Chapter 8

8

REMY

I pulled the SUV to a stop in front of the house and killed the engine, staring at the house I had grown up in while contemplating what would happen in the next few minutes.

“You’ve got this, Rem,” Katy told me from the seat beside me.

I nodded at her and glanced back in the rearview mirror. Rhodes and Larkin were in the middle bench seat, and he had somehow managed to get her out of her seatbelt and onto his lap on the drive from the airstrip to my house. She lifted her head from his shoulder and gave me a warm, supportive smile.

Dante and Ryder were on the back bench. Dante’s eyes opened from where he was sleeping against Ryder. It was probably the first time he had rested since we had left Wyoming.

He started to straighten, pausing to kiss the underside of Ryder’s jaw before meeting my gaze steadily in the mirror. Ryder didn’t bother removing the tattooed arm he had draped across Dante’s shoulders. Once they had climbed into the backseat, Ryder had pulled Dante against him and the former alpha heir had fallen asleep, finally finding a moment of peace with his boyfriend since the explosion.

Dante and Ryder had shared Tate between them for almost two years since they started her dating sophomore year. It wasn’t uncommon with the dwindling number of females for multiple guys to share a mate, especially when those guys grew up as best friends and brothers, but it was a little more uncommon for the guys to start crossing swords. Dante had only confided in me last year that he and his beta were more than friends behind closed doors.

It made sense. I had seen the private looks they exchanged, but it wasn’t my place to ask. Besides, if the three of them were happy and all on board, who was I, or anyone, to judge?

They had kept it quiet since Dante was in line to be an Alpha. An Alpha sharing his mate was unheard of; Alphas were too territorial to share, and women usually only had one child, and more than one mate meant more than one possible dad. Plus, Alphas openly gay, or bi, Alphas simply weren’t a thing our world embraced.

An Alpha should be the epitome of an alpha male, which meant anything less than deeply heterosexual was frowned upon by most of the packs and the Council.

I was happy for my friends. Dante needed Ryder as much as he needed Tate, and they needed each other as much as they needed Dante. Splitting up that dynamic and relationship for optics or because it wasn’t what a group of old men on the Council expected was ridiculous. Because in their small minds, being anything less than straight somehow made you less of a man or less of a shifter.

Like how Katy being gay made her a failure to our race since she likely wouldn’t have a kid herself. Her entire identity as a female was based around her ‘job’ to procreate in the majority of our world.

It was bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit, and I wasn’t upset that the deaths of the Council members meant my sister and my friends might have a shot at living their own lives.

Brooks Ridge would have embraced Dante as their Alpha. He, Ryder, and Tate didn’t have to hide their relationship in their small, close-knit pack in an all but forgotten part of northern Alaska, but he would have been forced to shove Ryder into the background at Summit meetings or anytime outside shifters visited.

Now Dante had surrendered his pack and was completely free to be with the people he loved in the open. It looked like he was already embracing that freedom.

“Whatever happens, we have your back,” Rhodes told me firmly, pulling me back into the moment.

I glanced at the sky. We had about ten minutes before sundown when the challenge would start. Judging by the cars parked in the front yard and on the road leading to the house, a lot of people had heard about the challenge and were here to witness it.

I pushed down the sudden swell of nerves as I dropped my phone into the cup holder. Cell phones, or anything that could make an unexpected noise and draw the attention of the fighters, was forbidden. The screen flashed to life, a picture of Skye and me taken at GPA stared up at me.

My stomach twisted. I needed to win this fight so I could focus on finding her.

I had prepared my whole life for this moment. William Lodge wasn’t taking my pack from me.

Shoving open the door, I stepped outside the car and slammed the door. The echoing sounds of my friends getting out and closing their doors filled the air. Once it was quiet, I listened.

I could hear the sounds of the pack behind the house. There was a small clearing where all pack challenges have taken place since Blackwater began, but had been years since a challenge was issued.

Dante clapped a hand onto my shoulder. “You know what to do,” he told me in a quiet voice.

I did.

I had trained for this moment, spending hours sparring with Dad, Rhodes, and other betas since I was ten. Luke had invited me to Brooks Ridge every summer so I could train with him and Dante.

