Page 77 of To Keep A Wolf
“No, but that’s the site he built for the ritual.” I can’t bring myself to saywedding.“Something tells me he’s there.” And waiting for us, I realize. Or, for me.
My hands turn clammy because it’s obvious Jadick is luring us here—and that he must have a plan. That means we haven’t caught him as off-guard as I’d hoped.
“Let’s go,” Levi says.
From the hardness in his tone, it’s clear Levi has realized the same thing.
We turn away from the house and make our way through the maze toward the archway. The beams have been strung with vines and flowers. Honeysuckle and something else that makes my nose wrinkle. A rotting sort of scent that I can’t readily name.
We creep closer, our steps silent against the stone path.
Levi is rigid and ready to pounce. I can see the bunching of the muscles around his neck and shoulders as he leads the way. Braced for a fight. We both are.
Behind us, the sounds of the fight on the roof continue. Screams and grunts that punctuate the silence in a way that drives my need for action. Adrenaline pumps through me, strangely calming as we round the final bend and reach the archway.
Jadick stands beneath it, his back half-turned to us as he fusses with several items set on a narrow table. He doesn’t seem bothered by our presence. Nor does he seem worried about the fight Levi is about to start with him.
In fact, when he looks up, his gaze lands solely on me.
“There’s my bride.”
His words are the spark that ignites the explosion. Levi lets go of me, his beast rippling beneath his skin.
“Jadick Clemons, I challenge you,” Levi says, voice trembling with rage. “For the role of alpha. A fight to the death—”
“This is all incredibly predictable,” Jadick cuts him off. “And honestly, boring.”
“Pack law states you must accept my challenge,” Levi says.
Movement behind me sends me whirling. I stop when I see Burnett and a few others advancing toward us. They don’t attack, though the sneer Burnett sends me says he wants to.
I look back at Jadick where Levi still waits for his challenge to be accepted.
“I am law here,” Jadick says, eyes glittering with the conviction of his words. “And I say whether this challenge is worth acknowledging.”
He sets aside the blade he’s holding and rounds the low stone platform that separates us from him. Not a platform, I realize with a jolt as I finally pay it attention. An altar. Complete with metal rings for binding wrists and ankles. At each corner are a small pile of bones. I sniff, noting the same bones have been tied off to the vines amid the honeysuckle. Gross.
Are these Crigger’s bones?
With a shudder, I fall back as Levi takes a step forward. The guards at our back aren’t enough to faze him. He came here for this moment, and it’s not hard to see he’s determined to have it.
But Jadick stops, looking past Levi to me again. “You would have made a formidable mate, Mac.”
“Are you going to fight me or not?” Levi demands. He’s barely hanging onto his human form now. Jadick refocuses his attention on Levi.
Finally, he sighs. “All right then. Let’s get it over with. I have things to do.”
That’s all Levi needs to complete the shift and launch himself at the Clemons heir. Jadick barely manages to get into his wolf form before Levi’s massive paws land on him, shoving him backward.
They go tumbling across stone, their fur catching on the sharper branches jutting out of the hedges. Levi’s teeth rip a chunk out of Jadick’s shoulder, and Jadick responds by nipping back. Their movements are fast and lethal, each drawing blood, one from the other. But it’s easy to see Levi’s stronger. Jadick’s movements begin to slow. Levi’s blows become more severe.
Jadick makes the mistake of looking over at me. His eyes rake me over like he’s looking for something. Disappointment flashes. And the distraction costs him.
Finally, Levi pins Jadick hard enough that Jadick can’t get free.
My heart plummets, and I brace myself for the final blow. The kill that will pronounce Levi the winner, the alpha of the Black Moon pack.
A shot rings out, and before my brain can fully register the sound of the gun going off, my body jerks forward. A chunk of flesh is torn away as a bullet rips through my biceps.
