I’ll Make It
The banter had the effect I wanted, it took her mind off what was coming up until we reached the circle. I was her second, responsible for ensuring no one tried to interfere with the challenge. Alpha Clark, as the host Alpha, would referee the challenge. There wasn’t much to do in a no-rules fight to death or submission, though.
I could see phones out ready to record the fun. Curiosity was high, as she left plenty of bodies behind but no one saw her fight. She stepped into the circle, glaring at Alpha Justin. He had stripped nude, ready to shift. “I hate that everyone is going to see you nude before I’ve fully mated you,” I said. “Hopefully they see your neck and hold back comments.”
I saw her link, and Alpha Clark made an announcement. “Fair warning, males. Talia is marked but not mated, and her mate might rip out throats if you stare or make comments about her.” Eyes immediately averted, no one wanted a jealous Alpha blood after them.
“Don’t worry, baby, I’m not shifting until the end,” she said as she smiled back at me. “Have a shirt ready.” She stripped down to her fighting clothes, a sports bra and compression shorts.NôvelDrama.Org owns all content.
She looked amazing, her body was an intoxicating blend of hard muscles and soft curves. Her ass was sculped by the Goddess herself, I concluded as she stretched. I was a lucky man.
“The Alpha of the Copper Mountain Pack, Justin Heranus, has been challenged for his position by Alpha blood female Talia Stillwater. The challenge has been accepted and is to death or submission. If submission, the fate of the defeated is solely up to the victor.” He walked to the edge of the circle, where large boulders separated the grass and dirt inside from the gathered people watching. “Any last words?”
“You’re going to die for taking my family,” Justin said.
“Funny, that’s what I was going to say. By the way, Rhoda knows what you did and it sickened her. She threw up on her minder, right before she was given a heavy dose of wolfsbane. Her wolf has been killed, just like Tania’s wolf was taken from her.”
“I’LL KILL YOU!”
He started moving forward as Alpha Clark said “Begin.”
Just immediately shifted, his wolf was black in color with a tan patch on his chest and brown and white socks. He charged her as she stood there, legs shoulder width apart and hands on her hips, seemingly unconcerned with him. I watched nervously as she waited until he was in the air, his jaws inches from her throat, and she wasn’t there.
Moving faster than I thought possible, she had moved a few feet right and spun around and landed a fist to the side of his chest. I heard a rib break as it thumped home, and suddenly he was spinning in the air. He crashed to the ground and rolled to his feet. I thought Talia would push the advantage, but she just watched him as he got back up. He shook his head, looked at her and attacked again, this time going for her left leg.
She spun away, continuing the move she kicked he left leg out and caught him in the stomach. The air left his lungs as he was knocked sideways, and when he recovered, she kicked him in his left thigh. She let him continue, but now he was limping noticeably.
She focused, letting her hands shift slightly as deadly sharp claws pushed out from her hands. “Death of a thousand cuts, and he’ll only get nine hundred and ninety,” she sent.
“Focus,” I responded. She laughed and went to work. He continued to attack, and every lunge towards her was met with a jawful of air and a slice of his fur. I was shocked; it was clinical, she was toying with him, never in danger. Alpha Justin was not a bad fighter, I knew he was stronger and far more experienced than I, but he had zero chance against my mate. She was skilled and blazing fast, and his hide paid the price for his actions.
Ten minutes turned into twenty, and she wasn’t even winded yet. He was so covered with blood and torn up fur it astonished me he was still upright. Still in human form, Talia was breaking ribs, slicing flesh and tossing him around like he weighed nothing. He didn’t have much longer.
He gathered himself for one last try, painfully moving closer to her. He lunged for her right knee, and he was shocked as she suddenly shifted and leaped high over his back. Twisting in the air, she landed and bit down on his right rear leg until a loud snap was heard.
He howled in agony as she dragged him backwards to the middle of the ring. She let him go. He was panting in the dirt, unable to rise. She shifted back into her human form; she was covered with blood, none of it hers. I took off my shirt and tossed it to her as she walked around the torn-up mess that was Alpha Justin. She pulled it over her head, the T-shirt more like a dress on her, and I smiled as she took a sniff of it as the neck pulled down.
“Submit or I start breaking bones from tail to nose,” she said as she knelt down in front of him. He glared at her, but his body wouldn’t respond. His head dropped to the ground and he exposed his neck to her.
