“The duel isn’t yet set to start, so I don’t see how I’m late,” Alarick replied dryly. Gwyar shrugged as though it made no difference. Alarick turned to me, handing over his suit jacket before unbuttoning his shirt.
“Witnesses, thank you for joining us,” Alpha Due called to the crowd. “Alpha Eirian will be here momentarily for the duel to begin.” His attention turned back to us as he indicated the sidelines with a wave of his hands. “You can stay there with the pup. I doubt you’ll need the entire meadow for your duel, but it is available for use, so we won’t allow anyone to go more than ten feet past the tree line,” he explained.
“That’d be quite a duel,” I muttered, eyeing the distance of what was probably several football fields combined.
“Some are.” Ian’s voice was edgy, and I shifted to look at him as he adjusted his glasses.
“Ian?” I murmured, tugging him down so he could whisper into my ear.
“You’re right, kitten. Look how calm he is.” I glanced to Gwyar, who hadn’t even broken a sweat at the idea of the duel beginning. He wore a large smile on his face. A shiver worked over my spine as my wolf tried to push forward, to bound across the ground and tear into the male who was the source of so many problems for my family. I took a quick look at the solemn faces of the others, and I knew they had the same thoughts.
“Alpha Due?” I called quietly, drawing his attention to me and waving him closer. “What’s the fastest way out of this meadow if Shannon and Luna need to take it?”
“Pixie, no,” Shannon objected, but I silenced her with a look.
He froze, studying me, then looked back at Starlight Woods. “It’s a mediation meadow. Equidistant. If she can get back to the packhouse, there’s a safe room, but if it came to…” His phone was in his hand as he tapped out a text. His face paled, and a choked noise came from his mouth that had the others whirling to face him.
“Shannon,” I ordered, pushing Luna into her arms despite the girl’s desperate attempt to cling to me. “Due, what’s wrong?” The male threw his head back with a roar, whirling to face Gwyar who was suddenly enclosed in what seemed to be beams of light.
“I’ll kill you!” Due roared, stalking the other male as he dropped his phone to the ground. His skin rippled as patches of gray fur pushed to the top.
“What the hell is he doing?” I gasped, shoving Shannon into the middle of us as Alarick scooped up the phone.
“Shielding,” Ian replied grimly, adjusting his glasses. “It’s not his power though. He has a very weak healing gift—minor injuries only. There’s no way he can shield.”
“Oh, fuck,” Alarick hissed. “They have Eirian.” He angled the phone so we could see it. On the screen was a video. The alpha female lay bound and unconscious with blood pooling underneath her. Her chest still rose and fell slightly, so she was clearly alive, but a gun was pointed at her.
“A gun?” I squeaked.
“Yes, Pixie.” Gwyar sneered my name like an oath as Due dove into the shield, screeching as his skin smoked. “I wouldn’t do that again, Due. Not unless you want my man to pull the trigger on your mate. It’s only fair that if you side with a human, she’ll die like one.” Due froze, panting as he glared at Gwyar. “Now, let’s try this again, shall we? All you have to do is choose the winning side, you see.” He lifted his hands in a placating gesture. “I’m not asking for much, and you’ll have your mate back in just a few moments. If you had listened to me earlier, it never would have come to this. All you have to do is have your pack hold off the pups here, take down this so-called Alpha of Lupine Hollow, and hand me his still beating heart.” The calm words turned into a spitting, raging snarl at the end before he slid a hand down his shirt. Alpha Due was nearly vibrating with tension as he turned his head to stare at Alarick with wide eyes.
“You’re insane,” Ian declared, stepping in front of Alarick, his voice echoing around the clearing. “You’ve kidnapped and injured a mediator in front of witnesses. You’ve ordered him to take on an unsanctioned challenge in your place and murder another alpha so you can eat his heart and then pretend you’re Alpha of Lupine Hollow and the academy. You know the magic will not pass to you! You know that none of us will allow it, that these witnesses will all speak against you.”
“Ah, but that’s the thing,” Gwyar murmured, tapping his finger against his chin. “The little alpha here did me a favor by requesting this match.” Ice filled my veins as my wolf snapped and snarled, yanking at me. “You see, Due, I never could have gotten my people onto your territory without an invitation. But when you invited witnesses…” He laughed, the sound high-pitched and manic as wolves began to shift to stand behind Gwyar, growling low in their throats. Many were redheaded, clearly pack members of Starlight Woods, but other colors danced through there as well.
With yelps and whimpers, some of the wolves—clearly those who had truly intended to simply witness, not fight—began to flee, only to be boxed in as other wolves slunk from the shadows.
“No one leaves,” Gwyar snarled. “You’re with me, or you die. Lupine Hollow is not the only pack with allies. Too many of our kind are sick of watching the Temples make a mockery of what we, as wolves, should be. You ban the execution of pack members in favor of banishment. You allow your omegas to forget their places as toys of the pack.” He glared at Chann and Shannon, who raised their chins, refusing to flinch under the litany of snarls directed their way.
“You allow humans to carry the knowledge of our kind, then to join us as an equal!” He spat at his feet, curling his lip when his eyes turned to me.
“You allow matings between wolves of the same gender, or between pack members who aren’t the same strength, weakening the line.” He waved to where Shannon clasped my hand. When he looked toward Luna, I stepped in front of her, hiding her from his gaze.
“You perpetuate the lies of the so-called moon blessed instead of wiping them from existence the way we have before. There is no moon blessing, no goddess, no deity behind us. Those stories are meant to keep us from becoming what we were meant to be—gods in our own right!” he screamed, and behind him wolves howled their support.
“It’s power that makes a wolf. The strongest of wolves have always led the way, and you make us weak. Yet you are the ones who teach our pups, corrupting and influencing them with your weaknesses and twisted ways. Leading them from our traditions and our families, tearing them from the right paths with lies and tricks and manipulation. Well, you’ve finally been outsmarted. It ends now, little alpha.” His eyes snapped back to Alpha Due. “Kill him, or your mate dies.”
Alpha Due turned on shaky legs, each movement jerky as he faced us. “Alarick.” The name was a plea, even as his hands curled into fists.
“I know.” Alarick’s voice was soft as he shrugged out of his shirt, tossing it to the side.
“Well, I don’t!” I screamed.
“Think, Pixie,” Chann murmured. “What wouldn’t we do for you?”
Behind Gwyar, Shaw laughed. “Don’t worry, human, you won’t have to live to see him die. I’ll happily kill you myself.” The wall of wolves behind Gwyar slowly began to creep forward.