HUNTED

Aila stared at Gamma Chiara wide-eyed as her words sunk in. This whole time, she insulted Lydia and even punched her in the face! And the Gamma and Lydia were sisters. Yet, they seemed to hate each other; could they really hate each other, though? They were blood-related. She glanced at her scarred neck again, and an involuntary shiver went through her.

What was wrong with that girl? How could she do that to her own sister?

Aila looked back at the rest of the Gamma's stunning features; sure enough, she saw the resemblance immediately. 

At that moment, Nairi opened her door across from Aila's, and the pair looked at her in stunned silence. The interruption was quite a welcome, though, as the atmosphere became gloomy.

"What do you think? Too much?" She asked. Nairi was wearing a red corset, matching underwear, garter and stockings along with a pair of heels.

Gamma Chiara crossed her arms against her chest, but Aila could see how embarrassed she felt in her own outfight as well as looking at Nairi's. 

"I mean.. you look amazing.." Aila breathed in astonishment. She truly did; she had a fantastic figure, olive skin tone and beautiful curly hair that Aila was slightly envious of. 

Nairi's face dropped ever so slightly, "But..?"

"No 'buts', it's whatever you and Kane are into, with or without that on. Pretty sure that would just be ripped off in seconds," Aila said. She blushed at her comment as she realised she didn't know these girls well enough to say such things. But from how Damon acted with her, she wondered if all werewolves were just as passionate. 

Nairi giggled in delight, "You're right! I might get the bow instead. It doesn't cost as much, and I wouldn't care if it was ripped to pieces," she went back behind the door and spoke through it, "oh, we should also grab a coffee."

"We just had brunch," Gamma Chiara retorted.

"Yeah, that's true, but I didn't think you'd want to tell Aila about your bitch of a sister in the changing rooms of an erotic lingerie store," Nairi spoke through the mind-link again. 

Aila snapped out of her thoughts, which swirled between her passionate Alpha and the fact Gamma Chiara had scars from her sister. The Gamma was so scary; she was surprised Lydia was alive. If memory serves her, she did stab Darren for being rude. Aila closed the door and begun getting changed. 

"Also, Aila. You're getting all of those sets I gave you," Nairi added in a sing-song voice. 

Aila picked up a stringy, netting type undergarment that looked to connect the crotch to the upper body area and shook her head. She was NOT buying that. Nairi was so open with her tastes, she couldn't help but admire the girl's boldness.

"Maybe you and Damon can role play. You're a fish, and he a fisherman-"

"Nope!" Aila interrupted her wolf, who began snickering. 

"Spice up your sex life, become adventurous!" Malia continued teasingly. 

Aila dropped the piece on the chair, leaving it in the changing room, "I'm quite happy not being a fish," She replied to Malia.

After buying their undergarments, they left the store and found the guys standing off to the side, talking to each other. When the girls approached them, Aila gave Finn the black card and told them to get what they wanted, after telling them the girls needed to gossip over some coffee. She gave the card to Finn as she sensed Ajax would go on a massive shopping spree, and as much as she would love to let them buy what they wanted after so much hardship, it was also not her card. 

The guys and girls split to set off on their destinations. After the girls ordered their coffees, they found a booth and sat down. Aila was across from both Gamma Chiara and Nairi. All of them held their cups on their hands, gripping onto the warmth it bestowed upon them. 

Aila took a sip from her latte, grimacing when she remembered she didn't put sugar in it. While she plopped some sugar into her coffee, she looked up at Gamma Chiara and could tell that the Gamma was not phased at all about what she was about to tell Aila. 

Aila was only a little apprehensive because Nairi was the one to suggest a coffee shop and the big reveal about Lydia's scheming ways. The fact that Lydia was the Gamma's sister and she did THAT to her face..

"It's not even a long story, really," Gamma Chiara begun. 

[ Gamma Chiara ]

As she sat there in the booth, across from Aila, she started to think of where to start, where it all began. To this day, it still felt a little surreal. Chiara looked off to the side as she began to tell Aila all about her and her sister's past. She felt as though she was telling a story about somebody else because she was a fricken idiot for thinking she and her sister were once best friends, and Lydia was a nice person. 

Five years ago:

Chiara just finished her training session in the hall with Kane. She had been training with him on top of the pack's regular sessions daily for the last three months. Chiara was grateful for him to take more time out of his day to help her, and it also showed that the Alpha and Beta were happy with her taking on her role as Gamma. Even if she was a girl. 

That night, she was to partake in the ritual for the Gamma role. Her dad, who wanted a son, was more than happy to pass down the leadership to his first-born daughter. This was only after years of training and teaching her war tactics and the importance of the role in the pack. He gave his approval the moment she turned 18. Chiara knew the significance of the ritual and that she would be the first female to take on such a role, but she knew she would prove anyone wrong that thought she wasn't suitable for the position. 

