by Abigail Owen
This would be a good place for a challenge. The field was fairly flat and open. Woods at the Carstairs’ back and the compound at hers, the mountains climbed up around them as though the gods themselves had created a natural coliseum just for this moment.
Andie’s eyes searched for her father, and she found him in the front row. She sucked in a pained breath, which turned into a low growl as she noticed Kyle’s smirk at her reaction. They’d beaten her dad. Within an inch of his life, she guessed, based on the heavy bruising and crutches. But she also recognized the look Mark Reynolds gave her. He wanted her to hold strong and stay exactly where she was. He’d survived, as he always had.
Andie was just happy they hadn’t killed him. Yet. When Shane had left, the only thing that had protected his family from being killed— as had happened to previous defectors —was that Andie had helped him fake his own death. Watching him rip off his own ear to survive had been a major turning point in her development as a shifter. It’d showed her exactly what she didn’t want in an Alpha.
But her dad had insisted that she leave him and that escaping Kyle was worth any threat of death to him. He’d stayed, knowing the risks, in order to enact his own plans. As her eyes roamed over the rest of her people, she just prayed that he’d been marginally successful… that she was right about the reasons for the entire dare being there today.
Andie’s resolve hardened, strengthened by the love and support she could feel coming from her father. She would not run off and do something stupid in a misguided attempt to save him. Instead, she’d keep her focus on surviving this battle. Her father was a big boy who knew what he was doing.
Jaxon took her hand and squeezed. Not my only family now, she thought, and smiled grimly. They stopped and stood about a hundred feet away from Andie’s dare across the way.
“We demand that you release the people you have taken from our dare!” Walter called across the distance. Exactly as she’d predicted.
Jaxon held up Andie’s left hand, still clutched in his own, and turned the ring out. “We are mated and married. I won’t be giving her, or anyone who asks for asylum from the Keller Dare, to you anytime soon.”
Andie watched as Kyle opened his mouth wide in a silent hiss, letting his cougar show. Jaxon saw it too, but didn’t react… just waited for their next volley. It didn’t take long. Kyle stepped forward. “I challenge you for the right to mate.”
“You may want to know that we’re Fated,” Jaxon warned.
A dark scowl descended over Kyle’s face. “Liar,” he spat. “No family has two. It’s unheard of. Andie is mine. My challenge stands.”
“Accepted,” Jaxon said without hesitation.
That fact that Jaxon didn’t try to negotiate or talk his way out of the fight gave the Carstairs men pause, but not for long. Kyle moved out into the open area between them and began to strip off his shirt.
As Jaxon started to do the same, Andie called out, “And I challenge Walter Carstairs for the right to lead the Carstairs Dare.”
Andie glanced at her father and caught his small nod and a hint of a smile.
The move made sense. Kyle and Walter wouldn’t see it coming. It split up the Carstairs men, and it was time to end the Carstairs’ hold on one of the ten dares of the Shadowcat Nation.
Hearing a stirring behind her, Andie turned and discovered that every single cougar in the group she’d been training these last weeks was stepping out of the crowd to join the Commanders and Protectors. The show of solidarity and support from these people that she’d pushed so hard moved Andie more than she could say. She gave them a nod of thanks. As she turned back around, she glanced up at Jaxon and caught the pride flashing in his eyes.
“On what grounds?” Walter called over, bringing their attention back to him.
“Your son is threatening my Fated Mate. As his Alpha, you must answer for the actions of your people. Not only that, but I have video proof of his attempt last year to challenge Nick Jensen for his Fated Mate, Hannah.”
“Let her challenge!” a voice rang out from behind Walter.
More angry voices rose in favor of the challenge. Walter had no choice but to step forward. If he refused, his dare would turn on him. And that was her father’s plan, she realized. He was banking on Jaxon’s and Andie’s skills as fighters. But if that didn’t work, the dare was gathered and angered and ready.
