I snorted as Katy flashed me a grin and gathered my discarded clothes. She turned and tucked them beneath a large pine tree.
Michael moved to the center of the clearing, motioning for Lodge and I to move into the challenge area.
“William Lodge issued a challenge to Remington Holt for Alpha of the Blackwater pack. If either party wishes to withdraw, now is the time to do so. Withdrawal means an automatic forfeit.” Michael looked from me to Lodge.
Neither of us moved to step away.
With a nod, Michael continued, “Both parties will fight until submission or death. The victor will be declared Alpha of our pack.”
He gave me one last look and stepped back to the outskirts with the rest of the crowd.
Lodge stood ten feet away from me. His massive body easily had fifteen pounds on me, but it was aged muscle. All mass and no definition. He might have been heavier, but I was willing to bet I had more endurance and speed than he did.
And, judging by the dangerous growl rumbling from my chest, he didn’t have the rage my wolf did.
His gray ears flicked back and forth, his pale eyes narrowed as he watched me.
I kept still, not moving, not giving anything away. He would have to make the first move.
His initial lunge almost caught me by surprise.
I had misjudged how fast he could move, but I was still able to spin around before his teeth made contact with my shoulder.
But that first move showed me all I needed to know. Lodge was a straight-up fighter who relied on his size and brawn to fight. He wasn’t smart about his moves.
I had spent years learning to fight as a human and a wolf. Countless hours had been spent pushing my body to work better. Lodge probably hadn’t fought in close to a decade, and it showed.
I backed away, putting enough space between us that he had to charge me again.
It was easy to sidestep his second attempt. I swiped a massive paw at him, catching his shoulder. His weight and momentum were too much; he stumbled. With a snarl, he whirled and lunged at me again.
Instead of moving, I waited to twist until the last second. His front paws landed on the ground, and I managed to drive my body up into his. My jaws clamped onto his throat and dragged him into the dirt.
I shook my head, my jaws crushing his windpipe as he wheezed out a low whine. His legs scrambled for traction, but it was pointless.
Now the question was would he give up? Or would I need to rip his throat out?
Blood coated my tongue as he kept struggling. The more he writhed under me, the harder I clamped down and the more I shredded his throat.
A low moan across the clearing caught my attention.
His mate, Ainsley’s mom, had covered her mouth in horror.
I had won, but Lodge wasn’t giving up.
If he didn’t give up soon, I wouldn’t be able to keep my wolf from ending this fight permanently. As it was, the taste of blood was driving us both into a frenzy that was making things hazy.
I gave another hard jerk, and he finally relaxed under me. He rolled onto his back as much as he could, the fight draining from him as he submitted.
My jaw tightened briefly, reminding him of his place in the pack. His pitiful whimper caught on the breeze as I released my hold on him and moved back as the sun dipped beneath the mountain. The dwindling rays of twilight barely illuminated the clearing.
Lodge rolled onto his belly with a low groan, his massive body heaving as he struggled to catch his breath.
I was barely winded.
Michael again moved into the center.
“Remington Holt is the victor,” he declared.
I started to head back, shifting when I was by my clothes. I pulled them on quickly and turned back to my pack. Flashing my friends a grim smile, I walked back to Michael, wiping my mouth with a towel Katy tossed me.
Lodge was just getting to his feet, swaying uneasily. Blood dripped from his throat. It wasn’t enough to kill him, but it would probably scar.
That made me smirk.
Michael inclined his head to me. “You are the Alpha of Blackwater.”
Lodge shifted back then, his body naked and bloody as he crouched on the ground. He pushed himself up to his knees and looked at me a second before lowering his head in surrender. Michael joined him a second later.
The others slowly dropped to a knee, heads bowed as they acknowledged me as their Alpha.
9
Skye
Cold seeped into my bones as I listened to Remy’s voicemail for the third time. I closed my eyes as a buzzing noise started in my ears. Panic clawed at me as my breath caught and the room started to spin.
I almost dropped Nikolai’s phone. At the last second, I felt someone pull it from my numb fingers.
“I can’t breathe,” I gasped, my legs starting to shake. My teeth chattered as ice water filled my veins. Everything that wasn’t frozen was hard and brittle, threatening to crack and shatter. The air in the room seemed to disappear as I tried to breathe.
“Fuck,” Dimitri muttered. “She’s having a panic attack.”
Gentle hands guided me back down to the sofa. My knees gave out, and I crashed onto the leather with enough force to click my teeth together.
If Remy wasn’t answering …
Oh, God.
“Look at me, Skye.”
The firm, commanding voice cut through the chaos in my head. I pried my eyes open to see gray eyes level with me, staring at me hard.
“That’s it,” Nikolai encouraged, his hands covering mine and warming them. “Breathe, little wolf.”
I sucked in a shaky breath, tears filling my eyes and spilling over.
I hated that I was falling apart now, showing weakness. I had held it together for so long, but it had never occurred to me that when I called, Remy might not answer.
That he might not be able to answer.
What if he was really hurt? And I was on the other side of the damn world? I was sitting here and he needed me.
I felt the wave of anxiety start to rise again. The air was sucked back out in a rush and I grew dizzy.
“Skye, breathe,” Nikolai ordered. “Look at me, sweetheart.”
My eyes snapped back to his.
“That’s my girl,” he encouraged, squeezing my hands. I focused on the feel of his rough hands surrounding mine. They were huge and calloused. This close I could see the different shades of gray swirling in his irises making them look like melted silver.
“Breathe in,” he commanded.
I managed to pull in a strangled breath.
“And out.”
I exhaled, the air wobbling as it escaped me.
“Good girl.” He smiled warmly and the effect was incredible. The light of his smile chased away the dark shadows lingering in his eyes and eased the tightness around his mouth.
I licked my lips. “I’m okay,” I whispered.
“I know you are,” he told me firmly. “You’re my daughter. I would expect nothing less.”
But I wasn’t just his daughter.
“I need …” I cleared my throat. “Can I call my mom?”
“Of course.”
Dimitri handed me the phone over Nikolai’s shoulder, giving me a worried smile.
“I’ll see if my guy can find out anything about who was on the plane that landed in Blackwater,” he assured me, already pulling his own phone from his pocket and turning away as he called Viktor.