Page 65 of The Hero Within
Colton stiffened.
"What’s going on?" Eden whispered, horrified she already knew the answer.
"Blood for blood. If your man wants to keep you," Arik called, "then he needs to fight for you."
A chorus of howls went up.
Some of the men in the galleries beat their chests, and others stomped their feet. Eden took a step back, unable to stop herself from counting. A full pack. She and Colton had no chance of escaping. Suddenly the alpha didn't look so pretty.Dick.
"Munin," Nnedi bellowed. "To me."
Almost instantly, Eden found herself surrounded by over a dozen of the women in azure blue. Most of them had spears. Some had guns, and others wore knives in the sheaths at their hip. All of them bore a black raven tattoo on their upper arms. The same raven Nnedi wore, though hers was gold.
Colton spun around, his gaze seeking hers, but the tension in his shoulders softened when he saw what Eden had.
All of the women held their spears out.
Toward the alpha and his men.
"Munin rejects our alpha's claim," Nnedi stated. "No woman can be taken by force. It is not our alpha's right to grant this woman to another without her permission."
Arik's lips thinned, and the howling died off. "Nnedi—"
"I will guard this woman with my life to prevent such a thing," Nnedi said, her voice softening dangerously.
The enormous warg swore under his breath, and then strode along the natural platform toward them. "My apologies. Poor choice of words on my behalf. But he will fight to prove himself worthy."
"I granted them guest rights."
"With respect, Second," Arik snapped, "you had no right to grant guest rights without my approval. These people are strangers and two of them are wargs. Our prime purpose is always to protect the pack."
Eden didn't dare breathe. Without the Munin, she and Colton wouldn't survive. But Nnedi was challenging her pack's alpha, and there were only fourteen of the Munin here, and at least fifty... maybe sixty men.
"With respect, Alpha," Nnedi called, putting her hands on her hips. "You're being a dick."
Silence.
Absolute stunned silence filled the canyon.
"Would I dare bring enemies into the heart of my pack?" Nnedi snarled, stepping forward through the ranks of her Munin. "Do you doubt my intelligence? Or do you suspect my loyalty? Either way, you show doubt in my abilities as second of this pack."
Nnedi reached behind her neck and began untying the leather thong there, the wolf's claw on the end of it dipping between her breasts as she drew the necklace free. Holding it out, she dropped the claw in the dirt.
The woman beside Eden sucked in a sharp breath, but otherwise the Munin remained silent.
Despite the packed galleries, Eden could have heard a pin drop.
The alpha's gaze locked on the claw, then slowly lifted.
Nnedi stared back, and Eden was kind of glad she wasn't on the receiving end of a look like that.
"It is not you I doubt. But this warg has not passed the tests, and the moon is rising," he said gruffly.
"This warg faced a dozen of our warriors with a knife at his woman's throat, and he didn't lose control," Nnedi replied. "I consider that my test."
"Nnedi." Arik's face tightened. "There are children here. He must prove he is in control of himself, without a doubt. I am not asking anything that any warg here has not proven. We all face the fire. We all hold the flame. Or else we burn. I will not change the rules, not for anybody."
A murmur of agreement sprung up in the gallery.
