Bridenapped: The Alpha Chronicles

by St. Clair, Georgette

  Caitlin’s heart was in her throat. This would be a fight to the death. Kristofer could die. Tomorrow.

  “Kristofer?” she said faintly.

  He put his arm around her shoulders and led her back down the steps, towards the car, where Frank waited for them. He looked perfectly calm. Caitlin was about to pass out.

  “Send me home,” she pleaded. “I can’t let you die because of trouble that I’ve caused.”

  “This goes far beyond that,” he said, shaking his head. “You’ve started a revolution among my pack members, which is spreading to other packs and it can’t be stopped. You’ve challenged the old guard, as it should be challenged. And one more thing.”

  He cupped her chin and tilted her head back to look up at him. “I am never letting you go,” he informed her somberly. “You mean everything to me, and you are as much a part of this pack now as I am. You are where you’re meant to be. Can’t you feel it?”

  “Yes,” Caitlin choked out. She meant it sincerely. Being here felt right. Being with him felt right. These past nights in his arms, the passion they shared, the pure love and hot desire she felt flowing through his body…she wanted that forever. And she wanted to be here with these people, because she knew that she could make a real difference in their lives. But she’d sacrifice all of that if it would keep Kristofer alive.

  “I can’t lose you. I can’t let you die,” she pleaded. “Even if I were to leave here, at least you’d be alive. You can make changes more slowly, you can back down-”

  He let out a short, sharp laugh at that. “You, Caitlin Bellefont, are asking me to back down? I never thought I’d see the day. I love you, I will be fine tomorrow, and I don’t ever back down. And now I’ll have to let you go. I’ll see you tomorrow after the challenge.”

  “After the challenge?”

  “I have to spend the rest of the day preparing. I won’t be coming to my chambers tonight; Taddeus and I will both be under guard until the challenge, to guarantee that we don’t take any performance enhancing drugs or any other illegal enhancements.”

  He bent down and kissed her lips, as hot tears ran down her cheeks.

  “I have to admit, I’m glad to see that you care about me this much,” he murmured into her ear. “I’ll probably have some injuries after tomorrow. I expect you to kiss them and make them all better. And in the meantime, Frank will keep you safe.”

  After he left, she called up Priscilla.

  “What the hell have you done?” she demanded.

  “You, too? Mom chewed me a new one and she won’t even let me keep the advertising money. All you said was no blogging. You didn’t say I couldn’t use any other social media.” Priscilla’s tone was sullen.

  “Priscilla.” Caitlin’s voice was shaking with anger. She wanted to grab Priscilla and smack some sense into her thoughtless, youthful head. “You offended a pack member so badly that he issued a death challenge. Kristofer could die because of what you did.”

  Caitlin hung up while Priscilla spluttered excuses.

  Chapter 20

  Priscilla had already texted her twenty times that morning apologizing. Caitlin had responded once, with a terse “What’s done is done.” She finally shut her phone off.

  The pack was assembled on a vast grassy field, with the entire 100 members of the Alpha Congress in attendance, as well as werewolves from packs from all over the state, and Kristofer’s parents, Ebon and Katrina, who had flown in overnight, with their retinue.

  His family was seated in the front row, as was Caitlin. Caitlin had insisted on having Twyla with her. She was a nervous wreck, and she needed a friend. Taddeus, an asshat to the end, had haughtily registered his objection to a cleaner being in the front row. He’d been over-ruled by Kristofer.

  Stadium seating had been set up, and all of the seats were full. A half dozen referees from other packs were stationed on the field; the pack never used their own members as referees, because they might be swayed by loyalty to one of the fighters. They were not there to intervene; they were only there to ensure that the fighters followed the rules. The match would only end when one of the two participants was dead.

  The fighters were each in trailers on the sidelines, with ten wolves from other packs standing guard outside each trailer.

  A horn sounded, and Caitlin started in her seat.

  “Here they come,” Twyla said.

  The door on each trailer flew open. Taddeus and Kristofer marched on to the field – stark naked. Caitlin’s heart was beating a million miles a minute, and what little breakfast she’d been able to choke down was now threatening to come back up.

