Chapter 52

52

REMY

T he limo was a tight fit for all of us. I herded Skye in first, making her take the bench seat facing backwards before I slid in next to her and casually laid an arm around her shoulders. Nikolai and Griffin sat on the seat along the wall, a buffer between us and Damien and Trace as they sat on the last seat.

Trace’s eyes lit up as he saw me and then moved his gaze to the girl at my side.

My girl.

I resisted the urge to pull her onto my lap in a totally possessive show that would have made my wolf preen at claiming her visibly in front of other Alphas.

“Skye, you look amazing,” Trace started as the car began to roll forward. His gaze turned hungry, and I balled the hand at my side into a fist, cracking my knuckles with the force.

“She does, doesn’t she?” Nikolai chimed in as he smiled at Trace before looking at Skye proudly. “She seems to have found her place with her mate.”

Damien flinched while I hid a smile. Skye and I had filled him in on Damien’s demand on the plane. The cold rage Nikolai threw off at the revelation made me wonder if he would break Damien’s neck the way he had Allan’s.

So far, though, he seemed happy just antagonizing Damien.

“They’re young,” Damien scoffed. “The idealism of children is often broken by maturity.”

“They’re bonded,” Griffin said, frowning.

Damien barely spared me a glance. “A bond that will be broken by the defeat and death of Remy.”

Skye snarled softly next to me, and I stroked my fingers across her shoulder comfortingly. Damien was trying to provoke us.

“Is that how you justify casting your wife aside to take my child as your own mate?” Nikolai countered, the deceptively calm tone sending ripples out into the atmosphere of the car.

Griffin scoffed. “Seriously? Skye’s a kid.”

Damien’s eyes narrowed. “She’s of age. Besides, I’m attempting to forge an alliance.” He looked at Nikolai briefly and then out the window. “One my uncle was supposed to secure between our packs.”

Nikolai grinned back. “Well, you’re failing all over the place, aren’t you? First with your useless uncle, and then with your pathetic attempts at alliances. If your current allies are as strong as Long Mesa, I’m not even sure what chance you possibly have. And that’s not even mentioning the absolute cock-up of your untrained elemental wreaking havoc on a captive female population that you’ve stolen.”

Damien growled back.

“Elemental?” Griffin asked carefully, looking confused.

I sighed and shook my head. “Long story.”

“Maybe if you would have shared your full methodology with my uncle months ago, this entire war could have been avoided,” Damien snapped.

“You’re a liar,” Skye said plainly, her nose wrinkling. “Elias had nothing to do with your greed or you kidnapping women and girls . Or your fucked up auction that you’ve set up to entice men to join you.”

Damien glared at her, the first crack in his armor. “When you’re mine, you’ll learn how to control your mouth.”

“She isn’t yours,” I shot back, barely fighting the urge to shift in this moving cage and settle this now.

“Not yet,” Damien agreed, inspecting his nails for a moment. “Though I suppose you’ve given her free reign the way your father did with your mother.”

I smirked. “Skye’s her own person. She can do what she wants.”

Which apparently included things like letting an elemental tap into her like a well until she collapsed from exhaustion.

“She’s a female ,” Damien hissed, derision an oily curse on his lips. “She has no place other than in a bed or raising a child.”

Nikolai laughed loudly, the sounds bouncing off the ceiling of the car. “You really are an absolute fool, aren’t you?” He leaned forward, eyes flashing with warning. “This is why the Narodnaya pack and the European packs will never align themselves with yours. It’s why I sent men to decimate the origin pack you hail from.”

Damien glared back, openly hostile. “Then I suppose that puts you in a rather troubling situation, doesn’t it? When I marry your daughter, you’ll have to declare war on her as well as Norwood.”

“I’m declaring nothing,” Nikolai said smugly, inclining his head at Skye. “That call will be my daughter’s.”

Trace chuckled. “Letting her make the calls for you?”

“It’s her right as Alpha to make her own call.”

Trace was still laughing, but Damien went utterly still and slightly ashen at the revelation.

Griffin’s jaw gaped open. “What?”

Skye was still and stiff at my side, waiting to see how others would react.

“It’s true,” I said quietly, my eyes on Damien’s. “Nikolai surrendered his pack to Skye days ago. Guess you didn’t hear about that?”

