“Unbelievable,” Vincent mutters.
“He is here now with his beta,” Garret continues. “At least the beta is pretty embarrassed, but he apparently can only do so much about the situation. It looks like it’s about to escalate.”
“How? Does he want to challenge her to a fight?” Vincent asks.
When Garret stays quiet, Edward and Vincent just exchange a look. “Do you need help?” Edward asks. “We can call in backup.”
“Yeah, maybe this is bad timing for a visit,” Vincent agrees. “One of us can stay behind while the others drive back. I will give Elden a call.”
“No, that’s not necessary.” Marius’ voice makes us all spin around. Faye, who has been spellbound up to now, obviously terrified, peeks through my legs. Her face lights up when she sees Marius, so he gets down to her eye level and picks her up.
“Are you sure?” Vincent asks. “Your father or brother would come in a heartbeat.”
“I know,” he says. “And I appreciate that. But it’s not necessary. Come.”
With Faye in his arms, he walks away from us. The expression of the others pretty much mirrors how I am feeling. Namely, completely dumbfounded, but something about the calm, confident way Marius acted puts my mind at ease.
Now curiosity wins over everything else, and I find myself following Marius and Faye, and very soon, the others join me. He leads us straight to a training hall where a tall, strong-looking man with dark hair and bronze skin keeps the spectators at bay. Garret immediately joins him to help. “Who is he?” I whisper.
“That’s Arman, he is a lycan and a distant relative to Elden and his family,” Vincent explains. “He is an advisor in this pack. His mate is the beta.”
He is mated to the beta of the pack? My curiosity just grows. When Marius leads us inside the training hall, I instantly spot Celine with a woman next to her.
“That’s Harmony,” Felix explains before I can even ask. “She is Celine’s beta and also Annie’s sister.”
“No way,” I exclaim. “Wait, this is Annie’s home pack? I didn’t make that connection!”
Felix points out several people to me, such as Annie’s parents and her brother, who is holding his mate’s hand. Next to them, there is Celine’s father and his chosen mate. Marius leads us to them, right at the moment when Celine’s voice echoes through the room.
“Alright,” she says. “Let’s battle it out.” The words are directed towards a bulky guy who has been arguing with Harmony since we entered.
“If I win, you will enter the deal,” he now says.
“And if I win, you will stop harassing me and never set foot onto our pack grounds.” Celine sounds calm and composed despite the tense situation. She says something to Harmony, who runs off with some warriors, to set up the fighting ring. Then she joins us.
“I don’t like this,” she says.
Celine’s father frowns. “Me neither. He is clearly plotting something.”
“I can’t link her,” Harmony says with a frown. “What’s wrong?”
“Probably wolfsbane,” Marius mutters. “Not sure how he did it, but he must have injected her with it.”
Indeed, Celine is rubbing her arm, a frown on her face. Meanwhile, Arman and Garret have joined us as well, looking equally worried.
“He is cheating,” Garret says. “I am going to intervene.”
“No,” Marius exclaims, grabbing his arm. “Don’t intervene.” He turns to look at Harmony and Arman. “None of you. That’s an order.”
“But,“ Arman says. “Of course, on a normal day, Alpha Celine would win in a heartbeat. The guy is weak, but he clearly tampered with her wolf while he still has his wolf senses! It’s an unfair battle.”
“Exactly,” Marius says.
Harmony looks at him, and slowly, there seems to be understanding in her eyes. “Alright,” she says. “I agree. But if things turn south, I am going to intervene.”
“If things turn south,Iam going to intervene,” Marius corrects her.
“I still don’t get it,” I mutter.
