Page 66 of The Dragons’ Eternal Mate

“As much as I want that, I don’t want you risking your lives!” Rowan’s voice was insistent, thick with emotion.

“It’ll be me,” Bastian assured her. “Only one of us can fight.”

She glared at him. “That’s not exactly reassuring.”

I took a deep breath, looking between my clanmates. I knew what needed to be done; I just hoped they agreed.

“No.” I stepped toward Bastian, putting my hand on his shoulder. “It’ll be me who fights.”

He furrowed his brow, tone low. “I’m the one they expect. I’m the former Alpha’s son.”

“Exactly. If your father is in bed with Byron, like we all know he is, then no doubt he’s told him about your weaknesses.” I cocked my head, huffing out a breath. “I would bet just about anything that the only reason the old bastard feels comfortable issuing a challenge is that he thinks he has the upper hand.”

“He will insist on fighting me as I’m technically the more senior one, at least in his fucked-up mind.”

“But you’re not,” Rowan whispered, and we all turned to her. “Orsen is.”

We’d only recently discovered the truth about who my father was. I hadn’t really taken any time to let it sink in. Sure, I was glad I knew the truth, but I also didn’t want to disturb the order of things. Our clan had a good thing going, especially now that Rowan and Bastian had sorted out their issues.

But this would hit both Byron and Cyrus where it hurt, revealing more of his crimes and forcing the Alpha to fight someone he wasn’t prepared for.

“They won’t expect me,” I told him. “It’ll throw them off and expose Cyrus’s respect for tradition only goes so far as it serves him to both hordes.”

“I can’t ask you⁠—”

“You’re not asking. I’m offering. We’re all equal Alphas here. Any of us can accept the challenge.”

“You two are pretty well-matched when it comes to fighting ability,” Greylen pointed out.

That was true. We had sparred a lot when we were teenagers and young adults before coming to that conclusion.

There may have been a broken tail involved, but I wasn’t going to admit that to my mate.

“You can’t do this. You haven’t had any time to prepare.” Rowan wrapped her arms around me, the tears that’d been gathering in her eyes soaking the front of my shirt. My hand rested on the back of her head as I tilted my face down and breathed in her scent.

“That’s the point. He’s trying to ambush us, assuming that Bastian would be the one to take the challenge.” I lifted her chin, looking into her eyes. “Don’t worry about me, Rowan. I’m a damn good fighter, if I say so myself. Byron is old. There’s no one else who can take the fight for him because he’s the only Alpha of Birch Creek. We’ll win. It’s almost shockingly easy.”

“It makes me wonder what the fucker has up his sleeve because there’s no way he could take any of us in a fair fight,” Nix mused, and he had a point.

“He probably thinks he has all this inside knowledge. It’s making him arrogant. He will quickly be dissuaded from that notion.”

“Don’t get too cocky,” Bastian urged, his brows pinched together. “They’ll try some shit. I’m sure of it.”

“I hear you.” I nodded at him, clapping a hand on his shoulder as I held Rowan with my other arm. “But in the meantime, we all need to get some rest. It’d be stupid to go to a challenge tired.”

Rowan glanced up at me, shaking her head. “I swear to God, if you die because of this stupid challenge, I’ll kill you.”

I smiled at her, tamping down the nervous energy that infected me. “Got it. No dying.”

Rowan

“Achallenge? Why did you have to go and get yourselves locked into a freaking challenge?” I paced around my bedroom, glowering periodically at the four Alphas who were sitting in various places around the room. As soon as the intruders from Birch Creek had left, we retreated to our rooms. Well, technically, they were my rooms, but there was no denying how my mates had started moving in.

Now that I was away from prying eyes, the panic was well and truly settling in. Orsen could die—a challenge was no joke. My chest was tight as I stomped around the room, my body and mind so amped up I couldn’t stop myself even if I wanted to.

“We will be fine. Do you want some tea?” Nix asked, walking over and grasping lightly at my upper arms.

I batted his grip away. “No, I do not want tea. I want my mates not to put themselves in danger for a few days!” I hissed, resuming my pacing.