Unhappily Ever After

Chapter 27 - Echoes

Half-term! So much extra time to write. You can expect another chapter at the end of the week. (Yes, that's three in a row, you lucky creatures). I'll be starting to write the Luna of Rogues sequel soon, and you can expect it by this summer.

By the time Lee and I had managed to haul our asses to the other side of the table, about a third of the combatants were on the floor. We stepped over two Betas and found Vik doing his best to break the Riverside Alpha's jaw.

Between us, we managed to catch hold of his shoulders and drag him backwards. I dropped Vik facedown on the ground, half underneath the table, and pinned him with an arm across the back of his neck before he could twist around and punch me.

"Sit on him," I told Lee. "I'll get Ivan."

"He'll actually kill me, Joe," Lee complained, but he did it anyway.

I waded back through the combat zone, occasionally pausing just long enough to kick and shove men off each other. When I reached Ivan and Cornell by the back wall, I had to pause just to snort, because they had apparently attacked their own guards so they could keep fighting — all four men were lying around unconscious or bloodied up.

Neither of them seemed to be winning, per se, but Cornell was fighting with the sort of wild rage that got people killed, so I pulled Ivan over backwards between blows and took his place. The Lowland Alpha had just enough time to frown as he processed the change in opponent before I ducked under one punch, caught the next, and delivered a kick to the back of his knee that any rookie should have seen coming.

His leg buckled, but he didn't fall, so I pushed him into the wall and crushed his throat into the bricks. He didn't stop struggling without air, but his struggling wasn't half so violent. It was too easy. The mainlanders fought with brute force: none of them bothered to think.

I could hear the scuff of feet behind me, and I knew Ivan had picked himself up. He was level-headed enough not to wreak havoc at my back, but I didn't like it, all the same. Having a stranger stood behind me was vulnerability on a scale I didn't often reach.

"Are you done?" I demanded. "Overgrown toddlers. Except you're not fighting over a toy — you're fighting over a real bloody human being. And guess what? Neither of you own her."

Ivan raised his eyebrows. Cornell was staring at me with a mixture between hatred and intense puzzlement. Maybe he'd never had a random guard from a barely legitimate pack call him out on his shit before. Or maybe he was starting to recognise the plucky guy who'd searched a rogue stronghold for him. Who knew.

The fight was breaking up, now — as guards managed to get hold of their Alphas and the Betas broke away like faithful hounds. Lee had let Vik onto his feet, and the dark-haired young Alpha was watching me with thinly-veiled hatred.

"You can let him go," Ivan told me, nodding at Cornell. His wording was careful, I couldn't help noticing. A suggestion, not a command. He must have figured it out by now.

I let Cornell go.

He took a quick, gasping breath and then massaged his throat. His eyes were dark, his chest rumbling silently. Interestingly, he didn't make any move to attack me, although his wolf was making it abundantly clear that he wanted to.

"Joe," Vik said, a warning and a recall.

Thinking he was safe — I wouldn't dare disobey my Alpha, now would I? — Cornell snarled, "Does this disrespectful piece of shit belong to you, Lloyd? I want him out of the packmeet."

I felt a grin tugging at my lips, and I didn't try all too hard to hide it.

"Yes, I think that would be a good idea," Ivan murmured. His eyes were looking into my soul again, and his mind was nudging at mine. Instead of slamming my walls into place, I left them wide open, thinking back to what Dafydd had said. He stayed well clear, after that. It smelt like a trap.