by Desiree Holt
Holton spoke up. “I’ve never taken you for a fool. A selfish, weak leader, perhaps, but never a fool.”
“Keep throwing those insults while you can, Holton,” he replied. “You won’t be surviving the night to throw any more.”
Holton straightened. “What the fuck are you talking about Gregory?”
“It’s been agreed that you need to be taken care of. You’re causing a rift in our pack, and that’s going to be our downfall.”
Holton held back a laugh. “I’m the one causing the rift? I’m not the one trying to mate young girls, so they run off to start packs of their own.”
“What do you call this, with my niece, then?”
“Ruby wanted this. We were to be mated, whether you commanded it or not. I’ve known for the last two years she is supposed to be my mate.”
Her surprised voice came from behind. “You have?”
“Yes, Ruby. I told you I knew you were my mate. I just wanted to wait for you to mature a little, before we became a mated couple.”
“Well, you won’t stay one,” Gregory snarled. “You need to either leave or we are going to kill you.”
Holton took the moment to assess the wolves Gregory had brought with him. With surprise, he saw Joel’s light gray fur among them. Surely his brother wouldn’t be a part of this? Was this whole thing a setup just to get rid of him? Had Joel hoped that by getting rid of Holton, it would leave the way open to Ruby?
Something else occurred to him. “What happened to the rogue wolves who attacked Jaco?”
Gregory laughed. “I thought you were brighter than that. It was just a way of getting you out here, where I needed you to be.”
“Then who hurt Jaco?”
“He was collateral damage.”
Holton’s eyebrows lifted. “You mean he was hurt by our pack?”
“Don’t worry, he’ll heal, but if you don’t do as I’m telling you, I’ll make sure you don’t.”
“I’m not going to let you force me out of the pack.”
“There are five of us against one. What do you think you’re going to do about it?”
Ruby moved forward slightly, to stand at Holton’s side. “Against two. It’s five against two. If you take him down, I’m going down with him.”
Gregory’s eyes widened. “Don’t be ridiculous. You didn’t even want to be mated to Holton. You practically begged me to not let it happen.”
“A lot has happened since then, and we are mated now. The deed is done. We’re one, and if you take him down, or make him leave, then I go, too.”
Gregory stared at her. “You wouldn’t do that. You live for the pack.”
She nodded, and Holton heard tears in her voice. “I did, but you’re not giving me any choice.”
Gregory’s head tilted slightly to one side. “Don’t make me do this, Ruby. I love you, but I won’t choose you over the pack.”
“I know that,” she said, but her voice was almost a whisper.
“Very well.” Gregory raised his voice, addressing the wolves growling at his side. “Kill them both.”
Holton reached out and touched her hand. “Shift, now, Ruby.”
It was the only way they stood a chance of survival.
Chapter 10
Ruby couldn’t believe her uncle would do this.
She knew he’d done some not-so-great things during his time as alpha, but to order them to be killed was insane. She felt as though she’d stepped into some warped reality, where she was wearing the skin of another person.
Even greater than her disbelief that Gregory would order them killed was the shock of discovering that other members of her pack were willing to carry out the commands. The other wolves were slightly older males, closer to Gregory—Gavin Toller, Stephen Janson, and Ronny Halt. She’d also seen Joel among them. Was he really willing to see her dead, now that she wouldn’t be his mate? She remembered what he’d said about killing Holton, how if he killed Holton, he would be the older brother and be able to mate her. Was that what Gregory had promised Joel in order to make him agree to such a horrific thing? Or had they all just blindly followed their alpha, and genuinely believed Holton was a threat to the safety of the pack?
By her side, Holton had started his shift to a massive dark gray wolf. She wished she had time to tell him the last hour of her life had been the best.
But she was all out of time. The other four wolves approached, their bodies held low to the ground as they stalked, hackles raised. Each of them growled, curling their upper lips to reveal the flash of white canines.
