Chapter 19

"You're welcome any time,"I heard Mrs. Hunter say to MC as I took the next table's order. "In fact, the five of you should come back this weekend. It's been a long time since I had a full house like that, and I enjoyed it. You did too, dear, right?"

I knew she was asking Mr. Hunter without looking at them. And even if he hadn't enjoyed a full house, he would nod and go along with his wife. How much longer were they going to stay? They'd been nursing their drinks for over an hour already.

"I'll make it happen," MC said. "I really enjoy spending time with Vena but haven't been able to pin her down. She just broke up with her previous boyfriend, so I'm trying to be patient."

Vena was going to kill MC. I might, too.

I smiled at my table, assured them I"d be right back with their order, and moved to the Hunters' table, unwilling to allow MC to manipulate Vena into a corner. A cornered Vena was an extremely dangerous Vena.

"Actually, MC, Anchor was never officially Vena's boyfriend, so there was no break-up." I looked at Mrs. Hunter. "He went out of town unexpectedly a few days ago and hasn't yet reached out to Vena. She's understandably upset, but I've never seen her as interested in a guy as she is with Anchor."

My gaze slipped to MC, who looked like he was struggling to keep his cool. I smiled politely.

"They're slammed behind the bar, and since you came all the way from California to help Shepard, maybe you can take some pity on the guys and fix my next order of drinks for me?"

He smiled back at me as he stood, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Duty calls," he said to the Hunters. "I'll be back as soon as things settle. I enjoyed talking to you."

I walked away from the table with him.

"I don't know what you think you're doing, but what you aren't doing is endearing yourself to Vena. She doesn't like being pushed, cornered, or commanded. She's going to come out swinging, and all the muscles in the world aren't going to save you. Understand?"

He paused and looked down at me.

"How long is she going to wait for a guy who isn't coming back?"

"Who says he's not coming back?"

"It's been six days without any word."

"So? Do you think she can just turn off her feelings? Be more sympathetic and think with your big-boy brain instead of the one in your pants, or the one in your pants is going to get punched. She already said as much."

He lifted his gaze and looked at Vena across the room.

"She's the one, Everly. I can feel it."

"Well, she can't. Now, are you going to make my drinks or not?"

He turned away from me and went behind the bar with Shepard. I met Shepard's gaze, and he gave me a small nod. Was that approval for trying to talk some sense into MC or for not losing my shit and throat-punching him myself? As I waited for the drinks, I decided it was maybe a little of both.

My phone buzzed, and I discreetly checked it.

Cross: It's too quiet tonight. No vampires anywhere. I think they're planning something during the challenge. Cancel it.

I saw he'd sent it to the group and looked up at Shepard. He caught my glance and checked his phone. I watched him type his reply.

Shepard: Can't. If I do, I forfeit the right to leadership, and we both know that's not an option.

Cross: Then Everly and Vena need to stay with me.

Shepard: And if your kind's plan is to go after you while my people are distracted, then what? The challenge will be the safest place for them. They'll be surrounded by hundreds of us.

Vena: What about Miles? If the vampires are doing something, is he going to be safe?

Shepard: We moved him at lunch. He's with an old friend of mine who I trust implicitly. He'll keep Miles safe.

MC brought my drinks over. "Something going on that all three of you are looking at your phones?"

"No." I pocketed my phone and carried my order away without a backward glance.

Pasting on my best waitress smile, I hid my worry that Cross was right about something bad happening tonight and served the drinks.

Mrs. Hunter waved me over as soon as I finished.

"Is it true?" she asked. "Is there someone Vena likes?"

It took me a moment to remember what I'd said.

"Yes, but don't say anything. You know how she gets. The harder you push, the more she'll go her own way. And Anchor is a nice guy who could be good for her."

Mrs. Hunter laughed softly. "Is that your way of telling me to stop meddling in her love life?"

