Chapter 20 Unconquered
Unconquered
Monte
“Don’t!”
Nobody was as shocked as me when my voice finally managed to reach Felix. It felt like my throat was ripping apart, but I managed to get that single syllable out, and that was all that mattered.
I didn’t know much about this Ascension Combat but nothing about it sounded good.
Felix couldn’t agree to this duel, not for my sake.
I wanted him to turn around and leave, to go back and gather his forces.
He could crush this gathering if he prepared, and Jared probably wouldn’t kill me before then.
After all, he needed me as a bargaining chip.
“Foolish pup,” Jared said with a rueful chuckle at me as he began to remove his shirt.
“There is no declining an Ascension Combat, nor can it be revoked. Then again, perhaps your ignorance can be excused. It is a rare event, after all, so it’s rather unusual for your husband to be fighting in the second of his life already. ”
I blinked, struggling to make sense of his words. Was he saying that Felix had already killed another wolf in a duel like this? Was that how he’d managed to avenge his father and oust his uncle?
My voice was completely shot, but I looked at Felix beseechingly. He glanced back at me for just an instant before he too began to disrobe.
And then I saw his wound. Last night, it had looked healed, but now it was an angry, pulsing red once again. There was something deeply unnatural about those cuts his brother had given him, and I had a sinking feeling I knew who was behind it.
“Even if retreating was an option, I wouldn’t abandon this opportunity,” Felix said, tossing his shirt to Wyatt, who folded it quickly and efficiently. “There’s no faster way to winning a pack’s respect than to put down an insolent challenger.”
For some reason, that made Jared bristle. I could hear his teeth gnashing from where I sat.
“You’ll pay for that,” he snarled. “You and your Omega both. Once you’re dead, I’ll take my time torturing him.”
I expected to see Felix explode in fury, but instead he just gave Jared the coldest smile I’d ever seen from him.
“Then I guess I’d better not die then.” Felix glanced back at Wyatt. “If you’d do the honors?”
With a grunt, Wyatt stepped forward and addressed the extraordinarily biased audience that Jared had gathered for this occasion.
“As the Alpha’s second, I speak on his behalf. Do all present agree to honor the results of this duel, regardless of the victor?”
Maybe it was just my imagination, but it felt like the scene grew just a little bit brighter, as if the Goddess was paying careful attention and had turned the focus of the moon upon us.
And all the gathered wolves looked between Felix and Jared.
They saw a tired Alpha that still bore injuries from his last fight, and they saw a challenger that had two dozen warriors behind him.
Licking their lips gleefully, one and all howled in agreement.
Whether they planned to abide by that agreement if things went south was another matter entirely.
With that out of the way, Wyatt made his way over to where I was sitting while the two combatants finished disrobing. They stripped down to their underwear, their muscles gleaming with sweat.
“I don’t particularly like you,” Wyatt said as he stopped beside me and surveyed the battlefield. “However, you are the Alpha’s Luna, so that’s that.”
I blinked. “Luna? Are you sure?”
At least it seemed that I was slowly regaining my voice.
“If you weren’t before tonight, you certainly are now,” he muttered under his breath.
“And if you’re wondering why I’m not freeing you, it’s because I expect all those fools would attack the moment I did.
They’re just waiting for an excuse, and they’re willing to do anything short of intervening in the Ascension itself. ”
There was no set signal to begin. One moment, the two wolves were regarding each other across a clearing that was bathed in pale moonlight.
The next, they exploded into action, shifting in midair as they leapt at one another.
Felix struck like a thunderous hammer, a massive black wolf that caught my eye and would not let go.
His opponent was slightly smaller but far more agile, a striking combination of white and black that twisted away and sought out weaknesses with vicious precision.
Felix was bursting with strength, but Jared was skilled and calculated. Felix had instinct and experience on his side, but Jared was younger and far more brutal. One fought to protect a useless mate, the other had dozens of loyal warriors ready to kill his enemies.
“His injury,” I whispered as the horrible possibilities filled my mind. It really was going to open up at this rate. The longer this fight went on, the worse it was going to be.
Wyatt glanced back and watched something in the trees, then looked back to the fight.
“Yes, we discussed that on the way over. We think Hunter had his claws dipped in some sort of poison on the night when he attacked you. We’re not sure if it was meant for you or if the plan had always been to attack Felix with them.
We are quite certain it wasn’t Hunter’s idea though.
It reeks of Jared’s particular brand of cunning. ”
The fight before us was intensifying, and I could see my husband slowing down.
Every time I thought he landed a slash of his claws, he only came away with tufts of fur rather than blood.
Every time Jared nipped at his heels, the teeth didn’t penetrate deeply, but they did draw blood.
It was a battle of endurance and everyone present knew it.
“He’s going to die,” I rasped as my heart threatened to beat out of my chest. “We have to stop it.”
Wyatt didn’t even reply to that. He just watched the battle, occasionally looking back into the trees to watch whatever had caught his attention there.
“Why?” I whimpered. “Why is Jared doing this?”
Wyatt’s eyebrows raised. “You mean you don’t know? Felix and Jared are cousins.”
His words bounced around in my head, but their meaning was lost on me. The fact that they were family just made this even more horrifying to behold. Why would…
“His uncle,” I whispered.