Andie felt Jaxon tense beside her. She turned her back to their foes and looked up at him. “You hoped he’d back down, didn’t you?” she asked quietly.
“Your father must have a lot of faith in you,” he muttered. Apparently he’d come to the same conclusion she had.
“You’ve seen me fight. He trained me.” She reached up and kissed his lips. “Don’t worry, hubby. I have a strange feeling we won’t lose this one.”
He gave her a speculative look but nodded. Jaxon shielded Andie from the view of the crowds as best he could while she stripped off her clothes and shifted. He then quickly discarded his own and trotted out beside her. Walter and Kyle were already in their mountain lion forms and waiting for them.
Andie bumped Jaxon as they walked, sliding across him in a gesture of affection. And then, without warning of any kind, she charged Walter. After the slightest pause, she knew Jaxon had taken her lead and done the same. She’d bet he was swearing a mental blue streak at her right now. But she knew the Carstairs men wouldn’t expect the move, and Jaxon and she needed every advantage they could get.
She was on top of Walter in seconds, but the big male lion wasn’t Alpha for nothing. He stood up on his hind legs, holding his front paws up. Andie saw the move and adjusted her attack. She also stood up as she got in close. She managed to evade one massive paw as he swiped it at her head, but the second paw caught her, knocking her off balance.
Instead of dropping to all fours, Andie rolled to her back directly below Walter, who’d tried to follow her down. She did a fast maneuver to tuck her hind legs in close to her body and then slammed into his belly with her feet taking his momentum, which was already moving forward, and flipped his great weight up and over her head. At the same time, she took her front sets of claws and sank them into his shoulders, which dragged her with him.
But Walter rolled them in a way that flung Andie off him and away. He was on his feet, but instead of coming after her, he lunged for Jaxon, who had his back to them, focused on Kyle.
Dammit, she thought as she sprinted to intercept. Just before Walter hit Jaxon, Andie leapt, throwing herself through the air and slamming into him from the side.
Instinctively, she rolled as she fell and looked directly up into Kyle’s vicious glare. Andie shifted to her human form, in which she crouched and did a series of back handsprings, quickly getting out of his direct line of attack and putting him back in Jaxon’s path. As she shifted back to her cat form, Andie was aware that Jaxon blocked Kyle’s way, but her focus remained on locating Walter.
She found him behind her, stealthily trying to sneak in. Andie hissed and bared her teeth. And then she squatted and waited. She could hear the sounds of Jaxon and Kyle going at it behind her, but she couldn’t worry about that right now.
Walter prowled closer, looking for an opening, a weakness. Andie knew this dance. He’d lunge. She’d counter. He’d leap. She’d move. Walter employed a lot of noise, like a wild cougar cornered in the wilderness. It was an intimidation tactic. Cougars were bad ass fighters, but they were better as stealth predators. In a one-on-one fight, they’d rather attack hard and force their opponent to run away.
But this was supposed to be a fight to the death. She’d challenged an Alpha. To win, she had to kill him. Andie kept silent and waited. Patience was the key. Walter was starting to breathe hard. He was an older cougar now, one who hadn’t trained or fought in years, depending more and more on his son’s strength. She was wearing him down.
Moving with lightning fast speed, she scooted in and up under his chest as if she were going for his throat. Then she managed t
o swing her right foreleg up over his withers. Sinking her claws into his hide, she pulled the rest of her upper body up around his side. She snapped her powerful jaws down. She was aiming for the back of his neck but got an ear.
This is for Shane, you son of a bitch! She clamped her teeth down hard and, using the leverage she already had with her claws embedded in his back, she jerked her head back.
A sense of justice welled in her as Walter yowled in pain. He shuffled away, blood spitting from the gash on his head where his ear had been. She watched him closely, waiting for the charge she knew was coming.
Only some sixth sense alerted her a split second before she felt Kyle’s claws rips through her back right hip and down her leg. It was her turn to scream in pain, but she also didn’t hesitate. Andie spun on her other leg and used the momentum from her body to pound her unsheathed claws across his face.
