She wasn’t sure if the situation could get much worse than the idea that Savage was headed for a cataclysmic event. She thought back to hauling Fergus out of the Graveyard, but to what purpose? To lead the charge in a war? To mate with him? To become a fae-wolf? Would his pack ever accept a woman like her?
There was a larger question, however, one she struggled to ask given the bizarre and swift way events had moved over the past forty-eight hours. But she needed to ask it because it went to basic mental health, something even an alter person had to honor: Did she even want this, any of it?
Somehow, though, she knew she’d already answered the question the moment she’d agreed to come to Savage in the first place. Yes, Sharon had persuaded her and yes, she’d felt it in her bones as well that she would be needed here. But it had been her choice, one she’d made willingly.
She calculated the number of times she’d played a part in either saving Fergus’s life or keeping him safe. The numbers kept stacking up. Would this be her role even beyond the last few encounters?
As Warren reached the final few tables, Mary saw that he looked solemn. But the color of his eyes had deepened to a lustrous emerald. She glanced past him to his wolves and knew that the way he’d just connected with them had added to the beauty of his eyes.
Something inside her leaped with pleasure and joy combined. The fae part of her could appreciate what she knew he’d just experienced. She turned to Fergus and marveled at him as well.
At the exact same moment, she realized how much pain the severed bond had cost Fergus. The alpha responsibility of leading came with a deep emotional connection to those in his care. Where Sydon would abuse and torture his pack, men like Warren and Fergus would serve and protect, the same way they performed their jobs on the border patrol.
Without giving it too much thought, she slid her arm around Fergus’s neck. When he turned to her, his eyes lit with surprise, she kissed him on the lips. The wolf in her knew it would be acceptable in any pack setting. She also knew everyone present was aware she was a female with the ability to become Fergus’s alpha-mate. Little was hidden in pack life.
Fergus’s eyes glowed amber in the same way Warren’s had shown with a more intense emerald light. She saw the pleasure in his eyes, and not just because theirs was a sexual relationship.
You honor me, he said.
I admire the hell out of you, Fergus. She felt dizzy suddenly and could detect the nature of his dreams. And you’re right. Savage will need men like you and Warren.
You’re feeling it as well.
Like a distant rumbling and nothing good.
At last, Warren moved in the direction of Mary’s table. He sat down opposite Fergus and immediately two wolves brought him his meal, which included a large tankard of beer and a steak two inches thick.
He made no apologies as he picked up knife and fork and settled in.
Between bites and a large swallow of beer, he addressed Fergus. “What time is the dominance fight set for?”
“We’re on in an hour.”
Mary drew in a long, slow breath. Her gaze skittered away from both men. In an hour, Fergus would battle to regain his pack. She felt confident Fergus could beat Sydon, no question about that. From what she’d heard about the initial match, Fergus had been well on his way to taking Sydon down when the skewer struck home.
This time Sydon wouldn’t be wearing his wrist guards. But would he have some other nefarious trick up his sleeve?
~ ~ ~
The nearest underground sand pit arena was big enough to house the leaders of the Gordion Pack, Sydon’s rogue pack, and Warren’s Caldion Pack. Named the Sand Boulder for the massive boulders left intact at the southern and northern entrance-exit points, the arena pit sat halfway between Warren and Fergus’s compounds.
Fergus had already changed into his tan leather gladiator briefs. He wore an amber cloak over his shoulders that hung to the floor, but nothing else, not even shoes.
He left the pre-battle room and levitated down the tunnel that led into the arena. Mary was on his right, Warren on his left. His wolf blood flowed hot, and his muscles in his arms and legs contracted and released, ready for a fight.
The last time he’d traveled this tunnel was just before his first dominance battle against Sydon. At the time, Fergus had felt equal to the task of taking Sydon down. He knew his strength, and Sydon, despite his power level, couldn’t compete with him. Sydon’s confidence, however, should have been a warning to Fergus that the wolf was up to something. Yet even now, Fergus was shocked that any wolf would have resorted to using a blade in a dominance match. When it came to honor and ethics, clearly Sydon wasn’t interested.
