Page 81 of Curses and Casualties
Ethan,I call through the pack bond.Can you get to Caspian?
Elder Gray will kill him if I move,Ethan’s mental voice is tight with frustration.The bastard’s using him as a human shield.
The helplessness burns through our connection. This man saved our lives, gave us the knowledge we needed, and we can only watch as he’s used as a pawn.
He collapses at the edge of the crater, spitting blood. Elder Gray yanks the rope tight one more time, forcing the man back onto all fours. This is the ultimate humiliation for a wolf—to be collared like a common dog.
The Alpha raises a hand, and silence falls so completely the wind itself seems to bow its head.
“Scarlett!” the Alpha calls out, voice echoing through the bowl. “Oathbreakers pay a price. This is the law of the pack.”
Chapter 30
Ryan
Georgia’s anger spikes, a wave of horror and fury so sharp it nearly unmans me. Kane surges, wanting to leap the walls right now and tear out every throat in the clearing until they’re nothing but heartstones on the ground. But I sense movement on the far side. Scarlett herself, no longer in wolf form but stalking toward the crater on bare feet, caked in dirt and bright with fresh blood not her own. She’s flanked by Ethan and a few other survivors, all of them bruised but upright, Ethan acting as her unlikely honor guard.
She doesn’t hesitate to jump. Down the wall, slipping once, slicing her calf bloody on a jag of obsidian, but she makes the descent in seconds.
She lands in a crouch, then rises slowly, deliberately. Every eye follows her movement as she crosses the bloodied ground. Her father tries to lift his head, but Elder Gray yanks the rope, forcing him back down.
“Let him go,” Scarlett says, her voice carrying despite its quietness. “Your issue is with me.”
The Alpha laughs, but it’s an ugly sound. “My issue? You were to be my mate. My chosen. The future of this pack.” His voice rises with each word until he’s shouting. “And youbetrayed me for what? For them?” He gestures wildly at Georgia and me. “For this abomination they’ve created?”
“I betrayed nothing,” Scarlett says, still advancing. “You can’t betray what was never yours.”
“I MARKED YOU!” The Alpha roars, and the force of his fury makes several wolves whimper. “You wear my mark! You are MINE!”
“Not anymore.” Scarlett reaches up and touches her neck where the mark used to burn. “I had it removed. A witch burned it out of me. I’d rather bear the scar of her magic than your claim.”
The Alpha’s face contorts into something inhuman. “Then you’ve signed your death warrant. And your father’s.” He nods to Elder Gray, who tightens his grip on the rope.
“No,” Scarlett says, and there’s something different in her voice now. Something ancient and primal that makes even Luna’s ears prick forward. “You want to settle this? Then settle it with me. Wolf to wolf. Right here, right now.”
“You challenge me?” The Alpha’s voice drips disbelief. “You dare?—”
“I claim the right of severance,” Scarlett announces, her voice ringing off the crater walls. “By the old laws, a wolf may challenge for freedom from an unwanted bond. Do you accept, or do you forfeit your claim?”
The Alpha’s laugh is cruel. “The right of severance also grants you the right to a champion, little wolf. Oh, but wait. That’s only if you have a mate. And you have none.” His gaze sweeps mockingly over the assembled wolves. “Seems I’ll get to put you down unchallenged.”
Scarlett’s jaw tightens, but her voice remains steady. “I can fight for myself.”
“How touching,” the Alpha sneers. “And how foolish.”
I feel the shift in the atmosphere. The right to severance is old law, even older than the Elders’ rule. Even they can’t deny this right. Around the crater, wolves murmur uneasily. The cruel irony burns through me that Scarlett does have a mate, one who could stand in as her champion. But Fenris is still back at the camp, barely strong enough to stand.Fuck, Fenris. Scarlet needs you.
“How about you stop dancing around me and shift already,” Scarlett hisses, claws already out. “We’re all tired of listening to your bullshit.”
The Alpha’s jaw works, fury and calculation warring on his face.
“When I kill you,” he says finally, “your father dies next. Then your friends. Then anyone who’s ever shown you kindness.”
“If,” Scarlett corrects. “If you kill me.”
They shift simultaneously, wolf forms exploding from human skin. The Alpha is massive—solid black fur gleaming like oil, scarred from dozens of battles. Scarlett is smaller but sleek, her silver-red coat catching the moonlight like living flame.
They circle each other while the rest of us form a rough ring around them. This is sacred now. No one can interfere.
