For the third time, Nic ran full out. His sides heaved, but the power of his pack pushed him forward. He felt stronger, more powerful, and more agile than ever before. Still, worry gripped him. As soon as he cut his tie to Chris, the view through his eyes had ended too. Nic couldn’t help but imagine the worst. He shoved the thoughts out and allowed his wolf’s protective instincts to flare. Failure was not acceptable in either his or his animal’s mind. They would save their mate.
He pushed on, skidding on the wet leaves on the forest floor. The quickest path from the ceremonial circle to his house was down the steepest part of the hill. A rocky outcropping loomed ahead of him. He ran toward it and jumped, landing on his paws at the bottom. His backyard stretched out in front of him.
The sounds of wolves fighting reached his ears, but he focused on the sight of Riley held against Maria’s body. Riley struggled to free herself, and both Nic and his wolf growled.
Maria whipped her head to the side.
Riley’s eyes widened. “Nic!”
He glanced from Maria’s hands to the fangs filling her mouth. While claws didn’t tip her fingers, the danger to Riley remained the same. Nic wanted Maria’s blood. If she chose, she could unleash her sharpened nails and kill Riley before he could get to her. He shifted, knowing brute strength or speed wouldn’t save his true mate. Words would.
“Let her go, Maria.” Nic stepped closer, his hands held loosely at his sides, an attempt not to look as threatening. He didn’t want the female he’d dismissed to take her anger out on Riley.
“John is dead, and Chris is—” Maria clamped her hand over Riley’s mouth, muffling her words.
“Fighting for his life,” Maria finished her statement.
He swept his gaze over the house, noted the broken door leading out to the deck that spanned the back of the house and the small, black female wolf leaping through the open doorway. Two more of Nic’s pack members followed Hannah. Help had arrived. The foolish shifters who’d killed John would suffer before joining him.
“Not for much longer. Your pack members who thought to attack my female will soon be dead.”
“Along with one of your own, honorary or not. There was no reason for anyone to get hurt tonight.” Maria motioned from Riley’s exposed bite mark to the house where the sounds of fighting grew louder. “But you see, Nic? This is what happens when you fall in love with the wrong person. They become a liability, and people die.”
“Riley’s not a weakness.” He walked closer, not taking his gaze off of Maria. “And finding your true mate is never wrong. Neither is mating them.”
Maria laughed, a bitter and broken sound. “It is when they’re human. They’re weak.”
He sighed. Apparently, he’d misread Quinn’s interest in Maria. “So, what? Do you think if you kill my true mate that I’ll want you instead? I won’t.”
Wide-eyed, Maria shook her head. “Is that what you think? That I’d kill an innocent? For you?”
“Prove me wrong. Let Riley go.”
“I was trying to save her. I know those wolves.” Maria dropped her hands and stepped back. She pointed toward the house. “They’re friends of my broth—”
The low snarl of an enraged wolf stopped Maria’s words. She pivoted on her heel at the same time as Nic lurched forward. He placed himself between both females and the gray wolf standing several feet away.
Four more wolves loped closer and placed themselves on either side of Derek. He shifted and glared at Maria. “You whore. You’ll bleed for interfering in my affairs.”
“Maybe, but you’ll die tonight, brother.”
“You’re wrong, sister. The Kagan alpha and his mate will be the only ones who die.”
Nic unleashed his claws but resisted his first instinct to rush toward the male who’d threatened Riley’s life. The presence of the wolves flanking Derek kept Nic in place. He couldn’t risk them going after Riley the moment he attacked Derek.
Movement from the shadows near the house caught Nic’s attention. Hannah approached along with Chris and several more of their dominants. Nic only had to wait until the right moment to leap the distance between him and Derek.
Nic took a single step forward, drawing Derek’s attention back to him where Nic wanted it. “And this is how the great Tanner wolves take over a new pack, by attacking the weakest members first?”
Derek shook his head. “No, it’s called planning. I’ve been waiting until tonight to take out your human bitch. I’ve known about her partial bite for weeks. Ben was kind enough to tell me before he died.”
Nic’s heart skipped a beat, but he didn’t allow the shock to show. He couldn’t. The other male didn’t need any sign of weakness to exploit.
“You’ve got your facts mixed up.” Nic motioned behind him. There was no point in denying the evidence visible on Riley’s body. “Do you not see the raw wound on her shoulder? I’ve only just mated her tonight.”
