Page 84 of Moonlighting with the Werewolf

Lucky me, I’d have Diego try to do that for me.

Diego stepped out of line, away from Tyrese. He shed his suit jacket and flung it on the grass. “I challenge Conall Shaw for the alpha position of the Bridgewater Pack.”

Andromeda shot out of her seat and charged toward the altar. “I’m not sure what you dogs are up to, but I’m not allowing it to happen.” Her icy gaze turned to me. “Have you forgotten that Kerrigan’s life is tied to our contract?”

“No, I haven’t forgotten.” I bared my teeth at her. “Trust me, I never will. You and I will always have unfinished business.” I discarded my suit coat and unfastened my cufflinks. “When it comes to werewolf business, however, you don’t get a say. The contract says the alpha has to marry Natalia and produce an heir. Diego and I are about to fight it out to see who’ll be getting hitched this afternoon. Now, step back unless you want to be one of the casualties of our heated, violent challenge. When wolves fight for the top position, it gets ugly.”

Andromeda seethed, and I fucking grinned in her face.Take that, you heartless witch.

I couldn’t get too cocky, though. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, the upcoming fight fueling my animalistic side, and that didn’t bode well. It also rankled that if he won, I’d still have to rely on him to produce an heir for Kerrigan to get out of the contract unscathed.

But I’d weighed my options, and one of them was missing Kerrigan’s exact weight.

Diego and I kicked off our shoes and removed our shirts while Nissa formed a boundary to prevent anyone else from being caught up in the fray. After I let her, Diego, and Tyrese in on my idea, I asked if she was offended, as she was technically second in line.

She assured me the only thing she cared about was that both Diego and I lived to tell the tale. But as she neared and attempted a smile, I saw the worry in her eyes. “Are you sure this is the only way?” she asked. “Both of you are going to end up severely injured. Or worse.”

“Good thing I know a sexy vet who can fix us up after we’re done kicking each other’s asses.”

Not what Nissa wanted to hear, so I appealed to her logical side. “Diego already issued the challenge. Now neither of us can back down without appearing weak.”

Her chin quivered the tiniest bit before she threw her arms around me and Diego and wished both of us luck. Then she turned to Tyrese, and the two of them headed away from us.

The wedding guests scattered, leaving their seats to form a giant semi-circle near the archway as we headed toward the open meadow behind it. No reason to ruin the altar that’d be put to evil use after the fight.

“If you win, and you don’t marry Natalia, Kerrigan dies,” I said to Diego, low enough he should be the only one able to fully make out the words. Not that it was a big secret. The entire pack knew what was at stake. “If you step out on Natalia, same thing. Until you produce an heir, my mate’s life is going to be hanging in the balance.”

Diego tipped his neck side to side, the move punctuated with the crack of his joints. “I understand.” One corner of his mouth twisted up, the same cocky way it did whenever we sparred—before he inevitably lost. “You could always drop your guard first thing, let me get in a solid punch, and then stay down.”

I huffed a laugh. “If only that were an option.” I might be able to drop my arms and take that first punch. But after that, my survival instincts would kick in, and the inner wolf would fly off the leash. Everything I wanted to tell him—every tip from all the training we’d done together—whirred through my head. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t do any good. We both were too aware of one another’s fighting stances, strengths, and weaknesses. Any tips I gave him would remain in my head as soon as the fight started.

But there was no reason we couldn’t have some fun while we beat the shit out of each other. I cast Diego a smirk, bounced on the balls of my feet, and wiggled my fingers in the typicalbring itgesture.

Two seconds later, we exploded into a flash of fur and teeth.

The excited buzz from the crowd lit a match within me, and my words came out gruff through my elongated teeth. “Looks like someone’s finally learned how to hold half-form.”

In good news, my confidence in Diego’s ability to lead the pack just grew; in bad news, I’d never wanted to kick his ass more.

It started with growls and bared teeth. I told myself to let Diego get that first hit, but he rushed me, and I instinctually charged right back.

We used the surrounding woods as our boxing ring, launching ourselves off rocks, slamming into tree trunks, only to jump to the next and use them as leverage for an aerial attack. I collided into his body, hard enough all the oxygen whooshedfrom my lungs. We rolled through grass and dirt, leaving the air thick with debris. Diego’s low kick took me by surprise. I tucked into my body, but the hit still sent me rolling end-over-end for a couple of yards. He darted for me, determined to attack before I could recover. I quickly leaped to my feet and threw a jab that caused a crunch of bones and blood to gush from his nose.

I dodged the roundhouse he countered with, grinning at his swing and a miss. He dug his claws into my arms, deep through the muscle and sinew, and bashed the front of his skull into mine.

Pain exploded, along with a stream of blood. Pretty sure that hit split my eyebrow. I squinted against the sanguine stream, no corner man to ice the swelling cut into submission, no medical doctor to declare whether it was safe to proceed.

Werewolf fights were like old-school cage matches, no rules, no bell. No stopping until someone couldn’t get up. I snapped my teeth at him, kicking as he lunged. Made contact, but it wasn’t enough to prevent his razor-tipped claws from raking stinging heat across my back.

Growls, blood splatters, the snap of teeth.

I whirred around and slashed, taking a decent chunk out of his hide. He stumbled and then kicked my knee, a loudpopsounding as my leg bent the wrong way.

Before the adrenaline could fade and the rest of me registered one of my legs didn’t work, I dropped the ground on all fours, ducked my head, and barreled into Diego, aiming for the wound in his side.

This time he went down, sliding across his back, right over the top of a rock. His head thunked back, his bared throat exposed, and I saw the kill shot.

All I had to do was sink my teeth into the front of his neck and he’d have no choice to submit or die.

---