Taking Down the Alpha

35 Violent Dance

The morning of the fight was grey with a light sporadic drizzle. If it rained too hard I worried that they might need to postpone the match, but fortunately the sky had mostly cleared by the time the hour arrived.

Almost the entire pack stood crowded on the edges of the training field, around the large section that was blocked off for the fight. I stood off to the side in the centre of the field, my family  and friends on my right, Munroe and Alard's non-pack supporters on the left. Beta Nate and a few of Alpha Hudson's friends stood on the other side of the field. Beta Nate glared across periodically, but I couldn't tell if it was me he was glaring at or if it was Andrew with his arms wrapped tightly around Denise. Liana hadn't arrived yet, but I was so nervous I could barely spare her a thought. She said she would be here, and she would be.

The fight was set to be refereed by a former alpha from a neutral pack. It had been difficult to find someone both sides could agree on, because were weren't willing to let the fight be controlled by a pack that had aligned itself with Huntstone under the reign of Alpha Hudson, and even before he knew Alard's identity it would have been a conflict of interest to have someone from the royal pack in charge of the fight.

My mate stood across from my former alpha, both of them wearing only shorts for ease of shifting. Looking at them standing on opposite sides like mirror images, I was forced to admit that Alpha Hudson really did have a point, they were similar in appearance. Alard stood there looking powerful and confident, and Alpha Hudson looked like a shadow of that strength.

I pretended not to be nervous. I didn't want the pack to sense my raging emotions.

The grey-haired former Alpha walked to the middle of the training field, back straight and slightly taller than both men in spite of his advanced age. He seemed to feel no intimidation whatsoever standing beside aggressive young alphas in their prime. He was a great choice. I'd have to tell office staff that, if things went as planned.

No. I couldn't think like that. Alard was going to win. He had to.

The referee loudly explained the rules, but I didn't really need to listen because I already knew them like the back of my hand. There weren't many, just that they had to stay in wolf form, and that the fight went to submission, unconsciousness, or in the worst case scenario, death. Once the fight was won, the victor could not attack the loser. If they left the ring it counted as a forfeiture, and they weren't allowed to push each other out, either.

"And you must maintain your wolf form until the end of the fight," he announced. "Now, shift."

Both Alard and Hudson shifted in near unison, faces elongating, bones growing and shrinking and muscles readjusting around them. They were both fast enough the shift was little more than a blur, leaving two wolves, my mate's grey fur contrasting against Hudson's dark brown.

While I wasn't surprised by Hudson's adept shift since I had seen him do it before, I didn't like it. Alard may have preferred entertainingly challenging fights, but I would have preferred if he quickly and easily beat the alpha.

"Begin."

Neither wolf moved. Hudson snarled at the wolfish version of Alard's usual fight smirk on his maw. I had the simultaneous urge to both yell at him for not being serious enough and smile because he was so incorrigible. Only Hudson's threat to rip out his throat stopped his laid-back confidence from comforting me.

Then Hudson darted forward, closing the distance between them. He wasn't playing, going straight for Alard's throat. I let out a strangled gasp, knowing just how insanely powerful the jaws of a wolf were.

Alard met his attack by snapping with his own jaws and fending off the attack with a growl. Hudson backed off before trying again, but this time Alard counterattacked and snapped at his exposed flank.