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Ewan was quick and agile. Brandon tried to end the fight early with a huge right hook. His fist surged through the air, and if it had connected with Ewan’s face it might well have taken his head clean off. But Ewan ducked and punched back with a jab in the chest, stealing the wind from Brandon’s lungs, making him double over. Ewan leaped and thrust his knee into Brandon’s face. There was an ugly crack and Brandon staggered back, clutching his face. Blood dripped from his nose and lips, red rivers trailing along his skin. There were gasps from the people around us. I noticed that I was gasping too. The Alpha was bleeding, first blood, and that was unusual.
In times past, these kinds of challenges were more common. I had never seen one of course, and over the years people had become more tolerant of leaders. The position of Alphas was passed between fathers and sons, between brothers, but here it was the product of a deadly rivalry that was going to change the very nature of the pack. Ewan wanted to press his advantage, knowing that he wasn’t going to get a better chance of bringing Brandon to his knees. He ran forward and looked as though he was going to smash a groggy Brandon with his elbow, but instead he ducked down and crashed through Brandon’s legs, sweeping them out from underneath him. Brandon crashed to the ground and cried out as he tried to get to his feet, but Ewan turned around and slammed his elbow in the back of Brandon’s head. Ewan then wrapped his arm around Brandon’s neck and squeezed so hard that his bicep swelled. He pulled Brandon’s head back, clamping his fists together as he strained, looking as though he wanted to rip Brandon’s head clean off. Both men had red faces; Brandon from his lack of oxygen, Ewan with the strain. Saliva dripped down his chin and sweat popped on his forehead. He grunted as Brandon tried to break free, but his hands slipped away from Ewan’s arms and he couldn’t find the strength to turn his body around. I had never seen him so vulnerable before, and I thought there was a chance that Ewan might actually win.
Brandon’s face was a crimson mask as the blood continued to pour from his nostrils. I could hear him breathing tightly, but the breaths were fading.
“He’s going to lose,” Cassius said despondently. I knew he wanted me to rush in and help Brandon, but even at this stage it would still do him no good. Nobody would respect Brandon if I helped him. I had to let this take its natural course, and if Ewan won then Cassius and I would just have to fight our way out of the pack.
I began to feel the wolf inside me. I glanced across to Dad and we shared a look. He knew what was going to be required if Brandon lost as well.
“Get ready to run,” I said. Cassius looked wounded. I knew he wouldn’t like having to flee. I knew he wanted to fight as well, but he was the most vulnerable one and if a wolf managed to sink their claws into him then it would all be over.
But then my gaze drifted back to the fight. There was an anxious hush among the crowd as Brandon started to show his strength. He pushed himself up inch by inch, slowly trying to fight against Ewan’s pressure. Ewan fought back though, driving his knees into Brandon’s back, putting all his weight upon Brandon to try and push him into the ground, as though he was trying to bury him alive. It seemed like a futile effort, the last death throes of a man who knew he was taking his last breaths. There were so many mixed emotions. Brandon was a man I had loved, and then hated, and now… now my feelings towards him had mellowed. I saw him as an ally, perhaps a friend, but now I wondered if I was going to have to mourn him. Tears appeared in my eyes as I realized that he might be dying, and I had no way to stop it.
Chapter Eleven
Cassius
I had watched many men die before. Death was something that I was familiar with. I had seen men die who were tired of living and welcomed the sweet release. I had seen men fight to the very last breath, believing that if they just held on for one moment longer they would be able to shrug off the pull of mortality and continue living through sheer force of will. I had seen people who had their lives stolen from them in battle, and I myself had been such a thief many times over. It was always heartbreaking to see the light leave their eyes for that final time, to know that whatever ineffable flame made them alive had been snuffed out, and could never be relit. Something unique was always taken away from the world, and there was never anything that could be done to fix it. I had hardened my heart over the years, making sure that I did not let it weigh upon me too heavily, but in this instance I was moved.
I have no idea if it was because my heart was warmer as a human than it had been as a vampire, or if it was because Willow was moved to tears beside me, but I felt sorry for Brandon. I was so tempted to rush in there and send Ewan flying away, not just for Brandon’s sake, but also because I wanted to get revenge for how Ewan had attacked me. As I watched him driving his knees into Brandon’s side and back I felt the echoes of pain in my ribs. They throbbed and I had to lift my hand to my side to try and ease the pain. I leaned forward, feeling nerves clenching through my body as I watched these last fatal moves of the fight.
Except they weren’t the final moments.
Brandon was fighting with all he had, and when his human form failed his wolf took over. There was an anxious whisper that rushed through the crowd as they had anticipated this moment. Brandon’s body changed. His muscles widened and swelled, looking as though they were going to explode. His skin gave way to the fur and changed shade, while his jaw lengthened and the blood receded. Fangs shone like daggers and his eyes filled with fury. Ewan’s eyes went wide as he tried to keep his hold around the wolf’s throat, but his arms were not wide enough. As Brandon’s body grew bigger Ewan was lifted off the ground and lost his leverage. Brandon started to move his body from side to side, trying to swing Ewan away.