Derek’s gaze drifted to the woods and the movement among the trees. More of the Kagan pack’s members approached. Derek grinned, not the reaction Nic expected.
“Good.” Derek curled his fingers. “Our witnesses have arrived.”
Nic’s wolf tensed. Its low snarl filled his head, warning him to tread carefully. No doubt it sensed the same thing Nic did. The one-hour window marking the full moon’s peak hadn’t passed. The future of the pack could still be altered.
Nic took a step forward, allowing his werewolf form to alter his image. “And what would we need witnesses for?”
Derek matched the partial shift but didn’t close the distance between them. “Our challenge, of course. I will take your life and your pack.”
Nic cursed. He couldn’t back down from a challenge made in front of his pack, nor could he attack the other shifter outside of the ceremonial grounds. It would mark him as weak, too afraid to accept the fight. He couldn’t risk allowing anyone to think he wasn’t worthy, not with Riley’s life on the line.
“If you wish to die tonight, so be it. Send your wolves home.” He motioned to the shifters flanking Derek. “And we’ll take this to the circle.”
Derek waved his arm. “Go.”
Nic waited for the shifters to retreat before he met Hannah’s gaze. “Take Riley somewhere safe until I return for her.”
Hannah, still in her wolf form, dipped her head slightly in acknowledgment.
“Oh, now that would be against the rules. An alpha’s mate must be present at a challenge. Only death excuses her absence.” Derek grinned. “And your pretty little mate looks alive to me.”
“Riley is human. She’s not allowed on our sacred grounds.”
“That is a problem, isn’t it?” Derek rubbed at his chin. “So is the whole issue of not being able to carry your child.”
“Don’t worry yourself over the challenges my pack faces.”
“But if I don’t, who will? Your weak pack members don’t seem to care that you’ve damned them.” Derek shook his head. “I’m only bringing about the inevitable end.”
Nic inwardly cursed but couldn’t say anything. He’d already implied they were mated. He tipped his head in Hannah’s direction. “Bring the car around.”
He held Derek’s gaze until Hannah returned with their SUV. Out of the corner of his eye, Nic saw Chris ushering Riley into the vehicle and climbing in next to her. Nic breathed a sigh once the SUV drove off, but his relief didn’t last long.
Derek shifted and trotted toward the ceremonial grounds. Nic followed behind him. The meadow where he’d knelt less than an hour ago loomed before him. Riley waited with Chris and Hannah next to Nic’s SUV. No worry showed on Riley’s face. Confidence did. It was what was expected of an alpha’s mate. She stood as his beacon of strength and a reminder of what Nic fought for—their future, no matter where it took them.
He caught her gaze and held it, showing all those watching she was his equal. A smile spread over her beautiful face. She dipped her head slightly, never breaking their gaze. He matched her, acknowledging her and letting her see the love he felt. Time didn’t allow for more, however.
Nic turned away and faced Derek, who stood just inside the circle’s edge. Once the current alpha crossed the line, the world would be sealed off, enclosing the challengers inside until only one remained alive.
Long strides closed the distance between them. Nic stepped over the ceremonial boundary. The shimmering wall he’d seen earlier in the night encased them. Without another wasted moment, he rushed Derek.
They collided and rolled. Clawed hands raked Nic’s sides. The sharp pain meant nothing to him. He grabbed the other male and slammed him into the ground. Derek’s moan satisfied his need to make the shifter suffer, but Nic couldn’t give in to the urge to torture him. The sooner Nic won the challenge, the better.
Derek brought his knees into Nic’s chest and shoved Nic back with a kick that centered on his gut. Nic landed on his hip and hopped to his feet a moment later. They circled each other, once then twice more, each looking for an opening to strike. Derek’s nervous glance toward the full moon gave it to him. Nic too felt time slipping by. No more than a couple of minutes remained of the moon’s peak.
Nic dove at Derek’s legs, knocking him off balance. Again, Nic followed him down. He dug sharpened nails into Derek’s gut, holding him in place, and clamped his other clawed hand around Derek’s neck.
The muffled sound of squealing tires reached Nic’s ears. He whipped his head to the side in time to see a black truck skidding across the grass behind his house. It turned onto the same road Riley had taken to reach the top of the hill. It was the only way a car could reach the pack’s sacred grounds, both their burial plot and the ceremonial circle.
