by Rae Foxx
More than one head turned and looked in my direction while I heard several snickers from the crowd.
That little bitch did not call me weak in front of the pack. I took two steps forward, ready to rip his neck wide open when three sets of hands wrapped around my arms and tugged. Even with all the grease, they managed to pull me back.
“What did I say about not causing a scene?” Scarlet hissed in my ear, holding onto me tighter as the Alpha laughed.
“You may begin. Challenge who you will!” He said, raising a glass to everyone as they began to break up. Well, everyone but me, the three of them were still holding on to me for dear life.
“You are challenging no one, Ivy,” Scarlet hissed again. “Keep your head down so no one gets any ideas.”
“Fine. Fine.” I said, finally shaking away from them. I agreed to them, yes, but I could already tell my wolf was going to cause problems. She was practically forcing my head up to stare down everyone who crossed my path.
Scarlet and the boys led me to where the crowd had parted, leaving an empty space in the middle. Two males were already stripped down, five others smearing oil on them like some kind of worship ritual.
“Okay, what is with the oil?” I hissed to Scarlet, who had now ditched her bottoms and was standing as naked as the rest of them.
“It’s an old cleansing ritual, it’s meant to put the challengers on equal playing grounds,” she said as the men stepped forward and shook hands. One quick motion before they ripped themselves into their animals. A bear and a python, so much for equal playing fields. That snake was doomed. “Your packmates apply the oil. So, for you, that would be the wolves. Nicky, Selene, Howl…”
“Yet another reason not to participate,” I said, Scarlet smiled at me before she turned back to the fight.
Despite my first assumption, the snake was doing better than expected. It could move faster than the bear and was so small that the lumbering bear would only barely make a swipe toward the green-scaled shifter when he was attacking again.
Before I knew it, the fight was over and the Python was declared the winner.
“Huh. I didn’t expect that.”
“Don’t worry, the bear won’t be so foolish the next time,” Selene said, sidling up to me, her overbearing perfume smelled like rot against all the oil. “Do you want to see how you fare on your second attempt, Ivy?”
I looked straight ahead. “Why? Feel like getting your ass whipped again?”
She snorted. “No ass whipping for me. Of that I can promise you. Good luck today.”
She gave me a smile as foul as the oil she was coated with and sauntered away, ass bouncing after her.
“Bitch,” Scarlet and I snarled together, turning back to the pit that was now occupied by a fox and a rabbit. Scarlet was instantly screaming and cheering. I guess she wasn’t the only fox in the pack.
The rabbit was quick and put up a fight, but was no match for the fox, which was its natural predator anyway. I suddenly understood Selene’s snappy comment from before and felt for the poor little girl that emerged from the bunny seconds after she was pinned to the ground.
Strangely though, everyone cheered her on as she stood and laughed and waved, the male fox having shifted and lifted her back to her feet before planting a kiss on her lips.
“That’s Nadia,” Scarlet answered when I raised my eyebrow at her. “She’s our only prey animal. Most prey animals stay out of packs. Not Nadia.”
“I think she might be getting better,” Owen mused, applauding and cheering her on like most everyone else.
I say most because the Alpha, his family, and Selene and her family where deadly silent, all of them stone-faced as they stared right at me.
I stared right back.
Shit. Shit. Shit. I knew I had gone too far when the Alpha smiled and my wolf growled loudly enough for everyone to hear.
“Ivy! Shit!” Scarlet shrieked, stepping between me and the other wolves before something went bad.
She had barely assumed her bodyguard position when a big booming voice cut through the lingering cheers for Nadia and everyone went silent.
“Ivy Potter,” The voice boomed, pulling my focus from Scarlet’s navel to the tallest, broadest, baddest looking dude I had ever seen.
“Oh shit.” Scarlet was gone before I had finished my swear.
“Ivy Potter,” he repeated when he was sure he had everyone's attention. “I challenge you to a spar.”
“Double shit.”
