Arranged to the Alpha Prince

ATHENA'S POV

Do your best they said. Give it your all.

These were words I heard from the moment my parents and the Prince's had us betrothed to each other, well sort of.

The sort of marriage that happened in our world was one were you had to participate in the annual mating games, and survive.

I couldn't get behind why things just had to change, why couldn't it be like it was before? Like the times were the Moon Goddess would do all the work of choosing a mate for a Werewolf? Back then, your wolf would sense the presence of your mate and inform you about them.

Only those rejected or have rejected someone had to suffer from the pain. It wasn't fair to those who were rejected, but that's how it was. At least there was no bloodshed.

A rejected wolf could die or go crazy obsessed enough to want revenge, killing those involved in the process. And of course, innocents had to die in the cross fire.

But no, things had to change. I guess the moon goddess had grown lazy from her own duty to her children. I guess she wanted us to be the ones to suffer the work involved in getting a mate instead.

I honestly got her point of view though. It was like spending a lot of time doing something for someone only for them to turn out ungrateful.

Many wolves due to their greediness for power and fame have left their mates to cling to one who would grant them those.

They would often say, why couldn't I be the one to choose a mate for myself?

But it still boiled down to these times. Why couldn't she have made it simple in ways it didn't involve a blood bath. It didn't make sense to me.

Why should a wolf die because he or she wasn't strong enough to fight for a prospect they wanted to be with?

Today I heard those words once again. My body stayed frozen stiff, unmoving as I thought about my life. Was this going to be worth it?

I readied my heart, soul and body questioning why I was fighting for the hand of a man who through the years we had grown up had been nothing but the meanest to me, not to mention rubbing the love he has for Zara in my face.

As I stepped onto the podium, my head was pounding in my chest. Today was going to determine my future and I couldn't afford to lose.

I stood face to face with Zara, I knew that this fight was not going to be easy and I couldn't help but feel a sense of anxiety wash over me.

Zara was a well-trained fighter. "Good luck," she said with a smirk her voice dripping with something I couldn't place my finger on but it was definitely not welcoming. "Let's hope all the training the Luna had been putting you through has been worth it."

I had seen Zara train many times. Most cases we met at the training field and it took me a while to stay focused whenever she was around with Nero.

Seeing them together always threw me off. And I wanted him just as bad as she wanted him but the only difference was that she was the one he wanted.

I also knew for a fact that Nero wanted it to happen, for me to stay as distracted as possible. But I guess they seemed to forget that I have had prior years of training before their love started to bloom.

I was a great fighter, physically mostly because my emotions were a mess. And with the Luna Queen's constant drilling through my trainer, I had a few refocusing that should do me good today.

I responded with a nod, my heart racing. Zara and I started circling each other, both waiting for the right moment to strike. She barred her teeth at me before suddenly lunging at me. I quickly sidestepped, dodging her attack returning one if my own with a swipe of my paw, but she blocked it.

I snapped at her leg, causing her to yelp in pain and we continued fighting, each trying to gain the upper hand. As we fought, I could hear the cheers from the crowd around us, urging us on.

"Do you really think Nero will pick you? Just because his mother favours you doesn't mean he'll want you Athena." Zara taunted, landing a punch to my stomach. "And if by chance you do win this fight, he will always want me and you will have to deal with knowing your mate prefers the other woman instead."

I gritted my teeth in pain, and stumbled backwards as I heaved a breath. She was trying to use her words to rile me up and I would be a fool to let her get to me. I balled my fist, "I don't think you'd be able to take it knowing I would be the favoured one to bear his child Zara." I retorted, landing a kick to her thigh.

From each strike that she threw my way, I began to see why Nero would want someone like her. Compared to me who was fighting to stay alive, Zara was striking to win.

There were times I had imagined myself in her place. To be gazed up on with all the love a man ready to die for his woman would. I desperately wished for his. It was a driving force for me to want to be his mate.

The fight continued, each of us taking hits and delivering them back at each other. We were evenly matched of some sort; both determined to win.

From all that I learnt through training, I realised today that I was letting her be on the offensive while I was on the defensive line. This would give me an upper hand to see her strikes before she made them. The little twitching of the muscle before the body part moved was something I kept my eyes glued on.

I happened to be facing where the Alpha King and Luna Queen sat and beside them I could see from the corner of my eyes Nero on his feet, ready to jump down to his beloved once I tapped out or she killed me.

Was this what the Queen wanted me fighting for, for her son the prince to yell for Zara to end me?

Anger surged through me and I flipped us both from the floor which she had me pinned and kicked her off.

My chest was already burning and as I breathed through my mouth, I tried to take in as much air as I could before Zara could come at me again.

