by Rae Foxx
I needed witnesses.
“Your entire premise for the Alpha challenge is null and void,” I continued, letting my voice continue to travel. “My mate is a shifter. Every ounce of your pretense was removed the moment she shifted. All of this is over nothing.”
Grant looked worried for half a second, his shoulders firming up as he looked away for half a second, his eyes darting to Cami was still standing behind me, both of her hands wrapped around my one.
“Doesn’t matter,” He said after a moment, although his voice had lost some of its oomph. “You accepted the challenge and lost. The blood is still over there on the fucking ground. We left it as a reminder to those who would attempt to challenge me in the future.” One side of his mouth rose in a grin.
I supposed he meant that grin to be scary. Didn’t work on me.
“Oh, please.” I laughed, the blood was still on the ground, yes, but it was barely more than a few drops. Why he thought that was scary was beyond me. Unless he was still delusional into thinking that he had actually almost beaten me.
Idiot.
“You ended the fight because you saw an out. You knew that even though I was wounded I would come back and kill you. So when my mate shifted and interfered, you took your chance to take the chicken way out. You’re not an Alpha. You’re a coward.”
The pack had gathered around us now, most in their pajamas, but none had bleary eyes. They expected our return as much as Grant had. My hackles raised the moment my parents and sister joined us but were taking a stance as they stood closer to me than to Grant. It was a risk for them, but I wouldn’t make that risk stand in vain. I was here--we were here--to take back what we were robbed of.
Oddly enough, it wasn’t just them. More than half the pack was moving in my direction, quietly standing behind me. Grant’s fists flexed in and out and his face reddened as he noticed the same thing. Michelle huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.
“I won the challenge according to the rules of this pack,” Grant raised his voice into a yell, clearly trying to push some of his Alpha into it. Instead, spit flew out in his panic. “Rules that you and your Alpha lineage put in place. As far as I’m concerned, and I am the Alpha now, I won fair and square. That only leaves you with a few choices, pup.”
“Go on…” I goaded, doing my best to restrain a smile. This was going exactly as I had expected.
Cami’s hand tightened with mine as he paused, looking at the pack, all of them now surrounding us, taking in the conversation. A conversation that would determine their future. All of our futures.
“Two choices, Luke. You either fight your way back into this pack or you leave.”
I shrugged, trying to play off cool and collected while my heart was beating rapidly. This was what I wanted, now if he would continue playing into my hands, we could finish this easily.
For everyone.
Wolves were pack creatures. We thrived on community. And with situations like this, when the pack was disrupted or in confusion, all of the wolves in our pack suffered.
We wouldn’t be settled until there was a clear leader. One that everyone agreed on, and they didn’t all agree on Grant.
“Fine, I’ll fight you right here and now.”.
“No,” Grant laughed, going so far as to put his hand on his belly while it moved with what he thought was funny. “You fighting your way back in means you fight the entire pack, from the bottom up.”
Perfect.
“Either that or you leave--for good this time. You leave and you never fucking step foot on my pack lands again. Make a choice, Luke. I’ve got other things to do. You know how busy Alpha life can be.”
While he had laid out the rules, the pack had silently taken their own stance on the subject. The pack was now almost divided in half--those who had moved to where Cami and I were standing and those who stood near the other side of the porch, the one near Grant.
Scanning the crowd, I realized that the pack was divided because of me. If I had been the Alpha, I should have been the last few years, then the entire pack would’ve backed me no matter what. The division in the ranks meant that in my selfish pursuit of my mate that I had failed them. But that knowledge only fueled my fire to be Alpha again. I would take back the position I knew was mine but this time, I would do things right. Earn back their respect and trust. Be the Alpha they needed me to be.
Be the mate Cami needed me to be.
And I would have no mercy for anyone who tried to take what was mine. That meant my mate, my family, and my pack.
“You dare stand against the Alpha of this pack?” Grant had taken in what was happening and targeted his boom of a voice toward the ones who were on our side. Their bravery was evident as none of them flinched or even moved an inch in response. I thought I heard more than one growl come from the crowd.
“They stand for what is right,” I responded for them, not willing to let Grant bully them.
“Then they stand to die.”
I looked over the ones who had chosen me and their faces told me everything I needed to know. They were ready to fight. For me and Cami.
Cami came forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with me. Her nearness gave me greater strength.
“You would put your entire pack’s lives on the line for this? You would risk their lives for your place as Alpha?”
Grant lost some of the color in his face before growling out in anger. “They have made their choice. And you have made yours.”
That was it. I gave him an out and he would rather put our brothers and sisters to fight each other instead of fighting me alone. Said a lot about him as a leader.
My wolf was already rising to the surface, so ready and willing to reclaim what was ours.
“So be it, who is first?”
21
Cami
So Luke fights everyone while Grant takes the opportunity to take me out to hurt Luke more and weaken him so he can get rid of him once and for all, but instead, I fast shifted and took Grant down before he knew what was up.
Easy.
Simple.
I had repeated the plan a few times and it all seemed to be working well.
