Chapter 20 Fight Night Approaches
Josh
Bane and I stroll down the streets of Concordia in the evening, our fingers entwined.
We wander and window shop leisurely after seeing a movie, not ready to go back to the apartment yet.
We pass a candy store with overflowing cauldrons full of chocolate and gummy bears, and a poster in the window advertises that the supernatural carnival is coming back into town soon.
Going with Bane sounds like the perfect evening.
Wynn emerges from a storefront ahead, and his eyes widen at the sight of our linked hands. “Wow. I knew this was happening, but seeing it in person…”
“Wynn,” the wolf beside me growls in warning.
The other man blinks, shaking his head and snapping out of it. His eyes raise to mine with a sheepish smile. “Sorry. Bane explained everything, but I haven’t been living this second chance like you two have. My first thought is still…”
“Not good things?” I guess.
“Not good at all,” he agrees. “And slightly murderous. Again, sorry. You don’t deserve that.”
“No, it’s okay. I like it.” My eyes widen and I correct, “Well, not the murderous thoughts about me part. You still think of me as the guy who rejected your cousin, and it’s nice that you’re looking out for him.”
Just like that, Wynn’s smile softens and becomes more genuine. “Tell Bane to stop keeping you all to himself. I think we’ll get along once we actually get to know each other.”
“I’m right here,” Bane complains. “I can hear you.”
“Good.” Wynn slaps his cousin on the arm. “Quit hogging your boyfriend so we can all hang out.”
“That’s a good idea,” he says. I agree. Wynn proves there are some normal, less rigid wolves in Iron Pack and he’s Bane’s best friend. I’m looking forward to getting to know him better.
Then Wynn continues. “I’ll see you at the party, but the whole family and some of the pack will be there. Doubt we’ll get to talk much then.”
Now he’s lost me. “Party? What party?”
“Bane’s birthday party.” He looks between us curiously. “You’re coming, aren’t you?”
My boyfriend’s hand tightens in mine. We haven’t discussed this yet. His birthday is coming up, I knew that, but I didn’t realize how soon.
“It got weird,” Wynn states. “Why did it get weird?” He steps closer to Bane and lowers his voice. “Is he not invited?”
Bane rolls his eyes. “Of course he’s invited. There are just a few things we need to talk about first. Will you get out of here?”
The alpha drops my hand to shoo his cousin away. Wynn tells us goodbye and then it’s just me, Bane, and the elephant in the room. So much for our leisurely walk after the movie.
I state the obvious. “You’re gonna be twenty-three soon. Really soon.”
What comes after Bane’s birthday could change everything. He and his siblings will duke it out to determine who becomes the next Alpha.
Bane requires a partner for the fight, but he found me instead. I’m not the ideal choice for the battle against his siblings, but I’m the right man for him.
“You should come to my party,” he offers. “You can meet more of my family. I didn’t bring it up because… because of what happens after my birthday. Guess we need to talk about this.”
I muster up a smile, but it feels shaky. “Why did you even stop us in the hotel room? We should have just bonded—”
“No, stop right there.” Bane slides in front of me, grabbing my shoulders and staring at me seriously. “We aren’t sealing our mate bond on a timetable. And there’s no reason to. For you to fight with me, we don’t have to be mated.”
“But I thought…”
“The important thing, from a pack standpoint, is being in the fight. Fighting with me basically makes you my intended. If we win, only you can be my Alpha Mate, since you’re the only one who earned the right.”
“Oh,” I say, thinking it through. “So we can fight together and meet the pack’s requirements while still making it official later on our own terms.”
“Exactly.” He eyes me, frowning. “Why don’t you look happy about that?”
When I open my mouth to respond, my gaze lands on a passerby sporting a red mohawk. It reminds me we’re on a public street discussing our private life and our future.
“Hold that thought. Come on.”
Snatching his hand again, I lead us toward the small park on the next street.
It’s not exactly private, but fewer people linger here after dark.
Mostly couples like us, reluctant to end their evening and wandering beneath streetlights.
A busker strums his guitar near a bench, a happy melody drifting through the cool air.
It’s romantic, but what I need to say isn’t.
We reach a small fountain near the entrance and I stop, tension knotting in my stomach.
Despite the joy of finding each other against all odds, guilt gnaws at me.
Bane has spent years training to battle his siblings for the Alpha position.
His siblings have done the same, preparing their whole lives for this moment.
Me? Not so much. I’m getting ready at the last minute. Walking into the most important fight of his life completely unprepared.
