by Kyle, Celia
Jack paled while rage coated Berke’s features. “We can do that now. Ruling Alphas please—”
Levy held up a hand and silenced Jack. “Regardless of your status, the Mate Challenge has been issued and accepted. If you’d still like to receive the Ruling Alphas’ blessing, you may. However, it won’t change what is to happen.”
She really, really hated the Wardens. Hated. She wanted someone to pee in their corn flakes and throw a flaming shit bomb at their front door.
Both men swayed, their stricken gazes locking onto hers. They strode toward her, concern and worry in every line of their bodies.
“Gabby…” Jack reached for her hand.
“Gabriella…” Berke grasped the other. “You can’t do this. We won’t let you.”
Gabby shook her head and tugged free of their hold. “It’s done. You acknowledged our status as mates, but never formed your Pair and claimed me.”
“It wasn’t you, love.” Jack sounded so sincere.
“Right.”
“We’re going to ask the Ruling Alphas for their blessing. We want you. I was…” Jack’s words trailed off, and Gabby filled in the blanks.
“An asshole? A jerk of massive proportions? A heartless bastard? A pussy?” That’d been her favorite word tossed around today.
“All of the above.” He gave her a sad grin.
“Gabriella, I don’t…” Berke seemed at a loss for words.
“It doesn’t matter.” She sighed and shrugged. “I’ll be fine. I mean, I know Tae Bo and Turbo Jam, right?” She forced a chuckle. “And, hey, X me baby.” She raised her arms and crossed her forearms to make an “X”.
Jack raised a single brow in question.
“What? You guys haven’t heard of P90X? It’s like, the most bad ass workout system ever. I mean, I barely made it through the warm-up, but I totally watched what they were doing.” Gabby cracked her neck. “I got this.” She turned toward the men who may or may not become her mates. “The question is: once I win, what happens?”
Jack licked his lips, reminding her of what they shared, and lost, not long ago. “With Keller and Madden’s blessing, we’ll complete our bond and then claim you as ours.” He cupped her face and stroked her cheek with his thumb. “There’s a lot to say, but I know what I did wrong, and I’ll fix it as soon as you take care of Hannah.”
Right. The she-bitch.
Berke twined his fingers with hers, tugging her attention from Jack. “She doesn’t have any experience in fighting and will probably come at you like a girl.”
“Hey, I’m a girl.” She narrowed her eyes, and Berke rolled his.
“She won’t have any form. Imagine random punches, scratching, and hair pulling. Keep out of her way and try to scratch her first.” Berke huffed and Jack picked up on tossing out tips.
“She’ll come at you with her nails, but duck and punch her in the stomach.”
“Like this?” Gabby made a fist, and Jack shook his head.
“No, like this. Don’t cover your thumb. You’ll break it.” Jack repositioned her fingers and she tried to remember how they were arranged.
“She’ll tell you where she’s going with her eyes. Wait for it. After the stomach, aim for her face. Nose or mouth will bleed the quickest if you hit ’em.” Berke’s voice was low and soothing.
“If you can’t hit her right off, trip her. Then you can kick her in the face.” Gabby opened her mouth to protest, but Jack cut her off. “She’s a wolf. She’ll heal fast. Your job is to get her to bleed. Don’t for a second think she wouldn’t do the same to you.”
The silence stretched, and Berke looked to Jack, the two of them communicating without words, before turning back to her. “We’ll go Rogue before we lose you, Gabriella.”
She shook her head, unwilling to accept Berke’s solution.
Jack butt in. “Yes. It’s decided.”
“Jack…” She turned to her previously reticent mate.
“If you’ll have us, you’re ours. Period. The only thing this spectacle does is delay our mating.” Truth rang in Jack’s words, each one imbued with sincerity that flowed from his heart.
Scarlet poked her head into their small circle. “But it would be super awesome if you, like, won and shit since Keller found you a kick ass Pack to lead and everything. Just sayin’.” Message delivered, she retreated just as quickly as she’d appeared.
“Miss Wickham?” Levy’s voice drifted through the growing din.
Straightening her shoulders, she pushed to her tip toes and brushed a kiss across Jack and then Berke’s lips. “Lemme go kick this bitch’s ass and then we can do the Alpha Pairing mumbo jumbo stuff.”