Until suddenly it wasn’t.
“So be it,” Luke stepped away from me, dropping my hand as he prepared to shift. “Who is first?”
“You have separated my pack. There is no ‘first’ there is only your end. Kill him!” Grant spit as he talked, the droplets glinting in the blazing light from the cabin. But as he screamed the last words, it might as well have been a bang from a gun.
The wolves all around us shifted, the two lines racing toward each other in war.
“Shit!” This was not what we had planned.
Wolves were everywhere, the smell of blood and spit and sweat flooding my senses as I stepped back, trying to figure out if I should hide and take down Grant when he found me, or if I should fight.
The choice was made for me.
Michelle was heading right for me.
She grinned at me before she shifted, the conversion messy and disjointed, almost like her wolf didn’t want to be inside or outside of her. Matching her step for step, I ran at her, jumping into the air as a human and shifting as fast I had practiced. Her wolf eyes went wide in surprise as I prepared to land on her, jaw already opened wide. Teeth gleaming.
I was ready to bite down when another wolf head-butted me from the side, knocking us both off the porch and onto the ground, right among the other pack members who had taken to attacking each other in our own sort of civil war.
I jumped onto my four paws, shaking the fall from my body and facing the wolf who had attacked me. The bitch was going to go down. With my new speed, I lunged for her, remembering what Luke had taught me. In seconds, my teeth were buried into the most vulnerable part of her neck. A pungent, metallic taste filled my mouth and made me gag, mentally, of course. My wolf took the taste as proof that she had ended the threat and was ready for the next one.
Before I could
get my bearings, I found that I was surrounded. At least five wolves surrounded me all growling, teeth bared. They had successfully separated me from Luke, which was exactly what they wanted.
Good thing I could take care of my own fucking self.
The lean, almost scruffy wolf in front of me bowed his muzzle low to the ground and growled with a menacing tone, or so he thought.
He sounded like he was hacking up a hairball. I reacted to his stance the way Luke had taught me. Lunging for him with all the strength I could, and I aimed for his nape, that vulnerable part that he foolishly had bared to me in his attempt to bring fear.
I was a one move fighter, but who the fuck cared. It was working.
As my teeth sunk into flesh and then hit bone, the wolf whining underneath me. I went to shake him in victory, but realized too late my mistake.
He hadn’t been the only wolf who was challenging me.
Two more wolves bit down on my hindquarters and pulled, my hips and legs screaming as teeth clamped into me.
Shit!
Okay, we hadn’t covered this in our ‘how to take down Grant training.’
‘Help!’ I yelled, knowing Luke was as busy as I was. I couldn’t even see him, but with the way blood and fur was flying, I had no idea who or what anyone was.
The moon hung above our fight, that and the porch light the only thing giving a ray of hope in the battle. Even if we did win, which we would, there wouldn’t be a lot of pack members left after half of them sided with Grant. I knew that Luke wouldn’t put up with traitors in his midst anymore and I didn’t blame him one bit.
The bodies that lay on the battlefield made it look like the wolves were planted there in rows like seeds waiting to grow, fertilized with their blood.
‘Take down the grey one first. He’s the most dangerous.’ Luke’s disembodied voice called to me, I had no idea where he was, but I didn’t question. I leaned to the side and caught the grey wolf’s leg in my teeth enough to make him let go. The other wolf released me as I whirled around, intent on taking them both out.
No one bit Cami in the ass and lived to tell the tale.
I’d be damned if that was going to happen.
My hips screamed and ached, I could feel the blood dripping over my fur, hear it splatter on the dirt, but I stood my ground, growling at the two wolves and daring them to try again.
We will not lose. We will win this.
That wasn’t Luke. That was my wolf talking to me. Still had to get used to that.
She was right. There was no other option. I needed to win.
These wolves were fighting dirty, or so I assumed. There was no rounding and going one on one. They were tag-teaming. One would bite my leg to distract me while the other went for my neck.
If they could play dirty, so could I. Screw Grant coming to me. I could find him as easily.
I lifted my nose, smelling him out as I darted over the battle, my hind legs screaming for relief. I ignored them and plowed on, only to freeze as though I had been turned to ice when I finally found them
Michelle and Grant had Luke pinned to the ground, Michelle’s teeth on his neck and Grant’s paw on his chest.
My wolf snarled and howled before I could stop her, the beast as angry as I was as I pawed my way toward them, pissed as hell.
‘Fucking bastard.’ I growled again, pulling Grant’s focus as he stepped away from Luke, Michele's paw now on his neck as the two stared at me, as Grant stalked his way closer.
Out of nowhere the circle of wolves around me parted, leaving Grant and me to circle each other.
I had already shifted, so my one big trick was gone, but I didn’t care. I was going to take this mother fucker down.
He had hurt my mate. He was going to pay.
‘Fucking fight, Cami!’ Luke’s voice filled my head, although weaker than I had expected. It only fueled my fire more.
‘Oh, I got this!’ There was only one way out of this fight, and it would be through Grant’s throat.
