The Mating (The original Law of the Lycans story)

Chapter 3

Elise woke with a start from a deep sleep and blinked in confusion. This wasn't her bedroom. Where was she? A noise from the foot of the bed drew her attention and she was greeted with the rear view of a very well-built and very naked male. The sight stunned her for a moment before she remembered recent events. She was in a cabin with her new mate, Kane. The past twenty-four hours hadn't been a bad dream; they were reality.

She let her head sink back onto the pillow and silently studied the man who was getting dressed before her. Muscles rippled across his back and his taut buttocks. His legs were long and sturdy, also giving evidence of his strength. As his lower anatomy disappeared from view under a pair of briefs, he glanced her way and caught her watching him.

"I see you're awake."

"Uh-huh. What time is it?" She found her voice was a bit raspy, her throat still tight from her earlier emotions.

"Almost noon. You must have been tired after our run." He turned to grab a shirt and she noticed a long scar on his side, its pink color indicating that it was still fairly new. She vaguely recalled seeing it last night but had been otherwise occupied.

"What happened to your side?"

Kane glanced casually down at the mark. "Nothing. Just a scratch from a fight."

"That's more than a scratch. Who was the fight with?"

"Another werewolf named Ryne." Kane shrugged as if to dismiss the matter and stepped into his pants.

The scar appeared to have come from a serious injury, not just the result of a minor scuffle. Not sure why it suddenly mattered to her, she pressed for more information. "Why were you fighting?"

Kane sighed and finished doing up his zipper before turning and facing her, his arms crossed in resignation. "You aren't going to leave this alone are you?" He quirked his brow at her.

"No. I have an inquiring mind." Elise gave him a smirk that indicated she wasn't planning on backing down. He might be her Alpha but she wasn't going to let him walk all over her—she'd come to that decision earlier in the morning—and there was no time like the present to start showing that she had a backbone, especially since she still had home turf advantage.

"Well, in that case, I suppose I should tell you. Otherwise you might ask questions of the wrong people and end up with some incorrect information." He rubbed his hands over his face then walked to the window and stared outside while speaking. "As you know, I'm the new Alpha of my pack. Our previous leader, Zack, was killed in an accident. Ryne and I were both Betas. Half of the Elders favoured me as the new Alpha and half wanted Ryne."

"So, it went to a pack vote?"

"Usually that's what would have happened, but Ryne pulled out the old rules and declared a challenge."

"A challenge? That's not done anymore. It's ridiculous! We've evolved beyond that." Elise shuddered. The idea of two males fighting to the death for the leadership was barbaric.

"I agree, but he was still within his rights."

"So...what happened?"

"We fought. I won."

"Did you...kill him?" She almost hated to ask the question. The idea that her mate could kill a fellow Lycan was sickening.

"No. It was a long drawn out fight and both of us were pretty beaten up by time it was over. He made an impulsive move. I pinned him down and could have crushed his windpipe, but instead let him go."

"And where is he now? Did he stay in the pack?"

Kane shook his head. "Ryne chose to leave. I told him he could stay—we'd been pack mates for years—but he said he wasn't going to grovel in front of me. He was bitter and said some crazy things." He paused and shrugged, but the tone of his voice when he spoke again belied his outward lack of concern. "In the long run, it's probably best he's gone. There would have been too much division in the pack if he'd stayed."