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“They fight,” he said, watching Jorge’s departure. “You and your dad can leave if you want. We’re all going to watch.”
“Can I?” I asked. Everything about pack dynamics fascinated me.
“Alpha never forbade you.” Dad joined us as Dorian said, “You really want to watch the challenge?”
Dad had the same uncertain expression I knew I was wearing, torn between wanting to know what would happen and dreading the outcome at the same time.
I looked at him. “What do you think, Dad?”
“Your mother will kill me,” he hedged.
“Dad.”
He winked at me. “Maybe we should stick around, in case anyone needs our help.”
The others had already dumped their tasks and walked away.
Dorian hesitated. “Stay with Perdita then. I need to tell Nathan anyway, so come with me.”
We headed to Dorian’s house. Amelia and Perdita were laughing together over a hot drink in the living room. At seven months pregnant, Perdita’s already swollen belly seemed to grow a little larger every day.
“Alpha challenge,” Dorian announced breathlessly.
“Who?” Perdita asked.
“Jorge.”
“Ah.” She didn’t look surprised. Had everyone been expecting it to happen?
Amelia leapt to her feet, skidding cartoonishly across the floor and causing the sleeping dog at Perdita’s feet to lift his head and bark a lazy warning. At the door, she shouted, “Nathan! Challenge!”
Something crashed upstairs. Perdita smiled, grasping hold of Dorian’s hand and slowly getting to her feet.
“Are you going to watch it, too?” Dad asked her. “I mean, in your condition.”
She nodded. “It would be rude not to let Jorge have his say in front of the pack.”
“Who do you think will win?” I asked nervously. Though he didn’t look it, Byron was close to sixty, while Jorge, in his twenties, looked strong and vital. Surely it wasn’t a fair fight.
“You’ll see,” Perdita said with a reassuring smile.
Nathan rushed downstairs, clapped Dorian on the shoulder, then brushed his mouth against Perdita’s for a kiss. He was gone out the door, my boyfriend close behind him, before Perdita could react. Amelia hesitated before shooting Perdita an apologetic glance.
“Go on,” Perdita said, patting her stomach. “My big, slow self has company.”
Amelia left before Perdita had finished speaking.
“Is this normal?” Dad asked.
“It happens now and then,” she said. “It’s a way to air grievances, mostly. Jorge did it the right way. Some have tried to sneak up on Byron. The pack sees that as cowardly. This is respectable and far less likely to have a fatal ending.”
She spoke casually, but I exchanged a worried glance with Dad.
Perdita grinned. “I’m teasing a little. I know you’ve seen the worst of the pack, but it’s not all savagery. There’s civility, even in a challenge. It’s not the way the human world works and accepting that makes everything easier.”
She led the way outside. We were greeted by Evelyn, her cheeks rosy from the cold. She was a new addition to the pack, having recently declared her loyalty to Byron. She hadn’t been raised with a pack, other than her parents, and she had grown up in a human world, despite her ability to shift.
“There you are,” she said with a bright smile. “It’s my first challenge. I was hoping you would be there.”
