Page 54 of All for the Beast

Dimess turned to him with a sneer twisting his mouth. “What, weakling?”

“You want me? Come and get me.”

Vharlk took off down the mountain, pushing through the audience that cheered Dimess on. His feet carried him away at breakneck speed. He vaulted fallen logs and dodged trees as Dimess lumbered behind him. He might have been more powerful, but Vharlk had the advantage of speed … he had to slow down for Dimess to almost catch him.

Dimess’s claws swiped a hairsbreadth from catching his skin, but Vharlk knew what he was doing. He busted through the tree line and came upon the sand. The ocean spread out before them in a glorious pink blanket that reflected the light of the dying suns’ rays. It was beautiful, but Vharlk didn’t have the time to view it.

A second later, Dimess crashed onto the sand, sending up a turret of particles that sprayed everywhere. But Vharlk was waiting. As soon as Dimess stood tall, he flung sand into his eyes and took off to the water. Dimess cried out and thrashed about in the sand for a minute before he gave chase.

Vharlk’s first footsteps into the waves sent a shudder through him. The rush of the ocean flooding through him was immediate and life-giving in a way that nothing else before Katy had ever been. He dove under the water and let the waves overcome him.

Dimess wasn’t far behind and came crashing into the water a minute later. Vharlk swam out far enough that they had to tread water to stay afloat.

“Weakling,” Dimess spat as he reached out to catch Vharlk.

Vharlk was faster and a better swimmer, so he dodged Dimess’s attacks easily.

“I’ll gut you like a fish.”

“You know,” Vharlk said, adopting an air of casualness. “You don’t exactly inspire terror in me.”

Dimess roared loud enough to disturb the birds on the beach. He lunged at Vharlk, who met him head-on, claw against claw, fang against fang.

Dimess tore at Vharlk’s chest while Vharlk sank his teeth into Dimess’s shoulder. Dimess grabbed onto Vharlk’s arms, and Vharlk used his feet to claw him from neck to groin. They shredded each other in ways Vharlk had never been hurt before, but Dimess was no stranger to violence, and the blows kept coming.

Vharlk pushed off to regain his composure, but Dimess grabbed onto his ankle and yanked him back in. He bit into Vharlk’s shoulder at the same time that he pulled back Vharlk’s arm and snapped the humerus bone clean in two.

The pain ricocheted through his whole body like an electric current. Vharlk cried out and turned with enough strength to punch Dimess in the face with his good hand, breaking Dimess’s nose and sending him reeling back. It was impossible to tell who had the upper hand, and even though Vharlk’s arm was already starting to heal, it wouldn’t heal properly until he could have it set straight.

While Dimess floundered in the water, Vharlk grabbed him around the neck and squeezed. Dimess’s face went red as he struggled to breathe, flailing in the water. He attempted to push Vharlk away and claw at his arm, but Vharlk held strong.

“I’m going to spare your life,” Vharlk said. His arm healed in a matter of seconds, but the rest of his wounds bled hard enough to attract the blood-sucking ocean fish. The water around them was a deep red instead of pink, almost beautiful in its violence. “And you’re never going to challenge me for the throne again. You’re going to leave this place and never return.”

Dimess went slack, his face now swollen, verging on purple. “Yes,” he wheezed.

“You swear?”

“I swear.”

Vharlk held on until Dimess went completely slack, knocked unconscious. He wouldn’t die, but it would take him a few minutes to wake up. Vharlk kept hold of him and then swam to the beach, emerging tall and strong, and threw Dimess onto the sand.

Dimess woke, spewing out a mouthful of water. Melyn rushed to him, crying as she took in the defeat.

“Go now,” Vharlk said.

Dimess threw him one last look of pure hatred before he and Melyn ran back into the forest.

He looked around at the people watching him. Most of them were silent, taking him in. A second later, Katy rushed to him, throwing herself around his neck to welcome him back.

“You’re safe now,” she said. “You’re fine. We’re fine. Everything’s okay.”

One by one, the crowd around them sank to one knee in service to their king. They accepted their prince as the proven heir to the throne, and Vharlk felt honored at the display of gratitude they had for him.

As the sun set behind him, Vharlk stood tall, his mate by his side, ready to take on the world.

TWENTY-FIVE

KATY

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