Not thinking any longer, Ruby shifted to wolf, dropping to all fours beside her mate, preparing for a fight to the death. She and Holton stood shoulder to shoulder. The ridge of hair down both their spines stood on end, making them appear even larger. Growls issued from their barrel chests and, as the other wolves crept closer, the tension grew between them.
Did they stand any chance of winning this, or at least escaping injured but alive? It was five against two, if Gregory shifted. Holton was physically the most powerful, but she was the weakest, which reduced their chances even further.
The other wolves got close, close enough for someone to spring and attack. They growled, Holton snarled. He tried to put his body in front of hers, but she wouldn’t allow him to. The only way they stood a chance was if they fought side by side, as equals.
To her shock, Joel was the first to bunch his shoulders and leap for them. He came with a snarl, his huge body launching through the air. Ruby braced herself, and sensed Holton doing the same but, instead of attacking his brother, Joel landed directly in front of them and spun around.
Joel’s snarls intensified as he faced off Gregory and the others.
The numbers had just evened up a little.
Ruby was surprised at the relief she felt that Joel was on their side. She couldn’t help feeling hurt at his treachery, even though she’d been the one who’d been disloyal to him first. He was the bigger person, not only for fighting on their side, now, but for forgiving them the betrayal he surely must have felt.
“What the fuck are you doing, Joel!” Gregory yelled. “You do this, and your place in the pack is gone.”
No, thought Ruby. You’re the one whose place in the pack needs to be gone.
She stood, with Joel one side and Holton the other. The three of them faced off against the other three wolves, Gavin, Stephen, and Ronny, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Gregory stayed back, looking between them all with a mixture of anger and determination on his face. Even despite Joel’s turn-around, her uncle didn’t look as though he thought he’d lose this battle.
With a snarl, Holton lunged, taking on Stephen, who was the biggest of the three and was positioned in the middle of Gregory’s other two sidekicks. They tumbled together, a flurry of teeth and claws.
An instant later, Gavin went for Joel, the two wolves clashing in midair, before falling to the ground, snapping and snarling. The racket of fighting drowned out all other sound in the forest. Roosting birds burst from the trees with a flurry and flapping of wings, and a crash of leaves and branches.
Ruby was left facing Ronny. She didn’t want to fight, but she was left with no choice. She’d always been insistent she could take care of herself. Now was her chance to prove it.
Snarling, she attacked. She remembered how Holton had dealt with her earlier, going for her forelegs and underbelly to set her off balance. She sensed Ronny holding back slightly, probably feeling awkward about fighting a female, and also the niece of his alpha, no matter what Gregory said, but Ruby wasn’t going to give him any string to hang her with. As she snapped at his throat, he must have realized he had no choice but to fight back. There was a blur of movement, snapping at fur, trying to get a hold. His teeth closed around the scruff of her neck, but she whipped around and dislodged him.
A high-pitched yelp and a whine came from somewhere beside her. She desperately prayed it didn’t belong to either of the brothers, bu
t she was too caught up in her own fight to check. Another snap from Ronny’s muzzle, and teeth tore through her shoulder. She gave a yelp of her own, but knew it couldn’t slow her down. If she hesitated, for even a second, she’d find her throat torn open rather than her shoulder.
She managed to break apart from Ronny, skittering away from him, and trying not to let her tail go between her legs. She didn’t want him to think she was submitting to him. Centering herself for attack once more, she managed to catch sight of the others. Holton had Stephen by the throat and was pinning him down to the ground. Joel and Gavin were still in a tussle, and she couldn’t tell which of them was winning right now. She sensed Holton focusing his attention on her. He would want to help her but, if he let Stephen get back on his feet, he wouldn’t be helping anyone.
She’d taken her eye off Ronny, long enough for him to lunge at her again. She darted out of the way, so he tumbled past. He might have been bigger, but she was faster. She spun around, not wanting him behind her. He’d already righted himself, and lunged back again, on the attack. They hit this time, and though she growled and bit, trying to wound him, she didn’t seem to be able to get a hold.
