Page 64 of Nearly Dead

The crowd senses it too.The energy shifts again, rising toward a crescendo.

The final challenge isn’t about James.Or Rhea.Or bloodlines.

It’s about me and Sully.

He stops a few paces away.Our eyes lock.

“You should have let them take you down early,” he says quietly, so only I can hear.

“Would you have?”My voice is raw.There is a deep part of me that’s having fun and wants to keep fighting.

“Now you have to fight me.”

“I told you I didn’t want to be in the contest.”

“You still don’t get it.We weren’t asking.Being a wolf isn’t about you.It’s about the pack.They need you to fight.They need toseeit.”He waits a beat.“And so do you.”

He shifts.It’s not flashy.Not showy.Just raw control and brutal grace.

Sully’s muscles ripple.His face elongates into a half-wolf, half-warrior.It’s like watching inevitability take form.

This was the plan all along.He lured me here to make me fight.

I think of Costin, of tugging at the sire bond to bring him to my rescue.I resist.This isn’t a vampire battle, and I’m no longer the damsel in distress.

I shift, too.Not because I want to, but because the natural response is pulled from me at the threat of danger.

We circle each other, silent and calculating.Sully is not like the others.He has control.There’s no bloodlust.No chaos.Just the immense pressure as the crowd holds its breath.

He strikes first with a right hook to my face.My head snaps to the side in surprise, but I hold my footing.

The bastard actually hit me!

I growl in response and counter.I punch at his side.He dodges, barely, and my claws skim his ribs.His fist clips my jaw, and I bite my tongue.The blood fills my mouth.

We trade blows.He’s strength and werewolf tradition.I’m speed and unpredictability.(Thank you, Astrid, for all those childhood trainers.) For a breathless moment, the crowd sees my awesomeness.

I could take him.

He knows it.

I know it.

I could rule the pack.Alpha Tamara.How do you like my merely mortal ass now?

I make my choice.

As he charges again, I feint, letting him tackle me to the ground.I don’t resist as I let him pin me just long enough for them to see.

Then I shove him off and roll away, springing back to my feet with a snarl.

He hesitates.So do I.

I go still.

A silent moment of understanding passes between us.

He charges.His howl splits the air, primal and wild, echoing off walls.I lift my arms to put on a show for the others, but I don’t stop him.

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