Page 99 of Out of Peril

I stood there alone behind the closed door and waited for it to open. When it did, I walked out to the designated circle closest to my side of the arena.

Across from me was a tall woman. She was strong based on the sculpted muscles lining her body. But she showed little to no emotion.

A part of me thought that was smart of her, that I shouldn't care what happened here, but I did. And the details did matter to me. Like I knew my new Pack Mother was alive and well, hidden away in Collier Pack under the pretense of an already scheduled visit with Kyle's sister Lily, who happened to be the Collier Pack Mother.

And I knew now that my friend Mirage was also a witch, as was her and Colin's adopted daughter, Bella. There were a lot of witches here in San Marco, and our Alpha really did protect them. Right now, they were all in a large holding room in Westin Force Headquarters.

Walker and I were given the opportunity to send Maya and Dante away to Collier with Kelsey. They would have been safe there and neither of us doubted her ability to protect them should the need arise. And if we'd had any doubts in that, a full Westin Force team had been sent along as her personal security.

But we'd instead opted to entrust them in Mirage's care. She was Delta, and I'd humbly begun to learn just how deep that connection ran. We both agreed there was no one else we'd want with them more during this time. I'd packed games and toys, blankets, and snacks. They were set for a fun day with Bella and Mirage.

And I did look up to that platform and even winked at my mate just to see him smile bright enough to see those dimples I loved so much.

But most of all, I wasn't going to believe that my conscience was clear and that all of this was just somehow okay. Because it wasn't. That was called humanity. I'd lost it once, and I wasn't going to let that happen again. So while I was resolved in my fate to take my opponent’s life, I knew it would weigh on me for the rest of my life.

A member of the Grand Council stood and called the fight to order. Just before the horn was blown, Anastasia walked in on the arm of her Collector.

I should have been focused on the fight, but instead, I stood and pointed to them.

Kyle pushed Walker back into his seat and then walked over to talk to two men standing near them. I hadn't met them, but I suspected they were Kyle's Betas: Cole Anderson and Patrick O'Connell. The two men left immediately and just as the fight began, I saw Patrick approach the Collector.

I couldn’t watch to see what else happened. I'd have to hear about it later because the woman trying to take my mate from me had shifted already and was stalking towards me.

I gasped. I recognized that wolf and was momentarily stunned.

She looked like a wolf, but there was something far more deadly to her literally written in her DNA. Another Experiment.

My mind was whirling in confusion.

The last time I'd seen this wolf had been in the bayou. She'd ripped the throat out of seven Experiments before swimming to shore and disappearing forever. She had been an even deadlier beast than me.

Where had my former Alpha found her?

Why was she here?

She'd just stood there in her human form. We hadn't talked or shook hands or anything before the fight began. Had she managed to find her humanity again too?

There were so many questions running through my mind as I watched her move and could see her mind calculating every option. And it suddenly dawned on me. This wasn't going to be an easy kill. I was going to have to fight for mate, my family, my own happily ever after.

With a roar, I shifted on the spot, letting my clothes shred and flutter to the ground.

My beast towered over hers by a lot and I had the advantage of flight.

I tried to remember what I could about her, how she fought, and what her strengths and weaknesses were, but it had been so long ago, a few lifetimes ago from the feel of it.

When I pushed off to fly over her as she sped towards me, she moved at the last minute and leapt in the air clamping her large jaws down on my wing.

I howled in pain and dropped back to the ground, knocking her off hard into the side wall in the process.

She looked a little stunned but recovered quickly.

Her movements were all animal, like a feral wolf on steroids fighting for her life. Because that was what she was. There was no signs of humanity within her. No flash of recognition in her eyes. Nothing.

She lunged at me again, but this time I was ready. I charged toward her but at the last second grabbed her with my claws and threw her across the arena.

The crowd went wild.

I understood it had been a long time since Westin Pack had seen any challenges over mating. With the home court advantage, I was the one they were all cheering for. It made me proud.

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