That’ll leave a mark, she thought with satisfaction. But she didn’t have time to dwell on it. Jaxon was on top of Kyle, but Walter was still right there. And he’d used the distraction his son had created to close in on her.
She felt him come down on her and wrap both paws around her neck. Praying that her injury wouldn’t buckle under the weight, Andie stood straight up on her hind legs. When they held, she started pumping them in a move she’d seen football players use. Just keep moving. She managed to drive him back and then topple him over. She twisted as they went over.
Only Andie’s acrobatic ability had her keeping her head as they fell. She managed to rotate them so that Walter landed on his side with her on his back with a clear shot at his neck. She didn’t pass up a gift like that. She clamped her teeth down around his nape, working them between the vertebrae as he bucked and writhed beneath her. With a final, satisfying crunch, the bones snapped as she severed his spinal cord. Walter went limp.
Andie gave herself only a few seconds to breathe a sigh of relief. She’d done it. She’d won the Carstairs Dare. But Jaxon was still in battle with Kyle. And Kyle was a mean, nasty fighter.
Keeping her teeth in Walter’s neck, she dragged him toward the sounds of the scuffle. It was a hard haul given that he was twice her weight. When she had him close enough, she shifted, staying in a squatting position so that the entire gathering wasn’t getting a complete eyeful. Putting her fingers to her lips, she gave a high-pitched whistle before shifting back to her cat form.
Kyle turned and looked just long enough to recognize his father’s limp form. He was a smart man, in a weaselly kind of way. He knew that with his father dead, Andie was now in charge of the dare. And he knew she’d order his immediate execution for a multitude of sins. But more than that, he was injured, and Jaxon still looked fresh and ready to go. Kyle was not going to win his fight. Not today.
Kyle took off at a sprint. A group made up of shifters from both dares took off after him, determined not to let him get away. But Andie didn’t follow, and neither did Jaxon. She looked at her husband with triumph just before she dropped to the ground, her injured leg no longer able to hold her up.
Chapter 36
Jaxon padded over to Andie and made a whistling sound, asking if she was okay. Andie chuffed in return. He relaxed a little, but rubbed against her, communicating his concern. Someone brought over some clothes. Jaxon shifted and quickly dressed. He then draped her with a blanket. Andie shifted, and then he scooped her up in his arms.
“We’ll be with the Healer,” he said to his men. “Gather the leaders of the Carstairs Dare in our meeting room. We’ll talk with them to sort out details in about an hour.”
He didn’t wait for Nick’s nod before setting off. The crowds around them silently parted as they passed by. Suddenly one person bowed as they moved back, and then someone else followed suit, then another, and another, until everyone was bowing as Jaxon walked by with Andie in his arms.
“Are they bowing to you?” she asked, eyes wide. “Does the Keller Dare do that stuff?”
Jaxon smiled as he looked down at his love with tender pride. “No. We don’t. They’re bowing to you. A sign of respect and acceptance – for both of us. That’s not just our dare in there…. Many of those people are from your old dare as well.”
Andie’s eyes flashed from face to face as they passed by, and she realized he was right.
“Oh.”
“That’s my girl,” he whispered back.
Andie grinned, and he laughed.
The Healer made short work of Andie’s ripped up leg, as well as Jaxon’s and her other minor injuries.
“That was quite a fight,” JoLynn said, as she moved her hands over Andie. The scene reminded Jaxon of the fateful day his mate had appeared at the Keller Dare.
“Oh, you saw it?” Andie asked.
“Yes.” Jaxon caught JoLynn’s glance. “And if I might be a little forward, you’ve chosen yourself a good woman, Jaxon.”
Jaxon grinned and looked down at his wife. “Glad you approve, Jo. I certainly think so,” he said, as he smoothed his hand over Andie’s hair.
As soon as they were both healed, he took them back to their rooms to shower and change. Andie had just pulled her shirt down over her head when he couldn’t wait a moment more. He strode over to her in three rapid steps, grabbed her and spun her into his arms, capturing her mouth under his.
