“Okay, so Kai has to fight another Alpha who only has one way of being killed, because of his gift.”

“Yes, he can only be killed by blood loss. But Kai is a changed wolf too.” Emma’s eyes gleamed with pride.

“Aurora!” Kai barked. I ran to his side. He gently took my hand and pulled me to the side yard where we could talk in private.

“I will fight for you because you’re mine. But I pride myself on doing things differently in my pack. I won’t keep you here against your will. I know you haven’t had time to learn what being a werewolf is all about and when I saw you lying in the road on the verge of death, I knew I had to at least try to give you life. Females that survive the change are rare and Dane will try to take you at all costs. If you think you would like the chance to switch packs, tell me now.”

There was a vulnerability in his look that made my heart hurt. He was an Alpha; the most dominant of wolves, and he was asking me to stay, maybe not with his words but his look. The way he said mine was possessive in an endearing way. Did I want to leave Emma, Kai, and the others that I had begun friendships with? Did I want to leave without exploring what was behind that kiss in his office? My inner wolf howled in pain at the thought. “This is my pack. I’m not going anywhere,” I told him.

The corners of his lips curled. “Good. Now if I die, the pack transfers to you as my second. That could be a disaster because you know nothing about being a wolf or leading a pack.”

“Then let’s hope you don’t die, for that reason and others.” I quickly squeezed his hand. Was I flirting with the Alpha before he was about to go into a fight to the death for me? He smirked and turned to leave.

“They’re coming,” he told his wolves. “Emma, don’t shift. I need you to be able to communicate with Aurora.”

I smelled something then. Whisky and cigarettes, rain and wood. ‘Portland pack. Foreign Wolf.’

Three large men came walking through the clearing behind a thicket of trees followed by four wolves. One of the men smiled and his teeth shown in the setting sun. They were capped in silver; all of them. Oh shit. This must be Dane. Silver immunity.

“Excuse the intrusion, Kai, but I believe you have something that belongs to me.” His eyes roamed over my body and Kai let loose a growl.

“She’s mine,” