The Claiming by Cooper

The Claiming by Cooper Book 4

The Contest by Cooper (Jaxon & Evangeline)

Chapter 9 Evangeline

It sounds strange, but I’ve really enjoyed running beside Jaxon. He’s a good pacer for my speed. He doesn’t run

faster or slower, he stays at the same pace and that’s good for me. When we started training, both Lazio and

Alejandro told me and Maggie that our pace wasn’t consistent, and we’d wear ourselves out sooner if we kept going

faster and faster as we ran.

Of course, now, I have a stitch in my side that I’ve had for the last 20 miles. I was hoping that it would go away

when I used the bathroom, but no such luck.

Not only am I tired, hungry and sore, we’re going into the back half of this race in the late afternoon. We’ll have to

run all night in the dark. I love the nighttime, and I’m fully capable of seeing well at night, but it’s going to be brutal.

And this is why it’s a competition to become Alpha. It shouldn’t be easy. It should be hard. Only the best and the

strongest physically and mentally should be eligible to take over the packs.

Over the last three months, my siblings and I have run the full 100 miles several times. Not every weekend and not

in the last couple of weekends, knowing we needed to be strong for this competition. But my best time, was 30

hours. Keeping up with Jaxon’s pace, I’ve gotten halfway through the race in 10 hours. But there’s no way I can

continue going this fast.

I slow my pace coming off the rest area of the 50-mile marker. Jaxon slows his as well. 

“You don’t have to slow down for me.” I tell him. I’m not sure why he’s slowing. This is a competition. He should be

taking advantage of my slowing pace to get ahead of me.

“I need to slow down too. My body is feeling it.”

Jaxon sets a new pace, one that is easier to manage. I notice that Tobias and Taylor both keep up their harsh pace.

Stephan seems to find a pace in between ours and theirs, and Jace has fallen behind us.

In the next ten miles, Caleb, Cillian and Enzo close in behind us. As we reach the 60-mile marker, the sun is starting

to set. This time, as we run through the rest area, Alejandro is there, handing out waters.

“You’ve got this Evie! There are only a few runners ahead of you. Keep it up! Fight for your pack!”

I down the water. We were told that the water from the 50-mile markers on would contain electrolytes to help give

us energy and replenish some nutrients in our bodies. However, it’s my brother’s words that energize me. He’s

right. I’m here to fight for my pack. I can’t let a little pain get the best of me. If these others can do it, so can I.

“Thanks Al.” I shout as I toss the paper cup aside.

“He’s a good brother.” Jaxon says as we exit the rest area, the pathway dark now as the sun starts to fall behind the

trees.

“He is. He’s been very supportive this entire time.” I say.

Jaxon frowns. “Did you want to run faster?” He asks me.

“What? Oh, uh, no, probably not. I tend to speed up when I ran. Both Al and Laz told me so when we were

training.” 

I fall back into pace with Jaxon.

“I have an idea.” Jaxon says to me as we run.

“What’s that?” I ask, hoping he’s not wanting to talk. He may have slowed our pace, but I’m still trying to make sure

I don’t get too winded and have to stop.

“For the rest of the night, we use the rest stops as our cues to learn something about the other. Each time we pass

one, we can ask the other one question. That way, it gives us something to think about in between, something other

than the pain and stitches in our sides, and we get to know each other better.”

I like it. It’s a good idea and I tell him so.

He nods. “Ladies first.” He says.

“Catch your breath.” I say, as I begin to think of what I want to know about Alpha Jaxon.

There are probably a lot of things that I want to know about Jaxon, but I decide to start easy.

“If you win, which pack lands do you want?” I ask.

“Hmmm… Do you know, I haven’t actually thought about it. I know I don’t want the one that had mines on it. My

father said they tested the land and there aren’t any, but I’d rather not find out they were wrong.”

“One of the packs had mines on it?” I ask. I’ve never heard this. 

“One of the packs that died out in the pack war.”

“That’s nuts.”

“I think I’d want the pack where my Aunt Mila died.”

I stumble and would have fallen if it weren’t for Jaxon grabbing me.

“You have an aunt that died?” I ask. We get back into our pace before he answers.

“It was before I was born. From what my parents told me, her mate basically bred her to death. That was back in

the days of the claiming.”

“Why would you want that land then?” I ask.

“To bring peace to the land, I guess. Or maybe, peace to my mother and grandparents. Or at least, that’s my

thought.” He shrugs.

We run for a bit in silence, both of us catching our breath.

“I actually had the same question for you. What pack lands do you want and why?” He asks me.

“Well, I definitely don’t want the claiming territory. Too easy to try and keep the old buildings rather than starting

over, even though it has the most land. Or so Maggie said to me. And now I know I don’t want the mine territory.

But I passed these vacant lands once when my parents and I were on a trip. They border a beautiful mountain

range with snow-capped mountains. We passed the land in summer and even then, the mountains were snow-

capped. If I get my choice, those are the lands I want.”

He turns and looks at me.

“What?” I ask him.

“We want the same pack lands. That is place where Aunt Mila died.”

“Seriously?” I ask him. What are the odds. One in ten, I guess.

“Seriously.” He says.

We fall into silence. I fall back into the rhythm of running. I don’t know how much time it took for our questions, but

it has made the time go by more quickly. Before I know it, we’re coming up on the 70-mile marker.