Patrick almost wished she would.
Devin went rigid beneath her, his panting the only sound lingering in the silence around them. Sage growled a warning deep in her throat, the noise vibrating through the air, causing more than one London god pack member to take a step back.
Cressida appeared incandescent with rage, practically vibrating with it, while Finley’s face was wiped clean of emotions. Other pack members around them seemed just as stunned by what had happened, but there were a few who were doing a bad job of hiding their relief.
Sage growled again, the sound harsher, more of a demand as she pressed the claws of one rear paw against Devin’s flank. He stayed stiff for several more seconds before going absolutely limp beneath her.
Someone on the other side of the challenge ring gasped loudly. Patrick never took his eyes off Sage as she lifted her jaws away from Devin’s neck and backed away, having gotten him to submit and show throat. Her striped tail lashed the air in quick motions.
“Fight’s over,” Jono said.
Cressida’s vicious growl said more than words ever could as she stepped into the challenge ring and stalked over to where Devin still lay on the flagstones. He tried to scramble away, but she was on him in a second, still human, but with preternatural strength backed by hellish power behind her. She kicked him so hard in the head even Patrick could hear the bone break.
Devin’s wolf head snapped around, the side that had taken the blow appearing dented in the firelight. He collapsed, wolf body lying limply between Cressida and Sage, blood beginning to trickle out of his muzzle. Then Cressida turned her attention on Sage.
Instinct had Patrick reacting, and a mageglobe formed in his hand without him needing to think about it, the command trigger seeping through his thoughts and into his soul. He let the mageglobe fly, arcing it over Sage as she retreated to give him room. Patrick’s magic exploded between them, forming a shield that arced over the London god pack.
Cressida skidded to a halt before hitting the shield, one heel snapping off her shoe as her right ankle bent in an awkward way she didn’t seem to feel. She straightened in a fluid motion, not caring about her damaged shoe.
“We won the fight and it’s fuckingover,” Patrick snapped, conjuring up another mageglobe, filling it with an offensive spell instead of a defensive ward. “Back the fuck off.”
Someone touched the glittering pale blue barrier and yelped from the backlash. Patrick ignored them, keeping his attention on Cressida and the way she smiled at them when none of her god pack could see—like something else moved beneath her skin, and it wasn’t the wolf she could shift into.
“Mage,” Cressida snarled. “It’s illegal for your kind to interfere in our challenges. Magic is forbidden in the challenge ring.”
Jono stepped into the ring as Sage shifted back to human, both of them safe outside the shield encasing everyone else. “Patrick is the co-leader of our pack. He acted when you went after our dire unprovoked.”
Sage was fully human now, comfortable in her nudity as she wiped blood off her lips and chin. She flicked it off her fingers in a sharp gesture. “Patrick’s magic never entered the ring untilafterthe fight was over and your dire had already showed throat to me. The terms were met. Grant us the pass-through rights and Jono’s pardon.”
“Perhaps I’ll find another dire and issue a rematch,” Cressida said.
Sage met her glare calmly, standing tall and proud beneath everyone’s attention. “Jono asked for leniency this round. If we go again, I will leave your new dire’s spine at your feet.”
Cressida threw back her head and laughed, her curls bouncing with the motion. “Such confidence you have. Perhaps I should offeryouthe job.”
“You couldn’t afford me.”
Jono handed Sage her clothes, and she dressed with easy motions. He passed over her high heels, and only when she was fully clothed and cared for did he face Cressida.
“We’ll cross London when and how we like. We aren’t here for your territory,” he told her.
Cressida pressed both hands against Patrick’s shield, ignoring the way her skin sizzled at the touch. “You may walk London, but it will never be your home.”
Patrick wanted to stab her in the gut with his dagger for that remark, but he figured that wouldn’t go down well with the other side. He consoled himself with keeping the shield up so everyone couldn’t follow them back to their car.
“And his pardon?” Sage pressed.
“Granted,” Finley called out.
Cressida hissed, half turning to look over at her co-leader. “Fin.”
Finley wouldn’t look at her, but he had no trouble meeting Jono’s gaze. “The order we handed down when you left years ago is rescinded. No one will kill you.”
Cressida scowled, and while Finley didn’t flinch, Patrick had the distinct impression the other man wasn’t going to get through the night unscathed. Whatever was going on amongst them was worse than the relationship between Estelle and Youssef. They at least worked together for the power they craved. These two seemed willing to break each other and their pack rather than abide by pack law unless their hand was forced.
Jono and Sage turned their backs on the London god pack and returned to their side of the challenge ring. Jono wrapped an arm around Sage’s shoulders, pulling her close in a friendly hug as they walked.
Wade poked at the mageglobe hovering near Patrick’s shoulder, unburned and unbothered by the magic. “Are we done?”