At the very least, Sydon wouldn’t be allowed to wear wrist guards. He’d only have on his dark gray gladiator briefs and nothing else. He’d be weapon-free and the match should be equal. Because the fae part of Fergus felt uneasy, however, his focus became fixed as much on Sydon’s nature as his batting skills.
When he reached the tunnel opening, he dropped down from levitation to walk along the stone pavers. He had a limited view of the arena, but he wanted a good look around before he headed to his staging platform.
In the center, a full sixty feet down from the top row of seats, was the pit. It was filled with sand two feet deep and smoothed with the back of a rake. During a dominance battle, limited levitation was allowed and a combatant could only shift into his wolf form when he surrendered the field.
Punching, kicking and wrestling moves were all allowed, but no biting and no weapons of any kind.
The seats were already filled, the bulk with the members of the Gordion Pack, who would be most affected by the outcome. He sensed the partial bond his wolves had already forged with Sydon. He wasn’t surprised by it, but it fired up his blood even more.
Fergus recognized the gray logo patches of Sydon’s force since the wolves hovered near the south entrance-exit.
As he began to walk out from the tunnel, along the path that led to his platform, his gaze moved in a strong arc, watching for any sign of trouble. Warren’s pack drew close from the sides of the path, guarding him. Wolves were volatile and the presence of Sydon’s loyal rogue pack was a bad sign. Sydon had no fear and neither did his wolves. The air was charged with wolf adrenaline, which had his heart pumping.
When he turned and began to mount the stairs leading up to his platform, the Gordion wolves began a rousing applause that soon thundered through the space. As the howling started, his throat closed up with emotion. He loved every single one of the men and women present and he knew each by name. He’d worked hard for years to do right by his pack.
No one in his pack lacked food, shelter or the opportunity to move up in the ranks as powers emerged. No one was made to feel small or insignificant. Not everyone was born with muscle power and some of his top people, though lowest in pack rank, served as accountants and job placement staffers that kept his people happy.
To see how much he was valued meant more to him than he could possibly say. He’d do everything he could to win this battle. His wounds were healed, and he was ready.
He pressed a fist to his chest, then lifted his arm high. His wolves shouted, howled and stamped their feet all over again until the noise was deafening. Both Warren and Mary waited discreetly at the bottom of the platform stairs.
Opposite him, beyond the blank canvas of sand, was Sydon’s still empty platform.
When the applause began to abate, he shifted his arm, holding it out to Mary and Warren, gesturing to each in turn. Warren started to ascend, but stopped when Mary didn’t join him.
Fergus sensed Mary’s hesitation. What is it?
Her eyes were wide. I’m not sure where I should be. Maybe I should take a seat nearby.
Her voice in his head caused him to pivot fully in her direction. He waved her forward. I want you beside me. I might even need you here. But I also want the Gordion Pack to know my intentions toward you, though I suspect they already do.
<
br /> She nodded. He could feel her nerves, and he understood why she was uncertain of her role. For one thing, she’d never been in a dominance sand pit before. The size of it, compared to anything else in Five Bridges, was staggering and the wolves made a lot of noise.
I’m not afraid, if that’s what you’re thinking, Fergus. But I don’t want to intrude where I shouldn’t.
Again, you’re too many steps ahead of this process. If nothing else, I want your fae senses at full bore while I’m battling Sydon. I don’t know if he has anything planned, but it’s possible he might. You’re the one person here, without the single-minded focus of the wolf nature, who can be a second pair of eyes for me. So, besides the fact that I want you close to me, I’m also looking out for my own ass.
He felt her relax at these last words, and she mounted the few steps to his platform. A tall stone wall backed the space protectively, but Warren’s toughest wolves had already filled in the seats beyond the wall.
She took Fergus’s hand as she drew near, and he squeezed it to reassure her. For now, stick close.
