The Resilient Mate

Chapter Eighteen.

The plane ride from the pack house in Austria to the airport on the Montana/ Wyoming state border in was a few hours; supersonic plane and all that jazz. I got a good rest in those few hours though and I woke just before we were scheduled to land.

I knew that Yiannis and at least ten of the pack warriors would be waiting for me when I landed. Jenna had sent another thirty men with me to insure that I had sufficient backup if I needed it.

I unbuckled my seatbelt as the plane touched down and stood, stretching my limbs. The door opened a second later and I waited until all the men had exited the plane. The sun was bright as I stood in the doorway of the plane. Flicking down my glasses I surveyed the crowd and smiled when I saw Yiannis and Hunter. I bounded down the stairs and before I reached the bottom, Hunter had scooped me up in a giant hug. “Eve! It’s so good to see you!”

He pulled away and Yiannis took his place, smiling down at me. “Well look at you little Miss she wolf!” He exclaimed. I rolled my eyes and stepped away from the men I’d grown up with; Yiannis was my grandfather’s brother, my granduncle, and Hunter was Jenna’s second cousin. Both of them were formidable warriors and hundreds of years old, in fact, many of the men here were.  

“Are you ready for the challenge?” Hunter asked as we walked to the numerous cars parked on the tarmac.

I shrugged and looked out of the window. “I hope so.”

-

The cars drew up the driveway of the pack house. As the men exited the cars, the house doors opened and people began spilling out. They all thought that more men had arrived to take care of the rouge situation… how wrong they were.

I was the last to step out of the car and none masked the surprise and shock on their faces; a woman enforcer was unheard of, save for Jenna and Davy. I walked with Yiannis and Hunter towards a group of people who looked very haughty; three females and two men. Some had a resemblance to the woman I was going to torment and looking at her family, I felt no regret of what I would do to them; they were looking at everyone around them like they were dirt under their shoes.

I saw a curvy woman rush past by but as she passed one of the younger girls who looked to be around seventeen or eighteen, she tripped on her extended foot. The entire family cracked up in laughter and no one offered to help up the poor woman. I ran forward and grabbed her arm, helping her up while glaring at the alpha. “Is this how you treat your pack members? Your daughter just tripped this woman and you do nothing but laugh?” I questioned angrily. It reminded me too much of the times Lani’s foot had been in my way.

I passed the woman over to two of Jenna’s warriors and faced off with the alpha who looked to be fuming. “How dare you come in and question me in front of my family and pack?” He snarled. “I could have you put to the death for speaking out against me you lowlife bitch!”

My face was blank but my eyes were spitting fire at him. “I challenge you, Robert Cordero to the position of alpha over the Nahkohe Tribe.”

He looked completely shocked for a second before he burst into laughter. “You’ve got to be kidding; it seems that your alpha has got a sense of humour after all.” He shook his head while looking me up and down with a mocking grin. “You’re feisty but I know you can’t shift, so how do you to expect to beat me, an alpha and a shifter?”   I gave him a feral grin as my eyes began to blacken. “Do you accept my challenge alpha?”   His grin fell away and he looked around to see everyone watching us. He was stuck between a rock and hard place; accept and die or decline and lose any control he has over his pack. Obviously he didn’t think I was any threat because he promptly accepted. “When?”   I wanted to get it over as soon as possible and I knew that if I stuffed around they could assassinate me or toss me out. “Now.”   “Very well then, prepare to die.” He turned and strode away. I looked over my shoulder to see every single one of Jenna’s men behind me. I felt a malicious smile spread across my face as I turned back to watch the alpha retreat. He would die today and his family would be shipped back to Jenna where some very…. unsavoury things would happen to them, by my hand. That bitch would watch as her family died because of her actions and by the time I was done with her, she would be wishing for death.   - The pack stood on the edge of the field, the pack warriors standing in front of the women and teenagers; there were no children, only wolves older than sixteen. The alpha stood opposite me separated by only a few metres. An elder stood between us, announcing the rules of the challenge and offering a chance to back out.   I stood my head when he offered me my last chance to withdraw; I would not back down, not now, not ever. As the elder stepped back, the alpha pulled off his pants and shifted into a decent sized sandy wolf, slight red streaks running across his back as he glared at me with dirt brown eyes. His long sharp canines were bared at me as he snarled. I bared my teeth back at him and stripped off my jacket, throwing it over to Hunter. My shirt, jeans, boots and bra followed before I let the change wash over me.   I saw the surprise in his eyes as I fell onto all fours, now a giant dark brown, nearly black wolf. Because I’d been turned by a powerful alpha and my parents, both betas in their own rights, I was huge for a female and stood a few inches taller than him. I growled, revealing my sharp, deadly canines and without warning pounced.     He ducked and snapped at my belly but missed. I kept him in my line of sight at all times as I circled him; underestimating your opposition could and would get you killed.   He made the next move and swiped at me face. I dodged and clamped my jaw down on his paw, shattering bone as I nearly bit his foot off. He snapped at my face with a fearsome growl and caught the side of my muzzle, tearing the skin. I released his paw and he tried to bit my side but I shoved him to the ground with my shoulder. His injured foot prevented him from standing as quickly and I took advantage of it. I pinned his injured paw with my back foot and put weight on it, making him howl in pain. I snapped at his shoulder when he tried to bite me and then went in for the kill. My teeth latched onto his throat, sinking through skin and flesh. I jerked my head from side to side, tearing out his windpipe. His body went limp underneath me as he gurgled and I watched the life drain from his eyes.   There was a scream and a woman broke away from the guards, running past them to cradle the head of the dead alpha on her lap. Tears poured down her face as she sobbed over his dead form. This was the alpha female and the bitch’s mother. I knew that I could end her here but I had better things in store for her.   I shifted and Hunter handed me a shirt. “Take her and the alpha family away, lock them in the cells; all of them.” Hunter nodded and I watched as guards seized the family members, dragging the alpha female away from the body of her dead mate screaming. “Wait.” I called, walking towards the family. They stared up at me with hateful glares but I could see the fear they tried to bury. “You can thank your sister for what will happen to you all.”   The male growled and tried to lash out at the guards but he was forcefully pushed down to the ground. “You will pay.” He growled, glaring up at me through his eyelashes.   “I already have.” I muttered as they were dragged away.   -   “Jenna says that I should have a word with the rouges while I’m here.” I told Hunter and Yiannis as I walked into the alpha’s office, buttoning up my jeans.   Hunter nodded as Yiannis sighed and flopped onto a nearby chair. “I’ve sent word to her; she will send planes for the pack. We will oversee the sale of the pack house and we’re still not sure what to do with the land. Are you sure that you want to hand it over to Jenna?” Hunter asked. “You’ve got the blood of a powerful alpha running through your veins now; you could claim this pack as your own and I know that Jenna wouldn’t protest.”   I shook my head and sat down across from Yiannis. “No, I don’t want a pack.” I didn’t want the responsibility of hundreds of lives, constantly staking my claim over territory and the bother of conversing with other alphas; not all were as good or tolerable as Jenna. “Let’s just visit the rouges and get it over with.”   “How many men do you want to take?”   “How many rouges are there?” I asked, knowing that although they hadn’t attacked the pack, it would be unwise to wander onto their territory without protection. Rouges, no matter how young or rabid, were all unpredictable and dangerous; you could never be too careful. “And how many enforcers does this pack have? What’s their skill level?”