For the first time, she truly believed she might lose this, that she and Holton would never be able to start their lives as a mated pair together.
She might lose it all.
Chapter 11
With his heart in his throat, Holton saw Ruby struggling in her fight with Ronny.
He felt torn. He didn’t want to kill the wolf he had pinned down, Stephen Janson, despite the other shifter attacking them. But, if he let him go, Stephen would attack them again. Perhaps the guy was an asshole, but if he was simply following his alpha’s commands, Holton didn’t know if that was something a wolf should die for. It was in their DNA, after all. With the exception of a handful of lone wolves, they were programmed to live within a chain of command.
But, if he had to choose between Stephen and Ruby … Well, there was no choice.
He tightened his jaws around the other wolf’s throat, squeezing hard enough to put pressure on the windpipe, but not puncture the throat with his teeth. Beneath his tongue, he could still feel the other wolf’s pulse thrumming, though it had slowed. Stephen’s chest heaved in and out with labored breaths. Holton didn’t think he’d be attacking back any time soon, and Ruby was in trouble.
The sounds of the snarls were horrendous. He had to get in there and help.
Holton released the other wolf’s throat and turned his attention to Ruby. With a leap, he attacked Ronny’s rear end, sinking his teeth into his meaty rump. The older wolf howled and whipped around, releasing Ruby long enough for her to scurry out from under him.
Gregory was starting to get nervous. He marched over to where Stephen still lay on the ground. “Fight, dammit,” he yelled at the fallen wolf, but Stephen didn’t even respond.
Outnumbered, two to one, Ronny whimpered, his belly sinking to the ground.
“What are you doing?” Gregory yelled, realizing Ronny was giving up, too.
With his tail firmly tucked under his body, Ronny turned and fled.
Holton would have to deal with him later.
He went to help his brother, Ruby at his side. Joel and Gavin’s fight had been evenly matched, and they had both come off badly: a torn flap of skin hung above Joel’s eye and the other wolf’s ear was ragged. But, even though they were matched, now neither Ruby nor Holton had anyone else to fight, Gavin knew he would lose. In an act of submitting, he lowered himself to the floor, his tail curled between his legs. Joel gave him a final nip, and, with a yelp, Gavin, too, took off into the forest.
Slowly, Holton turned to Gregory.
He hadn’t wanted to do this—fight for the position of alpha. He’d hoped Gregory would eventually step down and Holton would be able to slip into his place, with Ruby as alpha female at his side. But now he knew it would come down to a physical challenge, and there was nothing he could do about it. At least he didn’t need to worry about Ruby fighting now, but he knew that, if he lost, both she and Joel would have to run. They’d never be able to go back to the pack if Gregory remained at its head.
Gregory was big and strong, but so was Holton, and he had youth on his side. However, Gregory also had experience, and the fact that he was currently alpha also gave him confidence.
Holton needed to win, he had no choice.
Understanding what was happening, Gregory faced him. “So this is it, huh? You’re going to betray me, and try to take my position of alpha?”
Holton growled. You already betrayed me, he thought, but of course couldn’t say.
They had to fight this, wolf to wolf.
Though he longed to lunge at Gregory in human form, and tear the bastard’s throat out, Holton respected the laws of their kind. He remained still, a low growl rumbling from his chest, while the current alpha quickly stripped and shifted.
As a wolf, Gregory was an impressive animal, with a barrel chest and thick black fur, though his muzzle was now flecked with white. His yellow eyes glowed from out of his skull, filled with fury. Gregory hadn’t thought his shifters would lose, Holton could tell. He’d believed this would all have been dealt with and he’d have been able to go back to the pack and say Holton had been killed by strange wolves on their territory, the same wolves that were supposed to have hurt Jaco.
