The Challenge Two Alphas, One Girl

Chapter 34: Amicable Alphas

Theo’s POV

I went through Thaddeus’ clothes. He had them surprisingly well-organised. I threw some of his shirts down off the hangers, snorting with laughter. My bro would be pissed. I would say I was frantic because Friday was screaming for his clothes. That would distract him and probably flatter him. I hoped he was doing ok. I saw a journal on the table. Yeah right. Thaddeus? Journaling? I flipped through it. It was empty except for the front saying To Thaddeus From Timothy and Titus. The twins had probably given him that as a joke. They were weird like that. They knew he would never use it. There was a pen with his name engraved on it. That would not remind Friday of Thaddeus.

I rummaged through his drawers. Friday’s scent was coming from the top drawer. I saw two pairs of panties. Made sense. I was careful not to touch those so I would not disrupt Friday’s scent. That would actually piss him off for sure. I found bathing suits he had bought for Friday that also smelled like her. She must have worn all of them. I made sure not to touch those. Aha! I found the picnic blanket from one of their dates he had mentioned. He had let Friday ride on his back when he was in wolf-form. That smelled like both of them and might jog some good memories. I snatched that up. I bounded towards Friday’s room. The warriors let me pass.

I walked in on an unexpected sight. Friday was comforting a sobbing Astrid. I shut the door. “Hey girls,” I said sheepishly. Astrid looked up. Mascara streaks were on her cheeks. She sniffled. “Hey, Theo!” Said Friday as brightly as she could manage.

Even when in pain, Friday was comforting someone who used to be mean to her and trying to be cheerful with me. People did not give her enough credit for how strong she was. Werewolves could be myopic at times, only recognising physical strength. When someone physically weak was brave, it was more impressive to me than the courage of a warrior. That courage was backed up by brawn. Friday’s courage was unconditional.

I quickly handed over the T-shirt and the picnic blanket. She squealed in delight, putting on the T-shirt immediately and wrapping herself in the blanket. She giggled and then moaned as an episode of pain hit her. She quieted as the episode subsided somewhat. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“Fang is cheating on me, isn’t he?” Astrid demanded, glaring at me.

What the “Who is she?!” Screeched Astrid, her eyes wild. Friday looked at me, her eyes apologetic. “Astrid, Fang is not cheating. I don’t think so. Not one bit,” I said, being truthful.

Fang was shady but it was not an affair. It was something else. That much I was sure of. It was something he needed to hide from everyone not just Astrid and that was more worrying.

Astrid calmed down a little. “Thanks, Beta Theodore,” she mumbled, seemingly embarrassed about her outburst now.

I put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s ok,” I murmured. “It happens to the best of us. Anxiety is a

Astrid snorted with laughter. She left the room just as Fang came in. Their eyes met briefly. He had no reaction to her tears. His expression was blank as though he was trying exceedingly hard not to react to something

“Friday, here,” said Fang plainly, handing her Maze’s T-shirt and his diary and pen. Friday gave another joyful cry and put Maze’s T-shirt on too over Thaddeus’ T-shirt so now she was in three layers of clothing. She wrapped the picnic blanket around her again, cocooned in the scents of her mates. She was clutching Maze’s diary. She flipped through it, reading bits and pieces. She took his pen and started writing something.

Fang actually looked worried. “Hey! Maybe don’t write in it!” he grumbled. “Maze won’t mind,” said Friday confidently.”I’m writing him a note,” she added sweetly.

Fang rolled his eyes. “Whatever, when he gets back, you say you wanted his diary to write him a note,” instructed the Beta, eyeing his Baby sister’s furious scribbling.

“FRIDAY!” Fang shouted. “YES! OK!” Friday yelled, hiding under the picnic blanket with the journal and pen. Ichuckled. I followed Fang from the room. He seemed agitated, well, more so than usual these days. “Everything good, Bro?” I asked as we descended the staircase to the Beta Floor. “f**k off, Bro!” Snarled Fang.

Before I could stop myself, my wolf got the better of me. I grabbed Fang by his throat slamming him into the wall as we reached the Beta floor. Fang extricated himself from my grip and swung at me. I dodged the blow. The next swing connected with my face. I shifted. So did Fang. A Beta brawl was definitely not what anyone needed right now and I knew better but I was tired of his s**t, Peace Treaty or not! I wondered if Alpha Maze and Thaddeus were trying to tear each other to shreds too.

Thaddeus’ POV

The morning dawned on a grumpy as f**k Maze because today would have been his day with Friday but instead he could look forward to a day with me. I was extra cheery even though I felt like s**t just to annoy him. He was taking it all surprisingly well. I hoped my little Luna was ok. I had mind-linked Theo first thing in the morning only to find out that the Marigold Gamma and Athens, my warrior, had parted a wolf fight between him and Fang last night. I hoped Theo had gotten in some good blows before they broke it up. Theo said Friday was not informed of the fight so she would have less to worry about and she was eating breakfast. My little Friday. I was making breakfast too.

“Morning Maze,” I said, flipping a pancake in the pan.

Friday’s stove was tiny but functional.

Maze grumbled something that could have been “Good Morning” or “f**k you”. I was not entirely sure.

He sat on the floor watching me flip pancakes. “Theo and Fang fought yesterday,” I said nonchalantly. Maze shrugged. “Like a physical fight in wolf form,” I added.

Maze looked at me blankly. “Let’s go see Friday,” he said out of nowhere, looking hopeful

“Um, no, good talk, thanks for participating,”, I said.

Was he out of his mind? We went over all of this yesterday. I had to remind myself that Maze was younger than I and sort of a brat. He was an only child with a douche for a Dad as far as I had heard, an Alpha who had not even married his Luna, none other than Friday’s mother. He had married some random meant Maze’s grandfather was a aouche too. I had to feel a little sorry for the kid. He naa no role models. I still could not excuse him for upsetting Friday near the beginning of all of this.