Chiara was training extra hard to prove she was strong and so she could take on any challenger. As it were for most leadership roles in the pack, they were allowed to be challenged. This wasn't some fancy boxing fight, and the winner was the last person standing. No, when a werewolf fought another werewolf, they fought to the death. Only rarely did the other wolf leave alive; they were almost immediately banished to become a rogue. 

Before she was to get ready for the ceremony, she returned home. Although usually, the pack leaders stayed in the packhouse, her parents decided to move out a year earlier when she turned 18. They knew Chiara would be taking the role as soon as she turned 19 and wanted to live like a normal family for the year. This would be before she had to move out and live in the packhouse by herself.

Fortunately, the mansion built a whole estate nearby, inside the protective walls of the mansion's grounds. They were allowed to stay in one of the empty homes, making it easier on her dad, who would dart backwards and forwards from the mansion to their house. 

After having a shower and getting changed, she slumped down on the sofa in the living room where Lydia was already eating a salad for lunch.

"I don't know how you can diet. You will be skin and bones soon!" Chiara said as she eyed the lettuce leaf her sister was nibbling on. 

"Hmm, but my bod' looks hot, right!?" She replied, twisting and turning on the spot for Chiara to laugh and roll her eyes. 

"Of course it is, but you don't need to eat like a rabbit to have one! Look at me, I eat whatever I want, and we look the same," Chiara said as she munched on a bag of crisps. It was true, they were both known as being stunners, and many thought they were twins as there was only a year apart between them. It didn't help that they both had long waist-length hair. 

Lydia humphed, "Well, if you ate like me, then you'd lose all those pounds and have an even better bod!" She exclaimed. Chiara stopped mid-bite into her crisp and looked at her sister oddly. Maybe she's grumpy; poor sis needs to eat some carbs.

Lydia laughed and waved her hand, "You should have seen your face! I'm joking!" She got up and began walking off, "Oh, good luck for later. I will do your make-up and hair beforehand," She spoke over her shoulder before leaving the house. 

That evening, Chiara sat staring at herself in the mirror on the vanity table. Lydia really did make her look amazing; she was a little bit worried because her sister tended to put a lot of make-up on, with dark eyeshadows. It didn't look bad, but Chiara wanted to still be herself when she went through the ceremony. 

Luckily, Lydia knew her so well that her make-up was light and looked as though she had hardly any on, just enough to make her beautiful features stand out even more. Her hair was in waves around her face, and she wore a light blue mini dress that fitted well against her curves and showed off her long legs. 

Lydia wrapped her arms around her and gave her a light hug before whispering, "After tonight, everything changes."

Chiara smiled broadly at her sister's words. Little did she know that Lydia was talking about them, not her becoming the new Gamma.

Chiara, Lydia and their parents walked through the woods to a clearing with four giant wooden stands that held benches for the hundreds of pack members to sit at. Though, their pack was so big that many had to stand on the sides. Chiara was happy that it didn't rain, although they would have to sit out there until the ceremony was finished, as the pack rules state. It was still nicer for everyone to keep warm by the huge bonfire in the middle of the area. 

Her mum and Lydia pulled her into a hug and wished her good luck before Chiara followed her dad, and they stood in front of Alpha Damon and Beta Kane. The pair stood tall on their own separate stall, with Delta Brion at the back. The Alpha started the ceremony, asking Chiara for her allegiance and to swear an oath that she would always protect the pack. After reciting her words, she looked at her dad, and she swore she could see him becoming teary-eyed. Which was a sight to behold. He was a scary man with many scars across his body, showing the many fights he had been in.

Lastly, Alpha Damon asked the words she held her breath to:

"Is there anyone here that wants to challenge Gamma Chiara for her new title?"

There was a short pause until Delta Brion stepped forwards. A few of his men on the side smirked as the over muscular man spoke up, "I challenge Chiara Gattoni for her role as Gamma!"

The crowd surrounding them cheered. They were excited to watch a fight to the death. Even if that meant losing one of their own, it was the werewolf way. 

"Do you accept this challenge?" Alpha Damon asked Chiara; his voice reverberated across the forest for everyone to hear. 

"I do." Chiara pulled her heels off and put her hair in a messy bun. If she forfeited, she would live the life of a rogue. It wasn't just her pride talking, but she was confident in her abilities. Unlike Brion, she came from a family of Gamma's, meaning she had extra strength behind her skills. Although he was a skilled fighter, Brion was no match for her. 

The pair confirmed they would fight in wolf form. Chiara was happy to let her wolf run wild; she was as vicious as her when she fought. Within two minutes, Brion's grey wolf form went limp after Chiara had him pinned to the ground with her teeth sunk into his neck. The crowd screamed wildly and began chanting Chiara's name; she could see that she earned her title, not just because it was passed down to her. 

She walked around the bonfire on all fours, Brion's blood covering her mouth, and barked as she went past a few of her friends. As she went to shift back into her human form, a shrill voice whipped across the air, silencing the pack.

"I challenge Chiara Gattoni!"

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