“Not just my pack,” Nikolai corrected, going in for the kill, “but a few dozen European and Asian packs have also agreed to recognize her as their leader. It’s why Windale is currently being surrounded by an army of our combined packs.”

Trace had stopped laughing and panic was starting to edge in.

“You’re lying,” Damien whispered.

“We’re not,” Skye replied firmly.

“Thanks for giving us those extra two days we needed to get our people in place,” I added, unable to keep the smugness from my tone.

Damien’s gaze shot to me. “This wasn’t the deal.”

“You wanted Skye here, and you’ve got her,” I responded evenly. “In all her Alpha glory and with the support of her people at her back.”

Damien’s gaze swung to her. “You said that you would marry me if your mate lost.”

“I did,” she agreed easily enough. Her green eyes glittered. “But I never said I wouldn’t stab you in your sleep before you could touch me, steal your pack and free all those people you’ve stolen.”

“Bitch,” Trace spat.

The growl that ripped from me was completely from my wolf. “Watch yourself,” I warned.

Skye smirked at him, her lips pulled back to reveal her teeth. “That’s Alpha bitch to you.”

I laughed softly, loving the way Trace’s face twisted with anger that he couldn’t do anything with. Not in this car with me, Nikolai, and Griffin in his way.

“It will only serve to make our packs stronger with our union,” Damien said, rolling his shoulders back. “Surely you can see that.”

“I can see that if anything happens to my true mate that I’ll rip your heart out the first chance I get,” she replied, almost happily.

“She gets the bloodthirsty side from me,” Nikolai added apologetically, shrugging helplessly. “Her eyes she gets from her mother.”

“She agreed to this arrangement,” Damien snapped, a little desperate. His eyes bounced around to each of us, like we would side with him. The very idea made me smile.

“I agreed to it, yes,” Skye said softly. “But I never said for how long. If you were too stupid to think I wouldn’t fight back, that’s on you.”

“So, this was all what? A trick? Some plot to get me here?” Damien leaned forward, baring his teeth. “If you want a fight, I’ll give you a fight. I’ll have my men destroy this pack before I let you have it.”

“All I want is what I called you for,” I said sharply, keeping this on point. “No games. Just the challenge. You win, you get Blackwater. I win? I get Norwood.”

“And this army your mate has brought with her?”

“My army is here to make sure you keep this a fair fight,” Skye answered.

“A fair fight.” Damien laughed, smirking at me. “Do you think you can honestly take my pack from me, boy?”

I stared back. “Guess we’ll see.”

Griffin cleared his throat. “We’re here.”

I looked out the window as the car stopped. Here was Griffin’s family home. I’d only been here a couple times when I’d visited his pack and knew he lived here with his mother and grandfather. His family had held the Alpha seat of the Windale pack for three generations.

The house was a sprawling estate that boasted the small fortune the pack had amassed. The small town nestled around the Alpha house was a sleepy, mid-America town that rarely attracted attention, unlike the larger city fifteen miles east.

“Where’s our people?” I asked.

“Hotel closer to the city. One of my deltas owns it. We reserved the hotels for all of our out of town guests.” Annoyance clung to Griffin’s words. “It has two towers so we can keep the packs in separate areas.”

“Worried for your pack?” Trace taunted.

I smirked slightly. “Something like that.”

More like worried someone would lose their temper and kick start a war before the challenge began.

“Home sweet home,” Damien started, opening the door and getting out of the car.

Griffin’s frown deepened and he turned to me when Trace got out.

“We can kill them in their sleep,” he muttered, running a hand through his blond hair. “Fuck, I’ll burn the hotel to the ground tonight.”

Nikolai’s eyes grew big as he started to grin. “I rather like this fellow. Griffin was it?”

“We’re doing this the right way,” I said, ignoring Nikolai. “If I win the pack in a challenge, that ends it. If we murder their Alpha, it’ll just start a new war.”

“Not if we kill them all,” Nikolai suggested, still on board with Griffin’s idea.

“Not helping, Nikolai,” Skye murmured.

His eyes narrowed. “What happened to Dad?”

She gave him an exasperated look. “Fine. Not helping, Dad .”

Nikolai sighed and leaned back. “If you say so.”

“Remy’s got this,” she went on, her eyes finding mine. The complete faith and trust in her gaze was humbling. “We’re doing this his way.”

“Fine,” Nikolai huffed. “But mine and Griffin’s way would be decidedly more fun.”