“His uncle,” Wyatt confirmed. “The man who poisoned Felix’s father and drove them from their pack. After killing him, Felix showed mercy and decided not to execute his enemies.”
“Of course he didn’t.” The more I learned about Felix, the more I understood that there was so much more to him hidden beneath that cold mask that he used to keep the world at bay.
And now my kind, loving husband was being cut to death on the battlefield before me. With every passing minute, more of his blood flowed free. He was gasping for each breath, and each clash was growing slower and slower.
“What’s wrong?” Jared jeered. “Has your Omega made you so weak? I thought this would have been more of a challenge.”
Wyatt stepped forward, and for a moment, I thought he was going to intervene. Some of the other spectators must have thought so as well because all their focus turned to him. But Wyatt didn’t move any further, he just stood there and watched.
I heard rustling behind me. Very quietly and very slowly, soft fingers pressed against the back of my hands.
“Don’t. Say. Anything,” a beautifully familiar voice whispered.
Ara was alive. I could have sobbed in relief, but I fought the urge and tried to appear as unaffected as possible. Belatedly, I realized that Wyatt was now using his body to effectively block whatever was going on behind me. This was planned.
Her fingers moved quickly, but I barely noticed as my sole focus was on Felix. Felix waited cautiously for Jared’s attack, but the cunning wolf was too fast. They danced around one another, an exertion that weighed unequally on them.
“How did you get away?” I whispered.
“I’ll tell you later,” Ara hissed. “Once you’re free, don’t do anything. You need to pretend like you’re still completely incapacitated. If they think you’re free, they’ll come over and investigate.”
I nodded and swallowed. “What’s our plan then?”
Ara didn’t answer until my hands were completely free. “And then we’ll be ready if an opportunity presents itself.”
It wasn’t the most comforting answer, but at least I was free now. Our prospects were marginally better than they’d been a few minutes ago, but that wasn’t saying much.
Suddenly, Felix was thrown down onto his back after taking a wicked bite to his belly. In a flash, Jared was looming over him, and it took all my willpower not to scream out in horror.
But Jared didn’t go in for the kill. Instead, he paced back and forth, nipping and scratching, trying to inflict as many small wounds as he could. It was torture, and he was playing with his food.
“Fight back,” I begged under my breath. “Please, Felix, fight back.”
Without thinking, I raised my hands to my lips. It would have been impossible a few minutes ago, when my hands were still bound, but I was free now to make this tiny, meaningless gesture.
But perhaps it was only tiny and meaningless to mortals.
As silent prayers flowed from my lips, so too could I feel a gentle warmth spilling out of me.
Tears and love, pain and hope, I felt it washing out of me.
My entire body shuddered, and I felt closer to the point of collapse than ever, but I still managed to keep my eyes open so I could watch my husband.
If these were his final moments, then I had to see them, no matter how painful they might be.
Except they weren’t his final moments, not by a long shot. As Jared cackled and darted in for another gash on Felix’s ribs, the Alpha roared to life. His paw slammed down on Jared, pinning him in place and leaving him completely at the mercy of the reinvigorated Alpha.
The crack of splitting bone filled the air, and the watching wolves were suddenly silent. Their baying howls were gone, leaving only incredulity in their wake.
And Felix wasn’t done yet. Still pinning Jared down, he rose, unsteadily to his feet.
I was dumbfounded. What had caused this sudden reversal? I looked down at my hands and wondered if perhaps it was the power of my prayers, but that seemed impossible.
“Yield,” Felix bellowed. “Abandon this pointless quest, and I will spare you.”
“Impossible,” Wyatt called out. “This is Ascension Combat. You must kill him.”
Jared whimpered beneath Felix, waiting for the final blow to come. Yet it did not.
“Hear me,” Felix roared even louder, his voice so full of power and vigor that it was hard to believe this was the same wolf who had just been on the verge of death. “I am the Alpha, and my will is absolute. Let anyone who disagrees challenge me here and now.”
The wolves watched, utterly dumbfounded. To be honest, I was in the same boat as them. Going against the Alpha would be outrageous, perhaps even blasphemous.
Judging by the way the moonlight pulsed all around us, the Goddess was paying careful attention as well.
“Nobody dares challenge me?” Felix taunted.
“Then so be it, my will is absolute. Jared shall live, and he shall be exiled. All will know of his crimes, and no pack will harbor him. His shall be a fate worse than death. Any wolf who wishes to join him is free to do so, but anyone who stays will pledge loyalty to me here and now.”
“Help,” Jared choked out. “Attack him while his back is turned. Help… me….”
Every wolf heard his pathetic pleas, but none moved a muscle.
“You can’t…” Jared gasped. “The Goddess….”
Felix glanced up at the sky and the impossibly large orb that hovered right above them. “I think the Goddess and I are in accord on this matter. Soon enough, you will wish that I just killed you, Jared.”
With that, he released the traitor. Without wasting a moment, Jared scrambled to his feet and fled the clearing into the forest. Not a single one of his followers went after him, and I couldn’t say I was surprised.
But then Felix wavered on his feet, and all my conscious thoughts vanished.
I was rushing towards him without a second thought, Wyatt and Ara just behind me.
It didn’t matter that my legs could barely work or that I was still half-drugged.
All that mattered was getting to my mate and making sure he was alright.