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WYATT
Robert’s words smacked of finality, and they broke over Wyatt like a bucket of ice water, snapping him out of his mad defensive rage. He found himself returned to human form, suddenly, huddling on the ground before two large wolves.
His packmates backed off as soon as they saw that he was no longer a threat. Van trotted past him, retrieved his jeans, and dropped them at his feet. Wyatt struggled into them and stood, waiting to see what would happen next.
Izzy was still standing far too close to Gunner for Wyatt’s liking. He still had a hand on her. There was a part of Wyatt, buried deep within, that was crying out to rip that hand off Gunner’s body. But his animal self seemed very far away all of a sudden. He knew he couldn’t shift again, not now, no more than he could have sprouted wings and flown. His grief was too great.
He had failed.
He had failed to get Izzy away from these people. He had failed to protect and provide for his family. And now their last chance was gone. Robert wasn’t going to help them.
Unless...
Dare he tell anyone that Izzy was pregnant? Was it possible that would make the difference? Maybe if Robert had that information, he would see that allowing Izzy and Wyatt to be together was really the best solution. Maybe he would understand, finally, that Gunner was just getting in the way of the real happy family here.
But no. He couldn’t tell, he realized bleakly. He couldn’t know for sure what would happen if he did, but the outlook wasn’t very good. Wasn’t it clear now that Robert wanted to help them? He would have done so if he could. He didn’t require further persuading. He couldn’t tear Izzy and Gunner apart, not unless Gunner voluntarily chose to let Izzy go. If he knew about the pregnancy, he might force Izzy to terminate it, and that would just be too much. Wyatt couldn’t take that chance.
There was only one thing left to do. One person to make an appeal to, one possibility for help.
He turned to Gunner.
Gunner must have sensed Wyatt’s gaze on him, because he stopped undressing Izzy with his eyes and made eye contact. “What?” he asked.
He sounded like a surly child. It was heartening. He may have won here, technically, but he wasn’t happy about it either. She told him in front of the whole pack that she didn’t want him, Wyatt thought. That disrespect must be eating him up.
And then, with a wave of horror: My God. What is he going to do to her when he gets her alone?
He couldn’t give up. Not while there was any fight in him at all. He had to keep trying to win her freedom.
He spoke directly to Gunner. “I’m begging you,” he said. “Let me have her. Please.”
Gunner raised his eyebrows. “Begging? What kind of a beta are you?” He looked at Robert. “Look at the man you chose over me. Hardly a man at all, is he? Heartsick over some omega and practically on his knees to me because he couldn’t beat me in a few simple competitions.” He shook his head. “It’s pathetic. I can’t believe the pack ever had respect for you.”
“God, is that still what this is about?” Wyatt didn’t know if he was going to laugh or cry. “The stupid beta rank? You’re going to ruin her life over that?”
He shouldn’t have said that, he realized. Gunner’s face darkened and he gripped Izzy more tightly. “You think you’re the only man here who knows how to show a woman a good time?” he growled.
“She doesn’t want you,” Wyatt pleaded.
“And you think she wants you.”
“I do want him!” Izzy cried.
Gunner turned on her. “You’re an omega. Of course, you want him. You want him, and you’ll want me. Omegas want whatever they can get. Everyone knows it.”
Izzy sobbed.
Wyatt rounded on Robert. “Can’t you tell him not to talk to her like that?”
Robert shook his head. “No alpha can interfere with relations between a mated couple, Wyatt. You know that as well as I do.”
Wyatt tried Gunner again. “Izzy and I will leave,” he offered. “You can be beta. With me gone, you’d be the obvious choice.”
“You’re leaving anyway,” Gunner said. “You’re going, and I’ll be beta, and I’ll have the omega too. You don’t have anything to bargain with.”
“But it means nothing,” Wyatt said. “It’s not like being alpha. It doesn’t come with power. It just means you’re second in command, but it’s figurative. You can’t actually give a command. You don’t control anything.”
Gunner showed his teeth. “I control some things,” he said, pulling Izzy closer.
“I’m in love with her,” Wyatt said quietly. “I’m in love with her, and she’s in love with me. Let us have that, Gunner. Is it so much to ask?”
“You had your chance,” Gunner said. “It was a fair contest, wasn’t it?”
It was not a fair contest,” Wyatt bit out. “You cheated.”
“Not this again.” Gunner turned to Robert. “Am I going to have to stand here and answer these accusations twice?”
“No,” Robert said. “Wyatt, this matter was resolved.”
“It wasn’t resolved. He did cheat.”
“Wyatt—”
“Robert, you weren’t there, all right? I’m sorry, but you weren’t. And how can I be expected to accept the results of the Omega Games when I would have won if not for his cheating? I was ready to ride out of that garage, Robert. I was ready. If he hadn’t stolen—”
“I didn’t take your tire cap!” Gunner roared.
A voice spoke up somewhere in the crowd. “Yes, you did.”
