Alpha

Chapter 13

The referee called out for the fight to begin, and Colin stepped forward, full of bravado and stupidity. He paced back and forth, taunting Konrad and demanding that he get up and fight.

I looked at his pack, who watched quietly. They appeared to be concerned, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that they were worried.

"Do you get the feeling that we might be wrong about everything?"

"You might be wrong," Alec muttered. "I placed my bet on Konrad winning."

I turned and looked at Alec in mild horror.

"You did not."

"I did. He's seen as a reasonable chance because he's young and fit, but the failed coup hasn't helped any. The payout will be insane."

"It wasn't a failure. It was just altered."

Alec shifted on the seat to face me.

"Face reality, Megan. You won the coup by using words, but you still won. Konrad left with his life, but he would have struggled to keep other packs from taking him down. The problem for him is that in places like this, there is always a hierarchy. Black Ridge has hit the bottom and that's why the odds are so stacked against him winning. He might be here because he knew you would be here too but the reality is that his Beta and his elders would have insisted that he was seen. I bet they even suggested,"

Alec paused and stared into the distance.

"Suggested what?"

His face twitched before looking at me. Leaning in, he whispered in my ear.

"Doing something crazy like a ritual fight."

I shifted to look at him, offering a mighty frown.

"You cannot be serious?"

"Best way to claw your way up from the bottom. What do you think will happen if he wins, aside from saving you from that asshole?"

"He's rank jumping?"

Alec nodded. I shook my head with disappointment. It was mild but still obvious because Konrad was risking a lot. Rank jumping was supposed to be confined to the tournaments, and wolves were not meant to be doing it at a mate meetup.

"It's got nothing to do with us. Don't say anything, and we don't know anything."

"Yeah," I said with a heavy sigh.

Alec turned back to the fight that really wasn't anything other than Colin wasting energy yet again.

Colin stopped and looked at the referee, who shrugged in response. Then he gestured at Konrad with a silent suggestion that maybe he should go over there.

"Yeah," I whispered. "Go and get your ass kicked."

Giving a frustrated huff, Colin began the walk to Konrad. The closer he got, the slower he went. Almost like he was waiting for Konrad to jump up at him and start fighting.

It wasn't until Colin was in striking distance that Konrad actually moved. I know that because Konrad actually struck the first blow.

He'd caught Colin off guard, even if he was hyper-aware of everything Konrad was or wasn't doing. In a blur of movement, Konrad stood and landed a hook into Colin's jaw. I felt the pain in my own hand all over again.

The punch was so hard that Colin actually became airborne. His body thumped to the mat close to the center. It was loud and earned a round of oohs from the crowd. Colin sat up, looking a little bewildered at first. When he saw that Konrad hadn't moved from his side of the mat, Colin grew more irate.

Colin stood, racing towards him with an angry growl. Konrad waited, and when Colin was close enough, his hand reached forward, and the palm pressed against the sternum. A crack echoed and like us, many of the spectators winced.

"Do you think he broke the sternum?" Jojo whispered.

"Maybe."

Colin stumbled back, frowning as he stopped and realized that he wasn't where he should be. When he looked at Konrad, Colin got a smile from him. I'd never seen such a devious smile on Konrad, and it made me wonder if any of our interactions during the territory war were dangerous. It didn't seem as if they were.

The taunting smile though, that caused problems. Colin sneered as the anger grew, which made the mood turn volatile.

"You think you're so perfect, pretty boy?" Colin hissed. "You're nothing. You're weak, and you lost to an Omega, a female one at that."

"Actually, the Alpha and I negotiated a temporary truce. She was grieving the loss of her family, who were murdered by one of the elders. The very same elder that attacked her. The gender of the Alpha has no bearing on our interactions, and your statement shows how the brilliance of a female Alpha would be lost on someone like you. As for what happened, it is between me, the Alpha of West River and our packs. I have not been perfect in the moves that I have made but I hope that in time, everyone involved will understand my reasons for my actions."

I did understand. He was right. The actions weren't perfect, but they were reasonable.

As for that temporary truce, he might be right about that. More than I cared to admit.

I couldn't tell if Colin was angry that he'd been struck twice or because he couldn't make sense of what Konrad was saying. The fist was flying with the predictable growl of anger.

It didn't get far. Konrad stopped it before it connected. With a twist of the gripped fist, Colin was howling in pain.

Something cracked, and Jojo gasped.

"Oh my god, if the bone is out, then I am going to be sick."

"It's not," Alec responded. "But it is definitely broken."

"Where, though?" I hummed with interest.

Konrad looked at me, and with a sinful smirk and a wink directed at me, he turned Colin so that his broken arm was behind his back. More cracking echoed through the auditorium as Colin screamed from the pain. Groans and winces were coming from all directions.

"He's such a showoff," Jojo whispered.

Alec nudged my shoulder.

"Now broken in several places. I'd like to offer my gratitude to you for lowering Konrad's reputation enough to make the odds so deliciously beautiful."

"You're a rich man?"

"Might just be richer than you."

"I'm not rich," I muttered. "Just unlucky enough to inherit a car and a house."

Alec gave me a sympathetic smile.

"This is pack life, Megan. We know that there are risks with everything that we do. What sets you apart from everyone else is your ability to predict how things will pass. Getting yourself a good Beta will help with that. Out there is a man that can fit the requirements. All he has to do is win the battle."

"Oh, I think he's done that perfectly well."

"I didn't mean the drastically outmatched fight."

Alec smiled, leaving me with the statement. I knewwhat he meant. Konrad had to win the battle that was me. It was not an easytask.