeling the cold brush of the water. I stare at the clear lake, looking at my reflection.

I wasn't much to see. I never was.

Yet despite all the sadness and loneliness that I was feeling, I also felt angry.

A red hot anger in my heart that only erupted into even more rage.

Who are they to judge?

Who are they to call me names?

They want a slut? I'll give them a slut. I'll give them the biggest slut they've ever seen.

I was pulling my dress before I could think, ripping through the beautiful fabric that the Alpha spent so much money on. It was clumsy and graceless and unflattering but I didn't care. My underwear went off next, tossing my best pair of bra and panties to the side and being completely naked in the now late afternoon sun. I was just about to jump into the water when my name is called.

"June?"