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Branson shook his head in disgust. “Sucking up to the man who murdered your brother in cold blood. And for what? To move up in status? You’re as much of a traitor as your good-for-nothing brother.”
Rage flared, and it took everything I had not to intervene, but we’d come here for a reason, and I had to let Kayden fulfill her purpose.
She took another step forward. “At least I don’t use other people to do my dirty work,” she snarled. “Tell me, Branson, will you not challenge Holden yourself because you know he’s the stronger wolf? Are you that much of a coward?”
The tension in the room ratcheted up a notch, instinct urging me to grab Kayden and pull her back into the safety of my circle of men. What was she doing? It was almost like shewantedto start a fight.
Realization dawned. She’d never intended to follow our plan. Quickly, I stepped forward, ready to grab my mate before she pushed Branson too far. But she was faster than me, already moving toward Branson.
There was no warning before Branson shifted, and the next thing I knew, he was leaping from the dais, directly toward Kayden.
I shifted in under a second, my only thought of protecting Kayden as the room erupted into chaos all around us. Growls filled the air as everyone shifted, and I charged forward, ready to take Branson on.
Before I could throw myself between him and Kayden, I was blindsided by a giant wolf coming from the side and knocking me to the floor. I caught a glimpse of Kayden in wolf form as I went down, going head to head with Branson, and I let out a roar of fury.
I’d waited a second too long, and now the wolf—Branson’s beta—was upon me, sharp teeth flashing as he opened his muzzle wide and lunged toward my exposed throat, going for the kill.
Despite my fear for my mate, a strange sense of calm settled over me as my lifelong training kicked in, all my years of experience overriding my emotions. The only way to save Kayden was to fight my way free of the attack.
I reared up, regaining my footing in time to avoid the beta’s vicious bite, lunging forward to tear into the wolf’s exposed underbelly. I got in one good hit, but the wolf was strong. Branson had chosen well.
All around me, the sounds of battle filled the room—growls, snarls, and whimpers. The sound of flesh ripping open, the metallic scent of blood filling my nose. Panic crept in as I caught a flash of white fur tinged with bright crimson blood. Kayden.
I turned with a roar, ready to run to her defense, to kill the bastard who had harmed my mate, but the beta was on me again. I saw Branson’s wolf tumble head over foot with Kayden as I fought off the attack, fear coursing through my veins. If anything happened to her, I didn’t know how I would live with myself.
Forcing my attention back to my fight, I gave it my all. I would be no good to Kayden if I lost focus and died before I could get to her. My men and I were outnumbered, but it wasn’t the first time, and I’d brought my most skilled warriors.
As I fought the beta, another of Branson’s wolves joined the fray, sinking his teeth into my front leg. Ignoring the pain, I saw red as my wolf’s instincts took over. I allowed all the rage to pour through, not holding back as I fought, giving it my all. The beta wasn’t wearing down, but I delivered a killing bite to my other attacker, ripping his throat out in one go.
Backing up, I circled with the beta amidst the carnage. Blood was everywhere, the floor slick with it. Already, more than half the wolves were down, some of them my own.
As I moved, keeping my attention on the beta, I tried to catch sight of Kayden once more, needing to make sure she was okay. But there was too much happening, and I couldn’t see her among the chaos of battle. I had to get to her. I didn’t have time to fuck around with this wolf.
Determination settled over me, a refusal to let this end in anything but victory, and I launched myself at the beta. We tumbled, snapping and clawing at each other as we struggled to gain the advantage. He was strong, but I was stronger, driven by the primal need toprotect, protect, protect.
It was like a mantra in my mind as I grappled with the wolf, and when the opening presented itself, his neck exposed, I went in for the kill. There would be no submission today, of that I was certain. Branson had trained his men to fight to the death.
Without hesitation, I ripped the beta’s throat out, his body collapsing to the floor among the many other wolves now littering the floor. A quick assessment showed that even though we’d been outnumbered two to one, my men managed to take out the majority of Branson’s wolves. A few men still stood in human form, watching the bloodbath unfold.
Through the chaos, I caught sight of Kayden, her brilliant silver-white fur now covered in deep crimson. But she was still standing. I ran toward her, ready to come to her aid. But a black wolf lunged through the air, teeth bared as he aimed for her throat–Branson.
With a mighty roar, I flung myself forward, knowing I wouldn’t get to her in time. Panic seized my chest, and I couldn’t breathe for a moment as the wolves met in midair. Teeth and claws clashed in a battle for dominance, and I charged, singularly focused on protecting my mate.
But the next instant, Kayden opened her jaws wide, sinking her sharp teeth into Branson’s neck. A fatal bite. He collapsed to the floor, and relief like I’d never known swept through me. It was done. She’d killed him.
Pride mixed with fear at the sight of it. She’d taken him on, one on one. She could have died. Instead, she’d come out victorious.
As I reached her side, I shifted back, my men subduing the last of the wolves, who were starting to submit as they realized it was that, or death.
“Kayden,” I gasped, “are you hurt?”
She shifted back, and I gathered her in my arms as she began to shake. “I’m okay,” she managed.
I gave her a quick once-over and turned to face the carnage. It happened so quickly, but there had been so much destruction and loss of life.
My gaze was hard and ruthless as it settled on the few remaining men, none of whom were the alphas. We’d killed three alphas today, I realized. The gravity of it weighed heavily on me even as I spoke to the handful of would-be rebels.
“Take what you’ve witnessed today back to your friends and family. Let them know this is how things will go under my authority as North American alpha. We do not tolerate rebellion.”
