Page 42 of Dragon's Revenge

Jermon reached out with his magic but didn’t pick up on anything, not even when Adar landed another hit. “It doesn’t seem like Dempsey is using magic on him. I can’t sense it.”

“Hmm.” Fallon closed his eyes, apparently scanning again.

Thud!With a sweep of his foot, Adar managed to bring Dempsey to the ground, and he was immediately on him. He pinned him with his body, holding him in a headlock with one arm as he used the other to let loose with a veritable barrage of punches. Things were not looking good for Dempsey and glee filled Jermon. It looked like it would soon be over.

But then Adar was all but thrown back as Dempsey broke free, sending Adar flying onto his back. A flare of magic made the air shimmer.

“Hey!” Fallon called out before Jermon could say anything. “He’s using magic!” He stretched out his hands toward Dempsey. “A thine a mhúchadh!”

He was blocking Dempsey’s magic, and the effects were immediate. Adar pushed himself to his feet, blinking away some blood that dripped from his right eyebrow.

“Tell Dempsey to stop using magic,” Blair snarled at Kerry. “Or Adar will be declared the winner.”

“Get that little shit,” someone snarled, and two Murphy alphas came storming at them. Jermon jumped in front of Fallon. Erwan did the same, but before he could do anything else, the alphas were on them. Jermon tried to block a punch, but it landed against his cheek anyway. Furious, he threw his magic at them, and behind him, Fallon was rapidly shouting spells, boosted by Valdis.

“You dare raise your hand against the White Dragon?” Fallon snarled as he pushed Jermon aside and faced the two alphas. Oh, he was fearless as he raised his hands and, with one gesture, shoved them back with an invisible force, completely knocking them off their feet.

Complete chaos ensued. Blair was holding back Kerry, who was shouting at the two men to stop while Fallon rained down magical hits on them. Jermon stood in front of Erwan to protect him, his other two brothers flanking him. The others from their group held back Murphy alphas who were trying to intervene, and even Maz got a few punches in.

“Everyone, stop!” Kerry’s voice rose above the din, and it packed power. He’d boosted it with some magic, but in this case, Jermon didn’t mind. Everyone froze, and Fallon stopped too, his chest heaving with panting breaths from the effort. That had been…

Oh fuck. Jermon spun around, and Dempsey had Adar pinned. Adar was curled into a tight fetal position, instinctively shielding his head and vulnerable belly as Dempsey relentlessly pummeled him. Jermon blasted magic at Dempsey, putting up a shield around Adar. The effect was immediate. Dempsey’s punches faltered, his movements now sluggish and lacking power.

“Block his magic,” Jermon snapped at Fallon. “And fucking keep blocking it.”

“He’s used magic on him this whole time,” Erwan gasped. “What have we done?”

Jermon’s stomach rolled as he watched Adar lie motionless on the ground. Dempsey had used the distraction to beat him every which way he could. Was Adar okay? No, of course, he wasn’t. He’d broken a few ribs for sure, and maybe his nose and even his jaw? Fuck, he looked bad. Really, really bad.

Blair kneeled next to Adar. “I’m not sure he can continue…”

But Adar stirred. Jermon gasped in disbelief as the alpha, battered and bruised, managed to push himself up from the ground. His face was a grotesque tableau of injuries. Purple flesh obscured his features, his nose a bloody mess and his eyes nearly swollen shut. Blood oozed from his split lip, trickling down his chin. Yet, despite his grievous injuries, Adar stood tall. With a determined gesture, he shoved Blair away, the message clear. He wasn’t done.

Dempsey took a step back, raising shaky hands in a defensive position. “He can’t…”

“He says he’s good,” Blair said. “The fight continues. And if you use magic again, I will kill you myself.”

It should’ve been impossible. With the injuries he had, Adar shouldn’t have been able to stand, let alone fight. But he came at Dempsey, who was nothing without his magic, weakened by Adar’s earlier hits. Adar got a clean hit in, mumbling something. Then another one. What was he saying?

Finally, Jermon could make it out. “This is for Oliver, asshole. This is for Oliver. This is for my mate. This is for Oliver.”

Dempsey’s hands came down, and before he could get them up, Adar punched him full in the face. Dempsey went down without a sound. Adar immediately dropped on top of him, raining down hits on him.

“He’s out!” Kerry shouted. “Dempsey’s out!”

Blair grabbed Adar’s arm and pulled, and when the alpha didn’t stop, he physically dragged him off Dempsey. Adar rolled onto his back, where he stayed, looking up at the sky.

Maz came running, kneeling next to Dempsey. He put his fingers against his neck, bending forward. “He has no pulse.”

He looked at Kerry, who didn’t hesitate. “Let him die. He deserves it.” Kerry turned to Erwan. “Your man has won. We acknowledge his victory.”

Maz immediately hurried to Adar, whose blinks were getting slower. Jermon came running too, sinking to his knees next to Adar. The wolf alpha looked at him, managing a weak smile on his swollen, bleeding mouth. “I did it.”

The words sounded distorted, but the impact couldn’t have been greater than if he’d shouted them. Jermon’s eyes filled with tears. “Yeah, you did. You avenged Oliver.”

“He was using magic the whole time, reinforcing his hits a little.”

Oh fuck. How had they missed that? “I’m so sorry we failed to see that.”

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