Grant’s ears lay back on his head as he took off at a run toward me. Long gone was his slow and precise movements and in their place was unadulterated rage. I dodged his first lunge for my neck, but missed when I tried to bite his side.
I hadn’t even turned around when his teeth bit the end of my tail making me yelp out in pain.
‘Cami! Ignore the pain and go for it. Bite him. Scratch him. Claw at his face. Something!’
I took Luke’s words to heart and spun around on my paws; claws extended. I felt the pressure as my claws dug into flesh. Blood seeped out from Grant’s face in lines, deep, gaping marks that showed the pulsing muscles beneath.
Okay, he didn’t expect that. I got this!
I swung my claws again, but this time at his chest, where he’d clawed Luke not so long ago. Now he was bleeding from two places. Tiny plops of scarlet pockmarked the dirt beneath his belly and face.
My wolf took it from there, the beautiful creature as ready to defend her mate as I was. In seconds, before Grant could react, I pulsed forward, almost at a full leap and took a chunk of his nape into my mouth and bit down with every ounce of strength I had left. Canines shredded through skin, and fur, and flesh until blood filled my mouth and his body went limp under the pressure.
I dropped him; his wolf cowering below me. He whined once before he turned, tail between his legs as he hobbled away disappearing into the night and leaving us with only a pool of blood on the dirt.
I backed off, snarling and howling to the moon still above us.
My wolf was proud of herself and I was proud as fuck to be a shifter at that moment. I’d protected my mate and saved his place in the pack. I’d taken down the enemy on my own.
Halfway in shock, and halfway in awe, I shifted back to my human feet and stepped back, the taste of blood still in my mouth and what I’d done flooding my veins.
I looked to Luke, expecting to see him strut forward as the new Alpha, but instead, a grouping of wolves surrounded me, howling and lowering their muzzles and their eyes to the ground.
Luke’s parents shifted and got on one knee, also looking down, muttering something about Alpha.
“What the fuck?”
22
Luke
“Alpha.” The word rang out of the clearing, the wolves that had fought with us stepping closer to her, kneeling as they exposed their neck to her in submission and respect. The other half, the ones that had fought with Grant were already running away, following the bastard as he ran from us, a trail of blood and piss showing how weak they were. They knew they were no longer welcome here.
Cami had bested Grant. The entire thing went by like a fast-paced movie, but here we were.
And by the look on Cami’s face, she had no idea why the wolves around here were bowing, posturing in humility in front of their new Alpha.
My mate.
She ruled our pack now.
And she was beautiful.
I walked over to the thickening crowd and they parted for me, moving to the side while keeping their necks bared. Cami’s eyes met mine and I heard her swallow. She had no idea the level of pride in my chest.
“Luke?” She asked and gestured to the crowd. “I don’t…”
“You bested Grant. You defeated the standing Alpha, mate of mine,” I answered, trying to provide some clarity, but failing by the look on her face.
“Yes, I know. But you are the Alpha now. Again. Look, everyone, it’s Luke…” Her voice trailed off. Somewhere inside, she knew what this meant.
“My Alpha, my queen,” I said, and bent my neck to the side and got onto one knee right along with the others.
“Wait, what? The hell?” She screamed and waved her hands like trying to erase the whole event.
“You are our new Alpha, mate. We submit to your authority completely, love.”
“Wait, you mean...I’m the new...I…”
I stood along with the others and took her into my arms. “Yes, it’s you. That’s the law. You took d
own the Alpha and now that honor is yours. And somehow I think it always belonged to you.”
Applause broke out through the pack.
We had our leader.
And now this pack could be whole again.
23
Cami
Six Years Later
“Come here, you,” Luke’s voice was a growl in my ear as his hands weaved around my waist, his fingers already sliding beneath the waistband of my shorts that I had barely put on.
I had been in a pack meeting for the last hour, I had every intention of collapsing on my bed and sleeping for as long as possible, but hearing Luke’s voice in my ear, seeing his mischievous smile reflected me in the mirror was making me rethink all of that.
I had washed my face and changed into something less business ‘I lead this pack’ and more ‘I’m a hot momma who wants to take a nap.’
Looks like that was coming off, too.
“Come here and do what?” I teased, my eyes looking through the reflection and straight into his. I let one of my eyebrows perk up as his thumb undid the snap of my jean shorts and his hand dived lower, his warm palm cupping me, his finger sliding between my lower lips.
He slid against my skin easily. Damn. Three words and he still got me wet, even after all these years.
“You already know what,” he teased, his finger sliding against my wetness, the tip of his finger circling my entrance.
I couldn't help it, I shuddered, my knees attempting to buckle. Luke held me up, his strong arm holding me against him as he let his finger slide in enough to make me shiver.
“What if I want you to tell me?” I tried to keep my voice as firm as I could, even though every fiber of my body wanted to sag into him, into the pulsing erection in my back, and let him take me. “What if I want you to tell me exactly what you want to do to me?”
Luke’s smile spread. His finger dipping into me again before withdrawing and sliding further down, sliding against skin and the tight pucker of my ass.
