Page 30 of Betrayed By the Alpha Wolf

All I could do was nod. Most of Kaiden’s pack and Jet’s were here. We had a quorum for the next trial, and I wasn’t about to tell them all to wait so that I could go get MacKenzie. I was sure she had better things to do than watch two wolves beat the piss out of each other anyway.

“Let’s go then.” I raised my brows at Kaiden, gesturing for him to lead on.

We walked back over to Aspen, who looked between us with that solemn expression on his face still, and I just nodded at him.

“All right. I guess you have a fight.”

***

Choal and I were shuffled off into a makeshift ring. It looked like the wolves in Kaiden’s pack who’d been helping to arrange everything were working triple duty to get the thing ready enough for two Alpha wannabes to have a brawl inside it.

Logs and crates from supplies that had been delivered had been pieced together and nailed down to form the outer ring, which was far less circular than a typical pit. We’d also been set up where the floors were cement.

The expansive space was large enough for all of us to fit in, but the floor was going to hurt like a bitch if I happened to land on it.

It wouldn’t feel particularly great to run into the logs or wooden boxes, either. Nails were poking through some of the sections, and I tested the sharp tip with the pad of my finger as I stood inside them.

The rough scrape was enough to tell me that they’d easily pierce through the skin, and I made a mental note to avoid the walls as much as possible. Choal snuffled through his nose as we waited for the wolves assembled to take their places around the ring. The Alphas and their families had been given places to sit, but the rest of the crowd was standing-room only.

“Attention!”

Aspen called out, and I refocused on the center of the ring. As the room quieted, I flexed my hands in the wraps I’d been given. Thankfully, both Choal and I had been provided with a few of the comforts enjoyed by someone who was about to do a lot of punching, and protecting my knuckles was a big part of that.

That was about it, however.

There were no rules; we could shift if we wanted, and we hadn’t been provided with any protective gear. Of course.

“Thank you,” Aspen called out once everyone was either seated or standing still. “This will be the final trial for the position of Williams Alpha. By a majority vote from the pack in question, our two candidates will face off in the ring. Hand-to-hand combat will determine the Alpha. There will be no winner until one wolf is either incapacitated…”

The air hung heavy around me, and my eyes flicked to the empty seat to the left of Jet.

It had been provided for my mate, but she was still absent. There hadn’t been enough time to track her down before the fight was ready to begin, and admitting that I wanted her here wasn’t something I was ready to do.

“Or dead.”

Aspen looked between Choal and me. As I settled into my bones, testing out the feedback I was getting from my wolf—who’d been curiously quiet—I focused on the feeling of the cool air rushing over my skin.

The room was particularly cool; the basement-like area set down a long stone hall from the main room in Kaiden’s home. We didn’t have shoes or shirts. Only my pants were keeping me from being completely naked at this point. A fact I couldn’t help but be tickled by despite everything.

Yup, going commando to a fight to the death is quite the choice, Gray.

“The Williams Pack is honor bound to accept whichever wolf is declared the winner, and any subsequent trials to remove the Alpha must wait for a period of six months. Gentlemen, are you ready?"

Choal grumbled low, nodding and snarling as his “yeah.”

I looked over my shoulder at the empty chair one more time and then returned my attention to Aspen.

“Yes.”

“Then I will have you both face each other.” Choal and I faced off. “Very good. Wolves, you are permitted to use whatever means you can to beat your opponent. However, any use of altering substances or V?lva magic is prohibited.”

My spine tingled at the mention of the new magic the wolves had been introduced to. Clearly, the traditionalists weren’t fans of the stuff. But as far as I could tell, neither Choal nor I were going to be using the stuff.

We could both shift, which meant we were magic-free.

“May the most capable wolf win.” Aspen stepped back, some of the other wolves helping him to get out of the ring before everything really got started.

“Fight!”

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