2-The duel

Emerson POV, 

'A vicious Alpha taking out on Nicholas within his pack over a cursed bitch!'

I looked to find some of the pack members glaring at me, one stuck out his fang and hurdles his way from across the room towards me, I looked down, feeling threatened.

If he gets at me at this speed I will be devoured before the duel even starts. My heart was in heat. My hand clasped to the side of my face covering my ears.

"Hey, beast step aside, and get the bunnies ready. Nicholas can't afford to lose her, hurting his ego will be complicating the situation more." 

I slid my eyes shut with a thudding heart,  pinching my fingers together. I stare up to figure the mysterious man standing ahead not up to ten feet away from me. 

His muscular and gleaning muscles are unmistakable, his appearance is that of a model. Probably that is yet to air on television, only that his coldness gave me a strange feeling but his eyes were so appealing I could use it as dessert.

I want to know this man, and his ordeal for helping me. Stepping closer I find myself stuck to my feet hard on the earth. I feel scared and safe at the same time, he heard my plea, there is no way he will be dangerous.

"Hey take your mallet, you might need a knee pad stuck all over your face, it's four mounted riders against one."

He glared clenching his chilled jaws, I'm not in heat and I shook my head to stop the idea of me under his muscular body his scent mixed with mine. Well, no one had ever loved me. I slapped my cheeks out of the daydream. And quickly looked away with my cheeks red, reminding myself of the strayed wolf and how dangerous they are.

I have heard back members talk about this, where a man will claim the girl out of the blue and then vanish, and the patent of the girls will weep and howl out in the night searching for their daughter. After several months they found an abandoned cabin. 

I step in between them as they fix their helmet. Nicholas tosses me to the corner with his helmet.

"I have something to say." I glanced down at the two men with their faceguards. I release my grip on my ruffle skirt now sweeping my floor.

"Step aside sister!" He enunciated the last word mockingly.

 "I didn't want to create a problem. I appreciate your kind gesture but I never asked for your help, meddling will not help me." 

With his Alpha pride, he mounted the saddle. "I'm not doing it for you."

Then who are you doing it for? I'm scared. I'm really scared I don't know what to say as I grind my teeth together. My feet wobble and Nicholas chuckles hard enough to make me squirm.

"So you're trying your skills with me? Be ready to lose." I ran from the field to the side. Instead of having my face hanging high and mocked like a pitiful petal that lost its blossom, I rather watch by the side.

They hopped on, with every conviction that Nicholas would win with his mounted other riders, I was still fearful of the confidence on this man's face. 

His name? He is unusual and different. 

He gripped the mallet like a professional. His eyes furrowed inside the helmet and I figured he was looking for a weak spot to hit Nicholas.

Nicholas on the other hand had been renowned for his incapacity. He hated me for that. In the real estate world and the polo world. Father had beaten him to a pulp on several occasions calling him a bastard for his inability. He is never good enough and he played polo to prove his father wrong. When he almost went bankrupt. His veto over the polo house was lost.

But he reopened it after his demise, there is no way a pimp like Nicholas could ever be my fathers' son, his owl-like eyes dilated behind the helmet and he lurched forward.

The mysterious man raised his mallet scooping the ball and the men along with their phonies were out on the dive.

My heart succumbed into a scream thinking what fate lies ahead of me. For the first time, I'm here wishing for Nicholas to win. 

"That man is too good to be true." I heard some of the lounge servers swooning over him already. "Wait, did you charm him to go through all this for you?" The ladies poked me from behind and I was silent. If it's at the expense of my money, which I don't have, it will solace me that the mysterious man is leading. 

"Fuck off!" I yelled at them and moved my pace.

The game lasted one to three hours more than the usual two hours when the chukkers hit.  I noticed some unusual movement from afar. My eyes couldn't see clearly because of the fog.

"Shit! I didn't lose to that bastard!" I notice from the voice it was Nicholas, his insecurity sipping in like a drug. "Don't fucking tell me I did!"

A whole mount against one yet he couldn't win. An arsehole! Pleasure filled my heart at the reminder of how his incompetence still reigns within him.

"The girl is mine." I turn to my left to find my mysterious owner swearing hard. Yes, a meal. Wolves go into the woods for hours looking for what to divulge. If he goes through this duel to own me, I wouldn't be surprised.

"Who are you? Tell me! Who do you think you are?" Nicholas screamed at him, range in his eyes.

For what it's worth, I hid behind the stranger's back, at least he was soft with the woman, with his meal presumably more than Nicholas.

"Rydar, I'm your new owner starting from today, cat eye." His chest rose and fell behind his sweat-stained shirt, from his swell to the muscles and down to every build. He's strong, if not the strongest.

"Are you a warrior?" 

"You will find out soon, cat eye."

He is no different, he just called me cat eye. That means me following him as his slave or his meal, my heart breaks, the thought of leaving my mum and my father, leaving Lafayette hurts me, Nicholas I thought will do something and doesn't bother to interfere, instead he walked back to the lounge with his beta wolves. Ryder is like the lord of war, outstanding at winning the game of kings. I stared into  his hazel eyes but they were too cold to be true, I've lost myself to an owner I have no idea about- 

"Loworth Ryder of New Orleans claims Emerson." I heard the referee announce upon Nicholas's approval. Bastard, he's now done with me. I don't know much of Loworth but I fear this won't be the last time I would be a pawn.