It was strange; I always imagined I would feel nervous or jittery before a challenge. No Alpha ever went his entire life without a challenge. Either a beta with a massive ego or a lone wolf on a power trip would inevitably issue a challenge. Dad had seen his fair share.

But I didn’t feel any worry. Maybe because all my anxiety was currently focused on my missing mate, I didn’t have any left to spare on myself.

I rolled my neck, loosening the tight muscles on my shoulders as I shook my arms out.

My wolf was already awake, eager for the challenge. I had kept him locked down for too long. My only concern wasn’t if I won the challenge, but what would happen when I did.

A challenge ended when someone submitted or died.

Usually I would have focused on getting Lodge, or any opponent, to surrender, but I could feel the bloodlust in my wolf. If given the chance, he would go for a kill shot, and I probably wouldn’t be able to hold him back.

Fuck. I didn’t want to hold him back.

I scrubbed a hand down my face and started walking. I felt everyone fall into step around me. We didn’t stop moving until we reached the clearing behind the line of trees in the backyard.

There were at least three hundred shifters here, loosely standing in groups that fell silent as we broke through the treeline.

Lodge was on the other side of the clearing, his friends and mate standing at his side. They all paused to glare at me, like I issued the damn challenge, as we approached.

One person from his entourage broke away.

“Ainsley!” Lodge’s voice boomed across the clearing as she pulled away from him and started in our direction.

I raised my brows as she openly defied her father.

“Aren’t you on the wrong side?” Katy asked once Ainsley stopped in front of us.

Sighing, Ainsley glanced back over her shoulder then shook her head. “I love my dad, but he’s wrong.” Her eyes met mine briefly before skittering away in deference. “I think Remy is the one who needs to lead us now.”

“She could be a spy,” Katy said with a shrug, not giving an inch.

“Katy,” Larkin muttered, her voice full of reproach. “Stop.”

“I’m not a spy,” Ainsley snapped. “And it’s not just me.”

No, it wasn’t.

The other GPA students had slowly migrated to our side, along with most of my father’s betas and a solid chunk of the people who had come to watch. Having the support of the pack was humbling.

“You lead us at school, Remy,” Ainsley told me as Kyle, Konnor, and Will stood behind her. “We trust you.”

“And we’re sorry about your dad,” Kyle added.

His twin nodded in agreement. “He’ll pull through, man.”

I nodded back instinctively. The alternative wasn’t even an option I would entertain.

Michael approached from the side, giving me a tight smile. “Remy.” He glanced at his watch. “You need to get ready.”

“Yeah.” I pulled my shirt over my head, barely pausing before I kicked off my shoes and jerked down my jeans.

Katy and Larkin dropped their eyes; neither had any interest in seeing me naked. Ainsley whirled around when I growled at her curious gaze and finished stripping.

I didn’t really give a shit about shifting in front of my pack, and a year earlier I wouldn’t have cared that she was checking me out, but all of that changed with Skye.

My body wasn’t mine now; it was hers. She owned every part of my anatomy from skin to soul, and my wolf took offense to someone looking at what belonged to my mate.

Usually males and females separated when they took off their clothes to avoid mates getting territorial over wandering eyes, but the rules of the challenge stated that both parties had to shift in front of the pack so there was no denying or hiding who was fighting.

Unlike humans who came in a variety of shapes, colors, and details that could be changed and altered, wolf coats were only so many varieties of so many colors. The rule was put in place generations earlier when an Alpha, who had been injured days before his fight, convinced his brother to take his place so he wouldn’t lose his place as Alpha when challenged. Their coats were identical and his brother won.

But the joke was on the Alpha when his brother shifted after his win and declared he had been fighting for his brother in challenges all along.

After that it happened with more frequency as families tried to usurp and protect each other indiscriminately. After years of this, the Council ruled on the issue and made it a Pack Law that both participants shifted in front of whomever was watching.

Shifting only took a few seconds, the snapping and ripping of my bones and muscles heating my blood as they reformed until my wolf form was all that remained.

