“Who are all these people?” I ask.
Foster glances over his shoulder. “People from the pack, supporters for Ash and Zac.”
Looking up at Ash, I notice a tick in his jaw. He never really explained how he feels about this. Only that he’s angry at Zac, but does he regret the challenge? He must, since he was looking for other packs to join.
Ash peers down at me. “You’ll stay with them during the challenge. I trust them to keep you safe.”
Foster strides closer and throws an arm over my shoulder as we walk the rest of the way to the group. I stuff my empty hand into my coat pocket to keep it warm.
I catch sight of Alice and Charlie.
Before I can comment on it, a commotion draws my eye to the other side of a ring that’s beginning to form.
Dread sinks in as I recognize the dirty-blond hair. Breathing becomes difficult as memories flood back of him standing there as Marcus beats me. My mind goes blank and my body refuses to move as Zac walks onto the field flanked by two men and other supporters.
Foster leans down. “The redhead is Austin, and the female beside him is Eryn. They’re his betas. She’s nasty. Stay away from her.” He nods to the remaining man. “The dark-haired brute on his other side is Rick, his delta.”
My brows rise, but my eyes remain glued to Zac as the redhead, Austin, whispers to him. Zac’s eyes move around until he catches sight of me. A frown appears on his face, his attention moves to Ash. “I see you decided to bring your lover. I didn’t think you’d want her to see your death.”
“Neither of us have to die if you concede,” Ash says.
Zac laughs. “You really think I’d let you be alpha, brother?”
My jaw drops as Ash stiffens beside me.
Brother? Did I hear that right? Ash is Zac’s brother? But...I thought Alice and Zac were siblings. I’m so confused.
Zac’s eyes flash to mine then lands back on Ash. “What? Did you not tell her Ash? That you and I share the same mother?” Zac lets out a hollow laugh. “Wow, that’s rich. I’ve been waiting so long for you to challenge me. To fight me back. To show everyone who the superior brother is. That I am the rightful alpha, not just a bastard. But you would never fight me until she came around.” He looks me over with burning hatred and something else that I quite can’t place. Regret?
They look nothing alike, except maybe for their blue eyes. But even then, I see more of Alice than Ash in him. I blink and jerk my gaze to Alice. She has tears streaming down her face as the man beside her looks stricken with grief, but at the same time fierce and strong.
“He is Alice’s brother,” Foster says. “They share the same father, Charlie, but have different mothers, while Ash and Zac share the same mother.” His eyes are sad and locked on Alice’s face. He looks down at me with a sorrowful, closed smile. “Small world, huh.”
A small world that I know almost nothing about. I glance at Ash as a wave of betrayal hits me. Didn’t he say no more secrets?
“Ash?” I whisper.
Ash flinches but releases my hand to step forward and in front of me, blocking my view. “My mother cheated on my father. My father only saw Zac as a reminder of her betrayal,” Ash says without emotion. “My parents remained together, but she gave Charlie full custody of the child.” Ash’s gaze lifts to Charlie.
Charlie looks stricken with emotion now, but he’s still standing tall with an arm around Alice.
Zac is tied to them all.
My stomach drops. Even more reason to stop this fight from happening.
“Isn’t there anything we can do?” I ask Foster.
He looks down and shakes his head, his eyes full of pain. “This is the only way.”
I look at Ash’s back. Why didn’t he tell me Zac is his brother? Is he ashamed? My heart is heavy, not for myself, but for Zac. What would it feel like to be rejected by your own mother? To not be able to get to know your only brother? I had two loving parents until they died, but I knew both of their love.
Zac snarls. “Don’t pity me, Eleanor.” My gaze snaps up and meets Zac’s piercing gaze above Ash’s shoulder.
He’s right. I shouldn’t since he still has a loving father and adoring sister. Maybe he had a step-mom that was good to him, but I can’t help thinking how horrible it must have been for him to find out his mother didn’t want him, that she wanted to stay with her other family.