She took a sharp breath in and glared at me pissed that I had the audacity to muster up strength when she thought that she had me where she wanted and that she had won.

She yelled in frustration and jumped on her feet, stomping it hard before marching dangerously towards me. If by chance at the beginning of the fight I thought that she was giving it her all, this was worse because she was coming for the kill.

I knew that if I didn't take her down, she wouldn't give me the opportunity to tap out. Zara would end me.

For years I trained to fight and I was considered one of the best the Royal Trainer had in years. I was told that my skills were phenomenal. There's no room for failure for the phenomenal, even if that failure was trying to kill you like in my case.

Zara struggled beneath me as I pinned her down, snarling and biting as hard as she could but I held her down with all my strength. Or what is left of it anyway. I could feel my energy draining but I refused to let her go.

I had come too far to lose now.

"Submit now, "I growled at her, my voice low and menacing.

Zara's face contorted with anger, defeat and confusion? She must have had the conviction that she was going to take me down easily. In her mind I must have been a piece of cake and she must not have expected this level of challenge from me.

But either way, I stood my ground, waiting for her to react. "I said, tap out and submit to me now!" this time, my voice was loud enough for people around to hear.

The crowd erupted with cheers when she tapped out. And I feel on the floor panting, relieved that this nightmare was over.

But, as I stood and stepped forward to take a bow before the Alpha King and Luna Queen, I could feel Zara's eyes on me, burning with hatred.

She began to yell profanities at me, "You fucking bitch, Nero is mine! And so is that crown! Just die already!"

She got to her feet as well and tried to run towards me and didn't realize she was too close to the edge of the podium. Then as if in slow motion, she lost her footing slipping from the edge.

Fear gripped me and without a thought, I dragged my now sore body in a bit of a rush and ran towards her in hopes of catching her before she fell off the high podium.

But it was too late.

Gasps of horror resonated in the air, screams matching mine echoed through the arena and just like that, she was gone.

ATHENA'S POV

My heart was pounding as I looked at Zara's body on the ground. I couldn't believe what had just happened. She was dead.

I felt a wave of guilt wash over me as I looked up at Nero wondering what he would think of me now that I had taken down his beloved Zara.

He in turn was staring down at me with hatred in his eyes, and I knew he blamed me for what had happened.

I stared down at her lifeless body, my mind racing. What would happen now? Would Nero still want me, knowing that I had been responsible for Zara's death?

The crowd too fell silent for what felt like an eternity, stunned at what had just happened. I could feel all eyes on me, waiting for my reaction. But what were they expecting from me? What could I do?

I looked around at the faces of the people in the crowd, too frozen to say or do anything only wondering what they thought of me now. Was I a hero or a villain? The silence made it hard to tell.

But then cheers erupted, signalling the end of. The joyous noise only made me feel worse. I had won, but at what cost?

As I walked down from the podium, I couldn't help but feel like my world had come to an end. I had never been involved in such violence before, and I didn't know how to process it killing someone. I knew that I had defended myself, but that didn't make me feel any better about what had happened.

Tears had filled my eyes and blurred my vision as I walked without a sense of direction, my body swaying here and there from exhaustion and shock.

I felt my body start to fall and the tears kept falling, but before I hit the ground, someone caught me. "She's dead because of me. It is all my fault." I said sobbing without even knowing who had caught me.

The victory meant nothing to me now. All I could think about was Zara's blood stained lying on the ground. My heart was heavy with guilt, and I knew that this burden would haunt me for the rest of my life.

"No darling, you only did what you had to do to survive, it was either your life or hers and you chose yours. There is absolutely nothing to feel guilty for." The Queen said as she hugged me tight.

I wanted to believe everything she said but the pain in my heart didn't want me to believe it. My mind tried to tell me that it was all okay but I was at war with myself.

I peeled away from the Queen and started to walk towards him when I saw that he had also stepped down from his chair. I wanted him to believe that I didn't push her because I didn't. Even though from the look in his eye I knew that was what he believed.

"Nero," my voice said in a whisper as I tried to talk to him.

I tried to find the words to explain myself, to tell him that it was self-defence that I didn't mean to kill Zara. But the words wouldn't come. And all I could do was stare back at him, feeling like a monster.

He had tears in his eyes. He wasn't just shedding them in pain but anger. He looked ready to snap and his eyes held venom and hatred in them.

But wasn't that what I deserved? For all the pain that I had caused him, ripping out his heart by taking away the woman he wanted as his mate.

The cheering crowd had calmed down, and all I could hear was the sound of my own heart breaking. I never wanted this to happen. All I wanted was to prove myself, to show everyone that I was strong enough to compete and win his hand as a mate.