I smiled but said nothing, which had Mr. Hunter chuckling as Mrs. Hunter sighed.

"Well, I'll leave things be for now, but I'm serious about the invitation this weekend. I missed you kids. Come back for another dinner, with or without a plus one. Your choice."

"We will," I said, knowing Vena wouldn't mind as long as MC wasn't along.

"And if you can send me a picture of the man who you think caught her eye–"

"I think it's time for us to go, dear," Mr. Hunter said, standing and offering her a hand.

She smiled sweetly at him, stood, then hugged me.

"Don't leave me curious for too long," she said in my ear. "You know I have a curious mind and a cupid's heart."

I nodded and waved them off as I started clearing their table. My phone buzzed again, but I knew better than to check it while on the floor, so I waited.

When I returned to the bar with my next drink order, I saw MC cut Shepard off to get to me. The twitch in Shepard's jaw worried me. I didn't particularly care for MC, but the way he was pushing Shepard before the challenge made me wonder what kind of beating Shepard was going to dish out and if MC would survive it.

"I'll get that for you, Everly," he said with a smile.

I nodded, wondering what his deal was, and slipped my phone out as he started on the first drink. Cross had sent a message just to me.

Cross: Stay close to Shepard, no matter what happens tonight.

Me: I will.

The warning added to the ball of worry building inside of me.

MC made my drinks quickly, only glancing at Vena as she approached Shepard with her drink order.

As soon as my drinks were on the tray, I turned away.

MC continued to snag my orders every time I approached the bar for the rest of the evening. I didn't mind, even though I started to suspect what he was trying to do. If he thought getting on my good side would help his cause, he was sadly mistaken. At least, it was keeping him away from Vena, who'd definitely reached her stabby limit though.

I had hoped we would get through the night without MC making another move, but at closing, he stopped Vena as she dropped off dirty glasses.

"I know you're probably anxious about tonight," he said. "Don't worry about anything. Everything will be okay." He was about to place his hand on her shoulder, but the look she gave him had him pulling back slightly.

"The only way everything will be okay is if you lose and go home. You're not wanted here, MC." She turned and walked away.

Fists clenched, MC stared at her retreating form for a moment. He caught my gaze, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

"I told you she'll come out swinging if you corner her," I said softly.

I was too far away to hear him, but I was pretty sure he said, "So will I."

He cast a hate-filled glare at Shepard, who was still behind the bar, then whistled low. He and his pack filed out of Blur.

Once they were gone, the tension eased. Shepard came over as I wiped down tables.

"I need to leave too. Doc and Gunther will give you a ride. I've already talked to Cross. He'll be my eyes in D.C. while we're gone. If there's a problem, he'll alert us."

"Shepard, I'm getting a bad feeling about this. MC looked at you as if he wanted to kill you."

Shepard took my hand and toyed with my fingers before he looked at me.

"Don't worry about me, Everly. No matter what he does, he will never win. Do you trust me?"

When I nodded, he smiled. "Then don't worry about anything." He placed a kiss on my forehead and then called his goodbyes as he left with Boulder and Tank.

I hurried to get my station clean and my tips counted and distributed. Vena was right there with me.

"Are you both ready?" Doc called as we closed our lockers.

"Ready," I said.

We headed out to Doc's electric car. Vena and I sat in the back, and Gunther sat up by Doc. When Doc pulled onto the freeway heading out of town, Vena asked, "Where exactly is the fight happening?"

We'd seen the address on The Howl, but we hadn't looked it up, assuming it would be somewhere nearby.

"At a farm," Doc said.

"Won't people see?" I asked.

"It's owned by a pack member," Doc said. "They have an old pole barn that has plenty of space for all of us."

"Do we have to be aware of anything?" I asked.

"Just stay by me, and you'll be fine."

That was easy enough to do, but Doc's rigid shoulders didn't calm my anxiety.

Vena was on her phone, texting Miles. I read over her shoulder for something to do.

