I’d talked to her that morning, explaining a wide variety of scenarios that we could meet on this day. I’d even briefly discussed what to do if she ended up in my father’s hands. But I hadn’t really expected it to happen. Hadn’t really thought he was that far ahead of me.
And this… this was never what we’d discussed—Dad having Stephen as well as my mother and sister?
No. No, the pressure was too much. There were too many cards stacked against us. He had ignored the challenge and kept me here and now my head spun because I couldn’t see my way clear with all these things stacked against me.
When she said the Night Walker wasn’t loyal to my father anymore, I wanted to laugh. Who cared?! He was so desperatel
SOUNDTRACK: “Be a Hero” by Euphoria and Bolshiee.*****~ NATALIE ~I stood alone on the dirt on the challenger’s side of the arena as the bleachers began to fill. At first it had been so heavily weighted in Rig’s favor because we’d notified the lower ranked wolves first, that I was gaining tentative hope that perhaps his father wouldn’t have the support we’d thought.But as the ticked and word began to spread, the steady trickle of wolves on the Alpha King’s side became a river, and then a flood.And my chest ached.I was shaking, but I couldn’t seem to stop. I couldn’t stop looking at the rows and rows of wolves on the other side of the ar
~ NATALIE ~Both of my parents were stunned. My mother looked like she’d been rocked back on her heels. Her mouth kept opening and closing, but she didn’t say anything.My father recovered faster, his shocked expression giving way to snarling rage. “I can’t believe I have to say this, but grow up, Natalie. There will be no offspring with a dead wolf,” he spat, then advanced on me, grabbing my arm, and this time not letting go when I tried to yank away from him.“Dad, what are you doing, I’m not—”“It’s clear to me you’ve lost your fucking mind. I thought you were an adult, but if you can’t be trusted to even understand where to align yourself then you’re still a child, and you’ll ret
~ CARA ~'Cara, are you okay? Are you hurt?' Rig sent for the third time since we’d backed out of his father’s driveway so fast the tires squealed on the cobblestones.Charlie drove and Rig sat in the back of his big truck with me, gripping my hand and staring in every direction like he was certain we'd be ambushed at any second, even in the moving vehicle. Mack was behind us in his car with Avery, and Jack drove ahead in the Jeep.No one was talking. Even Charlie was pale.'I'm fine. I'm telling you, Troy is on our side, Rig. Or at least, on mine. He wants a family. He wants his own pack. He's sick of your dad's control.'‘He didn’t
~ RIG ~It was instinct to keep Cara on my injured side like a shield. I held her hand so tightly as we walked inside I was afraid I might hurt her. But she gripped me back just as strong.A strange thing was happening in me and I was scared to hope.Every time Cara told me she knew I could win, my strength grew.When my pack-brothers circled us to usher us inside, my strength thrummed.It was like something had infected me and was coursing through my system. Except, instead of weakening my body, it did the opposite. I felt like I was taller suddenly, stronger definitely. Sharper.Ready.Then we stepped inside the doors into
~ RIG ~My father was huge as a wolf, his ruff so thick I wondered if my jaws would be wide enough to penetrate it. As he surged forward, launching himself towards me, I swore, then shifted myself, hearing Cara gasp, because I really had grown.I was brimming with a new strength, a new energy. My power had surged again when he shifted so quickly—by doing so he’d recognized my strength, which weakened him a little in the eyes of other wolves, and risked the wavering of their belief in him.But that just meant he was so confident, he thought he could lose a little of their power and still beat me.Cocky bastard.As the noise of the wolves cheering and howling swelled to shake the rafters, I threw myself across th
SOUNDTRACK: “Legendz” by AG and Devvon Terrell*****~ RIG ~I was bleeding from a dozen places, my chest heaving, my fur wet with blood and my father’s saliva. But I was fighting and I wasn’t giving up.My father was strong. So much stronger than even I had imagined. And smart.After the fourth time he fled to reposition, I realized what he was doing—trying to wear me out—and I stopped sprinting after him. But any breather I took, only gave him a chance to catch his breath too. And so we clashed, and snapped, twisted, and wrestled.We snarled and yelped, growled and rolled.His body, older than mine, but bigger too, di
~ RIG ~My father saw the opening he’d been waiting for, gathered himself on his haunches and launched at me, the light of victory in his eyes.Instinctively, I didn’t even try to meet the attack, just leaped straight into the air in an attempt to deflect, dropping my chin, trying to hide my throat as my father snaked in—and to my horror, he would have taken me, except that was the moment Stephen howled in the link, then sent images to us both:Himself. Head bowed. Shoulders rolled forward. His human form submitted.To me.It was a boom of thunder right over my head. In any context, the submission of an Alpha brought al
SOUNDTRACK: “Legendz” by AG and Devvon Terrell ***** ~ RIG ~ Everything slowed to a crawl, time seemed almost not to move at all as I watched my father go for my mate and I turned, twisting, pushing my body in ways I never had, panic screaming in my head, frantic to reach him before he got her. I couldn’t move fast enough. He was going to land at her feet before I did and his power would carry him right to her throat. She wasn’t equipped for this… It all washed through me in that second—the rage for what he’d done, the fury about his injustices, the anger that he would still cheat, even before the witnesses, and the shocking weight of grief because that was my mate. But then the second wave arrived that left me desperate, panicked, humiliated and hating myself. If she died right now it was my fault. My side screamed in pain as I launched myself after him, but my father seemed to hang in mid-air. I had time to see Cara bare her teeth and crouch. Everything moved so slowly I could