She gripped his hand harder in response. I will.
A commotion on the opposite side of the arena drew his attention. Sydon appeared at the end of his tunnel, to which Fergus had a direct view. Several Gordion wolves escorted him. He wore a charcoal gray cloak, his hair had the usual oily appearance, and his lips were pulled back in a sneer.
Maybe it was the obvious disdain in his expression, but a profound booing started up and rose in volume as he began his ascent up to his platform. Despite the pack’s semi-bond with Sydon, Fergus was proud of his wolves for expressing their disapproval of the man.
Sydon flipped his cape back and lifted an arm, theatrically acknowledging the boos of a large portion of the audience.
At the same time that Sydon took center-stage on his platform, his rogue pack marched in and filled in the seats directly behind Sydon’s protective wall. The number staggered Fergus since that area alone could hold up to two hundred wolves.
Mary’s voice entered his mind. I can’t believe the council allowed Sydon’s rogues to support him like this.
Fergus kept his gaze fixed on Sydon, who now continued to wave intermittently at the hostile crowd.
Without a legal challenge in the Tribunal court, he’s the Gordion Pack alpha. In a technical sense, he can add as many wolves to the pack as he wants. According to pack law, once I shifted into my wolf state, it meant I quit the field of battle.
She offered a scoffing snort, very wolf. You were stuck with a skewer, your heart severely damaged. Then you were hauled out of here and dumped in the Graveyard. How is that considered ‘quitting the field’?
Her words lightened his spirit, and he smiled. I guess I have to agree.
When another heavy round of boos slid through the crowd, Mary leaned close. Do you think word has gotten out about the skewer?
I’m sure it has, Fergus said. And this is one of the few opportunities when a pack can express its disdain for an alpha’s conduct.
Well, if there was ever anyone who deserved to be castigated by a large number of people, it’s that asshole.
Fergus chuckled and turned to Mary. Asshole, huh?
At the very least. A lot of other words come to mind, but I’m not saying them as a matter of courtesy.
He squeezed her hand again. I’m glad you’re here.
Me, too. But is it wrong to say I’m nervous as hell? Though just to be clear, she added, I’m not worried about the dominance battle.
I know. I’m not either. I can take Sydon. But there’s a current in the air more troubling than anything I’ve experienced since I arrived in Five Bridges.
She nodded. I can feel it as well, as though the entire territory is about to be turned on its head.
CHAPTER EIGHT
MARY FORCED HER wolf to calm down. The atmosphere in the arena hit every nerve in her body and kept her heart beating hard. But she had to think. Her wolf was second in her alter being, despite its love of the energy in the air.
Her fae, which relied more on instinct than raw animal power and quick reactions, needed to have skin in the game as well. Fergus, do you want me to do a quick dreamglide? See if we missed anything? All I would need is for you to hold me close and let me rest my head on your shoulder.
You think you can create one in this noisy gathering?
Yes. I just need to be supported.
Go ahead then. He slid his arm tightly around her waist, drawing her close.
She leaned her head against his shoulder and dropped quickly into a deep meditation. What surprised her was that she didn’t fall unconscious, but instead remained upright. When they’d made love, she’d been fully awake in both realities. The same seemed to be true here. But being supported by Fergus gave her a sense of security.
The moment she was in her dreamglide, she telepathed, I’m in.
And you’re not unconscious?
No, I’m not, but it helps to have you support me since I’m on my feet.
This is changing too, isn’t it? Fergus asked.
Everything is. Within the dreamglide, she gained her bearings. She was directly above Fergus. All right, let me find out what’s going on.
She piloted the craft over the sand pit and headed immediately toward Sydon and his crew. When she was directly overhead, she moved slowly up the rows, but nothing seemed to be out of place. With the seats made of stone, little could be hidden.
Where are you now, Mary?
I’m over Sydon’s rogue troops but I’m not finding anything. They’re clean. I’m going to make a pass over the rest of the spectators.