Vena: Heard you were moved somewhere else.

Miles: Yeah. I'm with some old guy who likes to play chess. It's not the worst. Heard you're off to have some fun.

Vena: I'd like to deny it, but watching someone I don't like get his ass handed to him is definitely going to be the highlight of my week.

Miles: Glad you're not staying home and missing the excitement. Tell me about it later.

His texts were just like the old Miles I knew. I hoped that meant he wasn't too far gone like Sierra had been.

The rest of the ride was quiet. Even Vena was lost in her own thoughts as she looked out at the darkness that surrounded us. The farther we drove from the city, the darker the roads became until it was only the headlights of the car that navigated our way. Paved roads became gravel, and gravel became dirt.

Just when I thought we couldn't possibly go farther, Doc parked behind a row of cars alongside the road. Up ahead, there was a faint light coming from the farm.

"We'll have to walk the rest of the way," he said. "It's not far. Remember, stay with me. If we get separated, just call my name. I'll come to you. Got it?"

Vena and I nodded and got out of the car as more vehicles parked behind us. We followed the string of people who funneled toward the farm.

There was movement out in the darkness, away from the road.

"Doc, someone is out there," I said.

"They're placing wards to keep humans away."

As we walked, the faint light grew brighter until we came up to a security point. When it was our turn to cross through, we were patted down. They found my charm, but I was allowed to keep it. However, they took Vena's knife and said she could claim it after the event.

Doc escorted us to the giant pole barn. Light spilled from the open doors, making it easier to navigate. Even though the structure was enormous, the sounds of people talking over one another grated at my already frayed nerves.

Inside, we went to where the D.C. pack was congregating. Sierra was among them.

"Why's she here?" Vena asked.

"No one to keep an eye on her back home."

We moved closer to the center of the D.C. crowd, and Vena and I looked around as we waited for the challenge to begin.

The L.A. pack was on the other side of the open shed along with a lot of people I didn't recognize.

"Who are they?" I asked Doc.

"Delegates and neighboring packs."

The one thing that stood out to me was how much bigger the D.C. pack was compared to the L.A. pack. That made me feel slightly better.

I scanned for any sign of Shepard, but I couldn't see him anywhere in the shed. Was he waiting to enter until everyone was here? Waiting was torture, and I couldn't imagine what he was going through, knowing that someone wanted to take his place and his ring.

The sudden hush was a relief until I realized Shepard and MC had both walked in.

As they moved, Shepard reached back, grabbed the neck of his t-shirt, and pulled it off in one fluid motion that had me forgetting my name.

The doors slammed shut behind them, bringing me back to my senses, and I saw MC had removed his shirt too. Barefoot and shirtless, they moved to the center of the dirt floor and faced each other.

"What are the rules?" I asked Doc softly.

"They fight until one concedes or dies."

I turned to look at him with wide eyes.

"Don't worry. There's a reason Shepard's the head alpha."

An older man with short white hair stepped into the middle between them and started speaking loud enough that even Vena and I could hear.

"We're here today because Marvin Cootner, known as MC?—"

"Did he just say cooter?" Vena whispered with suppressed mirth.

The old guy shot her a look. She cleared her throat and quieted.

"—has challenged Shepard Ulv for rights to lead the D.C. pack." The man looked at MC. "Did you challenge Shepard Ulv's leadership of your own free will?"

"I did," MC said clearly.

"The only rule is that there must be no interference." The man looked at MC again. "You do this alone. Do you understand?"

"Why aren't you saying the same things to him?" MC asked.

"Son, it's you I'm worried about."

Vena smirked, and I saw MC's gaze dart to her.

"I understand that I'm in this alone," he said angrily.

The man nodded.

"Then let the strongest alpha win," he said, stepping back.

It was like a silent gunshot had gone off.

Still in human form, MC lunged at Shepard with a roar. The two collided, and the impact toppled the pair. As they fell, Shepard rapidly hit MC in the ribs.

