The entire pack was all gathered in a clearing deep in the woods, just days after Thomas announced the challenge. The typography made for a perfect, natural coliseum, where the two men stood together below, in the empty space, and all of the observers stood and sat in the higher ground. Wolves and humans alike found friends to sit with and settled in for the challenge that would tell them who their next leader would be.
Emma watched the brothers, standing together below the crowd. They looked at ease, comfortable, not like brothers about to fight for position.
Emma and Kate sat together, just below Thomas and Ziva on the rise. Thomas had made the trek in his wolf form, only shifting as the time got near to conserve his energy.
Emma could tell from the look Ziva had given her when she sat down beside Kate, that Ziva was not thrilled by her presence, but Kate had called her over here, and insisted her best friend sit here, with them, on the highest rise.
Emma could feel Ziva's resentment burying into her back as she leaned in and spoke with Kate. She tried to ignore the eyes between her shoulder blades as she asked Kate for information.
"So, what all is involved in a challenge for Alpha?"
Kate said, "I'm not completely sure. Galen was pretty tight lipped about the whole thing."
"Can't they just vote? Like humans do, for President and such?"
Ziva's snort was heard behind Emma as her question reached the Alpha mate's ears.
Emma turned behind her to address Ziva, but Thomas patted Ziva's hand, calming her down as he faced Emma to respond.
"They will fight. First in human form, and then as wolves, until there is a winner. No one else wanted to challenge, so it will just be Galen against Elam."
"What if one of them doesn't want to fight? Is there a forfeit or something?"
Emma knew Elam wasn't interested in becoming Alpha, so surely there was a way to bow out? She figured Thomas was well aware of the situation, but he had called for a challenge all the same, so she didn't really want to ask straight out, 'what if the challenge is thrown?'
"No. No one steps up to a challenge and then does not give their best. To be beaten rightfully has honor. To not try one's best does not."
"To be beaten rightfully? How is that determined, exactly? Is there a point system? Or a knockout, like in boxing?"
"Every challenge is different. No two have ever ended the same. But there has always been a clear winner."
"It's not a last-one-standing situation, right? I mean going as far as a fight-to-the-death, or anything?"
"No, not usually. Sometimes though. But that usually comes to play when the challenger comes out of nowhere. Any wolf can challenge for Alpha at any time. The deadly challenges have usually been when a young, unhappy wolf decides he wants to take over. Even then it is the upstart who pushes things too far. He can't imagine getting beaten, or decides he will not give up, even after a winner is decided. Those challengers sometimes push it too far. Those usually don't end well. But a bloodline challenge like today? There should be no to-the-death grandstands."
Emma nodded, relieved, and thanked Thomas.
"Hopefully this time there will be no surprises."
Ziva's muttered words made Emma turn back toward them again.
"What does that mean?"
Ziva pointedly ignored her question, looking past her and down at the challengers.
Thomas opened his mouth to answer her, after a chastising glance at his mate, but he would only say, with a quiet laugh, "The last time there was a challenge, it didn't go the way the pack had assumed it would. That is all. Shall we begin? I'm already tiring."
"Yes, of course. Whenever you..." Emma trailed off, not knowing quite what to say.
He smiled at her discomfort, taking the time to soothe her by saying, "Don't worry child. It will be over soon. These things have a way of working themselves out, no fear. Our world balances itself, eventually. You are home. Here, where you should have always been."
Ziva snorted again, but he ignored her.
"Thomas has claimed his mate. I don't know how Thomas would have found Kate if she hadn't come here with you, so things balance out. Maybe Reine was meant to leave for that reason. Or maybe for another. I don't pretend to know the why's of our world. But you are here, now. As is Kate. This challenge will also go however it goes. Relax, watch. There isn't anything you can do, right? So just wait, and see what is."
And with a signal from Thomas, the challenge began.
The men squared off against each other, circling.
Punches were thrown, and blocked. Their deep laughter occasionally drifted up as the brothers seemed to spar like they were training instead of challenging, insulting each other and bantering as they warmed their muscles for battle.
Emma relaxed some, watching what seemed more playful than threatening.
Slowly, though, things got more serious.
The laughter turned to grunts. The punches and blocks were thrown with more intent and less teasing. The urges to fight, and to defend, got more personal.
Emma could tell that something had shifted, now that they were warmed up, and into the groove of the fight. Both men planned to give it their all.
The crowd must have sensed it as well, that the brotherly play fighting had ended, because the mutters of voices had stopped, and everyone's attention was now focused on the two men as they each now tried to outdo the other.
Emma heard Thomas's soft laughter.
"They are evenly matched. I had a feeling this part would be more like dancing, and less like fighting. It won't be until they shift that things will get serious. Their wolves will come out soon, and the human aspects of their brotherhood will recede. This isn't fighting, it's ballet. But their wolves...that will be a different story, I'm afraid."
Emma didn't turn around this time, her focus was on the brothers. She nodded her understanding instead, afraid to look away in case she missed something.
He was right though, they were evenly matched.
And that fact seemed to be starting to irritate Galen.