"You killed her." Nero said suddenly, his eyes pitch black. "All you had to do was tell her to tap out or you tap out. But you killed her." He said, venom finding its way out of his mouth piercing my chest.

"She tapped out. You saw that, but then she came at me, what was I supposed to do? Let her kill me after I had won?" I asked.

"Yes! That's what you should have done. You think I give a fuck about you living or dying?" he said angrily as he stalked towards me.

"That is enough Nero. You will leave her alone. She has done nothing wrong but defend herself. Zara should have let it go when she lost and not act like a crazed woman throwing a tantrum." The Queen said defending me from his anger.

Nero looked at me one more time his eyes glaring at me and I could see him visibly shaking.

Nero said nothing as he turned and walked away. I stood there, alone with my thoughts and my guilt. I didn't know what to do next, or where to go from here.

The crowd had been asked to leave, somehow the turn of events becoming unexpected and they slowly began to disperse. I made my way over to Zara's body. I knelt down beside her, feeling tears beginning to form in my eyes.

"I'm sorry," I whispered to her, even though I knew she could no longer hear me. "I never meant for this to happen. I never wanted anyone to die because of me."

But my words were empty. They couldn't bring her back. "I just...."

I fell butt first to the ground as I was pushed by someone. The tears in my eyes made it impossible to see who it was until they feel. I blinked a few times, feeling hands wrap around my throat. They were pressing so hard my vision started to blur again only this time; someone was out to get me.

When I saw who it was, I didn't even have it in me to struggle. I was being choked by Zavier, Zara's twin.

"Let go of her Zavier!" The Queen screamed in panic.

Zavier wasn't even paying attention to her. His eyes were fixed on me and they looked primal. He wanted a life for a life and he was determined to get it.

"You deserve to die you stupid bitch. She should have won and not you."

My lunges were screaming for air, and my neck felt broken. It hurt too much to move much less to breath. But I needed air fast.

My hands found his and I tried with the very little strength left in my to pry him off. My arms flared around, needing something to grab and hit him with because my life had begun to slip out through those hands of his.

"Le....t g...o" was the only thing that I managed to croak out.

"A life for a life. She has to die for killing my sister." He screamed as he was being pulled away by the guards. I would have thought that my vision would have cleared when he released his hold on me but it didn't.

My neck muscles had gotten too weak to move or allow my throat take in air. The world spun around me, the voices dying down into an inaudible buzzing in the ear and I was pulled into an awaiting darkness.

I was going to join Zara where she was and my body felt ready for it.

ATHENA

I slowly opened my eyes, hearing the sounds of birds chirping. I felt groggy and pain shot through me as I tried to sit up. I looked around the room and noticed that I was in my chamber. I had no memory of being here.

Did the fight not happen?

At this thought, the memory of it hit me like a ton of bricks. For a moment, I thought it may have been just a bad dream, but the weight of the guilt confirmed that the incident had actually taken place.

The sound of Zara's lifeless body hitting the ground echoed in my ears, and the horrified gasps of the crowd still rang in my head.

I couldn't remember how I ended up in my chambers, but it hardly mattered. What mattered was that I had killed someone. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. The mating games were supposed to be a celebration of life and love, but now like other aggressive wolves, I too stained with blood and death.

I slipped out of bed, the need to run filling my chest. There was no way I was going to stay and have an angry Nero as my mate. That wasn't going to work and I preferred being out there in the wild, the unknown going with me as a friend than be around him.

Not because I was scared, but because I simply felt too guilty to look him in the face.

I could run, and he would be made to wed someone else he didn't hate or he could be alone until the time that he was ready.

"Forgive me my Queen, Alpha. But I have to do this." I muttered as I pulled my coat over my body and made my way out of my room.

I had no need for anything else. I didn't deserve anything.

"Going somewhere?" A voice said in the dead of the night startling me. My heart began to race as I saw Nero step out of the shadows, his eyes blazing with anger as he approached me.

I gasped when he got close to me. "Nero." I breathed unsure of what else to say.

"You commit murder; get away with it only to want to run away. How noble of you."

He knew what I was trying to do even without telling or having packed items with me. I could pass as someone who just wanted to take some air but that would be a lie and somehow I knew he could tell.

His words cut through me like a knife. I knew I deserved his hatred, but it still hurt to hear it spoken out loud. He got so close and clamped his large hands around my throat and pressed hard, the action getting repetitive it was exhausting.

I couldn't believe it when he called me a murder. My heart raced with fear, knowing that he was just looking for someone to blame.

My neck was still sore from Zara's strangling yesterday and now this. My skin burned and my neck muscles hurt a double time.