“I’m not sure I’m the best choice to fight with you,” I admit quietly, staring at my reflection in the fountain.
“What?” He recoils like I sucker punched him, then masks the hurt with a fierce scowl. “You think I should abandon you and choose someone else?”
“No.” I pin him with a warning glare. “You better not.”
“Good.” Bane crosses his arms, his shoulders rigid with lingering tension. “Almost sounded like you agreed with Elias.”
“God, no.” I shudder, pacing in front of the fountain.
“He had no right to keep us apart, and he created a self-fulfilling prophecy. If he’d let us find each other and get together five years ago, we’d have been training together for years.
I’d have more experience.” Both as a fighter and as a witch.
“But that ship sailed. I’m just sorry that our relationship might jeopardize your chance to become the Alpha. ”
I fret, staring into the fountain’s depths. A few coins lay at the bottom of the water below. If only I could throw in some of mine and wish for a better outcome.
“Josh, look at me.”
“What if I can’t give you what you need?” I whisper, staring at the water.
“You’re what I need,” he insists fiercely.
“I hate holding you back. You’ve seen me fight. I’ll do my best, but…”
Bane’s hand settles on my shoulder. “Not gonna lie, beating my siblings won’t be easy. We need to fight twice as hard, and it’ll be rough, but I know we can win.”
“Wish I could share that confidence.”
No longer willing to let me fret, he spins me around to face him, golden eyes flashing with determination. “Start by knowing you aren’t a liability to me. You’re an asset.”
“Oh, yeah?” I ask doubtfully.
Bane nods without any hesitation. “I’ve already looked into it. For the fight, you pick one form and stick with it. Shifters always shift because otherwise they’d be at a disadvantage, but in your case, you can stay in human form and use magic.”
“Okay, that does make me feel a little better. But I only know a handful of basic tricks, and I haven’t even figured out my craft yet.”
He takes my hand and leads me over to the nearest bench, sitting down with me. Bane stares at our joined hands for a minute, his thumb rubbing soothing circles on my palm before he speaks.
“Look, you may think I’m strong, stronger than you—”
“Come on, it’s not even a question.”
“In a fight, yeah, I’m stronger. But if it were up to me, this wouldn’t have been possible.
” He gestures between us. “I was too scared to take the chance, scared to get hurt again. But you weren’t.
” His free hand rises to cup my cheek. “You never let that stop you. Even when you thought I was a complete ass, you tried to get to know me. You weren’t afraid to offer me your heart. That’s amazing and incredibly strong.”
“That’s sweet, but…” I say, trying to pull away, overwhelmed by the intensity of his words and the way my heart flips.
“I mean it,” he insists, squeezing my hand. “I never would have had that strength if you didn’t show me how. Don’t you get it? That’s what makes us powerful. Not because we’re both tough physically, but because we have different strengths. You’re strong exactly where I’m weak.”
Oh. Maybe he’s not just trying to make me feel better. He actually has a point.
“And you did the same for me,” I say. “You helped me find power I didn’t even know existed.”
“That’s why we belong together. We make each other better. I do want to be an Alpha, but only if you’re willing to fight and lead by my side.”
Maybe I don’t need to make wishes on copper pennies. I should trust that we already have everything we need between us. As long as we’re together, we’re at our best. If we trust each other and use our respective strengths in the right ways, we’ll succeed.
That gives me an idea when it comes to my magic. Maybe this has been what’s missing when searching for my craft, the whole picture, us together.
I nudge my shoulder into his. “When did you get so smart?”
He smiles. “You’re a good example.”
“Still, let’s be realistic. I know nothing about leading, especially a pack like yours,” I warn.
He gives me a peck on the cheek. “From where I’m standing, you might be exactly what our pack needs. We could use a new perspective.”
Bane and I already overcame so much to be together. They weren’t traditional fights, but we definitely won some tough battles to get here. From that perspective, it’s hard to believe any obstacle can stop us. Not even his scary, hulking werewolf siblings will hold us back.
Together, we just may be able to do anything.
~
Josh
“Thanks so much!” I call out to the cashier as I dart toward the exit of the gourmet store.
My boyfriend isn’t the only one who rushes around at the last minute and struggles with time management. With only a few minutes until Bane’s birthday party starts, I can’t be late.
“Sir! Your bag.”
Oh, right. I rush back and swoop up the gift bag before rushing away again. Oops.
I might be a little nervous.