Chapter 3

Luza was stunned as she was slightly surprised by what Rachel did. And she was surprised by the words she uttered as well.

"Are you challenging me to a fight?" Luza asked, and the words she uttered were emphasized.

"Why? Are you afraid?" Rachel still showed her braveness against Luza. "Don't underestimate omegas like us. Because the truth is, we are stronger than alphas like you."

"That's enough!" Alice, who was considered the leader of their group, shouted. "We have to go now to our designated room and the King might be waiting for us."

Rachel followed immediately and turned her back on Luza.

While Luza remained where she was standing and was still glaring at Rachel.

"Luza, I said stop it!" Alice said in a loud voice again when she noticed that Luza still didn't want to follow her.

After hearing Alice's voice again, Luza forced herself to calm down and approached her friend Honey.

"That impostor omega will soon receive my beating," Luza whispered.

"Just relax, Luza," Honey said as she caressed Luza's back to calm her down. "Don't worry, I'm on your side, Luza. We need evidence that she's an impostor, and then we'll kill her immediately."

Luza nodded after hearing that from Honey. She was happy to think that they were of the same mind and she wouldn't have a hard time getting rid of the arrogant Rachel from her sight because she had an accomplice in killing her.

They didn't waste any more time and headed to the northern part of the camp of the Night Stalkers Pack where their quarters were. And after a while, they reached it. They immediately went inside and what happened next surprised them completely.

Just like what happened to the other groups, the door of their room was suddenly locked, as well as the windows.

"What's happening?" Honey said in shock.

No one could answer Honey's question because, like her, they also couldn't understand what was going on.

"This impostor surely knows what's going on," Luza said as she turned to Rachel and glared at her.

Even Rachel didn't know what was really going on, what King Lio's plans were, so she didn't immediately react to what Luza said.

Because of Rachel's silence, Luza became even more doubtful and then she prepared herself for attacking the omega she considered an impostor.

"Stop it, Luza!" Alice said in a hard voice as she turned to Luza. "This is not the time for us to fight. We need to figure out what's going on, for us to know what we need to do."

Luza stopped immediately after hearing what Alice said.

Meanwhile, Rachel was stunned as she suddenly remembered what Zarion said before she joined this group that consists of Blue Moon Pack members.

'Remember, Rachel, no one must know your true identity. Your mission is to find out what father's plans are and sabotage them.'

Those were the words that Zarion repeatedly said to Rachel. She's not new to this kind of mission but why does she seem nervous? Then, she touched her chest and felt the slight acceleration of its pounding due to the nervousness she suddenly felt.

Is this the beginning of King Lio's prepared shows for women who dream of becoming the Lycan Prince's mate? Why does she seem nervous? She was nervous, not for herself, but for Prince Zarion. She asked herself, what if she failed to sabotage the King's plans? Does that mean, Prince Zarion will end up with a female alpha who came from another pack and they didn't even know her? They don't even know what their real purpose is.

Will the very small hope that she clings to, that one day, she will be chosen by Prince Zarion as his mate, also disappear?

Rachel just shook her head and tried to get rid of the thoughts that kept coming into her mind. Then, she came back to her senses when she suddenly felt Katherine's hand on her shoulder.

"Hey! Are you deaf or just pretending that you didn't hear me?" Alice said in a hard voice.

Only then did Rachel realize that Alice had been talking to her for a while but she didn't notice because her mind was busy with other thoughts.

"I-I'm sorry," Rachel said in a low voice. "What are you saying again?"

"I'm asking you what you think is going on," Alice replied but there was still no change in the tone of her voice. "Do you have an idea what's really going on?"

"Well, it only means one thing. King Lio and the Night Walkers Pack wanted to control us. I think he wants to test us. He wants to see who is the best match for Prince Zarion. And in the end, the King will still choose the mate for his son," Rachel explained according to her own observation. "Meaning, this event is just a show. There's no real selection process here. They just want to see what skills we have."

Alice nodded because of what she heard from Rachel. Then, Luza approached her and spoke.

"Don't tell me, you believe what she says, Alice?" Luza said as she got near Alice, after giving Rachel a bad look.

"Well, that's just my opinion. It's up to you if you will agree with me or not," Rachel said as she raised an eyebrow at Luza. Then, she turned around and approached her new friends Hanna and Katherine.

"She has a point, Luza, so there's nothing wrong if we agree with her," Alice said to Luza and patted her lightly on the shoulder.

"There is nothing we can do now but prepare for what else may happen. For what challenges we will face here," Rachel continued in a serious and worried voice.

"Maybe it's just us that needs to prepare. Because, for sure, you know what's going on and you're one of the spies from the Night Stalkers Pack. They probably put one spy in each group to make sure that everything will happen according to their plans," Luza immediately said in a hard voice, in opposition to what Rachel said.

"Stop it, Luza!" Alice immediately said as she turned to Luza and gave her a bad look. "We haven't even figured out what's really going on, but you keep saying bad things."

Luza immediately bowed down after meeting Alice's glaring stares.