Okay. Detail it for me.
She gave him a blow-by-blow as she made her way first around all the seats then outside at the north entrance, then the south. She made a quick trip over the surrounding pines as well. The forest looks clear.
Okay. Then get back here because the referee is heading down into the pit right now. The dominance challenge is about to start, and he’ll announce me first.
She smiled at the ‘get back here’ part. She could move the dreamglide to China, but she didn’t have to make the return trip to come back to herself. All she had to do was let the dreamglide go, which she did. She lifted her head. “I’m back,” she said aloud.
“That was fast.”
“I might have been over the forest, but in terms of distance, it doesn’t really exist. As real as the dreamglide is, it’s still a product of a dream sequence.”
The referee began his introduction of Fergus, listing his former rank as alpha of the Gordion Pack and his challenge to Sydon. No mention was made of the skewer, however.
She felt a tremor of pure excitement run through Fergus. She instinctively stepped away from him and as she did, he withdrew his arm from around her waist. She could sense how focused he became, intent on the battle ahead.
As Fergus dropped his cloak, then levitated off the platform and into the sand pit, Mary resisted the urge to reach for him, to pull him back. It was an odd impulse since she was fully on board with what needed to happen here. But she felt protective of him at the same time, as though her job had become to ensure his safety no matter what. Was that part of the role of an alpha-female?
So much was at stake. Mostly, Fergus needed to bring the Gordion Pack under his care once more. No one in their right mind would argue this wasn’t the priority.
The crowd fell silent. That alone was an extraordinary circumstance given the general noise the wolves had been making the entire time. Yet the bite to the air remained.
Another round of boos sounded as the referee began his introduction of Sydon. The referee continued to state Sydon’s stats despite the ruckus and hissing. Mary thought all the noise appropriate given Sydon’s heinous conduct against Fergus and the Gordion Pack.
When the wolves grew quiet again, everyone’s attention became focused on the men now standing in the middle of the sand pit not ten feet apart. By her best visual calculation,
the pit area was an oval twenty yards long and about fifteen yards wide. With limited levitation allowed, the space didn’t need to be bigger.
The referee wore the Savage Pack Council’s dark blue-and-white striped long sleeved shirt and quickly called out the rules. So far the event was unfolding just as Mary had been told it would. She could see Fergus’s muscles twitch. The wolf was ready.
Another wave of dread, however, passed through her. Something wasn’t right. Sydon and his men were too relaxed, too confident. Yet, she’d checked their seats, she’d made a circuit of the arena and she’d even gone into the forest. But she’d found nothing unusual or troubling.
Yet a powerful concern remained.
The referee shouted, “Let the battle begin!”
A roar rose up from the crowd and at the same moment, Fergus lowered his shoulders and headed straight for Sydon. He looked like he meant to slam into his chest, but instead at the last second threw a right punch that caught Sydon off guard. Sydon flew back. He ended up sitting in the sand and rubbing his jaw.
A howling cheer went up so loud, it was all Mary could do to keep from joining the wolves herself.
A split-second later, Sydon was on his feet. He came at Fergus hard and caught Fergus in the ribs with his foot. Fergus doubled over, then spun on his heel. Sand sprayed.
Sydon missed a second kick, but that allowed Fergus to catch his foot. He did a back-flip which turned Sydon’s leg and sent him once more into the sand.
Fergus didn’t stay put long. He levitated, pivoted horizontally, then plowed into Sydon’s stomach. Fergus drew up, gathered his strength and headed straight back for him.
But Sydon retreated quickly, spun in the sand at the same time then levitated off at an angle. Fergus missed him by an inch and his momentum caused him to tumble forward into the sand.
Turning in the air, Sydon aimed straight at him. It seemed to Mary that Fergus looked dazed, but it was a ruse. The moment Sydon drew close, Fergus flipped over, putting himself out of Sydon’s reach. But at the last moment, he caught Sydon’s ankle.