Chapter 23: Perfect Storm

I was having a nice time.

Two dozen contestants decided to go out to celebrate our first victory in the tournament.

I know we are all here for the same reason: to win. But until we face each other in the tatami, we are simply male Alphas around the same age and unmated. We have no strings attached to anyone back home, so we deserve to have some fun.

Thanks to Princess Emily's gracious contribution, we were allowed inside the nightclub, where we met new people, some fans of our matches, made new friends, and struck up conversations with other patrons.

I even found myself a new friend with the name of Lance Richmond, who I am still curious about for some reason. His last name reminds me of something, but I could not place it so far. He had just been dumped by someone, so we began talking by the bar, and we hit it off.

It wasn't until I went to the restroom and the place was checked out by Secret Service Agents, making sure I was alone inside before Prince Elton could walk in, looking rather dangerous. Out of all the places I thought he would get to me, this wasn't it.

I might be new to this club, but I know for a fact that there is another bathroom upstairs. So, he did not come here to use the facilities. He stalked me to catch me alone in a room without any cameras. After all, why bother building a second floor and not build another set of bathrooms? It makes no sense to force people to climb downstairs just to relieve their bladders. Anyway, the point is moot now. I cannot fight against him here.

Elton walked into the restroom with a wicked smile on his face, sizing me up.

"Really, dude? All the places in the world, and you're accosting me inside a restroom? I knew you were coming, but I didn't think you were that much of a coward!" I blasted off, already preparing myself for a beatdown.

"Watch your mouth when you speak to me, peasant!" He spat at me, irritated.

"Am I supposed to be thankful while you beat me?" I rolled my eyes, annoyed at his arrogance. He scoffed at my statement.

"I did not come here to beat you, insolent pest." He declared, surprising me the most so far.

"What? You haven't?" I gaped at him in shock.

"There are two dozen witnesses outside who saw you and me entering this club. Thousands of men heard me threatening your life. It'd take Armstrong less than an hour to put a case against me and have me disqualified from the tournament for whatever I'd do to you inside this washroom. Do you think I am an idiot?" He stated the facts in a manner that supported his claim. Well, when you put it like that...

I was in shock to hear that he did not come here to murder me or at least give me a severe beating.

"If you didn't come here to beat me up, why–"

"Stay the fuck away from my sister!" He interrupted, screaming at me. I was taken aback by his loud voice so close to me.

"She came to me! I didn't even know she was aware of my existence!" I defended myself, feeling attacked for no reason.

"She shouldn't be aware of your existence. She wouldn't if it weren't for this damn tournament, but that's beside the point. Stay clear of her. She is barely 18, for Goddess' sake!" He argued, ferociously.

"And I'm 19! Why are you talking to me like I was some creeper befriending a little girl? She came to my room and invited me to come here. Why are you so upset? It's not like I'm her mate!" I pushed back, annoyed at him.

Elton approached me and spoke calmly but clearly aggravated.

"If she were your mate, we wouldn't be having this conversation, imbecile. Since you aren't, stay clear of my sister. I warn you!" He threatened me once again, his eyes shining in anger towards me.

"If she approaches me, I will not turn her down. I won't treat her badly just because her brother is jealous." I declared, standing my ground. Elton forcibly pushed me to one of the closed stalls, pinning me against its wall.

"When I give you an order, you should do well to obey it, peasant. I am not the one you make enemies with, I am the one you kiss ass." He fanned my face with his hot breath as he spoke, pinning my body to the wall forcibly.

He wanted to make sure I felt threatened, which I did. But I am an Alpha too.

"If you're going to beat me, just go ahead with it. I am not intimidated by you, Elton. You can't stop me from dating your sister any more than you can stop her from dating me." I stated, confidently. Now he is truly mad.

Elton grabbed my throat and squeezed it to suffocate me with a sadistic pleasure.

"Listen to me, country boy. Just because I couldn't get you out of the tournament, it doesn't mean there's nothing I can do against you. I can reach you anytime I want. Day and night. This is your first and final warning. Next time, I won't be this nice." He snarled at me while his hand was gripping my throat tightly. I was suffocating due to the lack of oxygen, but I couldn't fight back. He would argue that I came at him.

When he finally released his grip on my neck, my lungs burned to get oxygen again as I took a breath. My neck was red with his handprint on it. He laughed at my misery while I coughed. I was already blue by the time he released me.