“When I met you all those weeks ago,” Zac says, “I had no idea what you meant to Ash. Just that he was keeping you a secret. In hindsight I shouldn’t have…” He shakes his head. “Doesn’t matter what I shouldn’t have done. It’s in the past now.” His gaze jerks back to Ash. “Are we going to do this or not? I’m tired of waiting. It’s time to prove I’m the rightful alpha.”
“That’s enough, Zac. Concede to Ash.” Charlie’s voice booms across the field.
Zac jerks back with shock, a flash of betrayal crosses his face. But his features harden just as fast. “I see. But you choosing sides won’t change anything. I will not concede.” He glances over Alice, a flicker of emotion in his eyes. He turns back to Ash. “Let’s get this over with.”
Ash grimaces, but recovers quickly, standing firm in front of me. “I didn’t want to fight you, and you know that, but if you won’t concede, I have no choice. You threatened my…” He turns his head slightly to me. “My chosen mate.”
My jaw drops as a hush spreads across the field. I close my gaping mouth and look around—most seem surprised, even Foster and Russell.
A wave of utter surprise and dismay flashes across Zac’s face, but it’s so quick, I almost believe I imagined it.
Ash runs a hand through his hair. He sets his shoulders and takes a step forward. “Zachary Harris, I invoke the law of the challenge.” His voice thunders through the field and bounces off the trees sending a chill down my spine. “I hereby keep my oath to fight for the position of alpha.”
“I accept.” Zac enters the ring in front of Ash. He doesn’t appear as confident as before. He seems almost resigned.
My chest tightens. This is really happening. I lock my gaze to the back of Ash’s head, only able to see part of his profile.
“Man or wolf?” Ash asks.
“Man, but partial-shift is allowed.”
“Very well.” Ash takes off his shirt and turns around.
My thoughts swirl, changing from shock to sadness to confusion, but the pain in my heart is constant.
What I’m most afraid of is not dying or my foster father finding me. It’s Ash dying. I survived the death of my parents, survived the foster system, survived Marcus, survived running, but I won’t survive the heartbreak that would come from Ash dying.
He’s been there for me even when he didn’t need to be. He kept me company, became a friend, saved my life, took care of me, taught me how to feel again. Ash cares for me even though he is under no obligation to do so. He found me squatting in his safe haven and didn’t kick me out.
My eyes widen at the realization of how deep my feelings have become in such a short time. I knew I cared for him, but I may love him. If that’s what I’m feeling.
But if he dies?
I shake my head.
That can’t be a possibility. Him winning is the only option that’s possible.
But how can I ask him to kill his brother? His only sibling?
Ash tips my chin up, his gaze full of concern. “I’ll explain everything later, okay?”
My mouth opens and shuts a few times before I decide to just nod in response.
He caresses my bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. “If I…” His gaze lifts to mine. “If I don’t make it, know that I love you.” He places his shirt in my hands then turns back to Zac.
I can barely focus as they face each other and both partial-shift their hands.
Ash loves me.
I mean now that I really think about it, it was easy to see. He’s practically said it without actually using those three little words, but this is the first tim
e he’s said it. I frown. Why now? Because he thinks he’s going to die? Anger flares. First he announces that I’m his chosen mate, and now he tells me that he loves me right before he fights his brother.
With the first hiss of pain, my attention snaps back into the present.
It was Zac. He’s holding his side where there’s four slashes, but it’s not deep.
He and Ash couldn’t be more different in appearance and temperament. Zac with his blond hair and golden skin, Ash with his ebony hair and darker complexion. Zac has a temper, while Ash is calm. The only thing they have in common is their eyes. Both blue and vibrant, but different emotions swirl in each.
Foster wraps an arm around my tense shoulders. “He’ll be okay, Ellie.”
My hands wring together when Zac growls and jumps at Ash.
Ash easily side-steps Zac, but at the last second Zac stretches his arm out to swipe with his partial-shifted hand. Ash blocks it, but Zac’s claws slash through the skin on his arm.
I fight back a cry at Ash’s hiss of pain, even from here I can see the deep gashes on his forearm.
