“You can’t heal him,” Gwyar objected as Fillian reached out a hand, diving in front of him. “I’ve already issued the challenge for the rights to Lupine Hollow.” The words were smug as he and Shaw smirked at me with hatred in their eyes.
Nausea rolled in my stomach, but I merely shrugged a shoulder. “Doesn’t matter. The challenge isn’t going forward.” Everyone froze as Fillian clapped a hand onto my father’s, his eyes beginning to glow bronze as those gathered fought through the utter shock of my statement. Movement in the corner of my room caught my eye, and I took in the only anomaly in the sea of red-haired wolves—a portly, gray-haired male who was rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet as he chewed on his fingernails as though he was waiting to dart from the room at the slightest provocation.
The wolves from Starlight Woods all began to yell at the same time, screaming obscenities at me as Chann, Zev, and Shannon came through the door surrounding Pixie, who still held Luna in her arms. The room had gone from tight to claustrophobic at this point, with voices raised so loudly that I couldn’t believe we hadn’t drawn a crowd. Pixie carefully handed Luna over to Shannon and went to join Fillian when Shaw made a grab for her. Pixie snarled, striking out at the other female.
“You don’t touch me,” she spat.
“You can’t heal him,” Shaw insisted. “Fillian, back away. You know the laws as well as anyone. A challenged alpha is not entitled to healing. He must fight, and he must do so now, or he dies by forfeit immediately.” Pixie’s eyes glowed as bright as embers, and I knew she wanted to tear the smug smirk off the older female’s face.
“What the hell is going on here?” The roar from behind us had everyone whirling to face the doorway. I had met Alpha Due on a number of occasions, but I realized I had never seen the older male angry. Movement behind me had me shifting, and I realized that Pixie had taken advantage of the distraction, diving forward to join Fillian to press healing energy into my father. Alpha Due’s chest was heaving, his silver hair mussed as though he’d been hauled from his bed, and his eyes tracked over the scene in front of them. “Raff?” he gasped, as he took in my father lying on the bed beneath two frantic healers.
Gwyar had gone from snarling to slimy as he slid his hands wide in a congenial gesture. “Alpha Due. How nice to see you.”
“Fuck off, Gwyar,” Due snapped. “Why the hell are the hierarchies for two packs in my territory without my authorization? And why is Raff at fucking death’s door?” His eyes scanned the room again, and he hissed when they landed on the gray-haired wolf. “Syaoran, I assume this shield work is your doing.”
Well, that explained why we hadn’t drawn a crowd. The damned wolf was a shield. He would have been blocking anything that happened in this room—maybe even this floor—and been able to conceal Gwyar murdering my father and eating his heart.
“Alpha Due, my apologies,” Gwyar began again. “I was returning from the convention when a friend told me that Alpha Raff was here visiting with his own allies. When he invited me to stop for a chat, I assumed he’d gotten permission from you for my entrance, of course. I hadn’t wanted to bother you or your mate, as I had presumed you were still in Washington.” That part was said through slightly gritted teeth. “Things grew a bit heated between us, and unfortunately a challenge had to be issued.” Gwyar shrugged as though it was of no issue. “I know the timing is not ideal, but some insults just cannot stand, you see. The pups burst in here and are trying to forgo the laws of challenge by healing their alpha. While I understand their hearts are in the right place, the law is the law.” He shook his head as though saddened.
Alpha Due’s lip curled back in disgust. “You’re a real dickwad, aren’t you?” he remarked idly, making Gwyar sputter. “Considering Raff was to meet me yesterday evening at the conference, I knew something was wrong and spent some time trying to search for him. I assumed he had merely returned to his pack for an emergency. Then I got a call from one of my loyal wolves” —he growled the words toward Syaoran who flinched— “at the desk who recognized Raff when he checked in here. I knew I’d be needed back, so I took a chopper. Since I know he said not to allow anyone in his room, I damn well know he didn’t call you here.”
Gwyar shrugged, all traces of the affable male gone. “Be that as it may, the challenge has been issued. Stop healing him. Now.”
“No.” I shoved command into the order, though I knew it wasn’t needed.
Alpha Due sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. “Alarick, I’m sorry, but—”
I smiled at him, shaking my head. “There’s a problem with Gwyar’s challenge, Alpha Due.” Gwyar froze, going over everything in his head as he searched for what he might have missed. Shaw pushed past her brother, color high in her cheeks as she glared at me.
“You’re just a pup,” she hissed. “What would you know about the laws?”
“Plenty.” I shrugged. “However, this isn’t a problem with the law. It’s a problem with the alpha.”
“Alarick,” Alpha Due said gently, tugging on the collar of his shirt, “challenging him when he’s injured like this is wrong, but it is legal.”
“We’ll ignore the fact that he challenged him after poisoning him with vervain.” I waved a hand as if that meant nothing.
Alpha Due gasped, his eyes widening as he sputtered before turning to Gwyar. “You did what?”
“He wasn’t at the conference,” Gwyar blustered, puffing out his chest as his face paled. “He makes baseless accusations.”
“We can sense the vervain in him, you ass,” Pixie growled, not even looking up. “And since there’s no other way you’d know he was dying so you could have a chance at beating him—because believe me, I think he could still take your pathetic ass out—the only logical conclusion is you’re the one who poisoned him.”
Raff’s chuckle was weak. “You’ll make a good daughter-in-law,” he whispered.
“Okay, not going there yet,” she told him, a pretty flush coloring her cheeks, “but you get a pass cause you almost died.” Goddess, she was cute when she blushed.
Alpha Due let out a rumbling growl, the sound humming across the room. “I understand your logic, Beta. Unfortunately, without immediate proof, the challenge must happen.”
“The challenge would have happened,” I corrected him, “if he had challenged the Alpha of Lupine Hollow.”
“Liar!” Gwyar snapped, thrusting a finger toward Raff. “You’re simply trying to buy time for your healers to finish and for your father to transfer his powers to you.”
I smiled, though there was no humor in it. “He already has. If you took one minute to actually pay attention to your senses, to feel anything around you, you’d notice it. But just like you never noticed Penny’s powers, you didn’t notice my father’s passing to me.”
“No!” Gwyar howled, slamming his fist into the wall. “Impossible! You just got here. He couldn’t have made the transfer.” He was shaking now, his wolf riding him, encouraging him to lash out.