Before she could deal with any more mushy whiny-ness, she strode toward the waiting Wardens. Just as soon as all this was handled, she was so gonna kick their asses for taking so long to arrive and help with Whitney. Maybe she could do the whole Challenge Without Death thing to them once she was done with Hannah.
Right.
Standing in the center of the cleared area, she faced off against the she-wolf, noting the smug look and cocky attitude she displayed. Like Berke was hers already, and this farce was simply a formality. As if.
Levy stood to Gabby’s left, body centered between her and Hoe Bag. “Hannah Cox…”
Gabby snickered, earning her a glare from Levy. Whatever.
“…has issued a Mate Challenge to Gabriella Wickham for mating rights to Berke Davis. The fight is to first blood. Ladies, are you ready?”
Could she say no? A glance at Emmett revealed his equally stern glare. Okay, apparently not. “Of course.”
This time it was Hannah who snickered, and she added an eye roll for good measure. “Yeah, yeah. Let’s do this.”
“Show some respect,” Levy snapped, exposing the first true flash of emotion she’d seen. Glaring didn’t count. She took that as a silent warning. Him biting off Hannah’s head, however, was freakin’ awesome.
With those last words, he stepped back until he was even with the bodies encircling them. “Begin.”
Hannah gave her a smarmy smile, feet moving across the floor as the wolf began circling Gabby. “Ready to lose your ‘mate’, human?”
Rolling her eyes, she stepped back and countered the wolf’s travels, not allowing the woman to get close.
“To a she-whore like you? As if.” Gabby kept her gaze intent, looking for any hint of an attack. She wasn’t stupid enough to take on the woman first. Nope, she hoped Hannah would leave her with an opening so she could react and win. Berke and Jack had both given her tips on how to defeat the wolf.
So, yeah, watch her eyes, punch her in the stomach, punch her in the face (but no covering her thumb) and pray she bleeds. She totally had this. Maybe…-ish.
“I’m stronger than you, human. Do you really think you have a chance? One hit and Berke will be mine.” Hannah’s grin was filled with pure evil. “Give up now before you get hurt.”
Gabby circled right, allowing the wolf to continue her smack talking.
“We don’t want to hurt your pretty face while you’re still looking for your mate, do we? Stop this, human.” Hannah sneered.
“You know, cunt,” Normally Gabby wasn’t with using that word when applied to a woman, but it just fit. “I think thou doth protest too much.” She tilted her head to the side. “Actually, I’m pretty sure you and your little puppy inside are afraid of me. Is that it?” Gabby smirked. “The big, bad wolf is afraid of a little ’ole human.”
The wolf scoffed. “Never.”
“Really?” Please, please, please let the whore be gullible. “Prove it. Gimme first shot, bitch. A little human can’t hurt the big bad wolf, can she?”
Hannah’s eyes lightened but didn’t flip to the full yellow of her wolf. Damn it. That would have ended this stupid game.
Grumbles and snorts furthered Gabby’s case, the gathered crowd obviously agreeing with her taunts. No human could ever hurt a furball; they’re too big and growly and strong and blah, blah
, blah.
“Fine,” Hannah bit off the word and moved to the center of the circle, stilling once she reached her chosen spot. “Do your worst, human. But know that the moment you finish, I’ll be doing the same.”
Gabby straightened and grinned at her mates. “Dudes, it’s like Christmas!”
Turning her attention back to Hannah, she circled the woman, drawing out the suspense. Because, hey, embarrassing the wolf couldn’t ever be rushed. She kept her steps slow and steady, already scrolling through her not-so-vast catalog of moves. Tae Bo had punches and kicks and P90X was big on cross-training. But Turbo Jam…
Hello assious kickious.
Stopping before Hannah, facing the woman one-on-one, she smiled wide. “Ready? ’Cause this is gonna be over fast.”
Another eye roll from the she-wolf.
Gabby shrugged. “Okay.” Getting into position, she raised her fists, Jack’s voice practically purring through her mind. Then she kicked ass and told names to fuck the fuck off.
Gabby sped through the moves, the background music from her favorite Turbo Jam video filling her head. Jab. Cross. Hook. Upper cut.
Boo-yeah mother fuckers!