Zac doesn’t let up for a single moment as he goes for another attack, but Ash is ready and ducks as Zac aims for his face.
The woman that was with Zac earlier, Eryn, yells from the other side of the ring, “If you want to catch his pretty face, you gotta do a surprise attack.”
Zac doesn’t pay her any heed as Ash tries to retaliate, going for Zac’s injured side. He moves aside and punches Ash in the gut.
But Ash claws Zac’s other side in the process.
Zac snarls in pain and anger, clenching his side.
In an instant, they both attack each other in a whirl of punches and claws that go back and forth. Blood flows from them both, but it’s clear that Ash has the upper hand, landing more blows than Zac.
Zac advances, but it’s slow compared to when they first began, while Ash seems to still have plenty of stamina. He’s faster than Zac. This must be because of his special ability.
It seems like Zac has realized this too when he makes eye contact with one of his betas.
Tension stirs around us, and the air changes as Rick steps forward and into the ring.
Is that allowed?
“Bloody hell,” Foster says, his arm stiffening over me.
Suddenly it’s not just the beta, but everyone on Zac’s side steps onto the field.
Rick is the first to shift, but soon others swiftly shift into wolves as well, all heading straight for Ash and us.
“Bastards.” Russell growls on the other side of Foster. He shifts, shredding his clothes, and becomes a beautiful red-brown wolf. He leaps onto the field beside Ash.
Ash glances behind with wide eyes as his gaze lands on mine. He’s terrified. Not for himself, but for me.
“Foster!” he shouts.
“Already on it, brother.” Foster pulls me away from the fray.
But in the brief encounter with us, Ash is overcome by Zac, who has shifted into his wolf form completely.
Zac’s teeth sink into Ash’s shoulder.
Ash roars in pain, taking hold of the fur at the back of Zac’s neck, digging his claws into the flesh and throws Zac off him.
But the bite was deep. Blood gushes from his wounds and flows down his body.
My hands fly up to my mouth as a sob escapes. I distracted him. His concern for me distracted him. I shouldn’t have come.
“Ellie, we need to get you to safety.” Foster urges me away. Even if I could fight back, I’m no match against a lycan.
Foster maneuvers us through the fray. Slashing at others and forcing me behind him when some get too close.
He stops us as we make it to the pack house. Looking back, we see Ash struggling against Zac and two other lycans in their wolf forms.
“Stay here,” Foster says. He leaves me at the entrance of the pack house and races off to help Ash.
Looking around, I can’t tell the difference between enemy and ally. Who’s the enemy? Who isn’t? How do they know? I thought they were all part of the same pack.
“Ah, there you are, little Eleanor,” says a voice that cuts me deep inside, sending a chill through my body.
Slowly peering over to my right, Marcus stands tall and alone despite the fray around us. I turn to run, where I’m not sure, but I know I need to get away.
Sharp pain erupts from my scalp as I’m yanked back by my hair.
“Not so fast,” Marcus whispers low in my ear.
Reaching up, I try to dig my blunt nails into his hands, but he simply laughs at my attempts.
“Ellie!”
I glance to my side, and search for the voice that called my name.
Alice.
She’s in mid-shift. But it’s slow and appears painful if the grimace on her face indicates anything.
Marcus drags me back some more with a maniacal laugh. “What do you think you’re going to do, little omega?”
A growl comes from Alice once she finishes her shift into a beautiful, white-gold wolf. She’s so small compared to Ash.
Alice jumps and attaches herself, embedding her teeth into Marcus’ arm that has a hold of my hair. Marcus roars and releases his grip.
I scramble away from him, my entire body shaking. I don’t even know if I can stand right now.
He looks at me, hate in his eyes. He snarls and pries Alice off.
Holding her up in the air by the back of her neck, he looks at her with disgust. “Omegas are weak. It was like a mosquito biting me—more of a pest than a problem.”
Marcus throws her on the ground, and she lands with a yelp. He kicks her in the stomach. She coughs out blood and curls in on herself.
