by Ariel Marie
With her shifter hearing, she had an easy time hearing their conversation. About ten of Ace’s wolves stood behind him, which displayed a strong support for the alpha. Renato’s five wolves stood by his side.
“You’re a dead man,” Ace growled. His eyes did not leave Ronato’s.
“We’ll see who the dead man is,” Ronato sneered.
“This is an official challenge,” Brett announced, stepping up to both the men who refused to look away from each other. “The shifter code states that a challenge for alpha is a fight to the death; an honorable death. Either of you want to back out now?”
“Hell no,” Ronato drawled.
“Fuck no,” Ace growled low.
She figured neither man would back down at that point. Turning down a challenge at that stage would be looked at as cowardly and disgraceful.
“The challenge is official,” Brett said, nodding to both men.
Her heart remained in her throat as she watched them back away and go with their respective wolves. They both stripped out of their clothes before each of them fell to the ground. Bones cracked and rearranged to allow the shift to their wolves.
The other men gathered in a circle around the two wolves. Ace’s gray wolf was slightly larger than Ronato’s midnight colored wolf. Ace paced back and forth, not taking his eyes off of the slightly smaller wolf as they waited for the signal.
She could feel the alpha vibes that Ace was broadcasting, letting everyone know that he was the true alpha. Her wolf whined, sensing her mate near, needing to go to him. She sent up a small prayer to the Gods and prayed that they were listening.
“Fight!” someone hollered.
Both wolves sprang at each other with their canines bared. Their bodies clashed in midair before landing with a thud on the ground. She cringed as she watched the two wolves go for each other’s throats. The sounds of growling and snarling filled the air as the two tussled on the ground. The men surrounding them shouted and cheered on the fight.
After only a few seconds, Dani could tell that Ace’s wolf was overpowering Ronato’s. A little relief overcame her as she watched the battle.
The men behind Ronato had to quickly jump out of the way as Ace flung Ronato across the clearing. His wolf dominated the fight. He slowly stalked towards the stumbling Ronato as he tried to stand. The moonlight reflected off of Ace’s massive fangs as he stalked Ronato, as if he were prey. Ronato righted himself on all four legs, backing up slightly away from Ace.
What is he doing? She thought to herself. Why isn’t Ronato jumping back into the fight?
She looked around, and in the woods near her, she saw a shadow move near one of the large oak trees. She squinted at first, thinking that she was seeing the shadows of the woods, but then as she stared, the shadow moved.
Someone was hiding in the woods.
She began to struggle against her restraints, trying to get Brett’s attention, or any of the enforcers that were with him. Everyone’s gaze was on the fight. No one wanted to miss a second of the battle. If she shouted, she ran the risk of Ace looking in her direction and taking his eyes off of Ronato, which could be detrimental in a battle to the death.
She continued to struggle against the ropes and swinging her legs around. She did everything but shout, and finally one of Ace’s enforcers turned to her. She recognized him as one of the wolves that was with Brett at the party. She couldn’t remember his name. Karl? Ken? Kaj? Yes, Kaj!
Kaj looked her way and held her gaze. She motioned with her eyes for him to look to her right. She kicked her foot out as if to point. His eyes followed in the direction she was pointing and his eyes locked on something in the forest. His top lip curled up in disgust as he slowly began to make his way into the woods.
Chapter Fourteen
Ace
Shouts could be heard around them as they circled each other again. Ace’s wolf was tired of doing this song and dance. It was time to end this wolf. He was ready to go get his mate and leave. The other wolf was tiring quickly, and Ace was going to take advantage of it.
The minute Ace got out of the truck and saw Dani tied to that tree, a rage like no other filled him. He instantly wanted to kill the wolves who took her. The only thing that kept him from lashing out was the fact that she didn’t look as if she had been harmed. If anything, she looked pissed off. He smiled on the inside. Only his mate would be pissed off that she was kidnapped.
Ronato lunged for Ace again, but Ace was able to bat the black wolf away with his massive paw, slashing his back with his claws. He followed the wolf down to the ground, latching onto his neck.
Fear permeated from the wolf now that Ace had a grip on his neck. Ace growled and bit down harder as he thought of what his mate had been through in the past years; running away, always having to look over her shoulder, never knowing when Junior would try to drag her back to him. This wolf was one of Junior’s enforcers, and part of the reason she ran.
Ronato tried to kick him off with his hind legs, but Ace’s wolf was much stronger and had one hell of a grip on his neck. A copper taste filled Ace’s mouth as he ripped away the wolf’s throat. He stood tall over the flopping wolf as blood continued to pour out of the gaping wound. Gurgling sounds could be heard coming from Ronato as he tried to gasp for air, and within seconds, the wolf took his last strangled breath.
Ace let loose a victorious howl to the moon. Any wolf within a few miles would hear and know that he was the victor and would remain the alpha of his pack. He turned and found Kaj dragging a male out of the woods in one hand, and a rifle in the other hand.
Ace growled, looking at the proof that the wolf had planned to cheat. He glanced back at the body to ensure he was dead. Anger pooled in his chest at the thought that they would have tried to be dishonorable and cheat in order to control the Blood Moon pack.