He jumped to his feet, instinct driving his actions. There was only one reason an unknown vehicle would be on their private road. Riley was in danger. He had to save her. Nothing else mattered.
Nic ran toward the edge of the circle. He never made it there. Derek dug his sharpened nails into Nic’s shoulders and slammed him into the wall enclosing the circle, reminding him of their situation. He had to kill Derek before saving Riley. In the next breath, Derek tossed Nic backward, away from Riley.
No! He needed to get to her. He shifted into his werewolf form, jumped to his feet and charged Derek, who blocked him from Riley. They met in a slam of bodies and snapping jaws. Nic grabbed Derek’s hair and tugged his head back, offering Nic the bloodless kill he sought. Riley didn’t need to see her lover rip another male’s throat out.
He grasped Derek’s neck and wrenched it to the side. The crack of snapping bone resounded in the night. Nic didn’t allow himself to enjoy the win or the death of his enemy. He dropped the shifter’s lifeless body and ran. All he cared about was getting to Riley.
The walls disappeared before he reached the edge. The truck he’d spied moments before closed the distance. Chris and another dominant charged the moving vehicle while Hannah pushed Riley’s head down, urging her to the ground. His little sister curled around Riley, protecting Nic’s true mate with her body. No! Neither female would die or suffer a moment of pain, not if Nic could stop it.
He pushed himself harder but watched helplessly as the truck’s window opened. A flash of silver showed a second before a shot fired. Nic leapt for Riley and Hannah. He landed in front of them, saving them from the bullet aimed at their heads. It embedded in Nic’s shoulder instead. He grunted with the impact but dismissed the burning pain a moment later.
He pivoted and scanned the clearing, looking for the shifter who’d tried to kill Riley. Chris pulled him from the truck, while the other dominant who’d followed Chris pummeled the driver’s face with his fists.
Nic ran toward them. Riley called his name, worry in her tone, but he couldn’t comfort her. The fight playing out in front of him had to stop. Enough blood had been shed. The Tanner shifters should be punished for trying to kill Riley, but whether they deserved death was another thing.
The possibility they were only following Derek’s direction couldn’t be dismissed. Combined with a blood oath, any command given to the shifters would be nearly impossible to ignore.
Nic’s chest tightened on a wave of frustration and anger. A blood oath would explain why the Tanner protector had attacked Nic’s dad. The convulsions the shifter had experienced added to Nic’s theory. Physical pain accompanied any resistance to a blood oath. And the male’s apology right before he committed suicide? It almost guaranteed Nic’s thoughts.
He inwardly cursed. He should’ve considered the possibility sooner and prevented the tragedy, but his mind hadn’t been clear enough to focus. The constant battle of wills with his wolf had left Nic and his pack vulnerable.
No longer. Riley fixed him. She bridged both sides of him, made him into a true alpha and saved his pack mates from suffering under the depraved Tanner wolf’s rule.
She truly was the Kagan pack’s guardian angel.
For her, he had to stop the fight. She respected life and hated the senseless killing the Tanner pack embraced.
“Stop!” Nic yelled.
The dominant who fought with the driver of the truck froze midswing. Chris didn’t. He slammed the bleeding Tanner male into the side of the truck, denting the door. The shifter groaned. His eyes rolled back, and his head lolled to the side, exposing his vulnerable neck. Chris raised his clawed hand, ready to strike the final blow.
“No.” Nic caught Chris’s forearm. “Nobody else dies tonight.”
Chris snarled. A wild glint hazed his eyes, and the muscles under Nic’s palm tensed. “He deserves death. They all do! Animals, that’s all they are! I’ll rip all their throats out.”
Caught up in the frenzy of the night and the backlash of losing his lover, Chris didn’t resemble the male Nic knew him to be. It was understandable. Chris hurt. He needed someone to help him remember who he was. Nic did that without saying a word or unleashing his claws. He held Chris’s gaze and waited, offering Chris the connection to the pack he required to overcome the powerful natural drive demanding revenge.
After an endless moment, Chris squeezed his eyes shut. “They killed John.”
Nic released Chris. A mistake, maybe, but Nic didn’t think so. “No. They didn’t. One shifter killed John, not the entire pack, and that shifter’s dead.”
Chris opened his eyes. “I killed him.”
