Page 74 of Cursed Wolf

“I decline. Now, where the fuck is Narah? You hiding her in one of these huts?” He turns to the men behind him, and with the flick of his hand, half a dozen sweep outward, storming toward the homes.

I grind my teeth, praying Stone got Narah out.

“Now, Ragnar,” he spits, “how about we play another game? The longer Narah it takes my men to find Narah, the more of your men I’ll kill.” He snorts a laugh.

Fury howls through me, my wolf scratching for me to let him out, to rip this asshole apart.

Soon, so fucking soon.

“You’re afraid.” I provoke him with a grin, looking around at everyone watching, and raise my voice. “The all-powerful Martell proclaims himself as the new Alpha of Savage Sector, yet he’s too scared to face the Lup Challenge. What sort of Alpha is afraid to fight for his pack and land?”

“The man you’re following is gutless and can’t fight. Is that who you want as your leader?” Nikos barks.

“I’m going to gut all of you like pigs,” Martell roars.

“Lup Challenge, Lup Challenge,” Lortell booms, and to my surprise, the local pack catches on, and it grows louder.

I never take my eyes off Martell. His face is red with rage, and he’s ready to detonate.

“Do you accept?” I growl.

Every eye is on him. An Alpha is only as strong as his last successful fight. As soon as the leader loses, those around him see him as easy prey, and all respect is gone.

His jawline is clenched so tight, he’s trembling.

Finally, he barks, “I accept the challenge to the death, as evidenced by the Moor Wolves in this pack. You will die today, Ragnar.” He lifts his gaze to his guards. “Strip them of their weapons… hand-to-hand combat.”

Martell rips his shirt off his back, revealing his huge barrel torso and the muscles clenching in his huge arms.

Grinning, I drop my weapons, watching the bastard turn to his men and point out who he will fight alongside. He picks only beef, mountain-sized men. Works for me. I don’t give a fuck what size they are. My men and I have fought worse.

They step up alongside me, tense, their hands curled into fists.

“You ready for this?” I ask. “You know our target. Take him down and fast.”

Crius bounces on his toes, a primal hunger in his eyes wild. He had to give up his axe, but the guy was a berserker at heart.

Guards back away from us, and I stand in line with my best fighters. Stone would have made us a stronger team, but his mission is a lot more important and dangerous than ours—saving Narah.

The leader of the Moor Wolves steps onto the battlefield, which is surrounded by pack and guard wolves. The man stands tall, but the dread on his face is palpable. He knows this could go to hell on his playground, and he has no say. He runs a small pack and is not known for having strong warriors.

That’s where we come in.

“Today, the Lup Challenge has been called and accepted. The last team standing wins.”

“To the death!”

22

NARAH

“Narah, sweetheart, you need to get up now,” a soft whisper floats over my mind. Someone is shaking me, giving me whiplash.

My eyes flutter open just as Stone lifts me into his arms.

“Wh-What’s going on?” It takes only seconds to jump into a panicked state. Looking around the room, I gasp for air. “Are we in danger?”

“How are you feeling? You’re looking much better and no longer resemble a freaky undead.” He grins at me teasingly.

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