Chapter 10
Brandt
Death and blood. That’s all I saw when Joshua tossed my mate to the side like a deer carcass. Pure fury and rage pounded through my blood and encouraged my change much faster than I’d ever been able to do before.
Unfortunately, Joshua disappeared by the time I’d landed on all fours.
With a warning roar, I called him to me.
The earth shook below my feet each time I stomped the ground.
I scented Emma’s blood and looked over at her again.
She lay still, her human flesh torn and her heartbeat slowing.
Crying out, I ran toward her as a grizzly, wanting to protect her at all costs.
But I didn’t make it. Just a few steps away from Emma, a large grizzly slammed into the side of me.
The hit knocked the breath out of my lungs and when we fell to the ground, we rolled over each other several times.
Teeth snapping and biting, I tried to get a hold of Joshua and kept missing.
His claws dug into my side, but then disappeared as we came to a stop and he darted away from me again.
I stood, shaking my head and bending forward, ready to give into the chase.
“Brandt!”
Turning to see Derrick and Brennan running at me as humans, I paused for just a second.
Then, from behind one of the trailers, four gray wolves charged at them.
Neither man saw them at first and everything seemed to slow.
I barked my warning and then slipped in the dirt as I propelled myself forward.
Brennan’s eyes found mine just before he turned and spotted the wolves.
I wasn’t going to make it in time and they weren’t going to change fast enough to fight back.
I roared again and then a large, jet-black wolf ran past me toward Derrick and Brennan.
Her growl echoed between the trailers as Scarlett stopped the four wolves from attacking my clan members.
She nipped at one of them and barked at the others.
Seconds of communication were all it took for them to realize that they had been attacking the wrong side.
Scarlett looked back at me and dipped her head. Then she led the group back toward my truck where Joshua had been running off to. Derrick slid to a stop in front of me, looking up at my eyes while still respecting my power.
“Fuck, man. You didn’t answer my calls.” A bear growled in the distance and we all turned our heads, listening. Derrick continued, “Brennan and I got wind of this attack and tried to warn you.”
“Someone on Joshua’s side found Scarlett’s note before you did this morning,” Brennan added.
I huffed and looked back at Emma. None of that mattered right now. Scarlett ran past us to the trailer where another black wolf with a graying face was coming out from behind a set of shrubs. She barked at him and lowered her head, submitting to her alpha.
Ignoring everything else, even the chatter of Derrick and Brennan trying to explain what was happening, I pushed past them and trotted over to Emma. Her eyes were closed and her heart stuttered every couple of beats. I licked her neck, tasting her blood and fueling the anger inside.
“Jesus Christ,” Brennan said and then crouched down next to her. I nudged him away with my nose. She was mine. “Relax, Brandt,” he said calmly. “I need to help her.”
Wanting to push him away again, I was distracted by the group of grizzlies charging at us again.
They were next to my truck at the end of the road but would be on us in seconds.
Scarlett and Peter joined me on my left, a look passing between us that solidified our relationship.
Derrick shifted on the other side of me, ready to fight and drooling at the lips in anticipation.
“I need to keep the pressure on,” Brennan said when our eyes met. And while I could have used his muscle in this fight, it was more important for him to help Emma. I huffed my approval and then turned to face the traitorous grizzlies from my pack.
Joshua was out front, leading them in some kind of coup.
Several more joined behind them, coming from various locations within the surrounding woods.
Scarlett howled and pawed at the ground.
Then her alpha made a noise that called to the rest of their pack.
In an instant, several small groups of wolves emerged from their hiding places, even the young pups watched the impending fight but stayed on the porches of the trailers.
Emma screamed out in pain and I lost my focus.
Brennan was hovering over her, whispering in her ear and waving me off when he saw me watching.
Derrick nudged my side, making me look ahead again.
Joshua and his group slowed to a walk and he stood in the center of the wolf and grizzly circle.
The bears to his back turned so each one faced one of the groups of wolves.
I even spotted someone, Joshua’s mate I think, eyeing up the young pups.
A growl ripped through my throat, the threat in it evident.
Eliza snapped her large, light brown bear head in my direction and showed me her teeth.
It was a move that defied my dominance and one which set my bear into a fit.
Peter trotted forward, eyes only on Joshua.
I grunted my displeasure, but this was his territory.
He looked regal and confident strolling up to a grizzly five times his size.
And when he got close enough, he nipped at Joshua’s legs.
The grizzly roared with anger, swiping at the alpha wolf each time he got too close.
Peter bared his teeth with his continued warning to the bear who’d trespassed on his property. But Joshua seemed unfazed.
The surrounding wolves closed in and the rest of Joshua’s grizzlies puffed up in preparation for a fight.