  Elzbetka, sitting nearby with her family and members of her clan, was shooting Caitlin looks of loathing – and for once, Caitlin felt like she deserved it.

  “I caused this. This is all my fault,” she moaned to Twyla.

  “No, it isn’t,” Twyla insisted. “This has been a long time coming. Ever since Kristofer showed up, Taddeus’s had it in for him. He would have found an excuse to fight him, one way or another.”

  Would Kristofer really have been pushed to this point, though, if she’d never come to the pack lands? If she’d never started stirring up trouble and poking her nose in their affairs? She knew that what she’d done was right…but guilt still gnawed at her.

  Frank sat to her right, impassive and as impossible to read as always.

  “You know his fighting skills,” Caitlin said to him. “Which one of them is stronger?” She was desperate for reassurance

  Frank gave a brief, grim twist of a smile. “Let’s just say, I wouldn’t want to go up against Kristofer, and I don’t say that about many wolves.”

  Caitlin nodded. “Good to know,” she said.

  Twyla grabbed her hand. “You’re sinking your nails into your palm so hard you’re going to make yourself bleed, milady. I mean Caitlin,” she said, with a worried frown. Caitlin opened her hands, looking down at the white half circles she’d dug into her flesh.

  The spectators were divided. The wolves who supported Kristofer sat on one side, and the wolves who supported Taddeus sat on the other side. The field was divided about 60-40, in Kristofer’s favor, Caitlin was relieved to see. So there was strong opposition, but also strong desire for change.

  The Chief of the Alpha Congress marched out onto the field, holding a scroll, unrolled it, and began to read. His voice rang out across the field as he went on and on about the ancient tradition of the death challenge, and the need to uphold the pack’s honor, and on, and on. Caitlin bit down on her lip to keep from screaming with impatience. Part of her wanted this over with, part of her wanted the match to never even start.

  She glanced over at Kristofer’s parents, and Kristofer’s mother gave her a small smile and a reassuring nod. She nodded back, but couldn’t muster a smile. Leaning back in her seat, she clenched her fists again as the Chief wound down his speech.

  As the Chief spoke, Kristofer and Taddeus stood facing each other, about twenty feet apart. Frank shifted uneasily in his seat, scowling. “Something’s off,” he muttered.

  “What’s off?” Caitlin stared at both men.

  “His hands. Taddeus’s hands.” Frank leaned forward, staring intently. Taddeus was holding his hands oddly, fingers spread out wide. Was that a weird thing for a werewolf to do when he was preparing for a fight? Caitlin had no idea.

  “What are you thinking?” Twyla asked him. “He couldn’t have, could he? Both of them were guarded.”

  “He couldn’t have what?” Caitlin demanded.

  “There are men who are loyal to Taddeus, who could have smuggled it in to him,” Frank said to Twyla, ignoring Caitlin. “It wouldn’t be the first time that a participant in a death challenge cheated.” Frank was sliding forward on his seat now to get a closer view, eyes narrowed.

  Kristofer glanced up at Caitlin, gave her a brief smile, and turned back to face Taddeus. Caitlin thought she might cry, but she didn’t want to embarrass herself or Kristofer, so she took in
a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  Both men shifted, sinking down to all fours. Their fur sprouted, their snouts lengthened, their ears sharpened and flattened back on their heads. Their tails lashed angrily, and they crouched down low, black lips wrinkled back and baring their fangs.

  Then Kristofer paused, tilted his head, and sniffed the air.

  Frank leaped to his feet.

  Ignoring the startled cries of the crowd, he bellowed out the word “Silver!” and rushed onto the field. He shifted as he ran, his clothing falling away, and threw himself between Taddeus and Kristofer. Taddeus snarled and swiped at him, raking his flank with his claws, and he fell to the ground, howling and yelping in pain. Caitlin could see smoke rising from Frank’s flank. She leapt to her feat with a cry of horror.

  “Silver tipped claws! He’s cheating!” Twyla gasped in shock. “Why? He can’t win! He’ll be put to death for that!”