The guy was huge, one pec was bigger than my head, and stood taller than it. Someone would be stupid or crazy to go up against him. Here I was, without a choice.
“Oh, look, everyone,” Selene yelled from the other side of the circle. “Anatoly has challenged Ivy. This should be good.”
I didn’t know if I could back down or feign an old injury from the good old days, but before I could say anything dozens of hands pushed against me, shoving me right into the center of the ring.
“She accepts!” A few voices from behind me boomed.
“I did not. You all pushed me.”
Every soul to the left and the right of where I had stood turned their heads in the same way they bore their necks to the Alpha. Like they had been ordered to.
Great. I wasn’t much of a conspiracy theorist, but this was shaping up into a doom-filled free fall to my death.
Pater stepped into the circle and cleared his throat. “Ivy, I’m afraid that once you are in the circle, you must fight. Think of this as a wonderful opportunity! I, personally, would love to witness your fighting skills again. To fight against my beta… That is brave.” He leaned down and whispered into my ear. “Don’t get killed now, trash.”
He backed up, applauding with everyone else, giving rise to cheers from the rest of the pack in turn. If he told them to shit sideways, they would try.
I turned to look at Anatoly and attempted to hide my gulping. The guy was huge. Everything about him was huge. I felt sorry for his mate.
Five other equally as large men stepped forward, all of them spreading oil over each other as they growled and hooted and made the creepiest primeval sounds I had ever heard.
I watched them, slowly stripping off my clothes, wondering who was gonna come forward and turn me into a baby seal. No one did.
All of the wolves watched me, Selene finally throwing a bucket of the stuff towards me, oil went everywhere, splashing over the crowd as they all laughed and an empty bucket landed on my feet.
Fine. Whatever.
No oil. My wolf mate still hadn’t made an appearance. Now I was going to get clobbered by Anatoly.
The laughter continued until someone stepped out from the center of the wolf pack, carrying a bucket of oil as his side.
Howl was still wearing his pants, even though his chest was gleaming like he had already sparred. He looked right at me as he approached, the sound of his steps against the dirt the only sound now. Even Anatoly and his whooping pack had fallen silent.
“They will freak out if I touch you,” Howl whispered as he stood before me, the bucket held out between us. “But even I can’t be this cruel.”
He lifted the bucket, holding it over my head as he tipped it, letting the warm oil fall over my head, dripping down my hair, my nose, my shoulders, over every inch of bare flesh.
“For a good fight.” He whispered, his eyes dragging over me. “Show them what you are made of, Ivy.”
He didn’t even smile before he turned away, back to the snarling wolf pack that looked about ready to rip the two of us apart.
‘Now you are ready to fight.’ Now the voice decided to show up, the deep growl ripping through my chest and taking a bit of the edge off.
There he was. Took him long enough.
‘I have always been here.’
Now he can hear me, what the fuck? ‘You going to tell me who you are, now? I know you’re my mate.’
‘I am. The rest will come soon. You need to focus now, little wolf.’
&n
bsp; I jumped. Anatoly was now walking toward me, his bulking frame blocking out where Pater was ripping Howl a new asshole.
“You will pay for the disgrace of my clan,” Anatoly said, holding his hand out toward what was bound to be a finger breaking handshake. One glance back at Scarlet and the twins confirmed as much. They were shaking their heads like broken bobbles.
“I don’t know about disgrace, but sure, I’ll fight you,” I held out my fist to him. He looked at me like I had lost it. “Fist bump? I don’t like people touching me. Germaphobe.”
He growled, “We shake hands wolf. You shake, or you forfeit. I would hate to see you booted from the pack before we begin.”
I swallowed. No choice then. I reached forward, Scarlet yelling in warning behind me, the wolf in my head snarling as the guy gripped my hand and squeezed, my bones snapping under the pressure.
I couldn’t help it, I screamed, sure he had broken a few of my fingers.
‘Breathe, Ivy,’ My wolf mate snarled in my head, the level of anger making it clear that he was about ready to rip this guy’s throat out.