It was instinct to reach out for Skye as soon as my paws landed on the soft earth.

The deafening silence that greeted us was crushing.

I funneled that pain into fury as I watched Lodge shift.

Katy moved in front of me, kneeling until she was eye level with me.

“Kick his ass, Remy,” she ordered. “If Skye comes back and finds out you lost to Lodge, she’ll be pissed.”

I snorted as Katy flashed me a grin and gathered my discarded clothes. She turned and tucked them beneath a large pine tree.

Michael moved to the center of the clearing, motioning for Lodge and I to move into the challenge area.

“William Lodge issued a challenge to Rmington Holt for Alpha of the Blackwater pack. If either party wishes to withdraw, now is the time to do so. Withdrawal means an automatic forfeit.” Michael looked from me to Lodge.

Neither of us moved to step away.

With a nod, Michael continued, “Both parties will fight until submission or death. The victor will be declared Alpha of our pack.”

He gave me one last look and stepped back to the outskirts with the rest of the crowd.

Lodge stood ten feet away from me. His massive body easily had fifteen pounds on me, but it was aged muscle. All mass and no definition. He might have been heavier, but I was willing to bet I had more endurance and speed than he did.

And, judging by the dangerous growl rumbling from my chest, he didn’t have the rage my wolf did.

His gray ears flicked back and forth, his pale eyes narrowed as he watched me.

I kept still, not moving, not giving anything away. He would have to make the first move.

His initial lunge almost caught me by surprise.

I had misjudged how fast he could move, but I was still able to spin around before his teeth made contact with my shoulder.

But that first move showed me all I needed to know. Lodge was a straight-up fighter who relied on his size and brawn to fight. He wasn’t smart about his moves.

I had spent years learning to fight as a human and a wolf. Countless hours had been spent pushing my body to work better. Lodge probably hadn’t fought in close to a decade, and it showed.

I backed away, putting enough space between us that he had to charge me again.

It was easy to sidestep his second attempt. I swiped a massive paw at him, catching his shoulder. His weight and momentum were too much; he stumbled. With a snarl, he whirled and lunged at me again.

Instead of moving, I waited to twist until the last second. His front paws landed on the ground, and I managed to drive my body up into his. My jaws clamped onto his throat and dragged him into the dirt.

I shook my head, my jaws crushing his windpipe as he wheezed out a low whine. His legs scrambled for traction, but it was pointless.

Now the question was would he give up? Or would I need to rip his throat out?

Blood coated my tongue as he kept struggling. The more he writhed under me, the harder I clamped down and the more I shredded his throat.

A low moan across the clearing caught my attention.

His mate, Ainsley’s mom, had covered her mouth in horror.

I had won, but Lodge wasn’t giving up.

If he didn’t give up soon, I wouldn’t be able to keep my wolf from ending this fight permanently. As it was, the taste of blood was driving us both into a frenzy that was making things hazy.

I gave another hard jerk, and he finally relaxed under me. He rolled onto his back as much as he could, the fight draining from him as he submitted.

My jaw tightened briefly, reminding him of his place in the pack. His pitiful whimper caught on the breeze as I released my hold on him and moved back as the sun dipped beneath the mountain. The dwindling rays of twilight barely illuminated the clearing.

Lodge rolled onto his belly with a low groan, his massive body heaving as he struggled to catch his breath.

I was barely winded.

Michael again moved into the center.

“Remington Holt is the victor,” he declared.

I started to head back, shifting when I was by my clothes. I pulled them on quickly and turned back to my pack. Flashing my friends a grim smile, I walked back to Michael, wiping my mouth with a towel Katy tossed me.

Lodge was just getting to his feet, swaying uneasily. Blood dripped from his throat. It wasn’t enough to kill him, but it would probably scar.

That made me smirk.

Michael inclined his head to me. “You are the Alpha of Blackwater.”

Lodge shifted back then, his body naked and bloody as he crouched on the ground. He pushed himself up to his knees and looked at me a second before lowering his head in surrender. Michael joined him a second later.

The others slowly dropped to a knee, heads bowed as they acknowledged me as their Alpha.