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At the word “mate,” the gossip from the crowd increased.
I growled and snapped at him. I approached him slowly, and he backed off a couple steps. It was obvious that he wasn’t afraid of me, he was just making a show of it, but that didn’t matter. I wanted to put more distance between him and Night.
“What? Are you challenging me?” He smirked at me, and my hatred for him deepened. “You’re even more stupid than I thought if you think you can do that here.”
Behind Troy, an Elder cleared his throat. The crowd looked to him as he approached the circle. “Actually, Alpha Redwolf,” he began gently, “as per shifter rules, you must accept any challenge that a wolf presents to you.”
Troy scoffed. “She’s not worth the effort.”
“I’m sorry, Alpha, but if you don’t accept her challenge, you must relinquish your Alpha title.”
Those words caused Troy to growl. He snatched the Elder by the front of his shirt and lifted him from the ground. “No one will take my title away from me.”
The Elder’s face paled. “O-of course, Alpha.”
Troy dropped the man and shoved him back into the crowd. “Fine. I’ll accept your challenge. Saves me the trouble of having to kill you later.” The smirk was back on his face. “At least now your mate and your mother will get to watch me tear you apart.”
I hadn’t seen my mother in the crowd. I cast my eyes over the surrounding people and spotted her standing off to the side. She gave me a confused frown. She wouldn’t realize that it was me. Not yet.
“Don’t!” That was Night’s voice. I turned to face him automatically. He was hurt, of course, his skin dark with bruises and stained with blood, but he was still my Night. His eyes were a deep forest green, and I saw the pain and fear within them. When he spoke again, his voice was quieter, but I heard him as clearly as though he were standing next to me. “Please, go home. I’ve only just got you back.”
His words made my heart ache, but I knew I couldn’t back down. I knew my chances of winning were slim to none. I knew that I was weak because of the Alpha wound and because of the time I’d spent away from Night, but I had to try. If I didn’t, Night and Troy’s fight would resume, and Night would die. Knowing my mate, I was sure he would do everything in his power to take Troy out with him, but I couldn’t risk it.
I tore my eyes away from Night. I had to do what I could as his mate, but also as a member of the Wargs pack to protect the Alpha. My Alpha.
From the corner of my eye, I spotted Jasper and Dom pushing their way forward. Night’s reaction must have tipped them off to my identity, and they looked almost as scared for me as Night did. It hurt to see how much they cared for me—especially Dom. He should have been with Tavi, but he’d followed me to the arena instead. I hated that I was putting them in the position of having to watch as I fought Troy, but there was nothing I could do about it at this point. My challenge was made, and Troy had accepted it. I didn’t have any choice but to fight.
“Come with us!” Dom shouted. “We have to get you and Tavi home. Night will be okay—he’ll finish this for all of us!”
I shook my head. My wolf and I had both made up our minds. I knew that Dom was trying to do what Night had told him to do. He wanted to make sure that Tavi and I were safe, and as long as I was out here, in Troy’s line of sight, he had failed to uphold his end of that plan. It made me feel even worse about putting him in this position, but I had a mate and a pack to protect.
I hoped Night wouldn’t hold this against Dom if I didn’t survive.
“Please, Bryn!” Dom said.
I shook my head at him, and as my gaze met his, I saw his eyes go wide. I didn’t understand why at first, but then all two hundred pounds of Troy—When did he have time to shift?—barreled into me.
I yelped as I flew to the other end of the arena, slamming hard onto the packed ground.
“Bryn!” That was Night’s voice again, but I couldn’t look at him. I’d let myself get distracted already, and Troy had taken advantage. Now I needed to focus.
I pushed myself to my feet, but Troy was already on the move again. He slammed into me a second time, but this time when I hit the ground, I rolled to my feet. He growled at me, crowding my space, but I snapped at him and he hopped back.
I took a few steps back myself. It was hard to focus on him now that the crowd had started to yell and jeer again. I couldn’t imagine how previous fighters had dealt with the weight of so many pairs of eyes on them. How did they manage to deal with their opponent when people were constantly gesturing at them or cursing them?
Suddenly, Troy closed in again. I tried to charge him, but he easily stepped out of my way. I yelped again when his fangs bit through my side, tearing into fur and flesh. It burned like nothing else could. I jerked away from him and maneuvered to the side. Troy spat blood and fur onto the ground, his tongue lolling red from the side of his mouth. I backed away, my legs trembling.
I tried to think of my next move. Troy was bigger than me, and he was so much stronger. Even at full health, I doubted I would be a match for him. Night had already been removed from the ring so that he couldn’t interfere. There were Kings wolves holding him, Jasper, and Dom back. My mother had moved closer to the circle, but she could only watch on in horror as realization filled her blue eyes. I returned my attention to Troy and tried to ignore the way exhaustion pumped through my body like blood. I really was doing this on my own.
Troy lunged again and tackled me to the ground. I avoided his snapping teeth, but in the process, my wounds filled with stinging dirt. I howled in pain and kicked him off of me. He recovered quickly, pouncing on me again.
I heard the crowd. I heard my mate. I heard my friends as they shouted after me. I wanted to cry as Troy put me through yet another beating, but I refused to give him or the Kings that satisfaction. I would stay strong to the end because I’d done the right thing. After years of living under the Kings’ thumb, I had finally fought for what I loved and for what mattered to me—Night and the Wargs.
This time, Troy backed off on his own, playing with me. I rose shakily to my feet. It’s not over until I’m dead! I thought with a growl. Troy’s wolf gave a panting laugh, as though he could hear me. I was upright, but I wasn’t steady. My body had grown numb, and I felt myself losing consciousness. A sweet, everlasting void was lingering just on the edge of my vision. I’d lost so much blood. In just a few more minutes, I would be too weak to remain awake, and by then, I would be as good as dead.
Troy ran at me again, and I started to close my eyes. This was it…
My wolf whimpered inside my head, and pushed at my mind. My eyes snapped open. At the last second, I rolled to the side, out of Troy’s way. He yelped in surprise, skidding to an unsteady stop. That hadn’t been me dodging, it was my wolf.