Anatoly smiled as he stepped back, cheers breaking through the crowd as his body ripped to shreds, toned skin and bald head shifting and changing until a massive gorilla sat before me, fists as large as my chest beating into the dirt, sending up plumes of dust and shaking the pit.
“Holy shit,” I said through the painful sobs as I cradled my hand, facing the monster that I was expected to fight.
To defeat.
‘Shift, Ivy. You can still do this. I’ll be right here. You can fight him,’
I was seriously doubting that, but I didn’t have another choice. I stepped back, bare feet sinking into oil-soaked dirt before I let the change come and the wolf take over.
It hurt so much more than it had last time, every bone was fire as the broken shards in my hand tried to shift and meld into something that it couldn’t quite accomplish.
My wolf whined as she touched down, my broken hand translating into a broken paw as I jumped back, trying to balance myself on three paws. The Gorilla didn’t seem so concerned, he hollered with a whoop that was only made more frightening as those fists hit against his chest and he rushed me.
‘Move, Ivy,’ my mate said, his voice a snarl as I tried to shift my weight, my wolf taking over as she moved us as fast as she could. We weren’t fast enough. The Gorilla hit me head-on, his head hitting against my rib cage with a crack the echoed over the crowd, triggering gasps and screams and cheers as I went down with a bark and a whimper.
‘Get up, little wolf. You have to get up.’ His voice was hollow, swallowed by the screams of the crowd and the whimpering of my wolf as she tried to pull herself to her feet.
Fire ripped over my chest, every breath rattling through my bones like they were melting inside of me. They might have been with the pain that was radiating over everything.
‘Come on baby, you can do it,’ His voice was stronger, his plea pulsing in my head as I growled and snapped toward the massive gorilla that was charging me again. He grunted and dodged but not before I clamped some black coarse hair between my teeth.
The gorilla screamed and slammed his fists against the ground, my wolf shuffling over the dirt to face the beast again. My legs wobbled, my chest burning as I sucked in a breath, baring my teeth at the beast that was rushing me again.
My wolf’s groan rattled in my head, her instincts taking over as I lowered my hunches, testing the stability of my foot. It was agony to put pressure of it, but I needed to end this. One jump should do it.
My teeth dripped with warning; the razor-sharp points ready to snap the head off the beast. Instead, I jumped when he was no more than a few feet away, ready to soar over him and bite at him from behind.
I screamed as the bones in my paw snapped further, my massive wolf not able to get as much height as she had planned and instead, putting me in a lunge right toward the Gorilla. Toward his fist as it hit against jaw, as bone cracked and I collapsed to the ground, his fist making contact with my face again and again. Fist against my eye, my ear, my jaw. He hollered, the crowd screamed, and I lay there whimpering. Crying. Until he was gone.
“That’s enough!” a voice hollered, the deep growl instantly recognizable as it rumbled both inside of my head and out of. As the man, the wolf, I was mated to stood between me and the Gorilla.
The man.
Not the wolf.
I could see his feet from where I lay on the ground, see the oil-soaked hem of his jeans.
Oh. My. God.
“You will not touch another hair on my mate’s head,” Howl roared stepping back to me, his hand running through the blood-soaked fur on my head. “We are not playing your game. This match is over.”
The screams of the crowd died, the sounds turning to gasps and whispers as I lay there, the gorilla shifting back to the man, the same look of horror replicating around me.
“Leave my mate alone.”
Chapter 17
Mate.
The voice repeated in my mind like an old memory.
My head became foggy with pain, everything burning as I tried to shift to stand and only collapsed back down with a whimper. Even with the pain that was rolling through me, there was no surprise in what Howl had said. Somehow, the knowledge that Howl was mine had always been there, only now it was an iron tether that linked us together like he had thrown down whatever barrier was there.
As though his admission, his acceptance, made it real.
I tried to stand again, to face the Alpha that was now thundering toward us, but the pain was too much and I went down in a plume of dust.
