My pulse hammers against my eardrums.
"I know what's going through your head right now," Qinnu says under his breath. The burly male latches onto my arm, pulling me to the left of the foot traffic. “You have nothing to fear with him out there.”
Sure, I don’t.
Qinnu halts for a moment, gesturing for me to watch my mate as he paces around the half circle. “Axe is the last person anyone would want to meet on a battlefield. Believe me.”
Before I can comment, he ushers me forward and together we march up the steps of the dining lodge. Nell stands at the far-left corner of the porch, waving us over. Heads turn as Qinnu and I cross the threshold, but no one else dares to formally acknowledge me.
"Think I still have time to make popcorn?" Nell jokes.
I don't find it funny. Neither does Qinnu.
Somewhere in the crowd, a chant begins. Qinnu and some of the other older men around us join in with deep, reverberating echoes and stomping feet. Eyes scanning over unfamiliar faces, I look around at the clusters of people gathered to watch the fight. Dominik is not among them.
Axe's opponent takes a step back. Colton is a man in his early forties—salt and pepper hair with a handsome face to disguise conniving motives. "Now that she finally decided to join us, I’llsay it one last time: I will rescind my challenge if you walk away from her. I can’t guarantee she’ll be granted the courtesy of a clean death once I claim your title.”
I blink twice, not fully registering that this man isn't just out for the Alpha Commander’s blood—he's out for mine. He’s coming for everything.
Snarls rip through the crowd, the chants suddenly taking on an ominous brevity.
Colton blocks them out, balling his fists at his sides. “Humans are unworthy of being at our side. She can't possibly have authority over our people."
“That’s not for you to decide," Axe bellows.
"If I don’t put you down for this, Aleksandr, someone else will. Assuming she even survives the bite, her induction will gravely offend the Council. Has the thought even crossed your mind?”
Axe lowers his voice to taunt him. "Your pelt will make a fine coat for my mate. Perhaps I’ll even let her skin you."
Holy shit.I think I just forgot how to breathe.
Qinnu harrumphs and throws his head back to howl. Dozens of others follow suit, joining his chorus. Hundreds of eyes scan the crowd, eerily sliding over to my face. Axe's do the same, lightning streaks bursting when they land on me. His biceps are bulging tight enough to snap, ready to give way to the all-consuming rage boiling beneath.
Axe charges towards Colton, in a flash becoming a massive creature of black fur with daggers for teeth. Colton shifts into a bronze wolf, seconds before the Alpha's maw locks around his neck. Before Axe clamps his jaws down, the bronze wolf bucks him off, landing a bite around his back leg. Axe snarls, quickly rolling back to his defensive stance.
Next to me, Qinnu chuckles.
Axe answers with a slash to Colton’s face, slicing clean through his right eye. The group of warriors below whoop and holler with approval. Judging by their sagging leather belts, they’re all armed just as heavily as their captain.
Writhing in pain, the wolf retaliates by ramming his head into Axe’s, ichor spraying all over his black coat. I raise my hand to shield my eyes.
Qinnu grips my wrist. “Don’t look away.”
Warily, I lift my gaze back to the snowy field, where Axe has tackled his opponent once again, barreling into him. Colton struggles to find his balance, exposing his throat to a nasty slash.
I take a deep breath and try to remain as calm as humanly possible. Jaws collide, blood spatter flying through the air. I flinch at every hit, especially the second bite Colton manages to land behind Axe’s shoulder. The two wolves are a cyclone of sharp claws and teeth, desperately struggling for control, swiping at each other’s muzzles. Colton is determined to tear out the Alpha’s throat. But each time, Axe dodges his strike.
Nell slumps against the railing. “He isreallydragging this out.”
At just the right moment, Axe mauls the tendons in Colton’s hind leg, which gives out with a thump. Seizing the advantage, he pins the bronze wolf to the ground and gouges his front claws into the lycan’s chest. A ragged cry rings out into the open.
“Won’t be long now,” Qinnu mutters.
As his opponent gasps for air, Axe tears into the underbelly, further exposing his ribs. With one last violent slash, the black wolf shreds the broken chest cavity. Repulsion seeps into my weakening stomach. Axe circles the dying beast, watching the faces of all the spectators. They are cheering him on, as if the duel is not yet finished.
“Isn’t it over?”
Qinnu gives me the side eye, arms crossed smugly. “Axe typically finishes his kill by tearing out the spine.”
