Page 64 of The Night Wolf
THE MEETINGended with nothing decided. Lyram was saying that he needed to be the one to protect Sean and Gareth, while Sean insisted Gareth needed to do it himself. The problem was that Sean wasn’t explaining it to anyone—he just pleaded with Gareth to trust him.
“So what’s this about? Why are you saying I need to be the one to fight Ryker? I can’t beat him, Sean. I’m not a fighter.”
“Because you’re the only one who can. While I have no doubt that Lyram would be able to hold his own, Ryker will cheat. He’s done it before. You need to understand Ryker. He will challenge you to a fight, and, like it has been forever, the stakes will be the pack. You’ve seen what his own people look like. What do you think any other pack will do? I can tell you. Ryker will come in, strip the land of anything worthwhile—including people he deems worthy—and then either kill the rest outright or leave them to starve.”
People he deemed worthy? God, that sounded like Gareth before he got his head out of his ass.
“This is what needs to happen, and you’vegotto listen to me. Before Ryker can issue a formal challenge, you need to do one preemptively. In public, with witnesses. Tell him the stakes will be the pack lands and….” Sean hesitated. “You have to offer me as a prize.”
Gareth slammed his hand on the table. “No!”
“It’s the only way.”
Gareth sneered and leaned in close. “I am not offering you up to him. You’re a human being, not a piece of furniture to be passed around.” He sighed. “Besides, I can’t win. I am not a fighter.”
“Do you trust me?” Sean gripped Gareth’s forearm and stared into his eyes. “I meanreallytrust me.”
It was a question Gareth didn’t even have to think about. “Of course. I trusted you with my heart, and the rest fell into place.”
Sean’s cheeks pinked. “Then believe in me when I tell you that youwillbeat him. Not only will you win, but you’re going to crush him.” He swallowed. “There is one thing you need to keep in mind. Challenges are to the death. You will have to be able to kill Ryker. Can you do that?”
Oh, that was no problem.
“Yes, without a doubt. He hurt you and Caleb. He did unspeakable things to Quinn. And he murdered Ethan. Killing him wouldn’t be a problem at all.”
“Then issue the challenge. Do it before he does. Make sure you insist the rules include a one-on-one fight between the Alphas only. No outside pack help is allowed. Youmustspecify pack, Gareth. Ryker’s had Kristopher step in when he thought it would be a tough fight. You must be certain you spell it out clearly. Otherwise he will find a loophole and use it against you.”
Gareth gazed into Sean’s eyes. He could see the trust, and for some reason, Gareth knew if Sean believed in him, he could and would beat Ryker. He wasn’t sure what made Sean so certain, but…. No, it didn’t matter.
“I can’t—won’t offer you. I trust you, but if I lose, the most important thing in my life will be gone.”
“Believe me when I say I—we—feel the same.” Sean stroked a hand over his stomach. “The thing is, until you beat him, we won’t ever be free. He’ll keep coming after me, and I’ll forever be looking over my shoulder. And you’ll be looking too. Is that what you want for me? For us?”
No, Gareth didn’t want that for his mate or their child. He wanted everyone safe, including all the people in his pack.
“He’ll threaten the pack to get what he wants, won’t he?”
“It won’t be a threat, I promise. Keep in mind what he did to Ethan and what happened with Caleb. They tried to kill him—you know that. For no other reason than to force me to do what they wanted. He won’t stop at people in the house. Anyone in the pack will be a fair target, because he knows how you feel about them.”
In his mind, Gareth saw men, women, and children slaughtered. He imagined what would happen to them if Ryker took over the pack. In this case, doing nothing was worse than fighting.
Gareth deflated with a sigh. “Fine. I’ll do it. I’ve never challenged someone before. What do I do?”
“We go together to issue the challenge.”
“What’s to stop him from killing me and taking you right then?”
“Because for his claim on the pack to be legitimate, he has to follow tradition. If he violates a call for challenge, then he forfeits everything he has. He won’t do that.”
“You seem to know an awful lot about this.”
“I’ve seen it before. He’s always sent a representative to issue a formal challenge. It never went well for the pack he coveted.”
“And what should I expect from this challenge?”
“That’s going to be tough. It’ll be either both of you as men, one of you as a man and the other as a wolf, or both wolves. As the challenged, Ryker has the right to choose.”
“Man and wolf? That’s insane!”