  Kristofer let out a howl of fury, and lunged at Taddeus, going for the throat. Taddeus dodged to the side, and swiped at him with his paw. Kristofer dodged to the side. Then he advanced on Kristofer, continually trying to swipe him with his paw, as Kristofer backed up, snarling and growling.

  “How can he have silver on him?” Caitlin cried. “Wouldn’t it kill him?”

  “Not if it was just on his fingernails, or claws. It only hurts us when it touches our flesh.”

  Men were rushing on to the field now, and wolves. Frank was being loaded on to a stretcher.

  Taddeus swiped at Kristofer with his paw again, and this time he connected, raking his side. Kristofer fell back with a pained howl, and long black lines appeared on his flank where Taddeus’ silver-capped claws had made contact. Caitlin saw smoke rising from the wounds.

  Kristofer staggered, but stayed on his feet. Taddeus lunged again, his paw flying through the air, but Kristofer managed to dodge him. Just barely.

  “No!” Caitlin screamed, but her voice was drowned out by the howls and shouts of rage from the crowd. A circle of wolves had formed around Taddeus and Kristofer, crouched low as if ready to lunge.

  Before they could make a move, Kristofer howled, then leaped forward and rammed into Taddeus, knocking him off his feet. Taddeus flew through the air and hit the ground with a thud, with Kristofer right on top of him. In one swift motion, Kristofer tore out Taddeus’s throat with his jaws, sending an arc of bright red blood through the air. Caitlin could hear Taddeus’s horrible, gurgling howls.

  Then Kristofer staggered and went to his knees, and Caitlin ran on to the field, pushing frantically through the wolves to get at him. His parents ran towards him too. He was being loaded on to a stretcher, still in wolf form, as she reached his side.

  “Will he be all right?” she cried out, frantic. Tears poured down her face, and she ran her fingers through his fur. The smell of burning flesh assaulted her nostrils.

  The medics carrying him didn’t answer her, just rushed him towards a waiting ambulance.

  Kristina patted her arm. “Will he be all right?” Caitlin repeated, in tears.

  His mother’s face was grim. “It depends on how much silver made it into his circulatory system. Too much will stop a werewolf’s heart.”

  “Why would Taddeus do that?” Caitlin wiped at her face with her arm. “If he cheated, he’d never be named Alpha.”

  “Apparently, he felt so strongly about the reforms that my son was trying to institute, that he was willing to sacrifice his own life to ensure that Kristofer died also.” Her face was dark with rage as she said that. As she spoke, two men were carrying Taddeus’s body, still in wolf form, past them, and she whirled around and spit on his corpse. “Cowardly bastard,” she snarled at the bleeding body. “I’d kill you myself if you weren’t already dead.”

  Caitlin decided she liked Kristofer’s mother a whole lot.

  Chapter 21

  “You should have called off the match when you smelled the silver,” Caitlin said in exasperation. Her heartbeat still hadn’t slowed to normal. Kristofer was sitting up on the edge of his hospital bed, with bandages wrapped around his mid-section.

  “An Alpha doesn’t call off a match,” Kristofer said firmly, but he gave her hand an affectionate squeeze.

  “Stubborn mutt,” his mother growled at him, but her tone was laced with affection.

  “That’s my boy,” his father said, glowing with pride.

  “Your boy’s stubbornness almost got him killed. He could have at least insisted that the silver be safely removed from Taddeus’s claws, and then allowed the match to proceed,” Kristina said with a sniff.

  “To halt a match is cowardice,” Kristofer said firmly. “Once an Alpha enters a match, the only way the match ends is with defeat, or death.”

  Then he stood up and reached for his shirt, which was folded up next to him on the night stand. He winced as he leaned over.

  “What are you doing?” Caitlin asked with alarm,

  “I need to see Frank,” he said. He slowly moved to pull the shirt on, and Caitlin quickly helped him, leaning forward to button the shirt up.

  “He’s still in surgery,” Ebon told him. “There’s a fair amount of silver in his system. Half the pack’s lined up outside his room donating blood to him. The doctor said we might not know anything until tomorrow.”

