The Mating Tournament

Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20 CHLOE

We sat in silence for the beginning of the flight. Mostly because I was trying to figure out an exit route that I could take. We were up in the air, on a small commercial airline, in coach. My options were slowly dwindling down. I could possibly bring down the plane, but I was only kidding around with Cooper- I'm not suicidal. And I don't want to doom the rest of the passengers to die.

Other than that there was little that I could do. Perhaps I could plea to Coopers humanity, saying when he marked me I wanted it to be special. But since I had run from him, I'm not sure he would believe that much. I knew this would happen if he caught me, I knew I was taking this chance. At least I had tried. I could never look back and say I didn't do my best.

"Too bad we won't be able to use the nightwear your mother bought for us, it would have been really pretty." Cooper said, moving my attention from my thoughts to him.

I rolled my eyes. "You'll never see me in lingerie."

He laughed.

"That's fine, naked is good too."

I slapped his arm, and he chuckled harder.

"How are you even an Alpha? You're so immature." I asked, crossing my arms as turning away from him. His laughter stopped immediately. After a few moments of silence, he spoke.

"I wasn't supposed to be, at least not this early. I because Alpha before most people do. My parents died and left me to take over."

I looked over at him and saw his head down, eyes staring into his lap.

"I'm sorry about your parents." I said quietly.

He looked up at me. "It was a long time ago. But I have more experience being an Alpha than most Alphas ever will. Because I started so young."

"I guess." I said, turning back around. He stayed quiet for about 5 minutes, and the silence was awkward. Like we both knew he had something to say, but he wasn't saying it.

"I didn't want a mate either, you know. I fought participating in the games for as long as I could, until this year. I felt different about it this year. I figured out it was because my wolf knew you would be here this time, but I didn't know in the beginning."

I stared at him not believing his words.

"I don't understand how you can't feel it," he continued, " the bond. The need to be around me as much as I need to be around you. How can you not feel what I feel? Do you really not feel it at all?"

I braided the ends of my hair and tried to make myself small. But he stared at me, waiting for an answer.

"I don't know. I mean, I do. I can feel the bond as much as you can, I just don't want it. I never did. I never wanted a mate, the only thing I wanted was the be Alpha. I never dreamed of finding my mate and ruling a pack together, I was always alone when I dreamed of it. I was always the one in control."

He sighed and grabbed my left hand in his right, almost examining it, and I felt sparks dance across my skin where he touched.

"I will let you be in control. You will be my parter, my right hand. We'll rule the pack together. You don't understand, Chloe. I need you. Not only to be my mate, but to be my parter. I don't always know what to do, and that's what you're for. So we can work together."

I felt my heart beating a little faster at the idea, and felt the first stirring of my wolf in a long time. But I was still unsure. All I had ever wanted was to rule my Fathers pack alone, and this was a whole new idea that I had never thought of before.

"Maybe." I said. His face fell, and his set my hand down gently.

"Is that all? Does being with me not appeal to you at all?"

"It does. But I don't know. It's a big decision to make after wanting only one thing my whole life. But I guess I don't have much of a choice."

He let out gust of air he must have been holding and ran his hands, frustrated, through his hair.

"I don't want to mark you here. That isn't how I wanted it to happen. I wanted it to be special, and I wanted to be able to show you how much I loved you that night." He looked over at me, capturing my whole attention.

"You gave me no choice, Chloe. How am I supposed to trust that you won't just bolt the minute we're out of this plane? You said you would keep your word many times back at the camp, and those were all lies. How do I know this isn't one to."

"You don't."

"Exactly."

He slammed his head back against the headrest in frustration a few seconds later and turned to face me head on in his seat.

"Chloe, listen to me. I'm going to trust you. This one last time. We get off this plane and go back to the camp. We will forgo your fights with the rest of my men, and you fight me. You win, you get to leave. You lose, you stay with me. Just like how it was meant to. Deal?"

"Deal!"

"But you run away, you break this deal. And I will never trust you again. And the second I get to you I will mark you then and there, no waiting. No finding a sweeter moment. No privacy. Agreed?"

"Yes, of course."

"Alright. Okay." He let out another gust of air and slumped back in his seat, like he was exhausted.

I leaned over my chair and kissed his cheek, leaving him looking at me bewildered.

"Don't keep doing that, or I won't ever try to be sweet again." I said, keeping my face turned towards the window.

"Yes Kitten."