The alpha… doesn’t move. He simply stares at the wolf in front of him with a blank look. He doesn’t even react when the brown wolf lunges forward and nips at his side except to wince when the other wolf’s teeth rip at his fur.
What the hell is going on? Did they drug him or something?
That wouldn’t make much sense. Though, to be honest, neither does a fight to the death for entertainment. Still, this must be why Doyle said the audience was growing bored with the alpha.
The betas seem confused too, pausing their coordinated attack and taking a few steps backward to regroup. A few seconds later, the brown one feints toward the alpha, getting no reaction. The two betas share a look, then jump forward, the gray one landing half on the alpha’s back and the other trying to slide under him to get at his stomach.
I stay where I am, still in human form, blocking Raquel with my body as much as I can as the snarls of the two betas grow louder. And more excited. The viscousness layered in with the sound of their joy and triumph makes me wince.
I should be grateful. The betas are making things easier for me, increasing Raquel’s and my chance of survival with every slash and bite, but I can’t help but stare at the top of alpha’s lowered head, a feeling of pity and something I don’t understand welling up in my chest.
My wolf, normally a near-silent presence in the back of my head, lets out a mournful howl.
Why isn’t the alpha fighting back? Why isn’t he doing anything?
“What’s going on?” asks Raquel, her gaze focused on the two snarling betas and the bloodied alpha. “Why isn’t the big one fighting back?”
“I don’t know,” I say. “But we’re staying out of it.” I gesture for her to circle around so we’re staying as far as possible from the bloodbath.
The crowd seems to have finally noticed the lack of fight in the alpha and are starting to jeer and boo, their excitement quickly shifting to scorn as the betas bite and tear at the nonresponsive alpha. Their muzzles are covered in blood, but the alpha is still standing, the damage from the two betas not yet enough to bring him down.
But even with a shifter’s accelerated healing, it won’t be long before the alpha falls. Not at this rate.
And there’s a part of me that feels almost… sad about that. As if there’s something about the alpha that calls to me and doesn’t want to see him die. Especially not like this.
But I don’t have time to examine that feeling.
A pain-filled yelp drags my attention back to the fight. The smaller brown wolf has managed to hamstring the alpha’s left hind leg, the limb hanging limply as the larger wolf shifts to the side. The alpha closes his eyes as if forcing himself to not react any further, nothing but defeat and despair in his body language.
A lump crawls up the back of my throat and my eyes burn as my wolf paces in my chest, panting and whining, more active than he’s been in years.
I want to yell for the alpha to do something. To fight back.
I want to go to his side.
I want…
I want…
I don’t fucking know!
Raquel grabs my arm, startling me into movement, and I force my gaze away from the injured alpha. We continue edging along the side of the ring, keeping as much distance as possible between us and the active fight.
The betas continue attacking the nonresisting alpha, drawing blood on his flanks, his legs, his…everywhereuntil it seems like there’s not an inch of that pale golden fur not covered in some sort of gore or blood. And the volume of the crowd’s boos and jeers rises, all of them urging the “stupid fucking animal to fight back” to “not blow this” to “do something, you mangy mutt.”
The whole thing makes me sick, both in my stomach and my heart.
I miss what happens next, but the alpha finally,finallysnarls, snapping his teeth at the gray wolf who’s trying for his neck and dodging out of the way. Not quickly enough. The beta locks on tothe underside of the alpha’s neck, snarling and tugging, whipping his head from side to side.
For half a second, it looks like the alpha might actually fight back, but he closes his eyes again and allows his body to go limp, letting the other wolf continue to try and rip his throat out.
The speaker system crackles, a screech of feedback echoing through the space, and the alpha opens his eyes again at the high-pitched noise. His sad, defeated gaze finds mine, the two of us locking eyes for the first time.
The world seems to freeze around me, my wolf whining excitedly in my head as warmth flares in my chest and my vision narrows until the only thing I can see is the golden alpha wolf.
My fated mate.
Six
