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35
A hush fell over the crowd. Their eyes darting between Adrian and I, but the Alpha was unbothered by it. Squaring his shoulders, he laughed.
“You’re insane. I’m not fighting you. I am Alpha. This is my pack. You cannot—”
“She just proved she can,” Gregor said, stepping forward. His eyes glittered with pride as he smiled at me. “How long have you felt the Alpha bond, Eve?”
“I never thought much about it.” I said. “But it wasn’t long after my father died.”
Gregor nodded. “We’ve all felt her connection to the pack. We know she has the power inside her. The challenge cannot be ignored.”
“Oh, shut up, Gregor,” Adrian spat. “She’s nothing but a troublesome whelp. I’m the one who’s bringing this pack power, and glory. I’m the one who’s protected us from those monsters in the woods.”
I laughed. “Monsters Claudette made at your request.”
In truth, I was going a little bit on assumption as to whether or not Adrian actually asked for the monsters in the woods, the witches could’ve just been angry with him about something. But judging by the way he paled, I was right.
“You were losing control. Your bond was weakening, so you had Claudette call the walkers to keep the pack in line. You thought with everyone afraid, no one would notice that you weren’t strong enough to lead them anymore. But Annie noticed…didn’t she.”
My anger rose like boiling lava inside my chest. The tingling pain of the change swept over my arms, but I kept it at bay.
Gregor stepped closer to my side. “Is this true Adrian? Did you kill Annie?”
“What?” Adrian shook his head. “Don’t listen to her. She’s insane. She’s the one who—”
“You’re such a coward.” I shook my head. “Just admit it. Tell them. Tell them how you killed Annie. Tell them how you trapped my father in that cabin. If you survive this, then you’ll still be in charge. Kill me and there won’t be any more of my father’s blood left to challenge you.”
I watched as his anger got the better of him. The truth burned behind his eyes like a neon sign. “You know, what. Fine. Fine. Yes. I killed Annie. She challenged my authority, and I killed your father.”
Another collective series of gasps wrang through the pack, but it was Gregor again who spoke. “Why?”
“Because she was meddling in my affairs. She didn’t respect me as Alpha, and…” Adrian turned back to me. “Your father was the one driving this pack into the ground. Not me.”
I took a lunging step forward, but Gregor and Jamie each grabbed me by an arm, holding me in place. My muscles bunched, ready to spring forward, but I didn’t want to hurt them. I’d save my fury for its target.
Gregor placed a steadying hand on my shoulder and cleared his throat. “Do you accept the challenge, Adrian?”
“Sure,” he shrugged, smiling at me. “You know you’re going to regret this.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “We’ll see about that.”
“What is going on?” Claudette demanded, pushing past the group gathered around us.
Adrian spared her a frustrated glance. “I’m being challenged for leadership.”
“We have a ceremony to perform,” She spat. “Can’t this moronic—”
“Your ceremony is over, Claudette. So, you can either shut up, and see how this plays out like the rest of the pack, or you can take your witches and leave,” I said, letting every ounce of my hatred flare in my eyes. If I survived this fight, she was next on my shit list.
Claudette glared at me, weighing her choices, and held up her hands. “Fine. We’ll see who comes out of this in the end then, shall we?”
“Alright everyone, move back beyond the fire. The challenge has been called. The altar will be the battle ground,” Gregor announced, using his authority as law keeper to call the pack into order.
Everyone but Jamie moved on command. Instead, he turned me toward him, and cupped my face between his hands. “I won’t ask you to back down, because I know you won’t.”
I smiled. “And here I thought we were still getting to know each other.”
“Don’t joke,” he said, brushing his thumbs over my cheeks. “I need you to hear me.”
