Chapter 14
Abott and Calum circled each other, while the brothers formed a tight ring around them. Everyone knew what the moment was, and they wanted to see who was going to come out ahead. It might be the night that the Alpha was dethroned. It wasn’t likely in many minds and some stuck around to see Abott get what many thought he deserved. He was always the bitter one that complained about Calum’s every move. Nothing had changed and now it was his chance to take it.
Cal didn’t want to do this. He wanted to go find Ali. He couldn’t see her, but the smell of her was getting fainter and fainter as Abott tried to toy with him. “If you want this pack to follow you, make your move. I have things to do. You never would follow through with anything, Abott. You were always all talk. That’s why I was chosen: action.”
He’d wanted to get his brother mad, and Abott was practically foaming at the mouth. Cal didn’t have time to waste. He changed into his true form once more and towered over the man. It signified he was done talking about it and Cal was the one ready to see what happened next.
Abott made his transformation, and it was then that the differences were seen. Abott had always been smaller and lighter than his younger brother. The two had fought many times, and Abott had never gotten the best of Cal. His anger blinded him to the fact that the only way he was going to be able to win was to outsmart Cal. This couldn’t be done when he was in such a rage.
He launched towards Cal and he sidestepped him quite easily. The two bears finally came together in a ball of snarling teeth and claws. The brothers could do nothing to help either one. It had to be this way, so that the pack could stay together. It had to be done in front of everyone and no one could interfere. No one even said a word as the two men fought each other.
Abott was losing quickly. His anger was gone, and now he was taking hit after hit. It was hard for him to stand up soon and Cal was on top of him, ready to go in for the kill.
He was mad enough that he could do it, but then he wised up and looked down at his brother.
“Say it.”
“I give up.”
Abott was quick to wave the proverbial white flag. He’d gotten in way over his head. Calum had the right to make it to the death, but he didn’t want to kill his own brother. He wanted to go away with Ali and figure out what was supposed to happen next.
“This ends here, Abott.”
Cal stood up, changing back to his human form. “I will say this only one time. Ali is now my mate. She will be found and brought back to the village. That is the only way that this is going to happen. If I must have each one of you heel in front of me tonight, this is what will be done.”
The man was ready to wipe out any sort of mutiny that was going to happen. It wasn’t going to happen on his watch, and he was sure that he was going to be able to figure it out as soon as he put anyone that needed it in their place.
Not one of his other brothers came forward. Calum was the second oldest in the bunch of twelve and no one was going to come up against him after he laid out the oldest one. Abott looked out of it and no one helped him up either. They were ready to follow their leader, glad that they weren’t put in the same position. Cal hadn’t gotten his title for no reason. It was because he was the strongest and the toughest in the River clan.
Orders were given to find Ali, and it wasn’t long before the pack was moving north. Calum was trying to figure out where she was going, but it became clear by how far she’d gone that she was picking up more of the nightwalkers talents. She was traveling far faster than a human was able to do, for a period of sustained time that was keeping her ahead of them.
The smell of nightwalker got stronger, and after a short time, Ali’s smell was almost completely gone. Another nightwalker, several in fact, were detected from scent alone and the strength of it told Calum that they weren’t far off. There was a distinct sense of who the nightwalker stalking Ali was and it spurned him on to go faster. He had to keep her safe. He’d promised his wife that, and now that Ali was his mate, Cal’s main duty was to protect her. If he was to believe Michael, she was also carrying his child and the fate of the whole clan lay in her stomach. She had to be found and protected at all costs.
He started to worry that something was wrong. The path was suddenly too clear, and it was like they were leading the pack into a trap. Cal stopped and told no one else to follow. He couldn’t walk them into something that was going to take them all out. They were there for his mate, so he would take the risk going forward. The eerie feeling inside of him told Cal that whatever was going to happen, whatever the nightwalkers had in store for him, was imminent.
One step made a snapping sound, and there were several nightwalkers that pounced on him. He was trying to avoid the bigger one that came towards him. While he was dodging one, his eyes were all over, looking for Trenton. He was sure that the man had his mate and he was going to do everything in his power to get Ali back in his arms. He was determined.
His conviction was momentarily sidetracked when he got hit in the face. The vamps were everywhere, and his brothers came to take the few down that had jumped on him. Cal hadn’t wanted them all exposed, but he was thankful for the help.
The battle was only minutes long, but to everyone involved, it most likely felt like it was much longer. Cal was trying to get away from the chaos, but it took a while to check everyone and to question the last dying nightwalker.
“She’s gone with Trenton, and he’s taken her away. You’ll never find her. He’s found his queen, and now there will be even more of us, stronger than ever before.”
Cal was done hearing him, and some of his anger was directed at the messenger for giving him that sort of news. He smashed the nightwalkers head, silencing him forever. He could have let him live out the few minutes that he had left, but he didn’t want to hear about one of them having her.
He wanted to go on, but a couple of his brothers were hurt, and he needed to make sure everyone got back without another incident like before. He knew that she was going to be safe because of the way the vampire talked about her. She was now Trenton’s queen, and it was much like being his mate, though she was his first.
He couldn’t stand the idea of the man touching her, anyone touching her, but there was nothing that he could do about it. Not now. Now he was going to take the clan back to the village and lick their wounds. She wasn’t going to be with most of the nightwalkers. No, Trenton had a personal hideout that he had most likely dragged her to.
Cal was going to find out where that was because he had no leverage anymore. Trenton was the one that had everything that he wanted. He had no need to go back and the realization of that depressed him. How was he going to get her back now? Cal had no clue, but he knew that he had to find her. She was carrying his child and that meant she was carrying the clan’s future within her. She couldn’t have the baby while she was there. The nightwalkers would never let it live if they knew the truth.
