Thank you.That gave me something else to worry about. From the sound of it, Davis was planning to somehow cheat in the fight that he wasn’t even part of. He hadn’t challenged me himself because he knew there was no way in hell he could win, so he’d talked someone else who couldn’t possibly win into doing it, which made no sense. I was usually pretty good at putting pieces together, but this was like trying to do a puzzle where half of the pieces were missing and half of the pieces that were present belonged to a different puzzle.
I had no time to sort it out as the rest of the arkhons and the Southeast Region alphas joined us. I couldn’t think under the gazes of somewhere around forty werewolves, some of whom were looking at me with something close to hatred while others looked at me with compassion and fear.
Yeah, this was going to suck.
The arkhons and alphas formed a wide circle around me. Zane, Paul, and Bob joined them, standing where I could see them from my current position, which I appreciated. At least I could look at friends.
As Edward strode to meet me, I scanned the circle. As the challenged party, it would be up to me to choose a monitor for the fight. Someone who would issue the commands to shift and begin, and who would declare the fight over when either Edward or I was dead. I had to choose carefully, just as I’d always done in the past. Assigning one of my friends or allies to be the monitor was a reasonable choice but left open the possibility that someone would assume there was collusion or favoritism. I needed someone who was either neutral or would be presumed to be on Edward’s side—but if I chose the latter, it had to be someone whocouldbe objective regardless of which of us they actually supported.
Given Bob’s information and the fact that right now, I had no way to know who was on whose side, someone neutral would be the wisest choice. Someone who didn’t care whether Edward or I lived. The arkhons all cared. All of them were under the Anax’s direct rule, whereas the alphas had the arkhons as another layer. Alphas from the Southeast Region would, in theory, be Edward’sallies, but I knew full well that alphas of any given region might or might not actually support their Arkhon.
So one of Edward’s alphas was the best choice. I wasn’t completely familiar with the Southeast Region, but the name of one pack in that region popped into my head because of the conversation with Max and Russ. The Alpha of Tosohatchee Pack would be the monitor for the fight. The train of thought leading to the decision was all over the place, but it felt right.
“We are here,” Edward said. “I have challenged Tobias Rogan, Anax of the United States, for rank. This fight shall be fair, with no interference of any kind, and the results shall be binding. Anax, have you any objections to proceeding with the fight?”
The question wasn’t part of the usual protocol, and I sensed fear beneath it.Heobjected to proceeding. He knew he wasn’t likely to survive, and like many of us, he had a strong sense of self-preservation. I had to wonder what Davis had held over him to get him to agree to challenge me.
I would probably never know the answer, and I didn’t feel like asking. “I have no objections, Arkhon. As you say, the fight shall be fair and the results binding, with no interference by anyone present or not present.” I threw that last bit in because if Davis was actually orchestrating things, I wanted to make sure he didn’t try anything. Not that my words would prevent it, but the compulsion with which I backed the words might.
“Anax, it is your right to choose the monitor for the fight.” Edward was stumbling over his words again. Varying from the usual phrasing tended to do that, but in his case, I suspected nerves had as much to do with it as anything. After a second, though, he got back on track with the correct words. “Who will give the signal?”
“I choose…” I paused for a second to let the Alpha’s name come to me. “Roy Ebenezer, Alpha of Tosohatchee Pack, to give the signal and ensure the fight runs to protocol.”
The Alpha stepped forward, shooting a glare at Edward that told me I’d made the right choice. Regardless of what Roy Ebenezer thought of me, he wasn’t one of Edward Cutler’sbiggest fans. “I accept the role with honor, Anax.”
“All are assembled here,” I said. “Let’s begin.”
“On my signal, you will shift and await my word to begin the fight,” Roy said. “The fight will end when one of you lies dead at the teeth and claws of the other. The victor will hold the rank of Anax of the United States.” He paused. “You may shift.”
Edward and I, backs to each other, stripped off our clothes and tossed them to the side. Someone came forward and picked up the clothing; I was too involved in the beginnings of my shift to register who it was.
The pain of shifting took over, wiping coherent thoughts out of my brain, which was probably a good thing. I lay on the ground, nude, and let my body take its wolf shape. The shape in which I would fight, as I had too many times before. In which I would kill, again something I’d done too many times, starting with the man who changed me.
For someone who didn’t kill lightly, I sure did it a lot.
When I completed my shift, I rose to my feet, ignoring the dull ache in my scarred leg. I felt that scar regardless of form. Edward took longer to shift than I did, so I sat down to wait for him. The fight couldn’t commence until we were both shifted and ready, and I wouldn’t be the one to start it when Roy gave the signal. Since I intended to be the last one standing, I would let Edward make the first move.
Finally, he struggled to his brown-furred feet and stood facing me. Roy cleared his throat. “The fight will be fair. No interference. It will end only when one of the combatants lies dead.” It was a repeat of what he’d already said, but I didn’t hold that against him. Sometimes repeating the words helped focus the intention. “When I give the signal, you will begin. When I signal that the fight has ended, the survivor will return to human form.” He paused, turning his head to see everyone in the circle, then looked at Edward and me again. “Begin.”
I stood but remained in my spot, waiting to see what my challenger would do. He moved uneasily back and forth, not coming near me, whining so softly I wondered if he waseven aware he was doing it. He couldn’t understand why I wasn’t attacking. He didn’t know I had no intention of doing so. I could have explained, but speaking to him through our bond would constitute interference, even if all I was doing was telling him to go ahead and attack. So I remained still and silent waiting for him to figure out what to do.
After far too long, he lunged toward me. I sidestepped easily, and he didn’t try to correct his trajectory. He wasn’t trying. He didn’t want this fight.
That made my job harder, but the challenge had been issued and answered, and the fight was underway. One of us had to die. I was damned if it would be me.
I spun to face him and again stilled. He couldn’t prolong this much more. It would show weakness, and he wouldn’t want that in front of the alphas of his region. One of us had to start the fight in earnest, and as much as I didn’t want it to be me, I wouldn’t let this drag on.
He came at me again, and this time he struck a blow with one paw, claws extended. I didn’t make a sound, even though the wound stung. It would heal. It was meaningless.The important thing was that now that he had drawn blood, I could fight back.
I growled to alert him that I was about to attack, and followed it instantly with a lunge that knocked him to the ground. He lay there, pinned on his back, as I stared down at him.
There was nothing in his eyes. No plea. No fear. No expression at all that I could name, and while as a wolf I didn’t have the vocabulary I did as a human, I was pretty sure the inability to name his expression was because there wasn’t one.
Those eyes were the eyes of a dead wolf, even though he was still alive. Still breathing. Whatever had convinced him to issue this challenge, it had also convinced him that his life was already at an end. That he was dead no matter what happened.
And so I obliged his clear wish and tore out his throat.
The coppery taste of blood filling my mouth pleased wolf-me. It nearly always did. All aspects of me agreed that killing without reason was wrong, but the wolf still enjoyed killingwhen it was called for. I kept my mouth on Edward’s throat and watched the faint light of life ebb from his eyes, waiting for the monitor to call an end to the fight.
