“Alpha rights are an ancient ritual. I don’t think anyone has claimed them in hundreds of years.”
“That doesn’t help me, Dimitris. What are they? Is this like a duel or something?”
Dimitris took her by the hand and pulled her onto the couch so that she sat across his lap. “Not quite. Alpha rights are when an alpha extends a claim to another alpha’s pack. The two arrange to fight to the death. It’s a winner-take-all battle. If I win, I get his pack. If he wins, he gets mine.”
“So he gets me. If he wins I lose you, and he gets me.” She could hear the panic in her voice. Her wolf howled inside her head. It urged her to stand and pace, but Dimitris held her close preventing her from bolting from his lap.
“He won’t win, Cate. He’s young and impulsive. I don’t think he quite knows what he has gotten himself into. Hopefully his second will be able to talk some sense into him. He would lose face if he had to retract his claim, but at least he would be alive.”
She pushed away. “But what if he doesn’t? What if he goes through with it? What if —” Cate’s voice hitched higher, her wolf’s howls were escaping her throat in small bursts. After a few beats she swallowed. “I don’t like this. Tell him no. Get Alek to call his second and say you refuse.”
Dimitris pulled her close again. She struggled against his arms. “I can’t. If I say no I give up my right to the pack which means I give up my right to you. The only way to save my pack and to save you is to fight him tonight. Only he can call it off.”
“But it’s barbaric.”
“It is. I never imagined that he would make this claim. I expected a battle, or perhaps an effort to kidnap you. I did not expect this.”
She cried hot tears against his neck. “So what do we do?” His hands patted her between the shoulders, the gesture intended to calm, but she was beyond calming now.
“I need you to be strong, my Cate. Our pack needs you to be strong.” She sniffed against his skin. “The males will go with me tonight. I want you and the pack’s females to stay here with the children.” She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off. “I will not be able to concentrate if you are there. I need all of my focus to defeat Noah.” He paused waiting for her to agree. Silently she nodded her head against his shoulder. “If things do not go as planned, I want you to take everyone and run. Go to Scotland. My father and brother will take you in until the pack can return to you.”
She lifted her head and wiped at her eyes. “But if you don’t win, Noah gets the pack. I thought you said that was the rule.”
“Normally, that would be true. But I know something that Noah doesn’t. It’s important for you to stay safe and keep our women protected. Promise me that you will go to Scotland right away if things don’t go as planned.”
“I will do my best to protect our pack.”
Dimitris looked over her head to the men still standing in the room. “Leave.” The single word command sent his kinsmen scrambling. When the last had left the room, he gently laid her back on the couch. “No more crying.” His finger wiped a tear from her cheek. “Everything is going to be fine. You’ll see.”
Her tears came faster and he bent his head to kiss them away. His nose nuzzled her cheek and he inhaled deeply. “You smell good, my Cate. Did I ever tell you that you smell like cinnamon and coffee? I never liked the stuff before I met you, but it’s become my favorite drink. I had the office stocked with flavored coffee. When I’m not with you, I brew a cup just so I can breathe it in.”
“I’d rather you breathe me in. If you promise to stay safe I’ll go to your office every day and you can sniff me whenever you want.”
“I have a few hours before I have to leave. Maybe I could spend that time memorizing your scent.” He bent and lifted her in his big arms. “Let’s go upstairs.”
fourteen
Cate’s wolf was on its worst behavior, clawing, howling, and snapping inside her mind. No amount of begging would calm the beast. To make matters worse, her ears picked up every sound that was made in the house. More than twenty women and children had taken up temporary residence since Dimitris and the other males had left for the alpha rights battle, and the noise was deafening. Hoping to find some quiet, she wandered outside for a while until she found herself standing by the pool. Her breath hitched when she remembered Dimitris’ penetrating gaze as he propelled himself from the water. That was only ten days ago, but in some ways it felt like an eternity.
Although the mansion was enormous, there was no place, inside or out, she could go to escape the cacophony. Forcing her mind to focus on a single conversation, she tuned her internal radio to a station she liked. Snippets of children’s conversation were blocked out by unsavory bathroom noises.Change the channel, Cate!One teen lamented that he didn’t get to witness the battle.Dumb ass.A woman cried, fearful that Dimitris would lose. Cate wanted to smack that woman for daring to doubt her mate. She pressed on to change the channel but stopped when she heard Mikaela’s voice answer.
“Pray to the Goddess that Dimitris wins this battle. He has been a good alpha. We do not want to lose him.”
“I have prayed, but I cannot stop my worry.”
“Worry for Dimitris, but do not worry about the pack. Noah White will never take control as long as we have Cate. She is as much an alpha as Dimitris. Noah would have to kill her, too, to gain control.”
“That’s what Ivan said. He said that as long as Cate lives, we will never follow Noah.”
“Exactly. Noah does not know of Cate’s alpha status. He thinks that by killing Dimitris he can have her, but the Goddess has other plans.”
In a panic Cate switched channels. Peter and Connor giggled at the antics of The Mighty Grape. She shoved the sounds to the back of her mind, allowing herself to contemplate what Mikaela had just said.She is as much an alpha as Dimitris.How could that be? Dimitris was the leader, the heart and soul of the pack. Why would the others believe Cate is his equal?
Her wolf growled, pulling her attention inward. The hair on the back of its neck bristled and its lips pulled back. Cate willed it to submit, to calm itself so she could think, but it would not.Submission!Her mind latched onto the word. During the mating ceremony the entire pack had submitted to her — all but Dimitris. He had willed her to submit but she fought it.Finally, genius,her wolf growled. Cate understood now. She did not submit to Dimitris and he did not submit to her. In this pack they were equals.
Which means you should be at the alpha rights battle,her wolf growled again.
The drive took longer than Cate had anticipated. Not knowing where the battle was didn’t help. After she had driven far enough away from the house, she called Mikaela to let her know where she had gone. The older shifter was not happy that she had left, but gave her the directions anyway. Cate suspected it was due to her alpha status, but perhaps the older woman had simply taken pity on her.
