Chapter 8: Last Man Standing Wins...Or Not

Chapter 8: Last Man Standing Wins… or not

Cillian

I shake my head and bring my mind back to attention.

“Andrei, stop this now. Walk away. Please, stop now,” Kayleigh begs. I know what she’s doing. She doesn’t want me to provoke him. Because she knows that irritating Andrei will make him lose control and shift. Who knows what will happen with a gypsy wolf out in the open here. Surely, he can’t take us all down, but word will get out and the wolf-bloods around the world will know that the revered Russian Alpha heir is not only a mutt, but also a gypsy wolf. Oh, such shame he’ll bring to his family.

Andrei doesn’t seem deterred by my wolf. If anything, he looks like he’s ready to snap my neck. His stance is firm and steady, waiting for me to pounce. Just when I’m about to leap into the air for Andrei, Kayleigh steps closer to the fighting pit and lowers herself to the ground.

She directs her eyes at me and stretches her arms out. “Hey, handsome…”

My heart warms up.

If I was in my human form, I’d know how to control and stop myself from going to her. But I’m in my wolf form. My wolf is weak when it comes to Kayleigh.

I try very hard to will my wolf to stay back, but in this form he is stronger and it’s a struggle for me to keep in control. He wants to go to Kayleigh.

My wolf feels what I feel. Even without saying it out loud or thinking about it, my wolf knows that Andrei is a threat. He wants to claim our mate.

The crowd is suddenly quiet. Maybe, just like me, they are enamored with the beautiful wolfless girl beckoning me to her side. 

Recalling my purpose, I move my head and make eye contact with Andrei. I’m set to take down Andrei—or rather, push him out of the fighting pit to win this game. Or bait him so he shifts to his gypsy wolf form in front of everyone. Either way, I win. The sooner I finish this first-week summit tradition, the sooner I’ll get Kayleigh to myself.

I don’t wait another second. I run and leap in his direction. Using my wolf’s body weight to throw Andrei off-guard, I land on him. He falls to the ground but immediately scrambles back up. Not wanting him to retaliate I strike again, tackling him, making him take paces backwards, almost outside the pit.

But he doesn’t give up. He tries to grab both sides of my neck. I growl loudly.

“Cillian, stop…please, stop now,” Kayleigh begs softly. Even though she’s a good ten feet from me, with my wolf senses I hear her clearly. Not only does it hurt to know that my fated mate is protecting another man, it also hurts when she does it right in front of me.

The measly seconds of distraction from Kayleigh cause my downfall. I lose my focus, and Andrei regains his brain. He grabs the sides of my neck again, and this time he succeeds in throwing me outside the fighting pit circle.

Leaving him the winner for this week’s wolf match.

And the crowd goes wild.

Shifting back to my human form, I stand straight and tall. I’m not used to getting defeated. I don’t ever lose. But I’m not a sore loser. I fake a smile and give a nod to the asshole. He, in turn, does not even acknowledge my sportsmanship, or the sycophantic cheers from the mob of young werewolves around us.

Haughtily, he moves to Kayleigh’s path. She’s now looking at me, probably waiting for my reaction. I slant my head to the side and squint my eyes, hoping she’d know what I’m thinking and remember what I told her about cutting ties with Andrei, or the pathetic public displays of attention they engage in.

See, if she had her wolf, we’d be able to communicate through our mind-link. But since she doesn’t, I’ll settle with hoping the stern look on my face will work.

I feel a sense of relief when she doesn’t wait for Andrei to reach her. She takes two steps towards me but stops. I crease my eyebrows and follow what her eyes are tracking.

Before I can take a step toward my mate, the crowd makes way for an incoming chaos in the form of our Beta’s daughter, Kinsley.

“Cillian! Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Fucking Kensington. Always showing up at the wrong time. Throwing herself, literally, all over me.

“I’m okay… Kinsley, get your hands off me.” I untangle her arms from being coiled around my neck.

Kayleigh is looking extremely pissed off.

“Let me see that scratch on your face. I will maim Andrei myself for this.” She catches my face and examines it.

“Kinsley, what the hell are you doing? I said I’m okay.” I put more distance between us, but she wraps her arms around my torso and rests her head on my chest.

“Don’t be mad at me. I just want to make sure you’re not hurt.”

“Just scratches.” I grit my teeth, getting impatient with her.

“It will heal, your wolf should take care of that.” She talks to me like I’m a kid who doesn’t know what being a werewolf is.

“I know, Kinsley. Now, can you give me a little bit more space?”