Both Gunner and Wyatt whirled around, trying to identify the speaker.
“You did,” the voice spoke again, and this time Wyatt saw where it was coming from. Lionel had stepped forward, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his jacket, his eyes cold. He was staring at Gunner. “I saw you take it,” he said.
Gunner sputtered. Wyatt felt as if he were standing on quicksand.
Robert frowned. “You saw this? Why didn’t you speak up before?”
“I wasn’t sure of what I had seen,” Lionel said. “But I’m sure now.”
“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about!” Gunner protested. “He admits it himself.”
“Lionel, come forward,” Robert said.
Wyatt waited apprehensively as Lionel approached. They had never been close friends, nor was Lionel a particularly outgoing or welcoming member of the pack. Could he trust the man to speak on his behalf now, when things were so dire?
But what other choice did he have?
“Tell us what you saw,” Robert said.
“Wyatt had gone to replace a socket wrench in his tool kit,” Lionel said. “Gunner noticed him leaving and moved over from his own bike to Wyatt’s. I didn’t see what happened next, but I could tell his hands were on the bike. He was gone by the time Wyatt returned.
“Then, Wyatt started looking around. It was obvious something was lost or missing, but I couldn’t focus on that or offer to help because I was too preoccupied with my own bike. I didn’t connect the two things until Wyatt faced Gunner and accused him of taking something. I didn’t know it at the time, but he was talking about the tire cap. Gunner didn’t respond with surprise or anger at being accused. He seemed satisfied, as if he’d done something to be proud of.”
“Bullshit,” Gunner snarled.
“Quiet,” Robert said. “Lionel, continue.”
Lionel nodded. “Those two are always fighting, and I’ve heard Gunner say hard things about Wyatt many times. So, I wasn’t surprised that it had gotten aggressive during the challenge, especially after what had happened when they fought hand to hand. I did my best to ignore them. But when Gunner rode out before me, I knew my chances in the Omega Games were over.
“The weird thing was that as soon as Gunner left, Wyatt threw his rag down and went after him on foot. That wasn’t like Wyatt at all. He’s always so meticulous in the garage, always putting everything back where it goes when he’s finished. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him throw something down like that before.
“In the clearing, Wyatt accused Gunner of cheating, and based on what I’d seen, I thought he must be right. But then Gunner emptied his pockets, and he didn’t have the tire cap. So, I thought Wyatt must be mistaken.”
Robert faced Wyatt. “Is that what happened?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“But he didn’t have the cap,” Robert said. “So, what makes you so sure he cheated, Lionel? I’ll admit it looks suspicious that he reacted the way he did to Wyatt’s initial accusation. But that’s far from proof.”
“I agree,” Lionel said. “Which is why I went back to the garage later that night to look for the missing cap.”
The smile fell off Gunner’s face.
For the first time since walking out into the parking lot this morning, Wyatt felt a fluttering of hope. Someone had heard him when he’d tried to tell the pack what Gunner had done. Someone had believed. Lionel was a truly objective witness. Surely, he would be taken seriously.
But had he found the evidence Wyatt would need?
The same question was clearly on Robert’s mind. “What happened that night?” he asked. “Did you find anything?”
Lionel reached into his pocket and pulled out the cap. “Here it is,” he said. “Gunner had put it in his toolbox.”
Gunner laughed. “So, I had a tire cap in my toolbox! What does that prove? I bet Wyatt had one as well.”
“I didn’t, actually,” Wyatt said. “I didn’t have a spare. If I had there would have been no problem. I had to borrow one from Robert after the Games ended.”
“If I hadn’t loaned you that, you wouldn’t have been able to run away,” Robert observed.
“To be honest with you, Robert, I probably would have just taken one from someone else’s bike if you hadn’t had a spare for me,” Wyatt said.
“You would have damaged a packmate’s bike?”
“I had to get her away,” Wyatt said. “I wouldn’t have been happy about it, but I had to get her to safety.”
“Good job,” Gunner sneered.
Wyatt ignored him. “You should be able to tell that it’s my tire cap. Mine has a little rough spot on one edge. It used to be attached to the tire by a tab, but I broke that off so it would be easier to reach with the pressure gauge.”
Robert held out his hand to Lionel for the cap. When Lionel had handed it over, he felt around the edge with his thumb. “I feel it,” he said.
“That doesn’t prove anything,” Gunner insisted.
“It proves this isn’t a spare cap you bought at a store,” Robert said. “It was broken off a tire at some point, as Wyatt describes.” He turned to Wyatt. “In your best judgment, is this cap yours? Tell the truth.”
Wyatt took the cap and looked it over, aware as he did that, he wouldn’t be able to lie. It wasn’t a good feeling, being forced into full disclosure. As much as it would have made things easier if Robert had ordered the truth out of Gunner from the beginning, Wyatt couldn’t help respecting him for holding off on using that particular command.
He took the cap and looked it over. “I think it’s mine,” he said. “It looks familiar enough.”
