It's morning. All the contestants are assembled inside McCarthy Hall to discuss what happened last night, the bribery attempt launched by the part of the monarchy that is against this tournament.

Colonel Armstrong went on to give a speech telling us not to trust anyone except for the official channels of communication or military personnel. There are people who are invested in keeping us from succeeding in this tournament, they want the power to stay with the Whittakers, as it has been for centuries.

I guess the game is even more rigged than I thought.

"But if they are afraid of us, does that mean the tournament is real? Whoever wins becomes the next King?" One of the boys questioned the Commanding Officer, curiously.

Armstrong looked at the boy with a deadly serious expression on his face, harshly judging him for the question that was literally on everybody's minds. Here and abroad.

"Do you have any idea how much it costs to house and feed 5,600 male Alphas?" He asked him with a deathly glare.

"N-no, sir." The boy replied, nervously. He was intimidated by the experienced soldier intensely gazing at him. We all were.

"Do you think I have time for fun and games?" He asked him again, doubling down on the harsh glare.

"N-N-No, sir." The boy stuttered.

"Listen to me when I say: the tournament is real. King Lucius wouldn't waste taxpayers' dollars to set this up if he had no intention of following through. He is my monarch, so if he feels he needs to do this to find a suitable candidate to be King because there is no one available who fits his criteria - he glanced at Elton when he said that, who glared at him for the insubordination - then I support his decision." He declared, determined.

Wow. That man reminds me so much of my father, it is daunting. He is exactly how my dad would've been if he ever got to be his age. My dad wasn't that much of a hard ass around his family, but I guess he is not either. He just projects strength.

After that intimidating back and forth, Colonel Armstrong continued his offensive.

"Like I said, when in doubt, trust no one. Now, speaking of your large numbers, tomorrow morning we will cut that in half on the first challenge alone." He announced it and a bomb was dropped in the crowded room.

"Half?" Elton gasped in shock at hearing this, flabbergasted as the rest of us.

"Yes, Your Royal Highness. Half. And it's going to be a simple challenge, nothing fancy, just to root out the weak links." He replied, looking around the room as thousands of young Alphas looked spooked, including Colin and me.

"What's the challenge?" Elton's friend asked him, and the glaring was so intense he lowered his head in embarrassment.

"You'll find out tomorrow what the challenge is, but tonight you have the King's reception. Before that can happen, I'd like you to meet the Deputy Chief of the Secret Service, Mr. Conan Cho, who is going to guide you on the dos and don'ts of how to behave in the King's presence." He introduced a tall man dressed in a black suit. He is the first Asian American I have seen since I came to the Capital. A cool job he has.

"Good morning, gentlemen. I know most of you must be hungry for some breakfast, given the early hour of this meeting, so I'll keep this short. Only speak to the King, if spoken to. Do not turn your back on him. For the love of Goddess, don't forget to bow your heads when he is in the room. If any of you try to approach His Majesty without being asked, my agents will take you down in a heartbeat. We take the security of our monarch very seriously around here." He went straight to the point.

"If the King decides to strike up a conversation, which is rare, talk to him as you would talk to a friend, but don't forget to be courteous. Remember who you are talking to. Also, the King detests people blowing smoke up his ass, so don't try to curry favor with him by complimenting him. He is 64 years old, he has heard it all before." He continued, looking rather bored to be there.

"Last but not least, don't feel offended if the King doesn't even look at you. He is excited about this tournament, but he is not going to talk to five thousand people in one single evening. If you play your cards right, you might get to meet him privately down the line. Who knows, if you win, you'll get to live here and learn from the best." He teased us, playfully.

"The winner will move into the castle?" A boy gaped at him in shock at the information.

"You didn't think the King would just hand the country over to a stranger, did you?" He poked fun at his innocence. Yeah, my guess is there will be a very long internship. Oh, Goddess... can you imagine interning under the King?

"Well... now that Deputy Chief Cho is done, my soldiers are going to distribute a document to each one of you. It's a waver. It states that the Crown is not liable for any accidents that may occur during the tournament, including but not limited to: injuries, broken limbs, maiming..."

Did he just say maiming?! *gobsmacked*

"And ultimately, death by accident during a challenge." He concluded as the soldiers distributed the document to all the competitors.

"Do I have to sign one too? I doubt any of them could maim me." Elton spoke in a patronizing tone, looking down at the rest of us in the room. Goddess, I hate his smug face.

"No, Your Royal Highness. Your father would never sue the Crown if you died." He replied with a peculiar expression on his face, almost like a pleasure of saying this to him. I know for a fact that he is not a fan of Prince NOT Charming at all.

Elton hated that comeback, so he glared at the senior soldier for the disrespect — according to him.

"I hope you are already retired when I ascend as King, because if you are not, I will make it my mission to ruin whatever's left of your career!" Elton threatened him, angrily.

"IF you ascend as King." Cho corrected him with a smug expression on his face.

"And for that, you are the first one on my firing list." Elton glared at him for the impertinence.

"It's an honor." Deputy Chief Cho bowed his head to him, mockingly.

Wow. He is not very liked at all. And as far as I am concerned, he doesn't have any power. Only the King has, and he does not share it, it seems. I am low-key having the time of my life seeing the young prince sweat.

After we had time to read the document and sign it, we handed it back to one of the soldiers spread around the room. I guess there is no turning back now. The first cut is tomorrow morning. You know what they say, the first cut is the deepest.

Goddess helps me so that I won't leave here before finding my mate. Fingers crossed they are at the reception tonight. Wouldn't that be nice?

"Gentlemen, before you leave, a word of advice. We expect a full house for tonight's event, including the press. The media coverage of this event could turn the whole thing into a circus. If you don't have any experience handling press or a publicist to handle it for you, — he looked at Elton when he said that — speak as little as possible. One poorly phrased word and you could be canceled even before you even begin the tournament." Armstrong cautioned us, warily.

We nodded along before we were dismissed. What an eventful morning. I cannot wait to meet the King tonight, though if he'll acknowledge me is a different matter altogether. What I really want is to meet my mate, though. Please Goddess, make it happen for me!

A|N: It is about to get real up in here. I mean, royal.

The King is coming!

Love,

Léo.