Page 193 of The Demon's Pet

In my haven, no omega was allowed to challenge an alpha, so little did they know that this was a privilege.

Bones cracked and popped and rearranged, and I felt the familiar lengthening in my nose and face, the fur covering my entire body until I dropped onto all four paws.

My wolf was dark brown, and Bran’s was silver. He paced in front of me, slightly larger than me, his eyes narrowed and his lip curled.

“You’re larger than a typical omega,” he said.

“You’re small for an alpha,” I shot back, glad we could talk in wolf form.

I’d heard weres couldn’t.

His eyes narrowed, and he began to pace in a circle, trying to intimidate me as his huge paws crushed through the fallen debris beneath him.

We were both easily twice the size of a normal wolf, Bran maybe three times.

But I wasn’t afraid.

“To submission?” I asked.

Bran nodded. Apparently, alphas valued their pampered lives. Who could blame them?

“Why didn’t you just stay back in the village?” I asked as we continued to circle, watching each other with hackles up. “Why bother to come for me? I’m just a demon.”

“You undermined my authority,” Bran said. “Nothing is the same. No one trusts me as alpha.”

“They shouldn’t,” I said.

“When I bring you back, and kill you in front of them, they will.”

“Won’t happen,” I retorted. “Because I’m going to win, and you’re going to leave with your tail between your legs.”

“Like I’d lose to an omega,” Bran snarled. “Even this fight is beneath me. But to keep order and regain my status with the pack, I will do so.”

“How noble of you,” I shot back. “Make your move.”

Bran raised his head, and his eyes began to glow an unearthly yellow. The air buzzed around me, and when he opened his mouth, I knew he was going to use his alpha powers to try and force me to mentally submit.

“Bow,” he growled, his eyes glowing.

The words hit me like a shock wave, making my wolf legs want to buckle. But I felt my inner demon pacing, annoyed.

Ignore him. We don’t have to obey.

But it hurt as I tried to resist it. A part of me felt it was hopeless. We were overwhelmed. We should bow. We were made to…

But then Sam’s face came to mind. He’d be so angry if I lost here, after all he’d done for me.

I raised my head, feeling like I was pushing back against the force of a jet engine as I walked forward. “I will never submit to you.”

The pressure broke, and I knew I had beaten his command.

“Then you’ll die,” he snarled. “In front of everyone, like you should have.” He lunged forward, leaping into the air, claws and teeth bared, a truly terrifying sight.

I skidded to the side, dodging, and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck as he flew by.

Then, harnessing all my strength, I dug my claws into the ground and twisted, throwing him as hard as I could in the opposite direction of the cathedral.

To my shock, he flew about thirty feet, hitting the skeleton of the wall behind him, the last part of the building still standing.

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