by M F Adele
Charlie King had eight apprentices worldwide. They were the front runners to take the Supreme Alpha position if Sloane decided she didn’t want to take it—or if one of them should beat her.
Seven of the eight had chosen to issue official challenges to the mated pair. Briggs had made it clear to the pack that he stood with Sloane, not against her. His easy dismissal of his right to fight her made some of the other apprentices bristle.
The memory of my kitten calling the wolf out tugged my lips up despite the situation at hand.
As Charlie was planning out the seven-on-two fight, Anna stepped forward from the cluster of people at his right side. She wasted no time issuing her own challenge before the Supreme Alpha could speak.
Novak sighed. “She really has a death wish.”
“No,” Blaire disagreed. “Desperation is making her act like that. She knows she’s been caught. The only thing that will solve all of her problems is if she can somehow beat Sloane and Briggs… and then whichever apprentices they don’t kill today.”
I snorted. “So what Novak said. She has a death wish.”
And I couldn’t wait to watch her die.
I fucking despised her.
She’d tried to kill me a few months ago. All because I caught her cheating with that strange gray-headed man in the pictures Novak had found. Raguel. I could still see his remorseless face in my memories.
He didn’t care that she had a boyfriend.
She didn’t seem to care either.
Watching Sloane and Briggs fight, and not being able to help, was going to be akin to torture. I knew they could handle it, but the idea of not being able to defend my mate bothered me. Even if she didn’t need it.
The option to step in had been taken off the table, and that pissed me off.
I studied the other apprentices as they circled around and whispered amongst each other. Sloane and Briggs were supposed to take the challenges on two at a time as one-on-one fights.
Their opponents were working on a strategy.
The plan was smart, but it wouldn’t help them.
My mate and the wolf stood together in the center of the makeshift ring, laughing and mumbling to each other. They didn’t look the least bit concerned about the murmurs of rule-bending.
I knew that they weren’t.
Briggs had shed his shirt, wearing nothing but a pair of gray mesh-like basketball shorts that Palmer had spelled. Sloane was in skin-tight shorts and some sort of strappy choker thing with the bottom of her tits showing.
“Why does she look so hot right now?”
“She just turns you on when she kills people. Be honest, Demon.” York chuckled when I shrugged.
“No objections there, but that top is like… I can’t quite make myself call it a shirt. Is it lingerie?”
Blaire rolled her eyes at me. “It’s workout gear, you perv.”
“I don’t know, Blaire. I’d—”
“You’ll fuck anything with a pulse, Novak, and some things without one. Don’t belittle your mate by saying you’d fuck her in that.”
Palmer cackled, pulling some unwanted attention in our direction. Novak elbowed him, pretending to sulk over his sister’s comment.
Sloane looked around at the attending audience, grinning at us before transforming into her silver wolf. A few gasps rang out, reminding me that not many people had seen her in animal form before.
Briggs nodded to her, shifting into his black wolf.
Both of them were larger than your run-of-the-mill wolves. I had learned that many of the animals came in two different breeds with shifters; regular and dire. The sizing wasn’t specific to wolves.
They were taller than the bears, Sloane’s and Briggs’ height matching almost exactly. She was slim against his bulk, but where he was a brick wall, she was nothing but agile grace.
A grizzly bear and a polar bear split apart from the opposing pack and made their way to the center of the makeshift ring. They would be the first pairing.
With four huge animals in the circle, the roped-off ring suddenly looked far too cramped.
The bears stood, and I thought it might have been an intimidation tactic. Both wolves broadened their shoulders, squaring their stance as they prepared to move in.
Charlie shouted, “Begin,” and the bears roared. Dropping to all fours, the bears surged forward, intent on making the first move. I tucked my hands into my pockets, taking a deep breath as I spectated.
The wolves danced around them, moving much faster than I remembered. As the bears passed them in their assault, Sloane and Briggs both spun around, lunging at their backs.
The way they seamlessly attacked their opponents was an indicator that they were communicating with each other mentally. They were making a plan on the fly, depending on who the opponent groupings were.
It was an anticlimactic fight. The bears were persistent, but too slow to get many good swipes in.
Sloane had a cut along her ribs, though it was healed by the time she had the grizzly on his back. Briggs had puncture wounds on his flank, and his black fur glistened with the blood of their first kill.
The grizzly submitted when he saw the dead polar bear.
An alligator and a Komodo dragon came next. Pairing up two reptiles was smart. The animals were low to the ground and quick moving. While the alligator’s bite was fierce, the monitor’s bite was full of bacteria and venomous.
Sloane went right for the eight-foot long lizard, not the least bit concerned about the anti-clotting agents in his venom. I didn’t think they would affect her anyway, but I still felt myself becoming a little anxious as he wrapped his mouth around her ankle.
Blood beaded on her fur when she snatched her leg away, and her glowing green eyes latched onto the crimson before she growled.
I began counting the minutes it took for her to heal that injury.
Briggs had the alligator flipped on his back, sharp canine teeth touching the thin, exposed skin of his belly. The reptile thrashed violently, and when Briggs applied more pressure, he became eerily still.