He turned to the other wolves that came to back Ronato and found them running away, some in human form, towards their vehicles, while others had shifted and took off into the woods.
Ace shifted back to his human form, just as Kaj threw the man to the ground at his feet. Ace sniffed the air, finding him to be a shifter as well. The fear that radiated from the man increased as he looked up at a blood covered Ace.
“Alpha, I found this man in the woods,” Kaj announced so that all could hear. Ace’s other wolves, witnesses to the challenge, gathered around the shifter. “Looks like they had planned to make sure that you didn’t survive the challenge.”
“Is that true?” Ace’s voice came out low, trying to contain his anger.
“Ronato said that we had to make sure—”
“Kill him,” Ace ordered before turning to stalk towards his mate.
“No! Please…”
Ace drowned out the wolf’s protest as he headed in the direction of Dani. He didn’t even have to look behind him to know that Brett and his enforcers would handle the wolf.
Shifter code stated that any wolf interfering in a challenge with the intent to harm one of the challengers would be put to death. It would be up to the discretion of the alpha.
Tonight, Ace was not feeling lenient or forgiving. These wolves planned to take not only his pack from him, but also his mate, and that he would never forgive. He would take on one hundred challengers if that meant the safety of his pack and his mate.
~Dani~
Her heart fluttered in her chest as she watched a very naked Ace stalk towards her with steady, long strides. She had been confident that he would win the challenge, but knowing that the other wolves had someone posted in the woods to shoot Ace had her deathly worried that no one would have been able to save her mate.
Her wolf whined as he got closer. The howl he let loose, standing over the dead wolf, signified his alpha status. She was so proud to be his mate. Tears formed in her eyes at the thought that she could have lost him. Her heart hurt with that thought.
“Why the tears?” he asked as he stopped in front of her, looking her over. He gently wiped her face and tilted h
er chin up as he covered her mouth with his in a deep, gentle kiss.
“I didn’t want to lose you,” she admitted, breaking away from him. He continued to stare down at her tenderly while stroking her face with his fingertips.
“I told you I’ve waited years for you,” he said against her lips. “Nothing will ever keep you from me again.”
He kissed her again, tilting his head as she opened to him. This kiss was more urgent, more demanding. She moaned deep as he moved closer to her. She tried to move, but the ropes held her to the tree and kept her from touching his naked form. She groaned her frustration.
“Honey, untie me,” she gasped as he pulled back.
“I don’t know.” A teasing glint appeared in his eyes. “I might actually have to keep you tied up and have my way with you.”
Epilogue
Dani
Four months later.
Everything seemed right in the world. Dani was mated to the love of her life. The past few months, she had come to really know Ace and had truly fallen in love with him. He was everything that she would have wanted in a mate, and so much more.
Days after the challenge, Ace had gone with Dani back to Tennessee to pack up her house and move her back to Wakefield with him. The local shifter realty company even had her home sold within a week to a young shifter family.
Dani loved being back with her pack—her family. She had forgotten how it felt to be surrounded by her pack. Living as a lone wolf, running away from someone, was just no way to live life.
“What are you thinking about?” Ace asked as they drove to the Fosters’ home. Barb just completed her last treatment, and Hope was throwing her a surprise party. The doctors believed that Barb would do well in her remission, and Dani couldn’t have been happier.
After tonight, Dani herself had news to give to her mate, but she wanted to wait until after the party. Tonight was about Barb, and she deserved it. Dani would be there to celebrate it with her, but she wouldn’t be able to have any champagne, at least not for the next six months or so.
“I was thinking about how good it is to be home,” she said, feeling a wide grin spread across her face.
~The End~
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank all of the amazing authors that I worked with for the F*ck Cancer anthology! This book would not exist had it not been for that project! That was an experience that I would never forget. 11 authors working together for one purpose who were all professional, had great ideas and able to work together like a well oiled machine. If you girls decide to do another anthology, count me in!
To Dana Hook from Rebel Edit & Design, thank you for taking the time to plow through Dani’s Return. It was amazing to work with you and I was very confident with my story once you gave it back to me. We will have to work together again!
To all of the Bloggers who consistently support my work, thank you! It means so much that you have my back and is willing to help spread the word about my releases. Thank you , thank you!
To my readers— I love you all dearly! You all are close to my heart. I have to say that I have the best readers on the planet! I wouldn’t be where I am without you and I want to make sure that you all know that you are appreciated! Thank you!
And finally, I would like to thank my family. My family supports everything I do in life and it means so much to me.
Until next time,
Ariel Marie
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About the Author
Ariel Marie is an author who loves the paranormal, action and hot steamy romance. She combines all three in each and every one of her stories. For as long as she can remember, she has loved vampires, shifters and every creature you can think of. This even rolls over into her favorite movies! She love a good action packed thriller! Throw a touch of the supernatural world in it and she’s hooked!
She grew up in Cleveland, Ohio where she currently resides with her husband and three beautiful children.
Find Ariel Marie online!
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