Page 34 of The Alpha's Forced Bride
“I have to protect my people somehow,” I whispered to her.
This was the only way. Cain gave a prideful chuckle. He crossed his arms over his chest, causing his muscles to bulk up even more. His eyes were entirely black now, much like the obsidian stone that Clancy used to check for demonic possession.
“You know you can't turn down a challenge for alpha, it's pack tradition, but I'll be generous with you, Harvey. I will give you one week to prepare yourself and then we'll meet in the center of this village and fight to the death.”
I stared up at his hollow eyes. “That sounds fair to me.”
“Do you have any requests?”
I tried not to look at Kiara. “None that come to mind other than leaving the rest of the pack members alone when I win.”
A deep-bellied laugh followed. “You've always been so amusing. I'll take great pleasure at ripping your throat from your body.”
“I don't think you'll succeed, but you can certainly try. I've only taught you to do as much.”
“After that, I will take charge of your mate and ensure that she's possessed.”
Fear struck me right in the center of my body. I knew he meant those words. He directed them toward me as he glanced over my shoulder at Kiara. The way his eyes widened as his tongue traveled the length of his bottom lip sent a tidal wave of jealousy through my entire form. It scared me down to my soul. I had just gotten her to accept me, and I had just accepted her. How could we be torn apart so quickly? Didn’t being fated mates mean we would be together forever.
Kiara growled behind me. “I'll never belong to you, even if you do win.”
Cain looked smug. “You'll accept me no matter what, my lady.”
“I'm not your lady.”
My chest puffed up. I was so proud of her. She truly was a strong woman. One who could hold her own. Despite my urges to protect her verbally and physically, I knew better than to try and step in right now. She was proving her worth and she was doing it because she wanted to protect me, too. That was the whole point of being mates, wasn't it? That was the beauty of our connection. We were going to protect each other to the death. Cain took another step forward, closing the gap between us. He stood as tall as a building over me now, trying to intimidate me. I'd known him for 10 years now, and I knew the softness that resided there—the way he turned into a teddy bear around a group of puppies, or how he turned into a great uncle around children, especially young ones.
He planted his hands on his hips, tilted his head back, and laughed. I suppose the bellowing was supposed to be intimidating in some way, shape, or form—but I didn't find it to be such. I only found it to be intrusive and unnecessarily annoying, like a fly that was buzzing around my face and ears trying to get my attention. There was another side to Cain, too. He had a certain pride since he was a youth that he'd never quite shaken off. That must have been the type of demon that had possessed him. Most demons, when they possessed a wolf, latched onto the one thing that we couldn't shake. Mine was my silver tongue and the way that I could convince people to do anything. So, my demon had been a manipulative bastard who was able to lie his way through anything, to convince anyone to do anything.
Cain’s demon made him narcissistic. It convinced him that he could do anything, that he could hurt anyone and that he could win any battle. It also convinced him that he deserved every treasure he'd ever coveted. So, when he looked at me and when he looked at Kiara, he saw something he wanted that he didn't have. A mate who was committed and dedicated to the end. I knew he would try to steal her from me, even if he would lose. I knew that what I had to do would be more than temporary. It would have to be a permanent solution. I would have to kill him—I would have to kill a member of my own pack.
“One week,” Cain said again as he held up a finger in the air sternly. “That's all you have, and then you will meet me here again.”
I stood tall. “I accept the conditions of our fight.”
As I held my hand out to him, he laughed again, then he shook my hand vigorously. The earth trembled as he and the six others who defected walked away. They went into the village and I heard their chaos finally recede. What was left was emotional destruction. A distracted and broken sense of being. Three of our own had been killed and the grief of that was heavy in the air. So thick that I could run my fingers through it like pudding. It clung to my skin, it slicked the outer layer of my body, and it choked me. It made me feel like I wasn't ever going to breathe right again. As I mourned those bodies that lay in heaps and in pieces around the campfire, I felt Kiara touch my back. The most gentle energy came from her fingers and drifted into me, much like the affection that had poured from my palms when I fought against my demon. She stood with me for a moment in quiet reverence.
I also felt the support of my remaining pack members who had returned. We stood for as long as we needed to grieve, to accept what was happening, and to accept what was going to come. I lifted my head and clapped my hands once.
“We should clean up.” I held my shoulder as the others went into action. Kiara pulled me back toward the porch door of my cabin.
She turned me to face her and looked up into my eyes. “Please let me get help.”
I looked down at her, seeing the genuine care in her face, and feeling thankful that she was with me.
“What do you suggest?”
“I'll talk to my alphas and we'll arrange a truce, and then after that, we can get help for the coming battle. I'm sure I can convince them.”
I wanted to believe her. I wanted to believe that she knew her pack well enough to know if they would be helpful. Yet I still believed that there would be hesitance on their parts, and a long road ahead to repair the damage that had been caused. At the same time, I was committed to doing that. It was just another long battle, and I was so familiar with battles. After all, I just survived one inside myself—one that I had won because of her. I knew she would help me again. I knew she would save me and always be around.
I just had to believe that.
Chapter 18 - Kiara
Never in my life had I imagined I would have to mediate the meeting between my alphas and my mate. This wasn't the usual way of doing things. There was nothing traditional about it, and it was far more emotional than I had anticipated. Seeing Blake and Troy enter the room was hard because it had been over a week and a half since I'd been back at my packland. The afternoon light that came through the windows felt more surreal than any light I had experienced. With what had happened the other evening during the Grimpaw pack meeting, I carried an edge of anxiety that was evident in my shaky movements.
To my left sat Regina and my father, with Harvey to my right. Regina clutched my hand. Harvey was holding my thigh. My father kept sparing us heated glances with a sound that resembled a growl, almost possessive in nature. Every so often, Regina would cast him a sharp look and he would cease his rebellious snarling, as I had become fond of calling it. No one spoke for a while. All I could hear was the clock ticking in the room and the ancient printer down the hall chugging away in an attempt to print something that I supposed was important for Blake.