Emma screamed once more and I cringed. But then Joshua, even as a bear, sounded like he laughed at her pain.
I whipped my head to stare at him only to see, and smell, the defiance rolling off of him.
He’d intended on killing Emma and was happy to see her suffer.
My bear shook with uncontrollable rage.
As I let out a deafening roar, I charged at my challenger.
We were supposed to fight tomorrow but today seemed as good as any.
Joshua stood on his hind legs, waiting for my attack.
I jumped forward, claws ripping at his sides as I clamped down on his shoulder.
Blurs of gray and brown darted past me when the rest of the wolves and bears engaged in the fight.
The sounds of battle flooded the tiny trailer park.
Derrick went after Eliza, and Peter’s wolves broke into small groups to attack each traitorous grizzly.
Joshua and I met each other swipe for swipe as we engaged.
He was longer, but I was quicker. When one of his claws dug into my shoulder, I let out a cry but immediately retaliated with a bite on his arm.
He dropped to the ground, circling back to regroup before charging me again.
I jumped on his back, my bear aiming for the vulnerable spot behind his neck.
Yet I couldn’t get a good grip. And when Peter’s broken body slammed into mine, I lost all concentration for a split second.
Scarlett cried out an ear-piercing howl and ran over to her alpha.
He wasn’t moving, his side all bloodied and his eyes closed.
She tried to drag him away from the fighting, but her injured leg made it difficult to get traction.
A small roar from my side had me looking back at Emma.
She still lay on the ground but had shifted into her bear.
The change would help her heal and seeing her bear alive gave me another round of strength.
Brennan, now as a grizzly, ran over to Scarlett and was immediately met with the wrath of her canines.
But he didn’t fight back and instead lowered his head slightly letting her know he didn’t want to harm her.
I didn’t understand his move until I watched him help Scarlett drag her alpha to the safety of his trailer.
And then Joshua slammed into my side again.
His teeth pierced my neck, ripping free before they could get a good grip.
I kicked back at him, slicing open his gut and forcing him to retreat.
He stumbled backward, falling to the ground in a pile of dust. I felt the blood loss getting to my head, but my rage kept me from giving in.
Joshua screamed out in pain, the human sound morphing the bear’s call as he reluctantly shifted back into his human form.
And the moment he changed, all of his bears surrounded him in a protective circle.
Many of them bore the signs of a fierce battle—scratches on their face, hind ends ripped apart by the wolves.
But it also appeared that none of the shifters, aside from Peter, were suffering too badly.
Joshua clutched his stomach, blood seeping out around his hand.
He lay on his side, pushing further away from me with each step I took.
His bears growled but I showed them my teeth.
They knew it was over—Joshua had lost. One by one, they backed away leaving me a clear route to the man challenging me for alpha.
With a bark, I asked him to submit. But Joshua shook his head. “Fuck you, Brandt. You are not the strongest alpha.”
I stepped down on his leg and he screamed. My claws cut into him despite me just trying to make a point.
“Fuck. You.” He said with a whisper.
I lowered my head and growled in his face. He pinched his eyes closed and turned his head enough that he wouldn’t have all of my breath on his face. Several drops of drool fell onto his cheek and he cringed even more.
“Brandt, you have to finish this,” Derrick spoke from somewhere behind me.
Even my bear understood what he meant. I needed to kill Joshua.
Emma barked and I immediately recognized her intent. She was supporting me and supporting Derrick’s statement. Looking around the trailer park at the angry wolves and defeated grizzlies, I knew what I had to do.
When I made eye contact with Joshua, he recognized my intent and held up his hand in defeat. “I submit, I submit.” His voice shook with fear but there was still a taste of defiance in the air.
I clamped down on his hand and he flinched.
“Brandt Callaghan is alpha. I accept this!” His words pushed out through gritted teeth and even still, my bear knew he was lying.
With a glance up to all of those who’d defied me and sided with Joshua to attack our kind, I covered his head with my mouth and picked him up off the ground.
With just a few shakes, his neck snapped and Joshua Housten was no longer my challenger.
Dragging his body to the side, I walked over toward Emma.
She was still breathing heavily and looked exhausted from her change.
And while I’d killed my challenger, Emma has the right to seek her own revenge.
With a huff, I tossed Joshua’s limp body at her feet and spoke our communicative bark.
Emma roared into the sky and then stomped on his body several times.
The sounds of human bones breaking continued as she took out her rage and frustration.
Everyone around us stayed silent, even Eliza knew her place now.
Emma nudged at Joshua, flipping him over and over. And then she opened her mouth and clamped down on his head. With the paws on his torso and her mouth pulling from the top, she ripped his head from his body and tossed it at the bears who’d attacked us.
Emma Davis had just solidified her role within our clan.