“Right,” Griffin said wryly, rolling his eyes. “I was kidding. Let’s not turn my pack into a warzone.” He slid out of the car, followed by Nikolai.

I turned to face Skye now that we were alone. “You okay?”

She nodded, her green eyes wide and alert in the dim interior of the car. “Yeah. You think Damien will play nice now?”

“No,” I replied with a small laugh, “but at least he knows we’re on pretty even footing.”

“Think it’ll be enough?” She whispered the question, and I wanted like hell to tell her it would be.

“I hope so,” was the only answer I could offer.

“Guess we should go in?” Her gaze flickered to the open door.

“Yeah.” I started to move and then turned, reaching for her and pulling her against me so I could kiss her without anyone watching.

She blinked up at me, slightly dazed. “What was that for?”

“I wanted to,” I replied, licking her taste off my lips and wishing I had time for more than a fast, hard kiss that left both of us wanting more.

I grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the car with me, angling her body away from Damien and Trace. One accidental brush against her from one of them and the small control I had over my wolf would snap.

“My mom arranged dinner,” Griffin said softly, looking up at the house, “but I can tell her that you’re tired.”

“How is she?” I asked quietly, keeping my voice low so Damien and Trace, who were headed toward the front door like they owned the place, wouldn’t hear.

“More good days than bad now,” he replied. “I haven’t clued her in on how bad things are. She thinks we’re all here to talk about some type of memorial for what happened at the Summit.”

Skye’s brows lifted. “The bombing?”

“She thinks it was what the media said. A faulty gas line and a big accident,” Griffin answered, shaking his head. “She’s been so fragile that I didn’t want to tell her the truth.”

I nodded in understanding.

Griffin looked at Skye and Nikolai. “My dad died last year. It’s been hard on Mom.”

“My condolences,” Nikolai murmured.

“And your grandfather?” I questioned.

Griffin’s smile was quick but faint. “He’s up at the cabin a few hours north. Damien showed up and Grandpa about had another stroke. I figured it was safer to keep him out of the way while Damien was using my house like he was our fucking guest of honor.”

I snorted. “He’s good at that.”

Griffin rounded on me, his crystal blue eyes narrowed. “Can you beat him?”

“I think so,” I replied.

“Be sure, Remy. If you can’t... I can challenge him,” Griffin offered.

“That would serve little purpose,” Nikolai scoffed. “The only way it would matter would be for Remy to withdraw from the challenge and therefore surrender his pack.”

“Unless I push for the challenge to be first,” Griffin snapped.

“Can you beat him?” I demanded. “Because unless you’re sure, then there’s a chance he could win. He wins, he gets your pack which is the very reason I challenged him.”

Griffin met my eyes. He was older than me by seven years, but his forte wasn’t challenges but mental manipulation. He was lean and had muscles, but he wasn’t an outright fighter. If Brooks Ridge had been the pack filled with the most brawn, Windale was the pack with the most brains.

Blackwater and Norwood seemed to straddle the lines of both, and I hoped it was enough to keep us even going into the challenge.

“You have the better chance,” he admitted quietly, looking away with a frown. “We both know you’re the better fighter. I’ve seen you spar and practice with the others. Hell, I even watched you pin Luke once.”

A small smile twitched on my lips at the bittersweet memory. It had been almost two years ago and I didn’t bother adding that the sparring he’d stumbled into one night at the Summit had been my dad and I goofing off with Luke and Dante. Or that Luke had been drunk and stumbled, and that was the only reason I was able to pin him.

Luke told me to take the win. If he was too drunk to handle himself, that was on him and not a reflection on my own skills.

Luke had been the best fighter I’d ever met as a man and a wolf. He invited Rhodes and me up to Brooks Ridge every year to hang out with Dante and Ryder, but also to train with them. My favorite memories were when he had taught us how to fight. If I won tomorrow a lot of it would be because of Luke Davis.

Pretty fucking ironic that the man wasn’t here because of the man I needed to kill tomorrow to save us all.

“There’s no fault in knowing your limits as an Alpha,” Nikolai said quietly, clapping a firm hand on Griffin’s shoulder. It sounded like something my dad would’ve said.

I felt Griffin’s wince, though. Admitting I was the stronger Alpha couldn’t have been easy.

“We should go in,” Griffin said, turning away and heading for the front door.