“Don’t die,” Rusty finished.
Dillon bit his lip and shook his head. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Rust.”
“It’s my gift. I totally build people up and make them feel more badass than they are.”
As soon as Dillon reached the circle, Jeremiah pulled power from his pack. Dillon could feel the weight of it attempting to push him down. “Kneel,” the Colorado alpha commanded.
Dillon held his ground, planting his feet and drawing on the power inside of him. “No. I kneel to no one other than my Creator.”
Jeremiah’s face turned an alarming shade of red. Had he been a human, Dillon would have been worried he might have a stroke.
“You are in my pack territory.” Jeremiah snarled. “You came under false pretense. You lied to me and my pack. Now you have the audacity to challenge me?”
“I am not challenging you, Alpha, and I did not lie,” Dillon tried to sound respectful. “But I will not bow, and neither will I fight you. Tanya is my true mate. Whatever is between us is just that—between me and Tanya. It has nothing to do with you.”
Jeremiah laughed. “It has everything to do with me and this pack. You come here thinking you have the right to claim her when you have disrespected her.” Jeremiah looked around at the pack and pointed a clawed finger at him. “This man, the so-called true mate to my daughter, the future alpha female of this pack, had an affair with a human woman for years.”
Gasps and chatter moved through the pack. Dillon knew he might be losing any allies he might have made. “I made a mistake,” Dillon admitted. “I can’t take it back. But I can try to make it right.”
“You’re telling me you expect my daughter to take you as her mate, knowing what she will see in your mind? You expect to build a life with her knowing you first built one with someone else?”
Damn. Put like that, it sounds completely unfair to expect of Tanya. “I don’t expect anything. I hope she is willing to try.”
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Jeremiah spat out. “The only way you will claim my daughter is by getting through me.”
With no warning, Jeremiah lunged at Dillon, his muscles coiling like a spring as he extended his razor-sharp claws. His eyes burned with a fiery intensity, as though his wolf were possessed. If Dillon didn’t know the man was mated, he would have thought Jeremiah was feral.
Dillon quickly dodged Jeremiah’s attack, narrowly avoiding the deadly claws. He raised his fists in a defensive posture and said calmly, “I don’t want to fight you, Jeremiah. I could never be responsible for killing my mate’s father. I will if you insist, but only to submission, not to death.”
Jeremiah let out a guttural laugh, his eyes still fixed on Dillon. “Submission? Hell no.” He snarled. “I want to see you bleed. You will die under my fangs and claws this day.” His eyes were filled with madness and the determination of a man who truly felt he was justified in his actions. Jeremiah charged at Dillon again, his claws glinting in the light. Dillon ducked under the attack and landed a swift kick to Jeremiah’s stomach, causing him to stumble backward.
The alpha regained his footing quickly, and the two men circled each other warily. Dillon knew he couldn’t let Jeremiah get too close, so he feinted left and then delivered a powerful right hook, catching Jeremiah on the side of the head. The man staggered backward before raising a hand to his head and touching a trickle of blood that was forming from a newly appeared cut caused by Dillon’s fist. He looked at the blood and chuckled.
“You’ll pay for that, whelp.” Then Jeremiah barreled toward Dillon once more, his claws slashing through the air like deadly knives.
Dillon dodged left and right, ducking and weaving as he sought an opening without dealing a killing blow. Suddenly, he saw his chance. As Jeremiah lunged at him, Dillon dropped to the ground and moved his leg in a swift, sweeping motion.
Jeremiah crashed to the ground, his claws digging deep into the dirt. Instead of jumping on him, Dillon took a step back and stared down at him. Jeremiah sprang back to his feet with a string of curses.
“I won’t do this,” Dillon said through clenched teeth.
“You don’t have a choice,” Jeremiah replied. This time, Jeremiah didn’t blindly charge. He advanced upon Dillon slowly, warily. Dillon could see him calculating, trying to determine how best to attack.
Dillon held his arms out wide. “We always have a choice. You have a choice right now. You could abandon this folly and become the alpha you were meant to be. You could be the father your daughter needs you to be. The mate your bonded needs you to be.”
“What my mate needs is none of your concern.” Jeremiah’s voice was laced with dangerous intent. “What my daughter needs is none of your concern. The only thing that should matter to you is whether you will live through this. And I vow you will not.” He pushed off toward Dillon with a powerful jump. Dillon dove forward, rolling on the ground to avoid the massive hand coming at his face.
“No!” Tanya’s voice pierced the air.
Dillon’s head whipped around to see her running toward them. The three males from the gas station were just behind her. “Stop her!” Dillon roared at them. He turned back to Jeremiah and realized his mistake. He’d given the alpha the moment Jeremiah needed to get the upper hand. The alpha moved with incredible speed and was on top of Dillon in a second. Dillon couldn’t get his hands up quickly enough. Jeremiah’s claws headed straight for Dillon’s chest. They would slice through his flesh with a force strong enough to break through his muscles, tendons, and bone, all the way to his heart. Just before the deathly blow landed, a smaller form appeared directly in front of him.
“Mom!” Tanya’s voice bellowed, a sound so painful that it broke Dillon’s heart.
Out of nowhere, the Colorado alpha female was there. Dillon’s eyes looked past Rose and landed on Jeremiah’s face. It turned ashen-white, stricken with horror. Instead of the alpha’s claws piercing Dillon’s chest, they were buried in his mate’s torso.
Tears streamed down Rose’s face. “I love you,” she told Jeremiah, her voice shaky. “Too much to let you do this. She’s our daughter, beloved. Your rage is misplaced.”
“Rose. Rose. Rose.” Jeremiah’s voice was so broken it was painful to hear. “No, no, you stupid, beautiful woman. No.” He fell to his knees, pulling her to him. Dillon could see death slowly taking them both. As a bonded pair, her death would mean Jeremiah’s, as well.
