Page 220 of The Alpha's Pen Pal

“You’d be surprised at how difficult it is to change the old laws,” King Malachi murmured.

I shook my head and tore my eyes away from Pierce’s smug, taunting sneer. I stepped back, took Haven’s hand in mine, and looked towards King Malachi. I would walk away from this ridiculous challenge. The king’s warriors had to be close to finding his witch soon, and once they did, he could command Pierce to stand down and take him into custody.

“I’m not fighting him for my fated mate,” I said to the king. “She is mine.”

“So you give up, then?” Pierce jeered.

“She. Is. MINE!” I roared at him.

My lycan pushed forward, fed up with this worm and his crowing. I dropped Haven’s hand and stalked towards him with each word.

My hand reached for his throat, but a protective barrier prevented me from grabbing him. Like a layer of extra skin over his body, it kept my hand only centimeters from touching his skin, from wrapping my hand around his throat and ripping it out. Clearly, he would only let me touch him if I agreed to his ridiculous challenge.

I squeezed my hand, trying to break through that barrier, to no avail. I gave him a low growl and stepped back, and a soft touch grazed my arm.

“Just fight him, Wesley,” Haven whispered.

I turned and stared at her. She held my gaze, her conviction clear and unwavering.

I didn’t understand. Why would she say that? Why would she ask me to do something like this?

I pulled her aside with a quick glance over at Pierce.

“Take your time,” he sang as we walked away and out of his earshot.

“You want me to fight him? You want me to have to fight for you?” I asked her, taking her hands in mine and gripping them.

She squeezed my hands in return and sighed, shaking her head. “No, I don’twantyou to. But you can’t mark me. Not for another month. And look at him.” She jerked her chin at him. “He’s crazed. I don’t think he has any control over his lycan. I don’t think he’ll last long. Just fight him, and then we won’t have to worry about him ever again.”

I followed her line of sight and examined Pierce, looking at him through her eyes and with her mind. I could see it. I could see what she was talking about.

His eyes were wild; I had noticed that when we first saw him holding Maddie. They darted about and moved in every direction, even though he stood still, and none of us moved around him, all of us too tense, too on edge, and too afraid to set him off.

But it wasn’t just that. He was thin—too thin—his cheeks hollow and his collarbones jutting out beneath his too-loose shirt. His other clothes barely fit on his body as well. His hair and beard were overgrown and unkempt. It had been less than a week since that ordeal of a night when he got away, and Lennox attacked Haven, but he looked as though he’d been on the run for months.

I looked back at Haven, and she held my gaze again, her jaw set and her eyes determined. She had made her mind up. She had put her faith in me. Haven believed in me—believed I could win in this battle I shouldn’t even have to fight.

And she was right. I didn’t have another choice. I couldn’t mark her until the next new moon, so I had only one other option. I had to fight.

“Fine. I accept your challenge, Pierce,” I snarled, leaving off the title that was no longer his.

I kept my eyes locked on my mate as I spoke to him. He wasn’t worth a glance. Not when the stakes were this high. Not when the outcome might mean losing her. “What are your terms? Which form? To submission or to death?” I asked.

“We fight in whichever form we prefer. To the death, of course,” he replied, confidence and nonchalance dripping from his every word. “I’ll let you prepare and say your goodbyes,” he offered as if he gave me some sort of gift by allowing me time instead of attacking me right away.

He turned and moved back to the center of the field, standing in the same spot he’d been in when we arrived. My dad met my eyes over Haven’s head, and he nodded before stepping off to the side with my mom, Maddie, Benjamin, and Oliver.

Sebastian, Reid, and Nolan moved towards us, surrounding Haven and me. I brought her close to me, breathing in deeply to capture every bit of her scent in my lungs, drawing strength from her and from the men who would be our support in the years to come. Our friends. Our family.

“He’ll try to use your impulsivity against you,” Sebastian said, coaching me. “You can’t let him. Don’t let him get under your skin. He knows your weakness—Haven—and he’ll try to use that to get you to lash out in anger, in defense of her, and give him an opening.”

“Haven isn’t my weakness. She’s my mate,” I said, furrowing my brow.

“Exactly.” Reid nodded. “And he’ll taunt you with crude remarks about her because he knows it will set you off. Remember, it’s just that—just talk. Just him trying to get you to lose your focus and forget your training.”

I blew out a breath and nodded at them both. They each clapped me on the shoulder, neither of their faces holding even a hint of the mirth or playfulness usually found there.

As they walked away, my eyes met Nolan’s for a moment. I didn’t need to say anything to him. He knew what needed to be done. What he would need to do in the worst-case scenario. His resolve was clear, his loyalty unquestionable.

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