WITCHE'S BEAST *(needs editing )

chapter 8

Aaron

Evelina's anxiety radiated through the bond. I could feel her small, trembling hands, her fear and sadness seeping into me. Daniel had her in safe arms, I hoped-because I could not allow any harm to come to her.

My wolf filled me with strength and confidence, reminding me why I fought. We had purpose now. We belonged beside her.

Yet it was frustrating. Alphas across the world wanted to challenge me for a power I wasn't even sure I possessed. Zion had made his challenge, and I had to meet him at the borders of our lands-far from our pack houses-to protect our females and children.

"What happens if you lose this challenge?" Eric's question caught me off guard.

"Losing means death," my father said quietly. "And that should not happen under our watch."

I didn't yet know the full extent of my Alpha King powers. Eric, young and untested, looked worried. Facing Zion alone was enough to frighten anyone; he was selfish, greedy, and ruthless.

"Don't overthink it," I told him, patting him on the back. "If the Goddess wills it, we'll be fine."

"Blessed be," Alpha Gideon and Alpha Gale intoned together.

I caught the scent of mud and Otis-Zion had arrived. My body shifted instinctively, bones twisting, wolf instincts taking over. Paws dug into the earth, muscles coiled for the sprint. My wolf wanted Zion dead for daring to challenge me, for threatening what was mine.

Zion stood before me in human form, flanked by his beta, delta, and two others-likely his omegas.

"We ain't wasting time, are we?" My beast growled, a low warning to shift or attack immediately.

"Fucking great. Let's not waste time... as the need to fuck your little whore is-" He didn't finish. I lunged, and in a blur, both of us shifted into our wolf forms. His pack followed suit, their beasts unleashed to ensure no interference. Mine did the same.

We clashed, biting and tumbling. His wolf circled mine, scarred from past fights. A surge of bile hit my stomach as I rammed him into a tree. Zion bit my left leg-clever-but I kicked him off with my right, blood seeping from the wound.

"Son, study your prey. Anticipate his next move," my father mind-linked me. I nodded, struggling to balance pain and strategy.

Zion lunged mid-air. I bit his side, but he twisted, ripping a chunk from my own. I fell, bloodied and numb. My wolf weakened; my mind blurred. Everything faded-my pack, Zion, the battlefield. Only Evelina existed in my vision.

"Eve... what are yo-" I couldn't speak. She placed a finger on my lips.

"Don't say anything, Aaron. Just listen." Tears filled her eyes as she took my hand in hers. "You are dying-and so am I. But I am here because our souls are connected."

"How can she be dying with me?" I thought. She nodded, wiping her tears.

"You must trust your wolf completely. Give him control," she said. I had always balanced man and beast, afraid of unleashing his merciless side.

"You promised you'd come back," she whispered. And then everything snapped into clarity. My wolf surged forward.

I sprang to my feet on all fours, giving him full control. He was pure predator now, fast and lethal. Zion's beast fell under relentless bites. I tore into his neck, and then shifted back to human form.

His pack bent the knee in submission. Zion shivered on the ground.

"Shift," I commanded. Reluctantly, he returned to human form.

"Why won't you kill me?" he begged.

"No," I said firmly. "I am not a monster. You will go back and speak of today. You will correct your wrongs. You will respect the law of the Alpha King."

Even my father's gaze acknowledged the power radiating from me. Every wolf present knelt. Authority, dominance, and command of a true Alpha King filled the air.

I collapsed, cold and spent. Eric and my father caught me as my vision blurred, the fight over but my responsibility-and the weight of what was coming-just beginning.