Galen's body language changed subtly, he was ready to assert his dominance. Emma guessed partially because his new mate was watching, and partly because Elam didn't seem to be just going through the motions, but instead was starting to get into it.
Kate leaned in, whispering to Emma.
"Damn, it's kind of hot, you know? Two gorgeous, almost naked men fighting like that. Is that why girls like those MMA fighters so much? And hockey players? All that testosterone filled fighting?"
Emma laughed.
"When will they shift, then?" Kate asked the question louder, aiming it behind her at Thomas.
"When, how do you humans say it? When things start to get real." Thomas answered.
It started looking more like a bar fight down there. Desperation seemed to be climbing. The two were locked together more often than apart, fists and elbows flying, feet bracing.
With a primal yell, Galen pushed Elam away from him, hard.
And in the space that bought him, he started to shift.
Elam saw it and countered, shifting less than a second after Galen.
Emma barely had time to register the fact that she hadn't yet seen Elam's wolf, and to look him over, before the two were charging each other's throats.
She'd seen Galen's pitch black wolf on the day they first arrived, and quite a few times since. But Elam had never shifted. At least that she'd seen.
She was surprised when Elam's wolf turned out to be an auburn red. She guessed she expected him to match his hair color, a dirty blonde, not to be closer to her own hair color.
She found herself wondering what her wolf would look like, if she was to shift as well. She made a mental note to ask Thomas what her mother's wolf looked like, once this was all over.
She gasped as the two wolves rolled and tried to pin each other down. They moved so fast. Except for the obvious fur color differences, she almost couldn't tell them apart. The black and the red
coat colors blurred as the wolves came together, broke apart, and crashed together again.
They never barked or howled. Emma guessed that made sense, since dogs used barks and howls more for communication and warnings. She'd seen domestic dogs fight before, and by the time they had gotten to the actual fighting, all the barking had stopped.
She did hear deep growls rumbling up from the arena floor though, usually when the two were separated for a few seconds, analyzing their next moves before launching towards the other wolf's throat once again.
Each wolf was soon bleeding, both of them landing well placed bites and tearing gashes from the other.
Kate reached over and took Emma's hand, squeezing it tight as she watched her mate fight.
"I didn't realize it would be this..."
"Animalistic? Scary?" Emma fed her the words she had been thinking.
"Bloody." Kate whispered to Emma, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear, and awe.
Galen pinned Elam then. Emma closed her eyes tight, not wanting to watch, but her eyes forced themselves back open, almost against her will. She couldn't help but stare, even though it was making her sick to her stomach to see it all.
Elam's body started and jerked, trying to wrench himself from Galen's weight.
"It will be Galen, then. As everyone said." Kate's words were low, mumbled.
Emma barely heard them as she watched Elam try to get up.
"I will be the Alpha's mate!" There was pride in Kate's tone, in her words, but there was something else in them as well. They were muttered fervently, almost desperately.
And then Elam was loose, and flying at Galen.
Elam's full weight hit Galen before he was fully prepared, and the two bodies collided with a solid thud. A grunt hit Emma's ears, but she wasn't sure who'd uttered it.
The wolves' momentum drove them against the trunk of a large tree, and then they slid to the ground, rolling together.
Soon Elam had Galen pinned, reversing their positions of just a moment ago.
"No!" Kate's cry reached Emma's ear just before Elam's teeth seemed to sink into Galen's throat.
But the wolves rolled again, another blur of fur and teeth. She couldn't keep track of who was winning.
"Are you sure they won't kill each other?" Emma's worried question was fired over her shoulder at Thomas, looking for reassurance.
He took a few moments to answer, during which the brothers continued to vie for dominance, each one seeming to come out ahead, just a heartbeat before being knocked back onto his ass once again.
"They are quite well matched, even more so than I thought. But no, I doubt either will kill the other. It looks worse than it really is, with all the blood. Werewolves heal very quickly. I'm sure some of their initial wounds are already almost healed. It looks bad, I know. Even more so to your eyes. But I don't foretell any fatal strikes, my dear."
"Then how will it be decided? They just wear each other down like this until only one has the energy to stand?"
"Possibly."
Emma could feel both Kate and Ziva pulling hard for Galen. She knew Elam wasn't interested in being Alpha, so she was confused as to why he was fighting so hard. They'd put on a great show. Both brothers were obviously equals in battle. But she knew one wanted it, and the other didn't.
It seemed like any moment now would be a good time for Galen to take it, and for Elam to still come out of this looking like a warrior.
The two stilled suddenly.
Elam was crouched on his stomach, with Galen above him, pinning him down. Galen looked to have Elam's throat in his teeth.
For a second Emma almost giggled. She was sure it was the stress of watching this that turned her mind to silly, inappropriate thoughts, but it almost looked to her like the two were mating instead of fighting.
With Elam underneath Galen like that, Galen above him, his weight pinning Elam down, and Galen's teeth at the nape of Elam's neck, it looked to her like two dogs she always saw mating in the front yard next door when she was growing up.