“Challenge is over by submission,” Alpha Clark said. “The new Alpha of the Copper Mountain Pack, Talia Stillwater. May her reign be just and prosperous.” She stood like the warrior she was as the men of her new Pack exposed their necks to her, signaling their acceptance of her as Alpha. She went down the line, establishing the bond and searching their minds for signs of duplicity. The two that refused to submit were killed instantly, a single claw stroke behind the left ear severing their artery and leaving them to bleed to death.
“Thank you for your assistance, Alpha Clark,” she said as she walked to stand as an equal to her Uncle. “I would request you release my Pack members and provide them transportation to the airport. They will be returning home immediately.”
“Of course, Alpha Stillwater.” He looked over at Justin. “What is your wish regarding him?”
“Do you have any cages suitable for transporting a wolf?”
“Of course, glorified dog kennels, but silver plated and reinforced.”
She grinned a little. “That is perfect. Bring one here and lock him into it. Bring him water, but do not feed him or provide medical care. If he wants that, he’s going to have to answer questions. I also want him to see what I have in store for the Beta who sold my sister into slavery, but that’s tomorrow.”
“The guest Alpha suite is yours,” he said. “I will have dinner sent up later.”
I moved closer to her, pulling her into my side. “She needs to clean up and do a few things first, we’ll call the kitchen when we are ready,” I said. “Thank you again. We will rest tonight, and tomorrow we continue with her blood oath. Everyone involved is going to die,” I said.
We walked back towards the Pack House, hand in hand. Members of all the gathered Packs made space for us, their eyes kept down in respect of a superior rank and warrior. No one had ever seen someone like her, and we all knew she could take down any Alpha she wanted.
I picked her up in my arms as she giggled and carried her back to our room. We’d be out in the morning.
Talia’s POV
La Crosse Pack House
I looked up at my mate as he carried me into the Pack House. He was handsome, dominant, smart, caring and romantic. I’d hit the mate jackpot with him, and I was still shocked that he wanted the broken mess that was me.
“I don’t see you that way,” he said. “I’ve told you exactly how I see you, it’s time for you to start believing it.”
“I just gave up on a mate,” I said. “I’m so thankful you didn’t give up on me.”
“You’re amazing, beautiful and strong. I can’t wait to show you what making love is all about, but first we have to get this blood off you. I don’t want anything of his on you.” He opened the door to the guest room and set me down in the large bathroom. Starting the shower, he turned and pulled his shirt from over my head. He pulled the remnants of my sports bra and shorts off and tossed them in the garbage, then pushed me into the shower to get the blood off.
“I need your help,” I said as he turned to leave.
He turned and smiled, I could tell he was hoping for an invite. I didn’t want to be apart from him. He took off his shoes and pulled his shorts and socks off. He was more impressive than I had imagined in the nude, and a flush of arousal washed through my body as I looked at him. He saw my look and matched it, his body showing exactly how much he enjoyed the view. “Wash my back?”
“Hair first,” he said. He stepped into the large shower behind me and took the scentless shampoo from the shelf. He started to work it into my hair, his fingers massaging my scalp. It was like heaven.
“I don’t want to shower alone again,” I said as I melted from the pleasure of his hands on me.
“I don’t want to be alone again, so I’m good with that.” He made sure all the hair was scrubbed, then used a hand wand to wash it clean. He repeated it again, making sure every speck of blood was gone.
“Talia, is this a bad time,” Alpha Clark sent. Since we were family, we still had the bond even though I was now Alpha of a different Pack.
“Better than in ten minutes,” I said.
“I’ll make it quick. Erica is still waiting for word on what to do next, she’s got Rhoda tied up in the woods and it’s getting late. I also got a message from Chairman Wolfe, he’s having a videoconference with all North American Alphas in ten minutes. I need to know what to tell him about Justin, and how we want to handle finding Todd.”
I shared the questions with Randall; he was my mate, my partner, and I was relieved I didn’t have to decide on my own anymore. We quickly came up with a plan. “Uncle, be dismissive and suspicious of the Council. Remind them of their failures, and tell them you and your family are going to handle this on your own. The Council cannot come here, and they can’t tell you what to do. I don’t want them to know how closely we are working together, or that I’m mated to a Meechum yet.”