Page 64 of Defiant
The image of him dead in the bathtub, the way I found him when I was eleven, fully clothed, soiled, eyes open but unseeing…
He swallowed an entire bottle of pills to escape my mother.
To escape a controlling alpha.
I promised myself I’dneverlet an alpha have me.
And now?
I wonder if my father and I are going to share the same fate.
I’m startled when my phone buzzes in my pocket. I have to swipe at my eyes in order to even see the screen. I use Black’s shirt to mop up my tears, though nothing can soak up the ocean of despair inside.
Then I glance down at the text. It’s from Jonah and my heart jumps as I read.
Pretend you’re about to puke when we walk outside.
In a single millisecond, all that despair evaporates.
It’s replaced by a thin, tense hope.
23
Black
The moon goddessgazes down on us from a lapis sky while all around, the drunken cheers of shifters shred the air.
I stand outside the impromptu fighting cage assembled like a baseball backstop shaped into an octagon.
My elites form a circle standing shoulder to shoulder with me, and just like a baseball team, we’re discussing strategies, secret signals, the like. But unlike any game, the stakes here are life and death for all of us.
Warcraft stands next to me since Pluto is escorting a referee onto the property for the fight. The elite’s entire body is tense and his eyes dart all around, ensuring that no Dark Nights are near us.
The rest of my elites stand at attention like soldiers, ready and alert but not concerned. They trust me because they know that no matter what happens I’ll take care of the Lobos. I swore an oath to do that when I entered this same arena to challenge their prior alpha. I’d stood in a steaming puddle of his blood as I’d vowed to do everything to secure the future of my people.
My elites had raged when they’d first heard Stone had challenged me to a fight, that our pack was at risk over an omega. But once I’d told them my plan to ensure they were protected…their boil had turned to a simmer. Now, most of them were placidly awaiting their next instructions.
Warcraft is on edge because he likes his spot as third—less responsibility with most of the same perks. Stepping into the second’s shoes makes him nervous because he’s more of a planner and less of an in-the-moment type of guy. Earlier today, he’d been full of calm and confidence. But now, knowing that he’s my personal bodyguard until Pluto returns, he’s as jittery as a flea.
I ignore him as I glance over at the cinder block locker room where Stone was preparing for the fight. The low gray building is silent, and the high windows glow a gentle yellow in the darkening night. Stone’s in there with his own elites, planning all the ways they want to kill me and then desecrate my body.
I have to suppress a shiver that rolls down my spine because fighting Prime, the former alpha, and fighting Stone…those are two completely different kinds of fights. Stone is crafty and aware. He’s manipulative. The rest of his pack might not be…but he and his son are threats.
For a second, I envision myself in the dirt, underneath Stone’s foot, throat ripped apart but my brain still a few seconds from shutting down. Fear takes an axe to my spine and I breathe deep, close my eyes, and shove that thought away. Negative visualization can be just as powerful as positive, and I refuse to let the negative take me over. Instead, I turn Stone’s elites into cartoon henchmen inside my head. I turn him into Dr. Evil.
They’re ridiculous if they think they can win. On my territory. Against me. I work myself up.
Their tiny brains probably can’t think up any means of desecration more creative than skull fucking. Meanwhile, I’ve tried to figure out ways to make them miserable for years if I go.
Stone’s elites are known for brawn not intelligence. And while my elites are all good fighters, I’ve had all of them assessed like humans for their mental strengths, then pushed them to hone those strengths in service of the pack.
So, while Warcraft might not be the greatest second, and might be a little tense in the moment, he is a rather gifted strategist and accountant. And together, we designed a few fail safes to protect the Lobos. Stone’s elites are going to find themselves in some deep audits. Get some tax fraud accusations. Headaches that can ruin them from the inside out.
But I don’t only think long term. While I like slow, I know my elites would prefer a guillotine. So, we have a plan for that too.
I lick my lips, hoping that the fuckers in that locker room take the bait we literally set out for them.
“Water?” I turn and look over at Gilly, a shifter who’s missing a tooth but has the soul of the devil in him. He gives me a solid nod.
