Page 30 of Bad Situation

“It's time," Damon directed.

They all began to head out the front door, where three SUVs waited for them. Grant and Jenna rode with Duroc and Bindi. He didn't see which SUVs the others loaded in. It didn't matter because he knew they were all coming with them. As soon as they were in, the driver took off. It would take two and a half hours to get where they were going. He wondered if any traps were waiting for them along the way, and he hoped that Harry had some magical protection on these SUVs so they would make it where they were going.

A truck tried to hit them two hours later, but it bounced off and hit a tree instead. Thank the goddess for Harry and that she was on their side. After that, it seemed like they were a constant target, but no one could strike them. That didn't stop them from striking other things, and once they did, they were out of commission. It seemed obvious that George did not want to lose his position and especially did not want to lose his life.

Grant had to admit that meeting his father for the first time in the circle felt strange. He'd never thought of him as his father, and maybe that would make it easier to kill him. George was a worthless piece of crap that he really hadn't ever wanted to meet or deal with in any way. He was taking this on because he had caused others great sorrow. That was the justice that his mother and Jenna's mother deserved.

He glanced over at his mate, and it was obvious that she was nervous, so he took her hand and squeezed it lightly. While he might be risking his life, she was risking her love. It was a tragedy to find a fated mate and immediately have to risk losingthem. He knew how he would feel if her life was at risk, and it was clear that she felt the same way. If not for this, a beautiful life would have been ahead of them without dangerous chances.

While it was true that working for Tyne could be dangerous, they had managed well, and he'd never felt any doubts that they would continue to do so. Even if he managed to defeat George, there could be other challengers once he became alpha. There was also the chance that someone would challenge Jenna. Could she win a fight? It depended on the challenger. She had been trained well and was a good fighter for a female. That made it a good thing that only a female could challenge her.

Grant had to admit that he couldn't imagine the female that could beat her unless it was Harry with her magic or Moe, who is also a good fighter. Neither of them would ever have a reason to fight Jenna. His mind was rambling on, probably trying to avoid thinking about what was about to happen. He believed he would win, but there was no true winner in fights to the death. It was worse in this case because he would be killing his father. Maybe it was even worse that he didn't feel badly about it.

They finally arrived at George's pack. His pack house was large and looked good. That would be 1 less thing to deal with when he won. Damon led the way to the circle. It was obvious he'd been there before. George was not here yet, but there was a little bit of time before he had to be. Others had gathered, waiting for what they knew would be a fight. Nothing mattered except to get the fight over with and move to the next step. His eyes scanned the surrounding territory, wondering if hidden traps awaited him. Harry and Marissa were setting up their spells that would hopefully protect him from anything George could come up with.

There was no doubt in his mind that he would win this fight without cheating or interference. George appeared, and it washard to tell if he was confident in his fighting skills or in the actions he was going to take to ensure his win.

“I see you are still out to get me, Damon. No one can beat me, and you know it. Who are you feeding to the wolf this time?” George asked.

“This is your son, Grant," Damon replied.

“The half-blood? He should have died long ago. Someone must have helped him, or he would have never made it this long," George insisted.

“Are you admitting that you knew you had a son and did not support him?” Damon asked.

“I admit nothing except that I heard he was half-blooded and should have died long ago," George said. “A half-blooded wolf has no place in our society. I will finish him off, and he will no longer be a concern.”

“Take care, George, lest your blood bite you back.” Tyne entered the conversation.

“You know nothing of these things," George stated.

“I believe I know more than you do. You had an heir and cast him away, but now you have nothing. He will take your place, but you will be long gone," Tyne replied. “It is almost time for the fight.”

Someone else pushed their way through the crowd and took a place in the seat where the judge sat. It looked like George had asked a friend with some position in the council to judge the challenge. There was not much this judge could do once the fight began, and he could not help George, so Damon allowed him to keep his position in the judge’s seat. It would only help make this fight look proper and stop anyone from arguing that it was improperly done.

The spells were set, and everyone was in their place except for the two fighters, who had not yet taken their place in the ring. All the others were seated, waiting for the judge to start things.

“Orion, are you ready to start the fight?” Damon asked.

Orion looked surprised. Grant was sure they intended to use this to delay the fight. They would say that Orion was an acceptable judge and that they had not allowed him the position that he should have, and they would cancel the fight. Now, there was no way to cancel it because Damon was letting him take charge and only observing like a council member generally did.

Finally, the male nodded. He stumbled through the explanation of these fights, and it was obvious that he had never been the judge at one before. At this point, he found no way to delay the fight any longer, so he slapped his fist into his palm so that the two fighters could begin. As the challenger, George's place was to decide what form the fight would begin in. No one had told him that, so they started fighting in human form and continued that way until someone yelled instructions to George. He'd fought a few times and should have known he could fight however he chose.

Once he'd been told he could change if he wanted to, he immediately changed to a sad-looking wolf. Grant changed, too. He was a beautiful wolf with solid black glossy fur. It was easy to see who the favorite in this fight would be. A large sound reverberated around the circle as something hit and dropped on the other side. The gunfire did not increase George's odds because it never entered the circle. A fearful George continued to fight, but he looked around occasionally as if he was looking to be saved.

He was bleeding from bites all over his body, and it was clear he couldn't take it much longer. Now, someone came running to the circle and tried to jump in, and the circle evicted them, sending them twenty feet away. Clearly, he wouldn't be allowed to cheat, and there was no way anyone or anything was getting into the circle with the two fighters. George looked as if he realized what was happening, and now, he seemed determinedto be taken out. It looked like Grant was willing him an easy death.

This might be his son, but he'd never treated him like one. Mercy would only take the form of death, and that was the best he could have hoped for. Grant circled George, and he turned to keep Grant in view. Grant moved faster, and George looked tired but still tried to keep up and defend himself. Grant jumped on George without warning, and his jaw wrapped around his neck. George struggled and somehow managed to break free, but his neck looked like a raw hamburger.

George was bleeding badly. Enough that if it didn't heal quickly, this would be over. The alpha was desperate and jumped at Grant. His reward was being scraped with a claw, and now he was bleeding even more. Grant wanted to end this, but George was desperate to survive. His wolf slunk around, trying to find a weakness where there wasn't one. It was clear to the crowd that Grant had had enough and finally jumped on George, knocking him to the ground and wrapping his jaws around his neck. He shook George like a rag doll until, finally, no life was left. The fight was over, and George was gone. Now, the next step would begin.

The wardens that had come with Damon entered the ring to drag the body away. Grant exited the ring and went straight for his mate. He could feel her shaking and knew it was a sign that she had been concerned the whole time. What came next would include her, too, and he was sure it wouldn't be easy. They would be learning the equivalent of a whole new job, and neither had ever done anything like this. It was true they had help, but they would only have help for a little while, and then that help would be gone.

“What do we do now?” Jenna asked.

Harry tapped her on the back. “Let's go check out the alpha house. I like to do that, and I can help. We'll check out the foodand make sure nothing's poisoned, and then we'll look for weird things that you don't really want, and I'll take them with me," Harry explained.

That sounded easy enough for the ladies. “We'll go with them and get something to eat because you've taken some damage," Damon observed.

---