A stunned silence wrapped around not only Hannah, but the crowd as well, as if they all held their breath.
Then pain overwhelmed her and she clutched her hand, knuckles throbbing and hurt pounded through her body. “Shit, that fucking hurt. Why did no one tell me it’d fucking hurt?” She screamed the question as she worked through the agony.
She definitely would have remembered a “Hey, it’ll feel like you’re dying” warning. But even through the pain, she kept her gaze intent on Hannah. ’Cause, yeah, she had no doubt that blood was freakin’ inevitable. If punching the beyotch’s face hurt Gabby, it had to have hurt the other woman.
Tick tock, Mr. Blood. Any time now.
Only, shit on a stick, the red stuff didn’t show. Nope, the she-wolf simply stood in the middle of the circle rubbing her jaw, fingers sliding over slightly reddened skin, and then even that flush disappeared.
An evil grin formed on Hannah’s mouth. “My turn.” Without pause, the woman struck out at Gabby, her human fingers curved and aimed right for Gabby’s face.
Eyes wide, she did the only defensive maneuver she had in her vast arsenal… Okay, she had no arsenal. She did have… Stop, drop, and roll!
Gabby hit the ground with a scream and then rolled across the circle before popping to her feet. Oh shit. Shit. She was gonna die and she’d never be with Berke and Jack again. She readily admitted that the worry over dying trumped hot sex with her two wolves. Her wolves. She needed to remember that. She was doing this so she could have them, and no wolf was gonna take that from her.
Hannah came after her again, fingers still curved into human claws, and her mouth was wide, baring her blunted teeth. When the chick was within arm’s reach, Gabby dropped again, this time crawling between the woman’s legs and dashing to the other side of the circle.
Yes, she was a pussy with a capital Save Me Now.
“Come on, Gabby! Punch her in the junk!” Scarlet’s yells rose above the general shouts.
“Junk?” Then Gabby screamed like a girl because Hannah lunged for her. Waving her hands, she ran around the edge of the circle, the wolf hot on her tail. “Do girls really have junk?”
Snarls followed her, the other woman closing the gap between them.
She really should have actually done the P90X videos instead of just watching them for the man candy. Really.
Suddenly her fleeing was cut off. Hannah managed to snare a clump of Gabby’s hair, pulling her up short. She fell backwards with a scream, hitting the thinly carpeted floor with a grunt, and her breath was knocked from her lungs.
Hannah yanked on her hair again, holding Gabby steady as the she-wolf straddled her stomach. Wrenching her head back, the woman leaned toward her.
God, this was it. A single, crushing bite and Gabby would lose her men forever. There’d be no chance of mating if the stupid bitch spilled her blood. The nearer Hannah came to her neck, the quicker Gabby’s vision of her future deteriorated. Anguish overtook her, squeezing her heart in an iron grip. Tears sprung to her eyes, not from Hannah’s actions, but at the thought of never having Berke and Jack.
Hannah bared her blunted, human teeth. With each inch closer, Gabby fought harder. She struggled against the woman’s hold, but her strength didn’t allow Gabby to move an inch.
Hanna’s face became Gabby’s world, the screams and shouts of the crowd drowned out by the terror that coursed through her. Between one breath and the next, she felt more of her future draining away. With luck, the wolf’s bite would kill her. She couldn’t imagine living without those two wolves.
The she-wolf yanked on her hair again, forcing her head to turn even further, and then Berke and Jack were within sight.
“See them, human? Before you draw your next breath, Berke will be mine. Remember that as your blood flows.” Hannah was so smug.
Anger. Fucking rage hotter than anything Gabby had ever felt before pounded through her. No. She wasn’t gonna let this happen. Period. Full stop. She dug deep within her, searching out any unused strength, and drew on the last few bits that lingered. Uncaring of any further pain, she turned her head, straining against Hannah’s hold, and uttered two, last words. “Fuck. You.”
Before the last syllable left her, she’d opened her mouth wide and did what she should have done forever ago. If it was good for the wolves, it was good for humans. In a blink, her teeth met flesh and in a fraction of a second, her jaw clamped down on Hannah’s cheek. Blood, coppery and salty, filled her mouth, and the urge to vomit nearly overwhelmed her. Bile rose in the back of her throat and she released the wolf the moment the fluid poured over her tongue.