The alligator shifted, leaving a tanned woman on the ground yelling her submission.
Sloane continued to play with the monitor, batting at him as the blood flowed from her ankle. The Komodo dragon backpedaled, trying to get away from her as she prowled forward.
She continuously displayed her strength over him, but it was clear he was not interested in submitting.
Briggs shifted back to human form, snatching a bottle of water from Vaughn’s hand as he called, “It’s rude to play with your dinner, Barbie.”
Her wolf snorted, pouncing on him. One gigantic paw landed on the back of the dragon, and she shoved him to the ground. Leaning her head down, she eyed the creature, digging her claws into his back.
He wiggled his reptilian body, trying to go out from under her, but there was no escaping a challenge fight.
You either won, submitted, or died.
No sooner than the thought crossed my mind did Sloane open her jaws, biting into the side of the Komodo dragon. He fought against her until he was too weak to continue.
Her ankle was still bleeding, but I thought it was slowing.
The monitor had put up more of a fight than I thought he would.
Four opponents down; four to go.
A woman and a man came forward, crossing the rope barrier before shifting into a tiger and a mountain lion. The larger feline yawned, her tail lashing back and forth much like my own did.
I briefly wondered who the mountain lion was since Sloane had killed the only one we knew, but it wasn’t important.
He was angry, rushing straight at Sloane.
Novak whispered to us, “That was Katie’s dad.”
“Was?” I asked.
“He has no intention of submitting, he’ll die willingly if he can’t beat Trouble.”
“I wonder if he knew what his daughter was doing?” Vaughn mused.
The vampire shook his head. “I don’t think s
o, but I can’t glean that from his mind.”
Briggs was going toe-to-toe with the tiger, though they were dancing around each other. They’d both taken swipes and swings, but neither had made any real advance.
The tiger skirted her way closer to Sloane, and when she was between both wolves, she lunged the opposite way.
I took a step forward, ready to jump the rope in front of me.
Baylor stepped in my path, shoving me back as he said, “You can’t. That’s not against the rules. I know what you’re thinking, and I get it. But there are four in the ring, two versus two.”
Briggs’ black wolf hurried to our mate as the tiger landed on her back. The mountain lion maneuvered his smaller body under my kitten, going for her throat.
But Sloane had anticipated the move.
She shifted quickly, landing flat on her stomach against the ground. She rolled out from under the tiger before it had time to latch onto her.
Briggs sprang into action, knocking the tiger away, and Sloane was back in wolf form before the feline hit the ground.
Sloane was done playing with the mountain lion. When he rushed toward her again, she didn't give him a chance to change his mind. She snapped her jaw shut around the sensitive skin of his neck, and yanked her head back, pulling his throat out.
Blood coated the face of her silver wolf, and her green eyes grew darker as her demon surged to the surface. She needed to hang onto her control. I was sure that using any portion of her demonic power was against the rules of these challenge fights.
The black wolf rammed into the tiger, completely losing his shit over the dirty attack against his mate. Briggs didn’t just go for the jugular. He split the tiger’s belly open, yanking intestines out and slinging them around the makeshift ring.
A clear warning for all the shifters around.
They wouldn’t survive if they fucked with his mate.
I couldn’t agree more.
The last two opponents approached the ropes. The lion didn’t appear as confident as he had earlier. Anna’s brown wolf form vibrated with rage.
It didn’t take an idiot to figure out that Anna was going to attack Sloane.
My kitten took the defense, turning her body to keep the other she-wolf within her sight.
They were waiting each other out.
Anna was hoping Sloane would break first.
“Her mind is filled with static,” Blaire whispered.
“That's new,” Palmer mused. “Wonder when she took the drug? How long do you think it takes to affect the mind?”
“Sloane isn’t planning to attack her,” Novak commented. “She wants to call her out in front of the faction alphas. Everyone is outraged about the drug use and the deaths of all the shifters. Sloane is going to make an example out of her.”
Meanwhile, Briggs had lost his fucking cool. He was so incensed that we were all waiting for him to start foaming at the mouth.
21
Briggs
Saturday, June 6th
Night
I’d felt fury before, but nothing like I had tonight.
That fucking tiger.
If I could rip her open again, I would do more than hurtle her innards into the throngs of shifters as a warning.
I was still losing my fucking mind when Anna crossed the ropes with a lion on her heels.
My eyes tracked his every breath, the lashing of his tail, the twitching of his shoulder muscles. Violence coursed through my body, making my blood boil with an extreme need to protect my mate from his assault.
The moment the lion lifted his paw to move, I struck, attacking first so that he didn’t have the chance. I released all the rage I was feeling with each strike I landed.
To my right, Anna prowled around Sloane, searching for an opening that she wouldn’t find.
It took me three lunges to get a good grip on the lion’s neck.
Sinking my teeth past his dense fur, I punctured the muscle and yanked my head, forcefully ripping at the tendons. The gamey, metallic scent of his blood filled my senses, and I regripped to jerk the rest of his throat away.
I bared my teeth at his lifeless form before turning my full attention to my mate.
