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Chapter Seventeen
TALIA
To my surprise, Valerie kept her word. After the blessing ritual and reception that followed, she took me back to the kennel to see Galen. But his crate was empty.
“Victor told me that Galen suffered a serious injury in your last escape attempt. Perhaps they took him to the infirmary.” Valerie offered to escort me and eager to find my mate, I followed, pushing her to quicken her pace.
The lights were off and doors locked when we reached the medical building. There was no one inside. I dragged Valerie to the next building, and then another, and another. All of which turned up nothing. We continued the search, which felt more like a wild goose chase, until word reached us that Bjorn had organized another tournament in celebration of my return.
The pack had gathered in another large metal building, that according to Valerie, was used to train the Deofol pack’s security detail. It was also where challenges for pack rank were held.
A pit formed in my stomach. Galen’s absence from the kennel suddenly made sense.
The crowd’s excitement spilled out onto the snow packed street when we opened the door to the training facility. We were met with raucous shouts and a thunder of applause. Underneath the cheers and clapping hands, I heard the distinct sound of two men fighting.
“Talia, wait.” Valerie struggled to keep up as I snaked through the onlookers placing bets at a table near the entrance. “Slow down.”
I ignored her, and quickened my pace.
As I feared, Galen was in the midst of another fight and from the looks of it in danger of losing. I ran toward the makeshift boxing ring in the center of the room.
“Stop. Please, stop. He’s going to kill him.” I shouted at the tops of my lungs, but my cries for mercy were drowned out by the overzealous crowd stomping their feet on the metal bleachers.
I pushed my way through a cluster of people who must have been unable to secure a seat in the packed bleachers and rushed to Bjorn, who stood ringside, and collapsed at his feet.
“You can stop this. Please.” I begged on hands and knees for mercy.
Galen had already taken more abuse at the hands of my mother’s packmates than any wolf should endure. I couldn’t sit by and watch him suffer more pain. Not when they kept him injured and in a weakened state, unable to fight and defend himself the way I knew he could,
“That’s a good look for you, princess. I do believe our god will approve.” Bjorn’s upper lip curled in a sadistic grin. “Don’t worry, Stefan looks ready to finish the fight. He’ll put an end to Galen Long Claw’s suffering.”
“If I accept my place in the Bone Clan and claim my throne, will you spare him?” I bowed my head and pressed my hand on the top of Bjorn’s tan suede boot. “Please, alpha, as Princess of the Bone Clan, I am asking you to show mercy to Galen Long Claw.”
I chose my words carefully and made a conscious effort not to refer to Galen as my mate. Bjorn needed to believe that I was willing to give him up in order to save his life.
And I was. I loved Galen enough to save him from himself - and from me. If I had to walk away from him to do it, I would.
––––––––
“ENOUGH.” BJORN STOODup and walked to the edge of the mat, one hand raised above his head. “The fight is over. Our princess has declared the winner.”
A few of the pack members growled, muttering their discontent over the decision to stop the fight and spare Galen from suffering any more injuries.
“Silence.” The Deofol alpha barked at his members, pulling rank and the pack bonds that gave him control over his wolves. “The Blood Clan is victorious. Their champion brings honor to their clan.”
“Take him to the clinic. Get him cleaned up.” He motioned for two men to step forward and instructed them to take Galen to the medical building.
The show was over. Spectators climbed down from the bleachers, and the crowd in the training facility thinned.
––––––––
“WHAT ARE YOU GOINGto do with him?” I hadn’t given my plan to stop the fight much thought beyond saving Galen from taking another beating because of me, and failed to negotiate any details for his release.