Screams and yells echoed around her, Hannah’s screeches overwhelming them all. The weight of the she-wolf disappeared and Gabby opened eyes she hadn’t realized she’d closed.
A strong arm around Hannah’s waist kept the woman from coming back at her. The she-wolf’s eyes yellowed and fangs burst from her gums as her fingers finally did transform into deadly, claw tipped paws. Blood continued to flow down the woman’s mangled cheek, and Gabby almost felt bad for the screeching chick.
Almost.
Okay, not really.
“That’s enough, Hannah.” Levy’s beefy arm held the woman still. “The Wardens’ official ruling is for Gabriella Wickham. Hannah Cox will no longer be permitted to approach Berke Davis.”
“Bitch,” Hannah spat. “I issue a Mate Challenge to Gabriella Wickham for—”
Levy slapped a hand over the bitch’s mouth. “No, you really don’t.”
Hannah shot daggers at Gabby with her eyes.
“The next order of business is the Alpha Bonding of Berke Davis and Jack Wright.” Emmett drew her attention, and she noticed the man’s focus was on her two mates as well as Keller and Madden. “Ruling Alphas, do you agree that these two males are worthy of the pairing and give your blessing?”
Keller’s answer was immediate. “We do. Gentlemen.” He beckoned her mates to the center of the circle, and they both kneeled. Placing his hands on their bowed heads, he spoke the necessary words. “Blood ties to heart. Heart ties to body. Body ties to soul.” A soft glow flowed over Berke and Jack. “Heart. Body. Soul. May you rule with your heart, protect with your body, and find the one to complete your soul.” The low light flared bright, nearly blinding her with its intensity. “I present the Gathering with Alpha Pair Berke Davis and Jack Wright, the new Colson Alphas.”
Colson. Madden and Keller had killed that Pack’s Alphas just the previous night. Now Berke and Jack would be taking over. Would the wolves resent them? Hold the deaths of their Alphas against them? Would they…
Scarlet’s low whisper broke into her worries. “It’s like, fifteen minutes from the Ruling Alpha compound. Sweet, eh?”
“What?” She whispered back, watching her men receive congratulations from
the crowd.
“Yeah, Keller and Madden said Colson is close to our home. So you can totally come by for coffee and stuff.” A glance at Scarlet revealed her wide smile.
“But if your guys are close, why don’t they rule over that city?”
Whit popped into the conversation. “They’re responsible for the entire continent. No way they’re gonna deal with a small city.” Her sister’s gaze was intent. “And I know you’re worried about the Pack accepting you guys, but everyone said those guys were assholes.”
“They didn’t break any laws…” Scarlet began.
Whitney finished. “…but they were dicks. So your new gang will welcome you three.”
“Three?” She squeaked. Conceptually, she realized that she was Berke and Jack’s mate. But reality was slamming into her with a ginormous hammer.
“Three.” Scarlet nodded. “They’re an Alpha Pair, you’re a Marked, and now it’s time to boink like werebunnies on crack.”
“Do you think there are werebunn—” Gabby didn’t get a chance to finish the word. Berke and Jack swooped in then, wrapping their arms around her and turning her toward the exits. Hell, she didn’t even say goodbye to anyone. They did that for her.
“It’s time to mate, Mate.” Berke’s voice was filled with sexual promise, but she noticed that Jack hadn’t said a word.
“Jack?”
Jack stopped, disregarding the flowing mass of bodies that slid around them. They created their own bubble in the chaos after the Challenge. He released her hand and cupped her face, both palms warm against her cheeks. “I want nothing more than to mate you, Gabby. I made a mistake in not bonding with Berke, and I refuse to repeat it by not mating you. The three of us belong together. My body, my wolf, knew it. It just took some time for my heart to accept the truth as well.” He brushed a gentle, chaste kiss across her lips. “You’re the one, Gabby. Our Marked. Our Mate.”
The truth didn’t slither into her veins, but pummeled her chest with never-ending strikes. She fought against the tears gathering in her eyes. “Berke?”
He stroked her back, fingers tracing her spine. “From the moment I saw you, Gabriella. You know that. Our Marked. Our Mate.”
