Chapter 19 - Harvey

Four days without my love had taken a toll on me. Ever since what happened four nights ago, I hadn”t slept a wink. I kept thinking about the fact that Cain had taken her right out from under me. It wasn”t right sleeping without her, and I couldn’t rest my head on a pillow where her head would not lay. Those singular thoughts haunted me as I approached the village. On a late Sunday evening, with rain pouring down, I could already see figures standing around in the center of this street, waiting to watch the fight that would soon erupt.

Cain had brought his lackeys back with him. Those defectors who had chosen to betray their one true alpha. Shiloh, in particular, had seen better days. His eyes were bruised and his mouth hung slack as if he had been punched in the jaw repeatedly. It occurred to me that perhaps he hadn”t chosen of his own accord to defect along with Cain, that maybe his demon had something to do with it. Perhaps that was true for all of them. Still, I had to consider that there was still a level of choice involved. As much as I understood being possessed and fighting against something that dwelled inside, I also understood the power of resistance of rebellion, and of remaining true to oneself. Regardless, my compassion went out to them as I crossed the barrier, walking out with Troy, Eric, Blake, and a few others from the Bravecrest and the Beaufort Creek pack.

It was fascinating to be in this predicament, but at the same time it made my blood boil because I could see Kiara, my mate, just on the other side of Cain. Down on the ground on her knees with her arms tied behind her back, with a blindfold over her eyes. We only had one choice here, and it was mine to make—I had to face this fight and ensure that Cain submitted himself to the Grimpaw pack. If he refused, then we would have to drive him away, or I would have to kill him, because at the end of the day, he could eventually decide that he wants to come back and try again. I couldn’t risk anyone else from my pack getting hurt.

There were only ten of us left now, half of what we were before. Even those members from before had already accepted their demons or had taken their own lives. Almost like I had one night, a long time ago. It was something I had wanted to talk to her about, something that had been in the back of my mind ever since she was taken. If I had succeeded, I would never have met her, and I would never have met Blake, Troy, or Jermain. I would have never understood the concept of a pack led by two alphas. I would never have met all the various characters that lived inside the Beaufort-Bravecrest pack. I finally understood what used to not make sense to me—that there was a greater community at large, one that I could seek comfort in; one that could be better for all of us as a whole. I was here to liberate my pack and to ensure their survival, and I would do anything to make that happen.

Just as we were within 12 feet of Cain and his lackeys, Troy, Blake, and Eric created a perimeter with Clancy and Kirk to protect the remaining Grimpaw members. Cain was looking more smug than usual, and I didn”t appreciate the way he stood between me and my mate. The anger twisted me up inside and made it difficult to talk. I could not do anything except focus on the situation, but I had to tell them exactly how I felt.

“You”ve always been too soft. You”ve never been disciplined, Cain.”

He smirked. The rain fell around us, beginning to increase in intensity. The rhythm of it threatened to wash away all of the conversation that was about to happen, but if I was being honest with myself, there probably wasn”t going to be much conversation. There would be more fighting than anything else. Besides, if I tried to speak too much, he would presume that I”d set something up, and he would react as if that were the case, in a way that would get everybody hurt. I didn”t want everybody to get hurt. The whole point of having the other pack here to help was to make sure that the members who remained with the Grimpaws weren”t harmed during this process. Even if I did happen to lose this battle, of which there was a slim chance, I wanted to make sure that my family was taken to a place where they would be safe.

Because I had exorcised my demon, I no longer had access to my demonic wolf form, so I was at a disadvantage in that respect. But seeing as I knew Cain well, I was familiar with his fighting style and could respond in kind.

“You should prepare yourself for defeat,” I warned him. “And you should keep your hands off my mate.”

Kiara whimpered at the sound of my voice. Cain glanced back at her like he was about to snap. She instantly bowed her head and went quiet again. She didn”t need to use words to tell me that how she felt; I understood just by looking at her. I understood that when she leaned forward, she was trying to seek out my energy. Cain took a few steps forward, shrugged his shoulders, and cracked his knuckles. Each distinct pop seemed to resonate through the white noise of the rain. Shiloh stepped forward with Pam. Cain raised his left hand and cocked his ear in their direction, telling them that he didn”t need their help.

Even though they obediently stepped back, they seemed particularly bothered by the command that their new leader had made. That was a sign of weakness in the ranks. Already, the defectors were fighting with each other. It was evident in Shiloh’s bruised face and Pam”s scarred knuckles. It was also evident in the way that Cain growled when one of the others attempted to bow forward and shift. He didn”t have control over them, which meant this fight was about to be the easiest one that I had ever encountered.

Cain pulled his shirt off and tossed it aside, revealing a large bulk of steely muscle. Raindrops soaked his skin, and I knew his shift was imminent. A smile remained on his lips as he unbuckled his belt, snapped it off, and then unbuttoned his pants.

“Any last words, Harvey, before I break your neck?”

“I will put you in your place, and I will take absolutely no pleasure in taking your life, if that is what I must do. I”d like to apologize in advance.”

He stared at me for a second, almost frozen, like he was about to say something. Instead, he dropped his pants, kicked them off, and started to shift. I did the same, ignoring the pain that remained in my system from the wounds I had suffered the last time things had gone awry. Even though my body had mostly healed from my fight with my demon, I was exhausted from being possessed for 10 years. It was like I had been in an extreme burnout for all that time, and I had barely gotten any recovery from that period. It was only about a week since I was no longer possessed, and I was still getting used to it. Yet, despite the ache in my bones, I felt stronger than ever. I knew I was about to save my pack and my mate. I hadn’t had that kind of confidence in so long.

