Chapter 107 - CHALLENGE

[KYLE POV]

Just like I knew there would be, when I made my announcement to the room, there was a loud uproar at the moment they heard the word mate. Everyone was shocked, to say the least. I think many of them wanted me to only introduce her as a date and nothing more. They never expected that I would say she was their new Alpha female.

They were just going to have to accept the fact that she was going to be their new Felicitas. She was going to be the feline equivalent of a Luna, and there was nothing they could do about that. Fate had already decided for us. Still, the shocked expressions and angry words were annoying.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!"

"Absolutely not! I will not accept this!"

"I refuse to acknowledge her!"

"Get that fucking dog out of here!"

Yeah, it looked like I was going to have to thin the herd a little. Though not so surprisingly, all those that seemed to be opposed to Jacy were females. And they also all happened to be ones that had made their interest in me more than a little obvious. On the other hand, there were quite a few people, males and females alike, that were voicing their support for us.

"Way to go Kyle! Alpha got himself a hottie!"

"Congratulations Alpha Kyle, we're all so happy for you."

"Cheers to the new couple."

"Yeah, that's the way the Alpha does it. He gets himself a sexy wolf; he doesn't want a prissy cat at all."

There were lots of whistles and cheers that went up as well. I was happy that, for the most part, the pack seemed to be happy and accepting of my mate. From what I could gather, based on the negative tones of voice, there were at most two dozen females that were whining over this turn of events. I guess I would have to remind them what it meant for me to be their Alpha.

"Thank you all." I spoke loudly and calmly to the whole room, making sure that everyone could hear me. "I want to thank you for your support and well wishes. I know that Jacy and I will be very happy in the future, especially with the support of all of you."

"Well, I don't support this." One woman in particular, the strongest pack female, was marching toward us. "I do not think that we should accept her as our Felicitas. She is not even a feline. She is not strong enough to lead us. I mean, we all know that felines are stronger than wolves anyway. What makes her think that she is worthy to be here with us at all?

This woman, Gretchen, had been a thorn in my side since I was a teenager. We had been born the same year, me in January and her just a couple months later in March. It was clear to everyone early on that I was the next Alpha, and Gretchen was strong enough to be my mate. The problem was, she wasn't my mate.

Everyone had hoped that as we got older things would change, that fate would step in and make her scent stand out to me at least a little. It didn't. No one's scent ever stood out to me. That never stopped them from trying to appeal to me though. They all kept hoping that eventually I would just pick one of them just so I could settle down and strengthen the pack. And, honestly, if I hadn't found Jacy that's what I would have done.

Things didn't end up that way though. I found my mate. I found the woman that was meant for me. And now that annoying, no good, nosy Gretchen could take it and shove it up her ass. I was finally free of her. And, best of all, I didn't have to worry about my woman holding her own against that skanky ass bitch. Jacy was an Alpha!

Gretchen may be the strongest in the pack, but she didn't come anywhere near the strength of an Alpha. She was weak when it came to me, and that meant she was weak when it came to my mate as well. This was going to be good. I could already tell.

However, I wasn't about to let my mate fight a full on battle right now. I would be insane and reckless, and downright stupid if I did that. She was pregnant for crying out loud. I would be risking my child's life just so that she could fight some arrogant bitch. Not going to happen. I would need to put an end to this whole thing before it could even truly start. Or, that's what I had planned, but then I just hadn't been quick enough. Dammit Jacy.

"I challenge your so-called mate. I challenge her for the position of Felicitas. I don't want to be your mate, I know that is never going to happen, but I want her authority. I refuse to let her govern me and my pack members when she is not worthy of it. We will not accept a weak wolf coming into our pack attempting to seize control. I do not think that I am the only one who thinks this way. I believe that we would all choose to stand up against this injustice. She will not be our lead female. She will be stripped of any and all titles, and she will not be welcomed at any of our meetings."

I had meant to shut her up. I was going to tell her she could kiss my ass and go to hell. I was going to tell her that there was no way in hell that she would be able to beat Jacy so she might as well get back to her seat like a good little kitty and keep her fucking mouth shut. I had so many plans that I was going to do, but I just didn't have the time to say any of that before the sexy little ball of spitfire next to me opened up her mouth and responded to the challenge first. Dammit Jacy.

"Fine. I accept. I will prove to you that I am not a weak wolf, as you have so rudely called me. I will prove to you that I am strong enough to be called Kyle's mate as well as to lead you all. I may not be a feline but I am still a shifter, and that is all that matters. If you are reckless enough, or fucking stupid enough, to actually fight me in a fair fight then bring it on. But I will warn you right here and now, bitch, the moment you or any of your conniving little friends turns this fight of ours into something else, I will cease to hold back, and I will go all out. I hope that you are prepared for that."

I could not believe what I had just heard. My mate. My sexy, beautiful, and PREGNANT mate just accepted that challenge without even looking at me. Yeah, I know she can win it no problem. I mean, I have seen her fighting before, I know what she can do. But still, shouldn't she still at least ask me? Or look at me to see if I am having a fucking heart attack because she is putting herself and our child at risk right now? COME ON! I mean, DAMMIT JACY!

"And what if I refuse to let you fight? What if I tell you that I am vetoing your challenge, and I will not allow this battle to commence?" I glared at the women who were preparing to duke it out.

"I would tell you to sit down, tomcat, and let the ladies handle this." Jacy patted my shoulder without even turning to look at me.

"The challenge was issued properly, and she accepted it. There is nothing you can do about it." The sneering tone in Gretchen's voice made me want to slap her face into next week. However, the problem was she was right. Jacy had accepted her challenge before I was able to stop her. Now, if I stepped in and tried to stop it I would just make Jacy look weak. I was, technically, the Alpha, and I could end this without it ever starting, but I knew that Jacy wouldn't allow it, and I knew that none of the pack females would respect her if I did that. UGH! Why did she have to go and accept the challenge before I could tell them all why she couldn't fight that stupid fucking bitch? Why couldn't she just wait quietly by my side? Yeah, I knew that she would never do that, ever. That just wasn't her at all, and I knew that it never would be. Still though, UGH! DAMN IT ALL TO HELL JACY!