And Rachel raised an eyebrow at her when her gaze landed on her.

Meanwhile, Xander just smiled while being amazed after he witnessed on the big monitors what happened in the quarters of the four groups that included women who dreamed of being Zarion's mate.

"You are indeed very clever, Your Majesty," Xander said in praise of what King Lio had done and his plans that he could already guess.

"I told you not to be too nervous. Everything is under control," Lio answered while smiling like a dog.

Then he approached the small microphone that was also connected to each of the participants' rooms.

"Good evening ladies who came from different packs," Lio began speaking. "First of all, I want to congratulate you for reaching this stage. I am also very happy to see your beautiful faces here at the camp."

The women inside their quarters were stunned when they heard King Lio speak. They listened carefully as they wanted to know what was really going on and why their rooms suddenly locked as if the King wanted them to be their prisoners or slaves.

"Perhaps, you are wondering why your quarters are suddenly locked. And there is only one question on your mind right now," King Lio continued. "There will be a competition for us to determine who is suitable and deserving to be my son's future mate. Yes, ladies. The selection process is not that easy. If you think that it will be a simple process, you are mistaken. You will go through a difficult and even deadly process."

Everyone was surprised by what King Lio said. Even Xander who was next to him was also slightly surprised.

"W-What did he say?" Luza immediately reacted after hearing what King Lio said. "A deadly process?"

Then she looked at Rachel again, thinking that she really knew what was going on and insisting to herself that she was really an impostor in their group.

"Stop it, Luza! And pay attention to what the King was saying," Alice immediately scolded Luza when she noticed that she was after Rachel again.

Even Rachel was shocked and suddenly felt nervous because of what she heard from King Lio. She knew that the King had other plans for the women who joined the selection process, but she did not think that what they would face would be difficult and deadly as the process went on. When she accepted the mission that Prince Zarion gave her, she did not hesitate to accept it, not realizing that her mission to sabotage King Lio's plans would be this dangerous.

She came back to her senses when she heard King Lio speak again. And this time, it was more serious and his voice was more emphatic and hard.

"As you all are aware that what we are looking for is the future mate of Prince Zarion, so we want to make sure that the one we choose is deserving because she will be the crowned princess and soon, the queen of the Night Stalkers Pack. That's why we prepared a competition for you. It's not just a competition, but a battle to death. You will fight for your survival, and in each round, one of you will be eliminated. Until only three finalists are left, and Prince Zarion will freely choose from those three who he wants to be his mate," King Lio continued to explain everything to the ladies who were in their respective quarters. "And I want to clarify that when I say one will be eliminated, that means one of you must die."

"What is he talking about?" Luza said in shock after hearing what King Lio said.

While Rachel just sat down suddenly as she could hardly believe what she heard.

Meanwhile, in the western part of the camp where the group of Dark Blood Pack members was, they seemed to be celebrating because of what they heard from King Lio. Contrary to what the majority felt, they were even more happy, especially Maribel.

"It's gonna be exciting," Maribel said while smiling like a dog.

"You're right, partner. My hands have been itching for a long time now and already looking for victims," ​​Wizzy immediately agreed as she clenched her fists and punched the wall next to her.

But Irene, who doesn't socialize with her teammates, seems to disagree with what Maribel said, and above all, with what King Lio said.

Meanwhile, Zarion went to his father's office and he clearly heard everything that his father said, while seeing on four big monitors the ladies who participated in the selection process to be his future mate.

"What is the meaning of this, Father?" Zarion asked in a stern voice after he got close to his father. "Is this what you're talking about finding a mate for me? You're going to kill them to see who's right for me?"

"Of course, if necessary, Son. You're a prince of the Night Stalkers Pack and next in line to the throne of being the leader so I should check carefully who is deserving to be your mate among them," King Lio immediately answered his son. His voice was calm as if he didn't care about what his son would say, or if he was planning to protest against him and stop him from doing what he wanted to do.

"I know that what you really want is to just play with them. Finding a mate for me was just an excuse. Am I right, Father?" Zarion continued, and this time in a harder and louder voice.

Although King Lio did not like Zarion raising his voice at him, he still chose not to argue with him and remain calm.

"You know what, Son, instead of complaining about it, why don't you just enjoy the show and observe them," King Lio said as he walked over to Zarion and showed the four big monitors to him. "You can freely root for the one you like while the show is going on."

Zarion looked at the monitors his father pointed to. And to the fourth monitor, he saw Rachel, who seemed very scared. When he asked her for help to do the mission, he didn't realize that his father's plans were like this. He didn't know that the mission he gave her was so dangerous. She could die while doing the challenge so while he was staring at her, he suddenly felt pity and regretted giving her a mission. She was his childhood friend. She's special to him in some ways so he can't help but be upset because of that revelation from his father.

Meanwhile, King Lio was stunned by Zarion's sudden silence while looking at the monitors. He followed where he was looking and to the fourth monitor, he saw a very familiar face. A woman who seems to be a member of their pack and is now currently in the northern part of the camp, along with the group that came from the Blue Moon Pack.