Anna circled, and Sloane pivoted her body, keeping the other she-wolf in view.
I stalked forward, standing a few feet from Barbie as I checked her for wounds. Her ankle had been bleeding but had slowly trickled to a stop. Nothing else caught my attention from this angle.
The challenge issued by Anna hadn’t shocked me. The Supreme Alpha had rolled his eyes as Sloane accepted. He knew the outcome of this fight better than any of us.
I observed, transfixed and nonplussed, as my ex-girlfriend snarled before attacking my new girlfriend.
My mate.
When I took my position by Sloane’s side, Anna lost her patience.
Her brown wolf came barreling forward, but Barbie didn't move. I knew she was attentive to her opponent’s body language, even if she didn’t look like she was watching.
Anna lunged for Sloane.
She opened her jaws when she was airborne, ready to wrap her teeth around my mate’s throat on impact.
At the last second, Barbie shifted from wolf to human, sidestepping the brown wolf. She wrapped her arms around Anna’s neck and slammed her to the ground.
The brown wolf kicked her legs, slicing into the human flesh of Sloane’s thighs.
Barbie didn’t flinch as Anna continued to claw and scratch at her.
After a silent moment, Sloane grew annoyed and slammed her fist into the side of the wolf’s cheek. The crack resonated through the crowd, easily heard over their mumbles. Anna whimpered, slowing her actions but not giving up.
I shifted and walked to the side of the ropes where the guys were. My job was done; I didn’t want shit to do with this fight. I didn’t even want to watch it, but if I turned my back, then the pack would see that as disrespectful to my mate.
Sloane’s voice rang out, loud and clear, as she addressed the attending spectators.
“Alphas, I present to you with the wolf behind the infected rogues. For the past couple of months, Anna Stanley has been helping an unknown fae-mage push magic-tainted injections across the supernatural species.
“These are crimes against the pack, with intentions of harming the pack, and regardless of submission during this challenge, she will face death. You can view all evidence against her inside the lodge should you have reason to believe her innocence.”
She released her hold on Anna as the Supreme Alpha stepped forward. Power coiled around Sloane, snaking its way to the brown wolf.
Anna jumped up, snarling and snapping, but it faded to screeching as the power reached her, forcing her to shift back to her human form. Barbie and Charlie milled over her, glancing at each other before he spoke, his question simple.
“What do you have to say for yourself, Anna?”
She huffed in defiance. “I’ve done nothing wrong. You have no proof.”
“Lies,” I growled. “All you’ve done is harm people in one way or another. We found more than enough proof in that fucking warehouse of torture you and Katie were running.”
Sloane’s mental presence bumped against mine, calming to my inner chaos. “Let me give you some true closure.”
“I don’t need closure, Barbie. How would you give me—”
“I’ll bring you her heart, rip it straight from her chest for you. Or her head. Which would you rather destroy?”
I shook my head, biting my lips together to stop my smile. “That doesn’t shock me anymore.”
Her right shoulder lifted slightly in a shrug. “She caused you to suffer. She’s hurt our pack, our species as a whole. I don’t take kindly to her breaking what’s mine, but I will take extreme pleasure in killing her.”
Her sigh sounded amused and disappointed. “I just wish I could torture her in the same capacity that she tortured all those shifters she abducted. I’ll just have to save that for her soul.”
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I rubbed my middle finger across my forehead. “Pay attention, Barbie. Charlie has just called for her death, and you missed it.”
But she didn’t miss anything.
Anna dashed forward, shifting back to her fur before her paws hit the ground. Sloane dodged, snatching the brown wolf backward by her tail, then she stepped away, giving Anna time to get her paws under her body.
Her only advantage was that she was smart enough to know she couldn’t beat the Alpha’s daughter skin-to-skin. The downfall to that was it made Anna look weak.
The pack would see Anna’s actions during the fight as an insult to traditions and a nod to Sloane’s strength.
The fight dragged on, and it was clear to the audience that Barbie was toying with Anna. We all knew that she would die today, but everyone was anxious to see exactly what Sloane could do.
Submission was no longer an option, and even if it was, the guys and I knew our mate wouldn’t let her live. The damage from the drug infections had been too significant to overlook.
When we were in Baton Rouge, we hadn’t checked Kadence’s office. But Charlie and Sam had. Kade didn’t keep the kind of records that Anna and Katie had. So this time around, we were able to see the true extent of the damage.
After this was all said and done, we’d need to spend weeks letting families know what happened to the people they were missing.
It was a depressing thought, and more so when Charlie had volunteered. He was hoping to take some of the stress off of us with everything that was going on, but Sloane said he felt like it was his fault that it had happened in the first place.
“How many challenges has she had?” Palmer asked, sparing a quick glance at Jack.
The hellsteed sighed, scrubbing at his face. “At least one every time we’ve visited. She doesn’t use her wolf to fight them, always opting for her skin.”
Grim nodded in agreement. “Just since I’ve been around? Probably a dozen or more. That’s why she hates being here. She doesn’t want to fight them. She doesn’t want to be responsible for deaths that she can’t justify, and a challenge just isn’t enough of a reason for her.”