Holton hoped the fight with the other wolves hadn’t drained too much of his strength. He’d have preferred to have done this when he was fresh and rested, but that wasn’t going to happen. He couldn’t back out of this now, and Gregory was looking as strong as ever.
The black wolf suddenly bounded toward him, his teeth exposed in a snarl. Holton stood his ground, and took the blow as Gregory slammed into him. He staggered against the other wolf’s weight, but managed to stay on his feet, whipping his head around to nip at Gregory’s neck. The white flash of canines sparked bright in his vision, and he jerked back, just quickly enough to prevent one of Gregory’s teeth sinking into his eye.
The sounds of their fight filled the forest, growls followed by yips and high-pitched yelps as they tussled. Holton managed to sink his teeth into Gregory’s shoulder, but the current alpha easily dislodged him and fought back, the pain increasing his vigor. Gregory knocked him back, and he stumbled and landed on his side, the air chuffing out of his lungs as his ribs crunched. Pain shot through him and he bit down to prevent himself letting out a howl. Gregory spotted the moment and jumped for him, but Holton managed to roll out of the way and stagger back to all four feet.
They faced each other again, both injured now, Gregory with a gash in his shoulder and limping slightly, him with bruised, or possibly broken, ribs. He tried not to think about where Ruby and Joel were, how they must be feeling. It must be so hard for them not to get involved, but no other wolf could interfere with this process. Once the challenge for alpha had started, they couldn’t step in, no matter how bad things were looking for either the alpha or the challenger. This would be seen to the end.
Holton and Gregory went for one another again. The snarls were vicious, blood droplets and spittle flying as they battled, jaws locking. What would happen if neither of them won? As they were so evenly matched, what if they both ended up badly injured and neither survived?
Holton lunged to one side, grabbing a roll of skin and fur just below Gregory’s scruff. He tried to use it to pin him to the floor, but the other wolf was too strong. Gregory fought back with bites of his own, catching Holton on the chest. Pain speared through him, and he knew the teeth had punctured his skin. That, combined with the band of pain which wrapped around his chest from the damaged ribs, made him falter, and, the next thing he knew, he was on his back, his alpha standing above him.
Gregory had him pinned down, his muzzle inches from Holton’s. His alpha growled, foaming saliva dripping from his jaws and onto Holton’s face. Another second and he would find himself with his throat ripped out. He snapped at Gregory’s face the best he coul
d, keeping the current alpha’s jaws away from his throat, but he wouldn’t be able to stay like this forever. He needed to do something.
An idea occurred to him, and with it came a ripple of unease.
Could he do it? It would be a massive risk, but he didn’t see any other option. His time was running out and, if Gregory won, the lives of everyone he loved would be irrevocably changed.
Holton made up his mind and began to the shift back to human.
Before most of his body had turned back to man, so he was still a wolf’s torso beneath the other wolf, his forelegs shifted back to arms, his shoulders realigned in the sockets. He knew he only had a matter of seconds before the rest of his body also became human. When that happened, he would lose his powerful jaws and sharp teeth and become vulnerable. Gregory would rip his throat out in a moment. Holton felt his paws lengthen to fingers, his palm spreading and claws giving way to nails. Now he had fingers, he reached for something to help him, grasping desperately. The change started to happen to his face, the fur melting away, and his muzzle beginning to shorten. Gregory had realized something was wrong, and paused in his attack, faltering slightly. Holton reached again, frantic now. A rock, a tree-branch, even dirt to throw in the alpha’s eyes. Then his fingers closed around what he needed and he tightened his grip. With every ounce of strength, just as Gregory bared his teeth once more and lunged down to tear off Holton’s now vulnerable face, Holton used everything he had to bring the sharp stick in a stabbing motion into Gregory’s side.
His aim was either excellent or lucky. The stick punctured the skin, between the ribs. Holton knew the exact moment it had hit Gregory’s lung by the way he took a sudden gasp—or, at least, tried to. The result was a wheezy rattle, the look in his eyes sheer confusion and fear.