Dane began unbuttoning his shirt as if he expected this. “Challenge accepted.”

His second in command handed him a blue glass bottle and he began to chug the contents. “Silver water,” Dane told us all.

Bastard. I put my game face on and walked over to Kai who was undressing. The two packs made a wide circle.

“Kick his ass. He looked at me like I was a piece of meat, and his females look half-starved and scared,” I told Kai.

Kai grinned. “Gladly.” He shifted lightning fast and threw himself onto Dane’s half shifted back. Dane was curled in a ball protecting his jugular with his hands until he could fully shift. Kai wasted no time chewing the back of his neck, ripping chunks of flesh. Oh God, this was hard to watch, but I couldn’t look away. I backed out of the circle and found myself between Diya and Kai’s mother. Dane had fully shifted and now threw Kai off of his back with a brutal force. Kai landed hard. I heard the cracking of bones and the breath leave his lungs. I put my hand over my mouth. Kai’s mom pulled my hand down from my face and held it tight. She leaned in and whispered. “I’ve seen my husband through many fights. They are only as strong as we let them be. If you cry out or he risks a glance at you and you are anything but strong and fierce, he may make a mistake that could cost him his life.”

At her words, I held my head high and masked my fear. Sure enough, Kai got up and risked a half a second glance my way before charging Dane. He kept going for the throat and tearing chunks away. Each time Dane tried to bite him, Kai would quickly dash the other way. He was freaky fast, but I could tell the silver was getting to him. I was pretty sure that when Kai bit Dane and got his blood into his mouth, the liquid silver was getting into Kai’s system. You could see that Kai’s pace slowed and his movements were less coordinated.

Then, Kai made a mistake. He didn’t get away quick enough and Dane clamped his jaws around Kai’s left shoulder and closed down. He didn’t let go. Kai tried to shake him off but couldn’t.

Next to Diya I heard Max swear. “He is going to try to weaken him with silver poisoning. If only he had your immunity, Aurora.”

Kai’s mother whipped her head towards me. “You have silver immunity?”

I nodded. “Yes, but I don’t know why.”

“Who cares why? Quickly, open your mate bond,” she instructed me.

“My what?” I couldn’t take my eyes off Kai. I made up my mind. If he looked like he was going to die, I was going to intervene. Damn the council. Let them come after me. I didn’t want to live in a world where he didn’t exist.

Kai’s mother grabbed the side of my face and stared at me with glowing yellow eyes. “Open your mind to Kai NOW! Mates can share powers! It would be stronger if you had gone through the mating ceremony, but even without that your bond will give him enough to strengthen him. He can win this fight!”

My heart leaped at her words. I immediately was reminded of the glowing ball in the woods that I buried. I ran to the spot in my mind that I had buried it and saw a faint glow under the dirt. I dug it up and threw the ball into the air. It burst into a million twinkling stars and covered my body like a fine mist. Like Magic. Kai’s mother whispered in my ear as my eyes stayed closed.

“Give him your silver immunity. Imagine it as a liquid leaving your body and joining his.”

I did as she asked. I had always been good at visualization. I thought of a stream of liquid leaving my heart. I envisioned it as magic liquid that held the power to give the user immunity to silver. Then I opened my eyes and drenched Kai with the imaginary liquid. The moment I did this Kai’s eyes snapped open and he threw Dane off of him with a burst of strength. Kai’s wounds were closing before my eyes. He spared no second in lunging for Dane’s half torn out throat and clamping his jaws over his neck. Then Kai pulled his body into a standing position with Dane still dangling from his mouth and used his claws to grasp Dane’s shoulders. He dug his claws in and ripped Dane’s head from his body.

Our pack began to cheer. I sighed in relief. Dane’s second in command shifted into wolf form and ran away with a few other wolves. They weren’t going to stick around I guess. Everyone else stood still and stared at Kai as he shifted and changed into clothes.

Most of Dane’s pack lowered their heads in respect. The ones who didn’t were dominant males or submissive females who looked too terrified to do anything. Kai was still catching his breath, so I stepped forward.

“Kai has rightfully won this pack and these lands. But he won’t make you his wolves by force. We’re more than pack. We’re family. If anyone else wants to leave, then go. Find another pack to run with. We run a clean pack. No dominance fights. We treasure and protect our females. We help them find their mates. We have homes and enough food for everyone. WE are a family. If you want to be a part of our family, then step forward.”

I glanced at Kai who had pride in his eyes.

“A worthy mate and second in command,” I heard Kai’s mother whisper to Diya.

Kai’s shoulder wound wasn’t healing as fast; you could see bluish iridescent fluid leaking from the wound. Silver. He looked exhausted.

Dane’s entire pack stepped forward and got on one knee, all but two people. One was a hard looking man with dominance in his eyes and scars on his face. The other was a woman who looked like a survivor. She looked like she had been through hell and back and didn’t want to take anymore shit from abusive males. She looked like me the night I killed my father to save my mother’s life.