Page 34 of Fighting For The Pack

“Fucking witch! She tricked us all!” another hissed.

“I’ll kill her myself before I see her as Alpha!”

Night growled loudly, his fangs sharpening, which brought most of my detractors to silence. I was surprised at how little their words meant to me; I’d expected them to be upset, and I’d expected their rage, but their insults rolled off of me completely. Whatever the reason was, I was glad that I could be strong in the face of it, that I didn’t let it bring me to my knees the way it would have if I was still the old Bryn.

“Alpha,” one of the Elders approached, “what do you plan to do with Troy?”

Troy still lay in a heap on the ground. For all of the Kings’ indignation at me being their interim Alpha, no one was taking care of him or checking up on him—not his supposed supporters, not the doctors, no one. He lay on the ground like a broken toy. I had no qualms admitting to myself that seeing him like that gave me a lot of satisfaction.

“You could have him banished, killed, or imprisoned.”

I frowned. A couple of months ago, I had wished that Troy was dead. But now that his fate was in my hands, I knew I didn’t want to kill him. Nor did I want to order someone else to do it. Banishing him would bring him a lot of shame, shame I knew he could hardly stand to live with, but that would mean essentially letting him roam free in the surrounding wilderness. Unless he died, there was a good chance that some unsuspecting wolf would happen onto his path, and he would kill them. He would be a thorn in my side unless he was dead or, well, imprisoned. Which meant I had only one option.

“I want him locked up for the remainder of his life,” I said, my voice strong. “I never want him to be seen again.”

The Elders bowed their head to me. “Of course, Alpha.” They turned to look at one of the guards and snapped their fingers. Troy’s body was carried toward the cells.

“Everyone,” one of the Elders said, “return to your homes! The festivals for celebrating the temporary Alpha will start in four days’ time.”

A wave of dizziness overtook me, and I stepped back into Night’s arms. As the crowd began to reluctantly disperse, my world went dark. The last thing I was aware of was the comfort of my mate’s arms around me again.

15

NIGHT

I woke in the Kings’ Alpha cabin, and immediately the stench of it made me want to gag. Troy was everywhere—in the sheets, the walls, the rugs—he was a stain that couldn’t be removed. The last time I’d been in this fucked-up cabin, I’d wanted to burn it down. Now, the urge to grab a lighter was even stronger. I hated that I was lying in the same bed where Troy had sex with other women. But I needed the rest—my body was sore, and I was growing weaker the longer I went without claiming Bryn.

I would have to wait a bit longer, though, because we were both injured. Especially Bryn. My body ached something fierce, but I turned on my side to see her. She was still fast asleep.

Her chestnut hair fanned around her head, blazing with hues of copper and gold in the sunlight that streamed in through the window. She was beautiful even now, making it all the more painful to see the purple and faded brown bruises on her arms, shoulders, and legs. When she’d shifted into her human form last night after defeating Troy, I’d seen the full extent of the torture Troy had put her through. The bruises on her sides and on her back were almost black, they were so fresh. And even at that distance, I’d been able to tell that she was struggling for breath. It made my blood boil to see everything he’d done to her—especially that Alpha wound, plain as day on her neck.

I was beyond relieved that she’d been able to resist his attempt to claim her, but it destroyed me to know that he had even tried to put his mark on her. She had undoubtedly been dealing with the pain of the bite throughout the fight, and yet, she’d still won.

I reached for her face, brushing my fingers over her cheek, also bruised. A small smile lifted her pink lips, but she otherwise lay still. She would be alright once I claimed her, but it was awful to see her so hurt.

Still asleep, she moved closer to me, a slight groan slipping past her lips. I held her against me, never wanting to let her go again. When I closed my eyes, my heart began to race; the sight of Bryn and Troy in the ring together still lurked in my mind’s eye. Icy fear rose from the tips of my toes and up to my shoulders as I remembered each time she had stumbled or faltered. Those Kings had needed to hold me back, because every time Troy got a hit in, I’d lunged for the circle.

I didn’t think I would ever be able to recall those moments without wanting to die. Being unable to look away as my mate fought for her life, and mine, while being helpless to do anything about it. I had known she was going to die. Waiting for Troy to land that final blow had made me almost lose every shred of control I still had over myself and my wolf.

I knew that Bryn wasn’t a pushover, especially not now that she had a wolf of her own, but that ring was the last place I’d wanted her to be. She was supposed to be safe and sound on Wargs territory, not in a battle arena with her tormentor and abuser literally inches away. I had known there was ancient power in her, but now I saw that her power was raw and untapped. Wild as fuck. Dangerous as hell. Bryn needed training to learn how to fight and control that power as well as her wolf, and that required patience and time.

She’d gone into the ring with so many disadvantages, but watching her finally start to figure out how to let her wolf take over, watching her get the best of Troy, had made my chest feel tight with so many emotions—pride and love chief among them.

Bryn was coming into her own more and more as time went on, and I was beyond thrilled that I had the privilege of watching it happen. But my happiness and relief were shaded by a bit of doubt. Was I still good enough to be the one by her side?

Before I could pursue that dark line of thinking, Bryn nuzzled into my chest. Her nose was a bit cold, but that didn’t bother me or my purring wolf. He hadn’t been this docile in days.

“Are you awake?” I asked, gently brushing her hair off her cheek.

“Mm-hmm…” She looked up at me and gave me a sleepy smile so warm and loving that it made all of the hardship, all of the suffering, worth it ten times over.

We kissed for the first time in a week. Her lips were soft and slightly cold, sweet as they moved in sync with mine. She wrapped her arms around my neck and I smoothed my hand up her side. I kissed her again, this time with tongue, and she groaned, tightening her fingers around the back of my neck. My mate was back.

I wanted to crush her to me, to feel every inch of her body against mine. Though I knew that I could endure the aches and pains that would follow those actions, I wouldn’t put her through that. Bryn was fragile. She was still hurt. The saccharine licorice stench of her Alpha wound warred with her sweet, floral scent, but it only made me want to cuddle her closer and hide her from the world.

There was still a slight wheeze to each of her breaths. It hurt my heart to hear those little gasps and the moist rattle in her lungs. My hands were pressed gently to her back, and I felt how hard it was for her under the palms of my hands. She had been through hell, and I wanted to respect her boundaries. I wanted to claim her, but even my wolf was reluctant to take it any further than this kiss and these featherlight touches, even though I yearned for more.

I pulled back and pressed my forehead to hers. She panted from our kiss, her lips slightly swollen.

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