Leviathan
Anders stalked off, and I stared after him, teeth grinding together, jaws tight, fists clenched. I wanted to kill him.
“You can’t do this,” June said, ripping me from my murderous thoughts.
“What do you mean?”
“You can’t fight Anders.” She looked distraught. “Not with everything going on.”
“The hell he can’t,” Rainier chimed in. “Fuck that guy.”
The other alphas and their mates nodded along in agreement.
“If Anders is going to continue being in this alliance, then I’m out,” Blaise said, scowling after Anders. “I won’t partner with a guy like that. If he changed mates that quickly, how fast will he change allegiances?”
“Agreed,” Hakeem muttered, then glanced at me. “You take him down, become alpha of both Idlewild and Hidden Grove, then I’m still in. I respect you, Levi. I don’t respect that motherfucker.”
“Can’t we at least wait until the Red Maw have been dealt with before doing this?” June asked.
“No.” I gestured at the others. “Not if they’re going to leave. We need help, and the only way we get it is if Anders is removed from the equation.”
Her lips pressed into a tight line, worry and fear shining in her eyes.
I brushed my fingers over her cheek. “You’re scared?”
“I know Anders, Levi. I know you beat him up earlier today, but that was because you got the jump on him. He’s a good fighter. He fights fast, and he fights dirty. That’s how he won all the challenges and became alpha. He’ll do anything to win, even if it’s dishonorable.”
“I’ll be ready,” I said. The thought of that loud-mouthed, cocky prick taking me down made me want to puke. Though, there was usually a reason why men like that were cocky. I’d need to take her words to heart.
“I agree with the others,” the alpha named Devon said. “That guy’s an asshole. I’ll follow Levi.”
The others all gave their agreement. June looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown. Putting my arm around her, I pulled her close.
“I’m going to be okay. I promise,” I said.
She pressed her face into my chest. There were no tears, but she was close to it. Holding her, I watched the chaos around us as word spread about the challenge. Eyes found me, some looking hopeful, others as worried as June.
“Sweetheart, come along. You need to let Levi prepare.”
Glancing down, I found June’s grandparents at her side, nudging her away.
June met my eyes, and I saw the question in them. She wanted me to assure her that I’d be okay.
“You go. I’ll get ready.” I kissed her lightly. “It’s all going to be okay. I promise.”
She nodded and moved off with her grandparents. “You better win,” she called, and I couldn’t help but smile.
Rainier stood and moved to join me. “All right, real talk, you gonna kick this guy’s ass or what?”
“That’s the plan,” I said.
“Won’t be easy, you know,” Rainier said. “I checked him out. He’s the absolute worst kind of bully. And those bullies can usually handle themselves. No one, and I mean no one, can remember a time when he lost a fight. When he showed up all bruised and battered, it got a lot of tongues wagging.”
“I’ll take care of him.” The fact that so many people were telling me how dangerous Anders was put me on edge. I’d broken his nose a few hours ago. Didn’t any of them think I could handle the little prick?
While I stood there with Rainier and the other alphas, one of Anders’s men, Brock, strode up.
“’Sup, fuckface,” he sneered, looking at me.
Rainier growled and took a step forward. “Watch that mouth, brother. I’d hate to have to remove a few of your teeth.”
Brock snorted. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Fight’s gonna be at the football field. Twenty minutes.” He jabbed a finger toward Levi. “Be there, or forfeit. Either way, your ass is grass.”
“I’ll be there,” I said. “You make sure your buddy is there too. I wouldn’t want to have to hunt him down.”
Brock shook his head. As he turned away, I caught the words he muttered to himself. “Fucking dead man.”
“Let’s go,” I said. “No time like the present.”
The other alphas and their mates followed me and Rainier to the football field at the high school. Brock’s words had spread, and the rest of the town moved as one, like a herd of cattle or flock of birds.
Rainier and I stopped outside. He patted me on the shoulder.
“You good, bro?”
“I’m good,” I said. “I want this over so we can get down to business.”
“You stay that way, and he’s done.” He glanced at his watch. “We got a little over ten minutes. You want to go on in?”
“Might as well,” I said.
From what I could see, most of the town had already made it to the field.
No one sat in the bleachers, but they’d formed a circle in the center of the field where Anders stood with Eugenia and his friends.
The other alpha had removed his shirt, revealing the rigid muscles beneath and a black dragon tattoo that covered most of his chest and left shoulder. When he saw me, he smirked.
“Surprised you didn’t chicken out.”
Ignoring him, I searched the faces around me for June. She stood off to the side with her grandparents, who each had an arm around her. Beatrice stood with them, and all four of them looked at me with concern.
“You ready, Levi?” Anders asked. “I’m good to start early if you are. Unless you need to go clean the piss out of your pants first.”
The other alphas filed in, each giving me a nod of encouragement as they found spots near the front to watch. I turned to Anders, giving him a cold, steely smile.
“I’m ready whenever you are.”
“Let’s do this!” he shouted, then slammed his fist into his chest in some macho display as he walked to the center of the circle.
“God, what a douchebag,” Rainier muttered. “You better not let that dude beat you, bro.”
“I’ll do what I need to do,” I growled as I strode toward Anders, ready to end this.