When I was done shifting, mud soaked through and between my paws. I focused on Cain, who appeared like a nightmare dog right out of a drug-fueled cartoon. Demonic wolves were all different, they didn”t all look the same. While mine had been tall and scraggly, his had shorter legs, a wide body, and sharp ears with horns coming out of a skull. Black fur like volcanic debris coated his form, thick and scraggly. His eyes were a bright red, resembling lava. He towered over me, but I wasn”t afraid of him.

At that moment, he lunged forward with his paw extended. I darted beneath his belly and moved behind him. I snapped at his left leg, barely getting the bone to crunch under my jaws. Shouts erupted around us, resembling a crowd watching a fight in a playground—the schoolyard boys were at it again, and everyone wanted to watch.

Cain was too big to turn around quickly, but he swung his tail and knocked it into my side, sending me sprawling on the ground. I recovered easily and jumped to my feet, brushing the dirt from my nose. There was mud everywhere and the rain was only going to come down harder. Every audience member gave us a wide berth, cheering us on, while Kiara was dragged off to the porch of another cabin. I watched her closely, noticing exactly where she was in relation to my body. Wherever I turned, I knew where she was.

Cain dug his claws into the mud and drove forward, bowing his head to charge at me and try knock me out. I jumped over his head and nipped his tail, trying to bite a chunk of it off. Nothing was more embarrassing than having your tail chopped in half. Every wolf was self-conscious about their tail. It”s length, girth, fluffiness, or how it was presented. So, I made sure to get him right where I knew it would hurt. The yelp that resounded from him told me he was partially injured, but not enough to stop the fight. When I landed on the ground, I spun around and went for his side, jumping at him and digging my claws into his flesh. His fur was quite thick and I had to bat at it with my paws just to get to the flesh underneath. Once I got a bite of him in my mouth, I heard his yelp turn into to a howl, and I knew that I bit a place that really hurt.

Seconds later, I skittered up to his back and went for the back of his neck. I did the same motion again, digging into his foot to find the flesh underneath, but he managed to shake me off his back. I hit the ground hard, landing on my side and feeling my ribs cracking. Without missing a beat, I jumped back to my feet and took off, charging at him again. His mighty jaw snapped at me, but I darted just out of reach of each bite. I went around to his left side to reach his tail again, and Cain swung one of his rear legs, knocking me in the face. I could taste the blood in my mouth and feel it pooling in my nose, but I didn”t stop. I pushed forward, biting at his heels and snapping at his tendons. If I couldn”t break bones, then I could at least try to cut his Achilles tendon. I kept snapping, jumping from one foot to the next, going in random circles, so he couldn”t catch me. Once his rear right leg was injured, I went for the left, and then I bounced forward to get in front of him, blocking his path to Kiara. The look in his eyes hurt my heart, because at the end of the day, this was still a member of my pack. This was still someone I grew with, whom I led, whom I had fought with playfully, and whom I had plenty of drinks with.

He chose this path, I thought, preparing for another lunge. This is the path he took, and I need to set him straight on it. Cain howled with pain and I watched his black blood soak into the mud, making it even darker. I watched the rain soak his fur, sticking it to his skin. It”d be too difficult to get through it now, so I had to take another approach. He swung his mighty paw and knocked me in the face, sending me into a dizzy spin. Bright light streaked across my vision. Without being able to see straight, I couldn”t get my bearings. He landed another strike on the other side of my skull. I hit the ground and landed on my belly. I felt the mud so thickly on my nose that it almost made it hard to breathe. Trying to get up out of it was difficult, for it clung to my fur and made me heavier. But if it was doing that to me, then it was doing the same to him.

With my vision still blurry, I tried to run around to Cain’s right side. I took another beating to my side—this time one of his massive claws plunged into my skin, breaking it open into a great wound. My head was spinning as I felt the dizziness grow stronger. I was starting to get nauseous and tired. My breathing was labored and I knew I”d received too many blows to the head. At this point, I was likely concussed and needed to be careful about how I proceeded without my vision.

It was then that I heard a voice in the back of my mind; a beautiful song from someone I knew was nearby: If you don”t make it, I just want you to know that I love you.

That was my darling, the woman of my dreams, the one who came to me and led me directly to her. Who knew why she was in the woods that day? I didn”t even care to know. All I knew was that I was happy she had been brought to me, grateful that I got to spend time with her, and proud of her bite on my neck and my bite on hers. I belonged to her and she belonged to me, and nothing would ever sever that bond. Not a demon sickness and certainly not the massive demonic wolf in front of me. As I lunged once more for Cain, I bounced over his nose and landed on his eyes, scratching at them as hard as I could.

His pained yelps echoed through the trees, and I listened as his defector pack howled in horror as they realized their leader would no longer be able to see. There was no reason for him to be a leader any longer. When I damaged both eyes sufficiently, I jumped from his massive head and watched as he wobbled toward Shiloh and Pam. Neither of them seemed happy to claim him or thrilled about the fact that they would have to nurse him back to health, but they caught him just as he shifted into his human form. He turned with his hollow eyes to try and look at me.

“You”ve won,” he admitted. “I”ll take my leave.”

It was the least prideful thing Cain had ever admitted, probably more humble than anything he had ever said in his life. I watched as he and his six miscreants shuffled off with their tails between their legs, away from the village that I had built. My head was heavy and I was exhausted. I couldn”t access my human form and I knew that I would soon pass out. But I only wanted one thing and one thing only—to see my darling love and to feel her hand on the back of my neck. I raced with blurry vision to the porch, where Clancy pulled the blindfold off her eyes and untied her hands. She embraced me and I nuzzled into her, just as my vision went black.