Page 86 of Abel's Omega
Abel glanced over at Roland, who raised his hands. “I never thought of it. It was only supposed to be temporary, until he mated again. If it helps, I grant my permission for you to mate Baxter this night, and ask no recompense for it.”
Abel turned back to Sebastian. “Your point is moot.”
“I don’t think so. The original betrothal agreement was on paper, dated before your false one. I want him.”
Abel turned his head to look at me. “Sebastian is another of my cousins, though he wasn’t raised in Mercy Hills. He wanted me to send Adelaide away so he could be the doctor here. I never liked him, so I said no. He won’t have you.” He turned back to Sebastian. “Fine. I cry challenge.”
And Sebastian’s eyes lit up. “I accept.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
Abel turned and walked back to take Bax’s hands. “Kiss for luck?”
Bax obliged, but his eyes were worried, and he was far whiter than Abel liked. “Isn’t there another way?”
“Probably. None as quick as this though. And I’m tired of waiting.” When that didn’t reassure Bax, Abel squeezed his hands and pressed their foreheads together. “This has been coming for years. If it wasn’t tonight, it would be some other night. He fought for Alpha at the same time as me.”
“And you beat him.”
“I beat him.” Though it wasn’t a sure thing now—he spent too much time behind a desk. Hopefully, medical school had had the same effect on Sebastian. Abel raised Bax’s fingers to his mouth and kissed them. “I’ll be back for you soon.” He put all the heat he could into his gaze and was pleased to see Bax respond to it with parted lips and a flush on his cheeks.
Letting Bax’s hands drop, he turned back to meet Sebastian in the middle of the clearing. “I don’t want to kill you. We’re civilized now, and I won’t have the humans see us practicing ways that have no place in this time.” He kept it between the two of them, sharply aware of the reporter and his photographer friend in the crowd.
“Agreed.” Sebastian put his hands on his hips and grinned. “So, human or wolf?”
“Oh, dealer’s choice,” Abel said casually as he removed his ceremonial skin. He gestured to Mac to come get it.
“Wolf, then. I’ve been so much among humans, I’ve missed my other form.” Sebastian began removing his clothes far too happily for Abel’s peace of mind, but they were committed now. And he was so ready to simply strike and have something happen, instead of the constant negotiating that being Alpha forced him into.
Abel stepped away from Sebastian and passed the skin over to Mac. “Get the reporter out of here. Take him to see the site for the fire, take him to see the spot we picked out for the house, whatever. But he can’t see this.”
Mac nodded and glanced back at the crowd.
Toward Jason, Abel realized. “Dammit,” he said. “No, never mind. Get someone else to do it.” Who? Holland and Bram were occupied keeping Bax calm. “Jason’s father, where is he?”
“He’s with Becca and the pups, looking after Macy.”
Perfect.“Get him. Have him keep the pups away too.”
“I’ll send Duke.”
Abel nodded and watched until Mac had removed the humans from the crowd, then turned back toward the center of the clearing. Sebastian was naked, skin gleaming under the moonlight. His eyes were narrow-slitted and hungry, ready for the fight.
Carefully, Abel removed his mating suit and handed the pieces to Louise to keep dry and clean. It was old, centuries old, passed down from generation to generation, and he wouldn’t be the one to destroy it, or set it on the path to moldering ruin. With a nod to Sebastian, he began his shift. Now that this had been set in motion, he was eager for the fight. Too many years of being the mediator, of negotiating the political landscape instead of just rolling over the opposition like his instincts wanted him to. But it was following the old ways that had led to the Gathering, and he had to be careful when and where he bowed down to his more primitive nature. Having Bax around made it easier, except that the possibility of losing Bax right now brought it all to the fore.
They faced each other from across the clearing. Bax’s uncle, and—interestingly—Alpha Orvin of Montana Border stepped into the clearing, carrying a heavy length of rope.
“This is not a challenge of a wolf’s honor, but a battle for the possession of the omega in question,” Bax’s uncle said, his words carrying out into the crowd, quieting them. “The wolves will compete inside a circle of rope, in representation of our mother the moon. Victory belongs to the one who forces his opponent to surrender, or drives him out of the circle.” He and Orvin began laying down the rope, forming a circle the mating circle that encompassed most of the clear area in front of the tent where the ceremony was supposed to take place.
Abel walked up to stand on one side of it, Sebastian exactly opposite. The other wolf was big, though not, Abel thought, as big as he was. That could be an advantage—the extra weight could let him physically shove the other shifter over the rope. Though he’d much rather force him to surrender, it wasn’t politically correct. And he needed to consider the ramifications of damaging Sebastian, when all the packs, including Mercy Hills, had contributed to his education. If Sebastian were unable to practice afterward, the Council of Alphas would likely come after Abel for the cost of it. He’d only just gotten the pack finances back on reasonable footing—there was more to think about than his own desire for revenge. Add into it the disadvantage to shifter society, losing someone with all the knowledge instilled by a human medical degree, coupled with training under pack healers—he couldn’t take his own anger and frustration out on all the shifters. But then he caught a glimpse of Bax’s anxious face, and that tipped the scales in the other direction.
Fuck it. I’m going to teach them all not to mess with me.There were ways to force another wolf to roll over that didn’t involve permanent damage. And there was nothing in pack law that prohibited the use of Alpha power in a fight. He watched Buffalo Gap from the corner of his eye, waiting for the nod to enter the circle. It came, and he launched himself at Sebastian.
He got in the first blow, shoving Sebastian off-balance with a thrust of his shoulder and followed up his advantage by hustling the other shifter toward the rope barrier. He snapped at Sebastian’s muzzle and startled him onto his haunches.
With Sebastian on the defensive, Abel took a moment to ready himself for a final rush, congratulating himself on ending the fight quickly. Sebastian snarled and gathered himself, springing forward in an open-mouthed leap that forced Abel to skitter to the side. The other wolf’s teeth snapped on air next to Abel’s ear and then he was past and they were both turning, heads low and snarls of frustration and fury filling the air. His opponent was focused but aware; Abel’s feints cause nothing more than a twitch of his head. He reached out with his power to press against Sebastian’s own and leaped forward.
He saw it almost before Sebastian reacted. He was already twisting to the right as Sebastian’s own power blocked his forward rush, and Sebastian’s teeth snapped so close to his own neck he felt it tickle the fur over his jugular. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a white-faced Bax on his knees, Holland and Bran and Cale huddled close to him as they watched the fight, and the inane thought that Sebastian had been practicing drifted through his mind before his feet hit the ground, and then he was falling and rolling out of the way, buying time to get ready for the next attack.