"I hope I made myself clear on this matter. I'd hate to break your legs before you had the chance to lose the tournament." He spoke threateningly.

"Yes, you made yourself clear. As soon as I get out of here, I'll ask Emily out on a date." I taunted him, defiantly. He thought this would intimidate me, but he was messing with the wrong boy.

"You are really trying my patience, aren't you?" He came closer to me, practically grazing my skin with his own.

"I'm sure you are used to being the big man in your social circle. News flash, buddy. Outside of Washington, you mean nothing. No one cares about you. All you represent is a spoiled rich brat leeching off taxpayers' dollars. Whenever you are photographed by the paparazzi, it reinforces the need to end the monarchy. You should be working for a living like most people do at your age, or going to college. Not parading around like you're some sort of celebrity. Not with the people's money!" I countered, setting him off.

Elton punched the stall and broke the wooden wall with the sheer force of his strength. I flinched when I saw his fist flying in my direction.

"Stay the fuck away from my sister!" He shouted at me, then left in haste, seething in anger.

I walked out right next to him, and I was surprised to see Colin, my fellow contestants, and Lance Richmond outside. They all looked worried about the fact that the Secret Service was keeping everyone away from the male restroom while Elton and I were alone inside.

"What's going on? Why were you alone with him inside the bathroom? Weren't you partying in the upstairs lounge?" One of my friends asked Elton, who was taken aback by the large posse confronting him - though he was protected by the Secret Service Agents.

"Oh my Goddess, your neck!" Colin caught the bruising on my neck from Elton's handprint.

"Elton!" Lance gaped at him in shock. Then he took out his cell phone and snapped a couple of pictures of him and me, then he approached me to take a closer picture of the bruise on my neck. Elton's handprint was showing redness on my skin. I did not want to make a big deal out of this, but they were too many, and the place was public.

"Is this what you resort to? Intimidate your opponents? Accosting them inside a bathroom?" He called him out, revolted by this.

"That's not what happened!" Elton defended himself. He seemed to know Lance and vice versa, otherwise, he wouldn't have called him by his first name.

"Really, Elton? Look at the handprint on Brad's neck! Who did that if you were the only one inside with him in the restroom?" Lance accused him, fuming.

"Stay the fuck out of it, Richmond!" Elton growled at him, defensively.

"Oh, I'm staying out of it! Let's see how the public will react to this blatant attempt of intimidation!" He challenged him, typing on his phone. He tweeted a picture of me, my neck bruise, and Elton with a flashy message about royal intimidation and tagged every official authority account he could remember — as well as media outlets.

"Let's go, guys. I don't want to stay here anymore, or the prince will have us all beaten too." Another contestant spoke up, accusing Elton of misconduct. It does look bad for him, and I have plenty of witnesses. Elton glared daggers at him for claiming that, but before I knew it, I was surrounded by fellow contestants acting as my bodyguards.

We quickly paid our bills — Lance insisted on paying my bill. He walked with us to the cash register, and then he gave me his phone number so that I could text him later. He said that if I needed any assistance, he was around and I shouldn't hesitate to contact him. He might have gone about it the wrong way, but I know his heart was in the right place.

The boys and I went back to Château Blanc in several rideshare cars. As soon as we arrived, they insisted on taking me to the medical unit, even though I told them it would heal itself in a few minutes with my wolf healing.

Be that as it may, they were so insistent that I could not deny them. I was tended to by a doctor on call, who was appalled to hear that the person who did this to me was Prince Elton. By the time I was discharged by her, Colonel Armstrong was already waiting for me by the front door.

He took us all to his office and took statements from all the contestants who were with me and witnessed the fact. I mean, no one witnessed the assault, but the conclusion was logical. There is no escape.

In the meantime, Lance's tweet started getting track across all social media platforms, and by the end of the night, it was being reported by all major news outlets. This is a shitstorm. It doesn't look good for the prince to be caught intimidating a fellow contestant.

The King was notified.

A|N: You are NOT going to believe what comes next!

The plot thickens. You'll be surprised.

I did not expect that this would happen when I started writing, but I never do. So...

Buckle up!

OFF: Damn, Brad is so cute. Oh, my goodness, this picture. #swoon

Love,

Léo.