Robert turned to face Gunner. It was clear to everyone what was coming. And now, for the first time, something like fear showed in Gunner’s face. He’s trapped, Wyatt thought. He’s trapped and he knows it. There’s nothing he can do now.
Still, Gunner wriggled, like a fish caught in a net, trying to find his escape. “You know it shouldn’t have mattered anyway,” he said to Robert. “Ninety-nine times out of a hundred I would have beaten him hand to hand. He got lucky in that round.”
“That doesn’t matter,” Heather spoke up. “He played by the rules. If he beat you when the odds were against him, that’s just more credit to him.” The mood of the crowd was shifting now, Wyatt realized. More and more of them were frowning, casting odd looks at Gunner, whispering to each other. He’s losing them. They see what he really is. They’re coming over to my side.
“Heather’s right,” Robert agreed. “It doesn’t matter if you would have beaten him ordinarily. You didn’t beat him on game day, and that’s what counts. You aren’t permitted to take the competition into your own hands because of that. You can’t cheat because you feel a need to set things right.”
For once, Gunner seemed to have no response.
“Tell me the truth,” Robert said in a ringing tone. “Tell us all the truth. Did you sabotage Wyatt in the Omega Games?”
Gunner fidgeted.
Robert waited.
“Yes.” The word was barely audible, a resentful, bitter growl.
Robert turned away from Gunner and held up his hands. “By this admission, Gunner has voided the results of the Omega Games. His claim to Izzy is forfeit. Furthermore, his betrayal of our pack shows that he’s unfit to be one of us. He has consistently put his own self-interest ahead of the good of the pack.” He turned back to Gunner. “You’ll be allowed to take your bike with you when you go.”
A rush of relief filled Wyatt. It was more than he’d dared to hope for. Izzy would be safe from Gunner. Gunner wouldn’t even belong to their pack anymore. They were free of him forever.
Gunner let out a roar of rage, but there was nothing he could do. He grabbed his bike, kicked it to life, and rode off, presumably unwilling to suffer any further humiliation at the hands of the pack that was no longer his.
A long silence followed this departure. Then Van spoke. “He really hates you now, Wyatt.”
Wyatt couldn’t help laughing at that. “I guess he does, huh?”
Robert held up a hand for silence again. “Since the results of the Games were nullified, we as a pack have a choice to make,” he said. “I promised the omega to anyone who could win the Games. As it stands, we don’t have a winner. The Games will have to be reorganized and re-run so that we can come up with a new champion.”
Silence greeted this. Wyatt felt his stomach drop. He had been lucky in a lot of the events during the Games. He knew that. Yes, skill had been involved, and he had made intelligent moves. But there was no guarantee he could finish well again. He was willing to fight as many times as it took in order to claim Izzy as his own. But what if he lost again?
“So here is the choice I give you,” Robert said. “If we have contenders who wish to sign up and compete in a new round of Omega Games, I will be bound by my promise to respect that. New events will be planned, and the competition will take place next week. However, if no contenders come forward, if there is only a single member of our pack who wishes to claim the omega—” and here his eyes flashed to Wyatt briefly— “then the Games will be deemed irrelevant.
“So, I ask you now: who wants to put their name forth to compete for this omega? Step forward.”
Immediately, unthinkingly, Wyatt took a pace forward.
Van sat down on the ground and grinned up at him. Beside Van, James took a seat too.
Wyatt turned to face the rest of the pack. Some were already seated. Others seemed to be hesitating, weighing their options. Slowly, though, one by one, everyone sank to the ground. Lionel was the last on his feet, and for a horrible moment Wyatt thought he was going to insist that the competitions be redone. But then he, too, sat down on the earth, leaving only Wyatt, Robert, and the women of the pack on their feet.
Robert nodded. “Okay. The pack has spoken. With only one applicant, there’s no need for a competition. I hereby declare Wyatt to be the champion of the Omega Games, with all the rights that entails.
Wyatt couldn’t resist a moment longer. He ran across the field and swept Izzy up in his arms, spinning her around and kissing her. She was laughing, and she clung to him happily.
He set her back down on the ground and looked into her eyes. “You don’t have to stay with me,” he said. “I just want you to know that. If you’d rather not be with me, I understand.”
“Of course, I want to be with you, you idiot.” She kissed him again. “What do you think we went through all this for? Good grief!”
“Good.” He pulled her close, filled with relief at the mere sensation of her body next to his. “As long as it’s your decision. That’s all I want.”
“This is touching,” Heather spoke up, “but do you think we could get on the road? We have a long ride to get back home. If we hurry, we can make it before dark.”
“Not much of a romantic, are you?” Van asked with a grin, wrapping an arm around her waist. She gave him a playful shove in response.
Wyatt helped Izzy onto his bike and then climbed on in front of her. Her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. He started the engine and pulled the bike around to ride beside Robert, in the beta’s rightful position. For the first time since joining the Hell’s Wolves, he truly felt as if he belonged.