“As was your right as John’s partner. But this male”—Nic motioned to the unconscious shifter Chris held—“didn’t touch John. You take his life, and you’ll be no different from them. And you are. You’re a Kagan.”
“You’re right. I am.” Chris dropped his hands. The Tanner wolf slumped to the ground. Chris faced Nic and lowered his voice. “Thank you.”
The tension drained from Nic’s shoulders. He nodded.
Hannah slipped between them. She grabbed the Tanner male’s arm. “Come on, Chris. Let’s get him secured tonight. His pack can pass judgment on him tomorrow.”
“I’ve got him.” Chris took the shifter from her and draped his limp body over his shoulder. He shouted orders to the other dominants to round up any Tanners on their pack lands and lock them up for the night as per their alpha’s order.
“They’ll kill him, not punish him as he deserves.” Riley’s voice came from right behind Nic.
He turned. She stood with her hands loose at her sides and shoulders relaxed, but worry lingered in her eyes. Her gaze strayed to the blood dripping down his arm. She wouldn’t ask him if he was okay, not with an audience.
He held out his hand to her. She took it, and he pulled her into his embrace. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and whispered, “Your mate is strong. I’m fine.”
“I know. I just needed to hold you.”
He needed her touch too. Peace settled over him, despite the horrors of the night. The brief moment in her arms strengthened him. Nic wished he could carry her away, but he had a responsibility to his pack and his sister. He’d felt Hannah’s distress in a way he never had before, a consequence of the spirit wolf and his blood tie to her, Nic guessed. No matter. As with Chris, Nic would help her.
He kissed Riley’s neck and eased back.
“You’re right. The Tanner pack probably will kill him for failing in his order to take you out.” He responded to Riley’s earlier words.
“They should never have attacked us in the first place. A dominant challenging you is one thing. But this?” Riley motioned toward the truck. “Their actions tonight could be reason enough to start a pack war.”
“I won’t take it that far.” Doing so would endanger his pack and violate the agreement the shifter community had made with the humans, the one promising a peaceful coexistence. If it came down to a war, innocents, both human and shifter, would get caught up in it.
“But will they keep the peace?”
After Nic not only killed Derek, but refused Maria as his mate? Nic shook his head. “I’ll set up a meeting. Hopefully, we can reach a truce.”
“Even if they agree to one, they won’t honor it. They’ll wait until our guard is down to strike.” Hannah sighed. “But I can’t do anything to stop them yet.”
Nic pointedly glanced at his pack mates who lingered close by, then jerked his chin in the direction of the woods, a silent order to leave. One by one, they slipped into the night, leaving him alone with Riley and Hannah.
He faced Hannah. “Yet, huh? You’re still going to follow through with your crazy plan to get Ethan to mate you and take over the Tanner pack?”
“Yes. I am.” She stood as tall as her five-foot-one frame allowed.
“What about all your talk of love and true mates?”
“Love is one of the reasons I’m doing it. True mates, no matter how unorthodox the pairing, should be allowed to be together, and those who won’t let them are bullies who deserve to be knocked down a notch.”
“Bullies?” Nic frowned. “You’re not making any sense. What—”
“Nic?” Hannah cut him off.
“Yeah?”
“Let it go for now.” Hannah motioned toward Riley. “Take your mate home and enjoy the fact that you found your way back to her.”
“Thanks to you.”
A wry smile tugged at Hannah’s mouth. “Yep. Just call me Cupid.”
With that, she turned and walked away.
Riley stepped in front of him and placed her palms over his chest. “Thank you, Nic.”
“For what?”
“Saving that man’s life, protecting our pack, helping Chris remember who he is.” She grinned. “Everything, really, but mostly for being mine.”
“Forever, Riley. I’m yours forever.” He slipped his arm around her waist. “How about you dig this bullet out before my skin closes over it? Because you and I have plans tonight.”
“Do we?”
He brushed his lips over her cheek. “Uh-huh, I’m going to finish what we started and claim my true mate officially. I love you, Riley Kagan.”
“And I love you. Forever, no matter what life has in store for us.”
“Or who joins it. Do you understand?” Nic let her see the truth in his eyes. “Whether we’re blessed with a kid or not doesn’t change how I feel about you. The only thing it’ll change is who gets to house our pack’s spirit next.”
Tears collected on her lashes. “You’re an amazing man, Nic Kagan.”
“And finally one who’s worthy of you.”