As he lay there panting, his eyes closed, and his body stilled. I hadn’t severed the artery, but I didn’t have to.
River was submitting.
Once he turned up his belly, I released my death grip and shifted.
“I’ve won the challenge and spared your life,” I said, reminding him that I had the authority to make demands. I stood beside River, my hair cascading over my breasts, blood staining my skin. “You’ll leave the city tonight. If you ever return, you know what that means.”
Death. I didn’t have to say it. Everyone standing witness knew what it meant to back out on a demand made by the victor.
My father touched my brow, his dark eyes centered on mine. “You’re a warrior now,” he said quietly.
It wasn’t a compliment—not the way he said it.
He implied my spirit wolf was too powerful and independent to mate. Shifters preferred strong women, but few—if any—would take on a woman willing to challenge and kill a male. It raised questions about stability, even though it was a double standard. Only an alpha could handle a woman that strong, and with my checkered past, that would probably never happen.
My father turned and spat on River. “Get that termite out of here.”
River shifted to human form as two men hauled him away.
“What do you want to do with the white man?” my father asked.
I thought about Nash, who was still knocked out cold. “He’s a Shifter, so turn him over to the Council. Maybe a few years in jail will give him time to regret his actions and ponder the importance of integrity over money.”
My father went to take care of it.
A few men howled, still riled up from the fight. As the crowd dispersed, Tak placed his hands on my shoulders and looked me over with careful measure.
Most of my wounds had healed during the shift, but for the first time, I didn’t care about the possibility of more scars. It felt like I’d conquered an old demon. The victory filled an emptiness inside me that I’d carried for so long—a dark corner of my soul that had always doubted my courage.
“We need to get off the street,” Tak said, wrapping a thin tribal blanket around me. “Someone’s bound to drive by and wonder if we’re having a nudist party.”
I stared into an open field, overcome with mixed emotions. Now that I’d delivered retribution for the wrong River had committed against me, I wondered if he would obey my demands and stay gone. Despite what he’d done, I didn’t want him dead. I pitied the man he’d chosen to become.
Tak lifted me into his arms and carried me as if he felt no pain in his shoulder, but I knew that wasn’t true. His wounds were bright red, and some open gaps were still weeping blood.
“Did you see how fast she took him down?” someone remarked.“Jesus.”
I rested my head against Tak’s good shoulder. “How did you find me?”
He continued his leisurely pace. “We knew something had happened when you didn’t show up at the store, but I couldn’t sense anything. Your family called for backup, and we all drove around… searching. Then all of a sudden, I just knew which way to go. The fates led me here.”
“Do you really believe that? The fates have done an awful lot to keep us apart.”
“Everyone needs to be tested.”
I placed my hand against his necklace.
“Someone special gave this to me,” he said, puffing his chest out. “I’m never taking it off.”
“It might be difficult to shower with it on.”
“At least it’ll be clean,” he quipped, a smile playing on his lips.
“It might be dangerous in bed. You’ll knock someone’s tooth out.”
Tak rocked with laughter and stopped. The wind blew his handsome mane, and in some indefinable way, he seemed like a different man.
“What happens now?” I asked.