Maze sighed. “I know we can’t go see her,” he admitted. “Maybe her heat will last a day only because she’s wolf-less,” he added hopefully.

“The fact that she is in heat alludes to her not being wolf-less after all,” I said offhandedly, stacking the pancakes on two plates.

Yes, I had made Maze pancakes too because I was raised right. I was not an animal, well, figuratively.

“Really?” Maze said, scowling. His expression and tone were completely not what I was expecting. He sounded upset rather than happy or hopeful. Wasn’t he the one who used to have a huge problem with her wolf-less-ness in the first place?

“Wouldn’t you be happy for her and in general?”You thought being wolf-less was a felony or something,” I snapped.

I was happy for Friday. Her wolf-less-ness did not bother me in the slightest but if she had a wolf, she would be able toe experience what she seemed so enthralled with when she rode on the back of my wolf through the woods. She would be able to protect herself more easily not that she would ever need to. I

would snap anyone who tried anything around her in half. Her asshole Dad and weirdo brother would accept her which I could tell she secretly wanted.

“I didn’t understand myself then,” retorted Maze. “That was less than two weeks ago,” I snorted with laughter. “I’m growing up fast,” Maze said, chuckling. We burst into laughter. Maybe it was the stress of the situation. I piled bacon onto the two plates. “Here,” I said, handing Maze one of them.

“Thanks Thaddeus,” Maze said, smiling.

Weird. I was expecting him to refuse it or just snatch it without saying anything. He started eating. “It’s good!” He complimented.

“Did you kill Maze last night and steal his body? What planet do you hail from?” I asked in between mouthfuls of pancake and syrup. I was sitting on the floor opposite Maze.

Maze snorted.

“I was taught that being wolf-less was this awful, sub-par thing,” Maze said, staring at a pancake as if it held the answer to life’s questions. He seemed to be having his own little epiphany. I did not interrupt his moment. 1 nodded encouragingly. He was reminding me of my idiotic but endearing little brothers whenever they finally admitted I had been right about something.

“But after getting to know Friday…I realised…she’s tougher than both of us. It’s easy to be brave and confident when you’re seven-feet-tall, an alpha, wealthy, people treat you great all the time, super strong, super fast. There’s actually no challenge there. Friday’s life is the challenge,” Maze mused.

Philosophical Maze. I raised my eyebrows.

“She’s very brave,” I agreed, picturing Friday on the first day she walked into my room after being banned from the pack house. I pushed the thought away, thinking about her was painful right now. My

wolf was in agony. He was hoping for a short heat also just so we could be reunited. Ideally, he wanted to go to her before the heat was over.

“But that doesn’t explain why you don’t want her to be wolf-less after all. Wouldn’t that end the challenge for Friday? Her challenging life I mean,” I said, trying to understand the literal mental maze that

“Oh, that, it’s actually a selfish reason,” Maze murmured sheepishly pouring way more syrup than he normally would have. Friday’s sweet tooth had influenced him, negatively to be honest because sugar was the devil despite being delicious. It was a small price to pay for the monumental positive effects she had had on him. Maze was…humane now?

* You, Selfish?! NO?!” I said, gasping at the mock audacity. Maze actually genuinely laughed. He choked on his pancakes a little and coughed. “Did you plan for me to choke on these so you could win?” He asked.

I snorted. “If that was how you went, choking on pancakes because you’re usually humourless in the morning, then Fang should be alpha.”

Maze erupted into laughter and I actually joined him. I remembered something. Friday had said Maze and I would be friends if not for her. She was my goddess but she was sort of wrong in a right way. Maze and I could be friends regardless. I pushed that thought away too because it was too complicated to ponder on right now.

“The selfish reason I want her wolf-less is because I’m in love with her now,” Maze said.

Huh. “I’m in love with Friday and having a wolf is what she wants. I love her regardless but I can sense she wants it,” I said.

“Yeah but we established I can be a bit selfish here and there,” chortled Maze. “I don’t care if she wants it.”

I started to seethe. “Don’t be an asshole. The morning was going ok,” I snarled.

“Relax,” Maze said putting his palms up. “Lunas who have wolves which all of them usually do go to battle if need be. I’d rather die than allow Friday on a battlefield. Her being wolf-less was an easy out for me oncel realised I love her.”

A chill crept through me. Lunas did go to battle to fight alongside their Alphas. Friday’s obvious delicate nature had pushed that out of sight, out of mind. I had not thought of that. I could forbid her. An alpha’s word was law but Lunas could disobey their alphas. They were equal and could not be ordered and I did not wish to be the type of Alpha that was so controlling over his Luna. How would I convince a newly powerful Friday to stay home with her cat Saturday and twiddle her thumbs?

“See?” Said Maze, finishing his food. I was silent

“Love is self-less but preservation is selfish. You don’t want her there either. I don’t actually want a warrior she-wolf Luna now that I’m in love…and neither do you,” said Maze.

I stared at him.

“Remember when I asked you to come to my room about the whole lady-in-waiting thing?” Maze said, smiling

Ismirked. Astrid was a piece of work. She must have secretly picked out Friday’s sexy outfit that day she silence the Alpha dining room in the middle of territory planning.

Inodded.

“I wanted backup. I knew you’d agree with me and not Friday because if you were as in love as I thought you’d seek to protect her over pleasing her even if it made her angry with you,” Maze said.

“Maze,” I said. “Yeah,” said Maze.

“Why do you hide how…not an insufferable douche you are under an…insufferable douche exterior?” | said, narrowing my eyes and furrowing my brow.