Page 54 of Make Me

Bethany just stared at her mother, the two women at a stalemate. Technically, Sadara couldn’t forbid Bethany from revoking her position, but she also didn’t see Sadara letting them walk away without a fight. She didn’t know what to do.

“Challenge her,” Mylo said through the bondlink.

“What? I can’t,” Bethany protested. “She’s stronger than I am.” And Bethany wasn’t sure she wanted leadership of the pride, anyway.

“No, she’s not,” Mylo said. “I can smell it. And you’ll be a great leader,” he added softly.

“I’m not ready.” Bethany shot back. It was too early. She wasn’t ready. And Claire needed their help in rebuilding the Realm.

“You are,” Cody said. “You told me this summer all the things you want to change. You’ve got their best interests in mind.”

She did, but she always thought she would have more time. More time to prepare, to soften the pride to the changes she wanted to make.

“We can do everything together,” Zack reminded her gently. He touched her back softly and poured some healing magic into her, chasing away the lingering aches from the fight.

“What is going on here?” Alpha Bryson appeared from the direction of the pack lands, the missing pack Delta behind him.

Bethany relaxed slightly.

“Alpha Bryson,” Bethany said before Sadara could speak up. “I’m glad you’re here as a witness.”

“A witness?” Alpha Bryson asked, his eyebrows shooting up as he took in the tense scene.

“Yes,” Bethany said, drawing herself up tall. “I, Bethany Thorncrest, challenge Sadara Thorncrest for leadership of the Thorncrest Pride.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

BETHANY

“What are the grounds for the challenge?” Alpha Bryson asked.

More members of the pride were filtering into the clearing, and the wolves with Bryson shifted uncomfortably. Technically, shifters didn’t need grounds for a challenge, but when they still had a Council, records were kept of each challenge and the reason why.

“For refusal to give a blessing to an intermixed mating,” Bethany said evenly, keeping her eyes on her mom.

The wolves behind Alpha Bryson started murmuring among themselves. She wasn’t sure how far Cody had gotten with his father, but Bryson didn’t show any surprise at her words.

She hadn’t wanted it to come to this, but she was tired of everyone trying to keep her away from her mates. The last two days had given her a glimpse into the life they could have had for the last few years, and her lioness was pissed that it had been taken from her. A small part of her still didn’t believe she would win, but the confidence streaming down her bondlink was slowly drowning that out.

“Alpha Sadara, do you accept this challenge?” Bryson turned to her mom, who was still standing at the edge of the clearing.

Sadara stared at Bethany, her gold eyes not giving anything away. “I accept this challenge,” she said finally. “But if the challenger is to lose, she will remain the Alpha Heir of the Thorncrest Pride, and the bonds between her and her supposed mates will be broken, and they’ll never be allowed to step on pride lands again.”

Bryson’s eyes widened as a growl rumbled in Bethany’s chest. Chatter erupted in the clearing from the gathered shifters. Cody let out a threatening growl and stepped towards her mom, but Bethany placed a hand on his fur and stopped him. This was her fight. Her mom was never going to accept her bonds. Not if she was willing to make those the stakes of the challenge.

Shifters could go feral if they were separated from their mates, especially after bonding with them. Sadara seemed to either have a lot of faith in Bethany's control over her lioness, dismissing the possibility of any harm, or she simply didn't care if it happened to her own daughter. Her desire for Bethany to remain as Alpha Heir suggested she was banking on the former.

“Bethany, do you accept these stakes?” Bryson asked her, his words careful.

His eyes darted to Cody. If Bethany didn’t win, Cody would also be at risk of going feral if Sadara were to keep her word and separated them. A calm sureness that had nothing to do with the bonds filled her. She was sad it had come to this, but she was not going to let her mom win this challenge. She wouldn’t be separated from her mates.

“I accept,” Bethany said. She shifted to her lioness form and roared a challenge at Sadara.

Cody brushed against her shoulder as he backed up. He sat next to Zack and dipped his head at her. “Give her hell,” he growled.

Mylo and Zack echoed their own reassurances before falling silent. She couldn’t afford any distractions during the fight. While her beliefs were outdated, her mom was a brilliant fighter and tactical strategist. The only edge Bethany was going to have was that her mom had trained Bethany since she was little to think like her. She called upon all those lessons now as Sadara shifted into her own lioness form across from her.

The shifters in the clearing backed up until there was a fifty-foot circle cleared in the middle.

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