"Don't try to stand, Ivy," Howl whispered in my ear, his hand still running through my fur. "Right now, I need you to stay down. Keep your eyes closed."
‘I shouldn't have revealed us so soon,' his voice rumbled inside of me, so quiet I wasn't sure he had meant me to hear. ‘It will be a miracle if we make it through.'
‘I will fight him before that happens,' I snarled, Howl turning toward me with wide eyes.
‘No, Ivy. You may stay down, for me. For us.' He leaned down, pressing his lips against the blood-stained fur, against the pain that was radiating through everything. I whimpered. "Please."
I growled in response but did not fight, instead lowering my head and closing my eyes, letting the pain and heat of my shifter move through me as it tried to heal the dozens of bones that had been shattered.
Howl kissed my fur again, "Thank you, little wolf."
"Step away from the trash, Son," Pater said loud enough that everyone could hear, I opened one eye enough that I could see, although I did not move. "She is not your mate. Now, stand down and let Anatoly finish the job."
"No." He was firm, the fingers that were knotted through my fur clenching. I bit my tongue to restrain a whimper. "She is my mate and I will not let this continue."
"Yes, you will. Our pack lives by the old rules, of survival of the fittest. Even Nadia follows its teachings. We shall see how fit this female is by the end, but I can promise you; it is not as her mate. Anatoly will break her. Then I will break whatever spell she has put over you." Spittle came from his mouth as he seethed the words, his hate-filled eyes darting from his son to me. I snapped my eyes shut.
"Ivy is my mate, Father," Howl said, nearly yelling as his hand trailed down the side of my face, over my brow and down to my muzzle. I opened my eyes again. "I've known since I saw her in the mountains since I first heard her voice. I've known she is mine, even before she knew I was hers. I have kept my distance to protect her, but if you insist on hurting her anyway then I will stand by her and protect her as I was born to do."
‘Will you ever forgive me for hiding from you?’ He was genuine, his eyes wide as they stared down at me, away from his fuming father.
The guy looked about ready to explode.
‘Yes, but right now can we take care of the patriarch on an acid trip?’ Howl barely restrained his laugh, the snicker that escaped on
ly infuriating the man more as he stepped right up to him.
"This thing is weak and lost a fight before it had even begun." He pointed his bony finger at me. "It does not belong to my son. It does not belong in this pack or our academy. If this pathetic excuse for a wolf thinks I'm going to stand by while it drags my son down to hell and muddle our pristine bloodline--"
I couldn't help it, I growled. The low threatening sound broke through my throat, it oscillated in my jowls and coated my tongue with the taste of my blood.
"Ivy," Howl warned, giving me on pleading look before he turned back to his father. The man was smiling.
‘You can't challenge him, Ivy. You can't stand. He will take any chance to kill you. To kill both of us. You need to stand down.'
"Is that a challenge, trash?" Pater snarled, stepping closer to me. Howl was between us before he could take another step.
"She's in pain, Father. Why would she challenge you when she knows she cannot win? Yet."
"Is that so?" His smile stretched. "Leave, now. All of you. Get off my lands."
The rapt crowd shuffled in confusion at the sudden demand. All of the looking around before Pater yelled, "Go!" with a rumble that shook the dirt.
I only caught one glimpse of Scarlet and the twins horrified faces before they were gone, swept away in the terrified crowd, and we were alone.
Well, not completely. Howl was still facing his father, I was still bleeding out on the ground.
Selene's parents, the Alpha's female and, of course, Nicky, remained. All of them were staring at me with a seething glare.
"Get that bitch up," Pater said as he turned to the clan of wolves behind him. "We have problems and I expect her to take my command like a good female."
"You need to shift back, Ivy," Howl said, turning to me in a rush, his hands warm on either side of my muzzle. It's going to hurt like shit, but I'll be here. You need to shift."
I whimpered, even the pressure of his hands on my face was agony. ‘How can I?'
