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“You don’t. If he loses, Shota will kick you out.”
“Both of us? It’ll hurt him but we can….” She trailed off and looked at Ash, slowly processing her words. Then it hit her hard in the stomach.
Her. Not them. Not her and Kodiak, just her.
And Kodiak…
He’d stay.
She knew it.
Before all this loss he’d have left like he’d told Olcan, but now? Even after being alpha for a short while, the responsibility of the pack and their future were now so etched in him, he wouldn’t leave. Alpha or not.
He’d stay to build the pack, protect it. And she… She couldn’t blame him. Actually, even if she wanted him to come with her, she couldn’t let him do something he’d regret. Couldn’t let those deaths mean nothing. Or Olcan’s sacrifice.
If he tried to come with her if he lost this battle, then she’d lie and walk. She’d push him away.
She shuddered. It might kill her, but she’d do it for him. Even now her heart bled at the thought.
Tamaska looked at Ash. “We can’t. I’d have to go, and he stay. No matter how much it’ll hurt, no matter…”
“That’s the bond we talk about. It’s there between you two, even though it shouldn’t be because you’re human,” said Ash.
“We have a bond. What if I get sent away? He has to stay, doesn’t he?”
“No, but…after all this loss…Kodiak is—”
“The kind of man who wouldn’t walk from duty,” she said, finishing it, finally saying out loud what she’d worked out.
“Yes. He’d never do that.”
“So if he wins or loses—”
“He’ll win.” Ash’s eyes were kind.
“And if he doesn’t?” She pushed it. “If I get sent away?”
“If you get sent away from the pack, you’ll never see Kodiak again.”
“I understand.” Though Tamaska was learning quickly, Ash’s face told her she was still missing a detail.
“No, you don’t.” Ash looked at her. “The only way for one of them to win is to kill the other. Whoever loses will be dead.”
Tamaska’s mind spun. More was at stake than simply a title. This fight would determine whether she’d have a future with the man she’d fallen for. No matter what, Kodiak had to win the fight.
30
Kodiak
That evening Kodiakstood naked in the circle while the pack looked on.
He could sense Tamaska’s nervousness, and it rattled him. She’d finally understood what was at stake, how important it was for him to win.
But as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t let himself be distracted, so he focused in on Shota, who waited in the sidelines.
Probably about to make some kind of grand entry.
Damn him, anyway, for doing this, for pushing Kodiak into this position.