Ewan had no choice but to let go. He fell to the ground, but the impact was lessened as he embraced his own wolf. His fur was sandy brown, and he was smaller in stature than Brandon, but no less vicious. As soon as Ewan turned into a wolf he lunged towards Brandon. His tactic was clear; he wanted to keep the assault going in a fast and furious manner so that Brandon did not have a chance to fight back. He wanted to use his speed to his advantage, but although Brandon was bigger he was no lumbering brute, and throughout the fight he had observed his opponent carefully. Ewan liked to feint his attacks, so the next time he tried, Brandon was ready for him.
Ewan bared his teeth and went to twist at the last moment, seeking to dive under Brandon’s swipe and then attack Brandon from the rear, but Brandon brought his hind leg up and sent Ewan spinning off his course. The change in momentum sent him twisting away, and Brandon was upon Ewan immediately. He howled and then brought his paws down upon Ewan’s flanks, digging his claws in. There was an almighty cry of pain as blood began to trickle along the light colored fur, oozing out of the deep gashes. Ewan tried to run away, wanting to put some distance between himself and Brandon, but Brandon wasn’t going to let him. Brandon put his weight into his hind legs and then lunged forward, leaping onto Ewan’s back. He gnashed his teeth and tried to get to Ewan’s neck. They tumbled around and rolled along the ground, a mix of dark and light fur, as though a yin yang symbol was tossing and turning across the grass. We were all enraptured by the fight and leaned forward, holding our breath in our lungs. Ewan and Brandon were locked together as though they had never been apart, as intimate as lovers, yet the violence was unmatched. Ewan kept twisting and writhing, just managing to keep his neck out of reach. Brandon’s fangs were so close to piercing the vulnerable flesh and if he just got an inch then it would all be over.
It only seemed like a matter of time, especially when Brandon changed tactic. He stuck his paws into either side of Ewan’s body, using his claws like swords and bringing Ewan flat to the ground. Ewan’s cry was bloodcurdling and as I watched the fight memories flashed through my mind, memories of a life I had lived a long time ago when I had been a murderer, a butcher, when wolves had whimpered beneath me. I pushed the thought away, reminding myself that I was a different man, a better man, and I did not have to let the things I did then define me.
Ewan lay there, twitching and wounded. The fight had been gradually stolen from him and now Brandon was ready to make the final move. He rose and surveyed the pack, as though he was warning them that if anyone should dare challenge him again then they would suffer the same fate. He then opened his gaping jaws and was about to kill Ewan, when suddenly there was a scream.
“Wait! Stop! Brandon don’t do this!” Naomi cried. There was a shocked gasp as people watched Naomi rushing into the fight. Brandon was as confused as the rest of us. He stood there as a wolf, blinking slowly as Naomi ran, her long hair trailing behind her as the breeze caught it. She flung herself down upon Ewan, cradling his body, holding up a palm with a desperate look on her face. Her eyes were stained with tears and she trembled. “Please Brandon, don’t hurt him,” she said. I tilted my head. She spoke with more concern than she should have had for just another member of the pack, and it did not seem as though she was doing this for Brandon’s sake.
Brandon returned to his human form, as did Ewan, eventually. He was twitching. His body was covered in blood and his eyes were half shut. Naomi cradled him as she would a helpless child.
“What are you doing here?” Brandon demanded.
“Please,” Naomi croaked, “please just leave him alone. This is all wrong. This was all a mistake.”
“What do you know of this?” Brandon’s voice was low and searching, and his gaze was focused on Naomi. She hung her head and sniffed back her sadness. When she raised her head again her eyes were filled with something resembling anger.
“Don’t ask questions that you don’t want to know the answer to Brandon. Please, just end this now. Just let him go.”
“Let him go?” Brandon’s voice echoed like thunder. “You expect me to show him forgiveness after he disrespected me? After he broke the rules of hospitality and attacked our guest? After he tried to steal this pack from me? Have you lost your mind? He deserves all the punishment I can mete out to him, and he deserves no mercy.”
“Then you are going to have to show me no mercy as well,” she said in a low voice.
“What do you mean?”
Her eyes flashed with defiance. Perhaps it was all she had left in her. “If you kill him then you need to kill me too, because I was there with him. I attacked them as well.”
Brandon tilted his head in confusion. “Why? Why would you do this?”
Her features darkened as a scowl appeared on her face. “Because you could not. Because you’ve grown soft, just like your father. I remember you when you were young, so brave and never afraid to speak your mind. You were willing to take on the world and whoever else stood in the way of power. You were focused, strong, brilliant, and I would have followed you no matter where you led. You had the courage to kill your own father when he was weak, but now you have turned out to be just like him. The moment Willow returned you should have banished her. You never should have gone after her. And then you allowed that monster to stay with us?” she shook her head. I winced as she referred to me as a monster. Was I ever going to be anything else? “I don’t know you anymore Brandon. I feel like I’m losing you, and I’m not about to let this clan fall into ruin because you have become too weak. Ewan was… he agreed with me. He was there for me. He reminded me of the man you used to be but please, just let him go. He doesn’t deserve this.”
Realization flickered over Brandon’s face. “So you have been… cavorting with this man? You have disrespected the vows you made to me? You have broken your loyalty to the Alpha?” Naomi denied none of these. She just knelt there in silence. “And you say that he doesn’t deserve death?”