“I miss you so much, Cillian. Let’s go, I made two trays of lasagna. And two full racks of baby back ribs. Just like you asked. The Egyptian bed sheets arrived yesterday, so your bed should be fresh and comfy, ready for you to rest… Wanna go see? They look pretty.”

Remembering that my little Irish girl is witnessing all this, I close my eyes and shake my head. I cannot fucking believe this. Just when I thought I was getting through to her, Kinsley ruins it for me. Feeling like an bucket of icy water was just poured over my head, I give an apologetic look to Kayleigh.

.

“That was one hell of a match, son. Maybe you can do better next time. Don’t waste your time on things that do not contribute to your greatness,” lectures my dad, who I am just now seeing standing behind Kinsley. I didn’t even know he’d be here.

“Listen up, future Alphas! If you are in a battle, in a wolf match, in a fight with the enemy, there is no room for carelessness. No time for contemplating, just attack and attack.” He continues his dig at me. My dad hates it when his golden child shows anything less than perfection.

I don’t really care what he says. I’m not in the mood for any of my dad’s preaching right now. My girl looks pissed. Disappointed, even. Turning my gaze on her, there is no sign of her coming to me now. I see her eyes move from me to Kinsley. Then back to me.

She gives me a sarcastic smile.

Even without our mind-link working, I know what she’s trying to convey.

I’m screwed.

Still trying to save myself, I start to move to where her feet are plastered. But she turns around and goes to Andrei.

Andrei holds out his right hand to her.

She takes his hand.

They walk away together.

I focus my wolf hearing on them and listen to what she’s whispering to him. I know I’m not going to like what I hear, but I do it anyway.

“Are you okay? You got me worried there.”

“You were worried about me or him?”

“Andrei…” She uses her playful tone.

“Malyshka…” That makes her giggle.

Okay, that fucking hurts.

Didn’t I say that all her smiles, her laughs, her giggles… are all mine?

I can’t keep listening to their bullshit.

I’m guessing they’re heading to his car.

She walks away with him, again.

Without even throwing a glance at me.

I bow my head, feeling defeated for the second time in less than an hour.

“No space for people who will not inspire strength and greatness in you. Do not waste your time on dead weight company.” Still on his spiel, I’m sure my dad saw how Kayleigh affects me. How the emotion she stirs in me influences my actions, like what just happened during the wolf match.

“With all due respect, Alpha Patrick, I think everyone has a role in one’s life. Whether they have a positive or negative impact, I think, in the grand scheme of things, every single person around us will contribute to our greatness…” If I was feeling partial about Zerdan earlier, well, now I’m liking him a little bit more.

My dad knows about my strong feelings for Kayleigh. It doesn’t escape me that his pathetic speech was really to indirectly tell me to stop whatever sentiments I feel for Kayleigh. He wasn’t always like this, though.

In the past years, he’s indulged me whenever I’d say I wanted to go to Ireland just so I can see Kayleigh. Even just for a few days. He never said no when I’d find reasons to visit family in the Old Country. And never questioned when I’d end up staying at Fola Rioga, Kayleigh’s ancestral home, longer than my relatives’ homestead.

Being that Kayleigh belongs to the oldest and most influential werewolf family in Ireland, my dad was very fond of her. WAS, is the keyword there. Rumors have spread of Kayleigh not having a wolf even at 17. My dad already told me once that if Kayleigh doesn’t get a wolf when she turns 18, then I should start pursuing other she-wolves.

 “Preferably someone we know very well”, he told me. “Preferably someone with allegiance to our pack,” he adds. “Preferably Kinsley,” he asserts.

Kinsley is smart and beautiful. She’s sweet and nice. She’s very agreeable. Always has my back. Never fights me. Takes care of me. Makes sure I’m always doing the best I can to be the next Alpha of our pack. Supports me in everything I do. She cares about me.

We get along really well. We even look good together.

My dad thinks we’re perfect for each other.

But she isn’t the one my heart screams for.

Not the one who occupies my mind every minute of the day.

Not the one who drives me crazy to the point of obsession.

She isn’t my fated mate.

She isn’t Kayleigh.

But what do you say when your pack Alpha father asks you—no, orders you—to play nice and take care of his Beta’s only daughter because they contribute immensely to the coffers and supremacy of your pack? 

I’ll give you a hint.

It’s not “NO”.

Another hint: It’s the opposite of “NO”.

Well, they said the last man standing wins.

I’m the last man standing here.

But I don’t feel like a winner at all.

I know for a fact that other werewolves wish they were me.

If they only knew it sucks to be me.