She covered her mouth to silence the giggles she was afraid were about to escape at the thought of this whole challenge turning on a dime into something wholly unexpected.
Her giggles turned to confusion quickly though, as it seemed Elam was suddenly growing.
She heard her confusion echoed by those around her, as Elam started to rise. He almost looked like he was shifting, but his color stayed the same, he just grew bigger.
Things changed, but with Galen blocking the view, still griping Elam's neck and straddling his back, she couldn't see very well.
Elam kept getting bigger. Soon Galen was lifted, still holding on, but his paw's no longer on the ground.
A roar ripped from Elam as his shifting form started to stand up, rising to his back legs and standing tall on two feet.
Only it wasn't a wolf standing there on two legs, with another wolf hanging from his back.
It was a bear. Elam had shifted from his wolf form into a huge, standing, auburn, grizzly bear, with Galen rising farther and farther off the ground as he kept his grip on his brother's neck.
Galen released his hold finally, landing on all four paws and backing away from Elam, who stood tall in the clearing, snout aimed at the sky in a terrifying roar.
"Damn it, can't just one challenge go the way I expect?" Ziva's words were full of venom.
"That can't be good." Kate's words followed right behind Ziva's. "So now what?"
Thomas spoke then.
"I knew that boy was special, but even I didn't expect this. Who in the hell were his blood parents?"
Emma asked, "So is it over now? What does this mean?"
Thomas answered, "Oh, it is over, all right. And it is also just the beginning."
END
***
What’s next?? Find out in the second book, Alphas Divided (Part Two)
About the Author:
I'm a classy, prim and proper married mother on the outside, and on the inside (and in my younger years) I'm kicked back in tight jeans and a cinched corset, playing poker in one hand with a whiskey in the other. A mouth only a sailor would love, a two-step that just won't quit and a raunchy imagination to top it all off.
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You can find all of Jamie Klaire’s books on:
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***
Touched By the Dragon Lord (Braving Darkness 4)
Book One
By Scarlett Grove
One
Circe’s eyes fluttered open. She found the door to the dog cage that served as her prison swinging on its hinges. Snapping to full consciousness, she sat up straight in the folding chair against the back wall. Her friends were gone. The sound of a door slamming open echoed through the barn where the cages were held.
Circe shot to her feet just as Xavier, the leader of the San Diego compound, strode into the section of the barn where the dog cages were housed. He stopped in front of the guard, who was passed out on the hay-littered floor, and knelt to press his fingertips to the guard’s throat.
Xavier’s eyes traveled from the motionless guard to Circe. She stood in the cell doorway with her hand on her chest, over her thumping heart. He rose to his feet and fixed his cool stare on her then crossed the yards between them in two steps.
He gripped the wire doorframe with his massive hand and barked at her. “What happened here?”
“Is he dead?” Circe asked with concern.
“No, he’s unconscious. Where are your friends? How did they get out? Where did they go?”
Circe backed into the cage, away from his aggressive posturing. “I don’t know. I was deep in meditation, conversing with my sister witches.”
“Are there more witches out there?”
“They are in Arizona.” Circe’s back pressed against the wire of the dog cage. Xavier stood over her, encroaching on her space. Locking her and her friends in massive dog cages had been bad enough, but he had gone as far as
to intimidate her with his imposing presence. Circe held back the growing desire to use her grab spell and throw the arrogant dragon shifter across the room.
Three more guards entered the barn, holding rifles. Xavier instructed them to move the unconscious guard to the guards’ quarters and escort Circe to his farmhouse. He marched out, and one of the guards grabbed Circe’s upper arm.
Still woozy after the abrupt break from her meditation, Circe felt panic rise in her chest. The guard yanked her through the barn, where animal paddocks lined the walls. A milk cow mooed from behind a short metal gate, and the smell of manure and hay filled the air.
Outside, rain pelted down on the farm compound. Circe’s long black hair and thin black robe were instantly soaked. As the guard yanked her forward, her sandals sloshed through the puddles in the front yard.
Lines of tents inhabited the acre of yard in front of the house, but most of the people had taken refuge from the rain. The guard’s fingers pressed into the flesh of Circe’s biceps, and she resisted the urge to throw him across the yard. It wouldn’t help matters if she broke free and wreaked havoc on these people. Xavier was already suspicious enough of her and her friends.
She had to find out where her companions had gone and what had happened to them. She couldn’t believe her friends had escaped without her. Circe had been so consumed by a meditative trance that she’d failed to wake up when her friends had left her.
Bewilderment muddled her brain as the guard pushed her through the front door of the three-story Victorian farmhouse. Her drenched hair and robe dripped in streams on the dark wood floor in the entrance hall.
She wiped water from her eyes with a damp hand and looked around the large living room, which was decorated with antique and traditional furniture. Xavier stood by a massive brick fireplace with his forearm resting on a highly polished mahogany mantel. He turned to her and frowned.
“You are dripping all over the floor,” he said. His bright blue eyes shined with intensity.
“I didn’t ask to be manhandled through the rain into your house.”
Howl & Growl: A Paranormal Romance Boxed Set Page 52