"I didn't mean to," I whispered, tears welling up in my eyes. "It was an accident. I didn't mean for her to die"

"An accident?" Nero laughed bitterly. "Tell that to Zara's family. She's the only one Zavier had left and you took her away from him. Away from me and you call that an accident?!" Nero pressed a little more. I waited for death to come take me but just as I was going to pass out from the lack of oxygen, Nero released me.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know she was going to slip and fall." I said coughing and wheezing, taking in a much air as my lungs could take.

"You took away the one good thing in my life. From now on, every day that you live, I will make it miserable and uncomfortable for you. You will wish that you had died yesterday instead of Zara, I promise you that."

I felt sick to my stomach at the thought of what Zara's family must be going through. I didn't know much about them but I knew her twin Zavier, I had seen him a couple of times training with them. I had taken his sister's life, and there was no way to undo it.

Nero continued to berate me, his words harsh and unforgiving. I knew I deserved his anger, but it only made my sadness weigh heavier on my chest.

"I'm sorry." Became my new song. For as long as I heard him talk, I sang it with tears in my eyes as I sobbed.

"You should have thought about that before you ruined my life," Nero said coldly.

I looked up at him, fear etched on my face. "Please, Nero," I begged. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Nero just sneered at me. "Save your apologies for someone who cares. And don't even think about running away. I will find you and I will end you myself, don't test me Athena." he said before turning around and walking away.

As he stormed away, I was left alone with my thoughts once again.

I felt drained, emotionally and physically, and I did not know how to carry on. I felt a sense of despair and helplessness wash over me. I let myself grieve, letting my tears fall freely, and hoping that somehow, someway, things would get better.

The self-doubt and guilt that weighed heavily on me made me feel like I couldn't breathe.

No matter how many times I try to tell him that it was an accident, he still insisted that I had killed Zara. My guilt slowly started to turn into anger and resentment towards him.

Why should I have given up my own life when I have barely lived for someone who has had her share of love?

I stayed out for some time, letting Nero's threat seep through me. He was at the point where he'd hurt me just to prove his point and I didn't want to test the theory on if he could kill me or not.

I walked back to my room, feeling the need for a shower. I had woken up without a care that I didn't get to shower and I reeked of sweat and blood.

I took off my clothes and got under the shower and turned it on. I forgot to turn on the hot water to balance the cold one out until it was too late. I gasped at the coldness of the water as it made contact with my skin. It felt icy but soon, my body adapted to the coldness.

"Athena? Are you alright dear?" I heard the Queen's voice call out from the door.

What was she doing here? Did Nero perhaps tell her that I was about to run away?

"Yes, Your Majesty, I'll be right out." I answered, rushing to grab my towel. I had hoped that I would spend some time allowing the flow of the water wash away my sins and guilt.

"Some other time then." I murmured to myself as I wrapped the towel around my chest and walked out of the bathroom.

"You called for me." I said, taking note of the bowl the Queen had in her hand.

"Yes dear, are you feeling better now?" she asked, making her way towards me.

"Yes your Majesty, I do feel better thank you."

The Queen's eyes looked as though she was searching for something around my chest, her gazed rested on it and it made me suddenly insecure, wondering what she might have seen.

As I looked down to check, a hand of her lifted my chin up so that she could look at me closer.

"What is this on your neck dear? Did someone hurt you?" she asked, worry laced in her eyes.

"On my neck? I don't think-" I started to say until I remembered that just a few moments ago; Nero had strangled me so hard I almost passed out. My eyes widened in horror when I rushed over to the mirror and saw a huge red mark around my neck.

"Who did this to you?" the Queen asked again, this time her voice was firm. "And don't you even think about lying to me missy."

I looked down, tears pooling my eyes. The pain I had forgotten came rushing back to me once again.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt her." I said, my voice shaking, I had suddenly forgotten what she had asked me.

"Oh Athena." She said pulling towards my bed. "Oh dear. I told you already that it wasn't your fault sweetie. Zara had it coming. If she had accepted her loss, she would still be alive right now. You are in no way at fault."

I sniffled, trying to digest her words. I knew it was an accident and that I truly had no fault but it was hard accepting it, especially when I had to watch the horror in her eyes as she fell, hoping that I would be fast enough to catch her.

Maybe if I was fast, I could have and she would have been alive right now and Nero wouldn't have to hate me so much.

Just maybe.

I nodded as she tried to rub my wet hair. "Come now, here's the medicine the physician recommended for you. Drink up." She said handing me the soup bowl.

I looked at her, then at the contents of it and a frown formed on my face. It was greenish and it smelt bad.

I decided it would be best to hold my breath as I drank up in a big gulp to avoid tasting it for long.

By the time that I did, I regretted it because I choked when I heard her speak.

"We need to prepare for your wedding."