But he didn’t end the kiss, unable to pull away.
She leaned back. “We can’t,” she whispered.
He placed his forehead against hers. “I know. Business. But before we go deal with all that hoopla, can I just take a moment?”
She smoothed a lock of hair in a casual caress that tugged at his heart. “You need a moment?” she asked.
“Yes.” He took a deep breath. “You are the most amazing creature I think I’ve ever witnessed. In action, you are a thing of beauty.”
She smiled and tilted her head to the side, waiting for him to continue.
“But despite the fact that you’re bad ass, watching you fight to the death just took a good ten years off my life.” A full body shudder ran through him.
“I’m fine. I’m right here.” Andie laid a sweet, soft kiss on his lips. “I knew you’d keep me safe.”
“Just let me enjoy the simple fact of your existence in my life for a moment. I don’t think you realize how bad it would be for me if I lost you.”
Andie took his face in her hands. “We’re Fated Mates. I love you with everything I have inside me. So much it scares me sometimes. I imagine it’s about the same with you.”
Jaxon felt his chest expand with love. “How’d I get so lucky to find you? Sarai said that it wasn’t guaranteed we’d end up together. Even after we met. Our destiny was always up to you.”
“You never told me that,” she murmured, a frown marring her brow.
He shrugged, but even now he could feel the toll that not knowing had taken on him these last months. He felt a little sick at the thought of never winning this amazing woman.
“Well, I found you, anyway,” she said.
“No. You came to me, but I found you. My stars and my moon.” She shivered, smiling as she recognized the phrase he’d used to describe her mother’s love shown in Andie’s unusual name.
He traced the contours of her face with the tip of his finger. “I woke in the middle of the night absolutely sure that if I went to that room, something monumental was about to happen. It was a ridiculous thing, and even more singular that I followed the instinct. I waited in the shadows and in you sailed, poetry in motion. I couldn’t see your face. I had no idea who you were or why you were sneaking into my compound. But I think I fell in love with you when you jumped through the window into a perfect tuck and roll.”
Andie grinned. “And then I opened my big mouth.”
“And I wanted to kiss those gorgeous lips, and at the same time laugh at your daring, even while I had to make sure you weren’t a threat to my people. You really knocked my socks off from the word go.”
“And I knew when I was so determined to impress y
ou. I only ever react that way with people I care about. I fell in love with the man who’d fought with me and then kept me company every evening so I didn’t lose my mind. And now I’m your bride. And I’ve never been so happy. I never dreamed that I could be.”
He pulled her tightly to him and brought his mouth down on hers in a heart-stirring, bone-melting, brain-scrambling kiss. She wrapped herself around him, and he reveled in the sensation.
After a few moments, he pulled back. They were both breathing hard. “We have to go,” he muttered.
“Ahhh… Can it wait?”
“Afraid not. Thanks to your kick ass fighting skills, we’re now the Alphas of two dares. You got us into this. Now you get to deal with the consequences.”
“Damn.”
“Yup.”
Andie blinked up at him. “There’s something I need to do first.”
*****
Per her instructions, Jaxon had Andie’s father brought to their room. As soon as he walked in the door, Andie threw herself in his arms, careful not to knock him off his crutches.
“Are you okay?” Andie asked, choking back the tears.
“Nothing I can’t handle,” her father answered.
“We have a Healer here. She can take care of you in no time.”
He gave her a tender look and shook his head. “I’m so proud of you, Andromeda.”
Andie’s eyes widened. The nickname of A.J. had been her father’s idea since he’d always wanted a boy.
“Thanks, Dad.”
She led him to a couch, and they caught up on the past few months. About twenty minutes later, Jaxon knocked on the door and poked his head in.
“Dad, I’d like to introduce my Fated Mate and the Alpha of the Keller Dare. This is Jaxon Keller. Jaxon, this is Mark Reynolds, my father.”