The deep sound of those solid blows had me cringing.

As quickly as they fell, they rolled and sprang apart. They studied each other, slowly circling, and I saw a flicker of something in MC's eyes. Like they'd turned gold just for a second.

Shepard smirked at him.

"Already showing your wolf? That didn't take much," Shepard taunted.

MC growled softly. "Shut up and fight."

This time, Shepard launched at MC. He moved so quickly that he blurred. But the sound of them slamming together was unmistakable. I cringed again and saw Shepard on top of MC. While MC hit Shepard's side, Shepard rained blows down on MC's face.

I saw blood and turned away to watch Vena instead.

She was smiling until she noticed me looking at her.

"You okay?" she asked softly.

A snarl drew my attention to the fight before I could answer.

Shepard had gotten off MC, and as MC did a kip up off the ground. Shepard glanced at me.

"I'm fine," I said softly, knowing he'd heard Vena's question.

His gaze immediately returned to MC. So did mine.

MC's yellow wolf eyes were unmistakable now. He snarled at Shepard and lunged for him again. He was a blur, but so was Shepard. I waited for the sound of their impact, but it never happened. When MC reached where Shepard should have been, he stopped and spun around just in time to greet Shepard's fist with his face.

Vena's hand caught mine as I winced at the sound of a crunch and the fresh wash of blood coming from MC's nose. She didn't say anything as we both watched.

MC brought his arms up, protecting his face. As he did, I saw hair start to sprout on his forearms. Not a heavy coat like a dog but still thick and a few inches long. With the hair came heavier muscles.

I glanced at Vena. She met my gaze, showing a little of her surprise too. In all of the episodes of The Other House, we'd never seen the werewolf shifting. We just knew he was the werewolf because of his sight, speed, and sense of smell.

"Concede before you're hurt," Shepard said.

"You've got that backward," MC snarled.

His hand whipped out, crazy fast, and his newly sprouted dark claws grazed Shepard's stomach. Red slashes appeared in their wake, and I gripped Vena's hand hard. Shepard grunted but didn't step back from MC. Instead, Shepard took advantage of the opening to drive his fist into MC's ribs again.

I heard the crack from where I stood and winced again.

"Shouldn"t be much longer," Doc said softly beside me.

MC snarled and spun away from Shepard. More hair sprouted on MC's torso, and his muscles thickened under it. His nose stopped bleeding when it elongated with his mouth into more of a muzzle.

Did changing heal them?

In wolf form, MC still maintained his balance on two feet. He was a huge, muscular beast that didn't conform to the body shape of the wild wolves in the forest but kept his human structure for the most part. Only larger, furrier, and wolf facial features.

I glanced at Shepard, who still looked very human, including the bleeding gashes on his side.

Why wasn't he changing?

"You're going to need to do better than that," Shepard said as his gashes slowly started to close.

He dove for MC. I heard the hits but didn't see them happen…only the aftermath.

MC was left standing, panting and spitting out blood due to his newly broken wolf-nose. It did not look like he would be sniffing Vena any time soon.

"Say you're done," Shepard growled. "Time to end this."

"You're right, we do need to end this," MC said with a snarl.

He shadowed Shepard's movement, sidestepping to stay facing Shepard. As MC drew closer to us, Doc put out his arm and pressed Vena and me farther back.

I was grateful. The last thing I wanted was to accidentally get in the way of those two fighting.

My phone buzzed with a message. Not taking my eyes off the fight, I pulled it from my pocket.

"A good leader knows when it's time to step down," MC said. "You've fucked up D.C. enough. What's your pack going to think when they find out you're working with vampires?"

There was a gasp from the women present and growls from the rest.

"See?" MC said with his back almost to us. "They don't like it. Step down, and let me take care of the vampire problem since you can't."

My phone buzzed again, and I finally glanced down.

Cross: They're here.

Cross: Get to Shepard.