No. Not again.
Seeing blood coming out of someone I care about at the hands of someone I hate. Who’s killed someone I cared about before.
Something snaps in me.
“Alice!” I scream and start to run when arms wrap around my middle, lifting my feet off the ground.
I squirm out, trying to break free and screaming bloody murder. “I have to save her.”
“She’ll be okay,” someone says through clenched teeth. But I can’t focus on who it is, or who has me, or even if they’re the same person.
“Let me go,” I scream, tears running down my face. I claw at the arms holding me. I can’t lose another person I care about, I just can’t.
My fight dies out as the hands around my waist refuse to loosen.
I look behind me to find Foster the one holding me, his jaw tight and his eyes hard. Noticing my gaze, he allows his hold to slack, but only slightly.
Snarling at him, I try to break free again. How could he stop me from trying to save one of his friends? What’s wrong with him?
“Ellie,” he says. “Look, she’s okay.”
I freeze in his arms and look where I last remember seeing her, and find that he’s right.
Charlie is there, only partial-shifted as he fights Marcus, but he’s holding his own.
Marcus has an ungodly amount of strength, but Charlie is more experienced. Charlie ducks and throws punches and slashes in sequence, like a dance.
He makes Marcus look sloppy.
Alice shifts back into her human form, holding her stomach with a grimace. She’s covered in dirt and blood, only wearing a bra and underwear.
Foster twists us away and carries me out of the war zone, swiping his claws at anyone who comes near us.
A scream pierces through the air, stopping Foster mid-stride.
He slowly turns us, dread seeping in.
My body goes cold.
My shoulder aches where Zac bit me, and I’m covered in my own blood. But I’m more pissed than hurt. I just want to end this and get Ellie to safety.
Zac advances in his wolf form with two other lycans at his side, one being Austin, the other Eryn. I’m not going to hold back this time.
I let my shift take over, my heightened emotions allowing me to shift faster.
The instan
t my paws touch the ground, I’m on Austin.
My jaw clamps down around his neck. I don’t want to kill him, but they’ve given me no other choice. Once they entered into the fight and endangered Ellie, it was over for them.
Because I need to survive this. I need to be here to protect her.
White pain erupts on my right hind leg and my left side, but I refuse to release Austin from my grip, not until he stops moving. Then, and only then, will I drop him.
It’s not long before Austin falls from my jaw.
I swiftly turn around and slash at Eryn, catching her on the face. Even in wolf form there are tears and fear lining her eyes. She whines, backing away from me while displaying her canines.
I nip at her in warning.
Her eyes dart to Austin laying behind me. Zac is huffing, struggling to stand, from the pack bond breaking from Austin’s death.
I lower my head. Go. I growl at her, giving her one last warning.
She makes a break for the forest.
Zac grunts at her decision, his front legs giving out, as the pack bond they shared breaks from her abandonment.
Leaving the pack, breaking the tie, is as simple as making the decision to leave, to break that bond. The only other way is death.
And only an alpha can sense the pack bonds with each individual, and since the challenge technically isn’t over, he’s still the alpha.
Having already suffered from the first bond break and the wounds I inflicted earlier, Zac can no longer stand. Taking advantage of his position, I charge.
Noticing me coming, he struggles to stand, but it’s too late. I’m already on him. I bite into his neck, piercing his tender flesh, but not deep enough to kill him.
Concede, I growl.
Never, he responds.
I should kill him right now. Should end this challenge and become alpha.
But when I try to end it, my jaw refuses to close. My entire body shakes as I struggle.
Why can’t I do this? Is it because we share blood? We’ve never been close, but I always wanted a relationship with him.
Once I found out I was going to have a brother, I was so excited. I’ve always had a desire to be closer to Zac, to try and make a friendship. But it seemed it was never in our cards. Too many obstacles, my father being one of them. He ignored him, pretended Zac didn’t even exist. But I always knew. Always wanted to get to know my brother. Can I not end it now because I did?
Saving Ellie (Lycans Book 1) Page 20