  “All right, then I’m going down to the waiting room and I’ll stay there until he’s out of surgery. He nearly sacrificed his life for me,” Kristofer said, moving with some stiffness towards the door.

  “You really shouldn’t…” a male nurse protested, then wilted under Kristofer’s look. “Sir. Call us if you need anything,” he said, as Kristofer headed for the door, with Caitlin and his parents trailing behind him.

  “Milady,” the nurse added, with a deferential nod to Caitlin.

  She was almost getting used to it.

  Downstairs in the waiting room, Caitlin gratefully accepted a cup of coffee and leaned against Kristofer as they sat anxiously awaiting any news.

  “Frank thinks the world of you,” Kristofer said, after they’d sat in silence for a while. “Did you know he has a daughter?”

  “I did not. Shocking, giving how he’s usually so chatty,” Caitlin said, with a faint smile. “I mean, you can’t shut the man up. How old is she?”

  “Twenty. She’s in love with a man from our financial clan, one of the pack’s business managers, who returns her feelings but never thought he’d be able to marry a woman from the law enforcement clan. Frank told me that. You gave her hope.”

  Chapter 22

  Katrina took a sip of coffee and smiled at Kristofer, who sat across the table from her in the dining room. She’d actually gotten a decent night’s sleep the night before, as soon as the doctor called to let them know that Frank would pull through. Part of the reason she’d slept so well was that she’d been forced to stay in her own room and avoid the moonrise pheromones, because Kristofer needed to lay off the sexing for a few days while his wounds healed.

  Kristofer was good for many things in the boudoir, but allowing a good night’s sleep wasn’t one of them.

  “Frank actually wanted to come to work today, despite the doctor’s orders,” Kristofer said, shaking his head. “He’s not supposed to even get out of bed for a week.”

  “I can imagine him doing that.”

  “By the way, one of your relatives is on their way up, along with a friend. My security called to let me know. Perhaps they’re starting to come around?”

  “Which one?” Caitlin couldn’t imagine Maggie and Rich giving in, and even though her mother was much better know, she still was a little foggy and wasn’t up to driving.

  “The younger ones. Your cousin and some young man.”

  “Priscilla and Troy? Alone? They’re both too young to drive.” She stood up quickly, feeling faint alarm bells ringing. More trouble at home? Please, no more trouble, she thought. I would like one day without drama. Just one day.

  Kristofer stood up too, and followed her downstairs
to the living room, where Priscilla and Troy were standing and staring goggle eyed.

  “My God, that ceiling is so high,” Priscilla said to Caitlin. “You have GOT to marry this guy.”

  “I’m going to get you a house with a ceiling this big,” Troy said to Priscilla in a defensive tone. “Bigger, in fact. Like ten feet higher. You’ll need oxygen masks and spelunking tools to travel to the top of the ceiling.”

  “Why would she want to travel to the top of the ceiling, and what are you doing here?” Caitlin said, exasperated.

  “I have the best news ever, and now you have to forgive me!” Priscilla crowed. “We cracked the case.” She glanced over at Kristofer. “So please don’t murder me. Even though I deserve it. I’m too young and cute to die.”

  Kristofer suppressed a smile. “I will try to restrain my homicidal impulses then. Since you’re so young and, as you put it, cute.”

  “How did you get here?” Caitlin demanded. “Did your mom drop you off?”

  “Nope.” Priscilla shook her head. “She’d kill me if she knew I was here. But I had to come see you in person, so we took a cab.”

  Caitlin looked at her skeptically. “Where did you get money for a cab?”

  “I paid. A gentleman always pays,” Troy said cheerfully.

  “I semi-approve of you, then, except you’re not supposed to be here,” Caitlin said. “I’ve got to call both of your parents.”

  “Wait!” Priscilla held up her hand. “You have to do two things first.”

  “Two?” Caitlin put her hands on her hips. “I don’t have to do any things.”

  “You have to watch the video I’m going to show you. And you have to promise to put a good word in for me when they come to take me away. Also, don’t let Hailey go in my room while I’m in juvie.”