Run With Me

Chapter Thirty One

"Let's all calm down," Devin stepped into the middle of the fray, trying to diffuse the situation. He looked at Darren, "you lead this pack with an iron fist, but she still has rights. Legally, you have to answer the challenge." Darren snorted.

"She has no wolf," his voice filled with a sneer, "the challenge will be over before it even starts." Kirk snorted, trying to hide a laugh. Even Zoe and John were hiding smiles.

"Are you so sure about that brother dear?" Terri's voice held the hint of her own smile, "Are you sure I have no wolf?" Everyone from mediator to Darren, Kayla, and Collin were now looking at Terri. "Maybe there were other reasons why I never shifted," she stood up and moved to look up at her brother, "Maybe the discrimination I experience kept my wolf locked away until it was life and death. Maybe I should give Anna and her little cronies a thank you for trying to kill me and forcing me to use my wolf to survive." There was no coming back from the challenge, she knew that, so she might as well play her full hand.

"Do you accuse the members of this pack of attempted murder?" Darren stood to his full height and looked down at Terri.

"Accuse? If that's the word you want to use, sure," she shrugged her shoulders, "stating a fact? That would be a better choice of words for the situation." She looked over at John, "you can use the desk in my old bedroom to do the paperwork. We should be done the challenge while you work." Spinning on her good foot, Terri began to leave the office, "the training space in the basement should be big enough for a challenge," she paused, "or would you rather do this outside and not run the risk of damaging my house?" Her words and tone were deliberately goading Darren.

"Outside," he growled, following Terri, "and I never accepted this farce of a challenge. A human has no way to defeat a wolf in combat," he gave his own smile, twisted as it was, in response, "but if you want to forfeit the fight while standing in the snow, we can do that too." As he walked up to Kayla, he reached for his mate only to find that she was retreating from him, clutching their child protectively.

"How could you?" The pain in her voice gave only the slightest indication of how fractured their mating bond was, "how could you say that to her? Please tell me you didn't mean it." Kayla was pleading with her mate, the tears staining her skin.

"She's the reason they were in the city, why they were on the roads that night," Darren turned and looked over his shoulder at Kirk, "it would have been better if they had all died. But she survived and I had to live with her every day knowing she was the reason our parents were dead." Darren continued to follow Terri, who had stopped in the hallway to listen. Terri was fighting back the tears, trying to hold onto her anger. Darren didn't even try to pretend that the bump that sent her flying into the wall was accidental. Terri just stood there, paralyzed with memories.

"You don't have to do this," Kirk had come up behind his mate, wrapping his arms around her, "I'll fight him." Terri only shook her head.

"No," she turned in his arms to hold him back, "This is my fight." She looked up at her mate, feeling a sense of peace and comfort that had been missing for longer than she could remember, "besides, the weather will be to my advantage." Kirk just looked at her skeptically.

"You have no training in your wolf form," he argued, "Darren is a trained alpha with years of experience, you only just started shifting a few days ago." Terri looked at her concerted mate and gave him a smile.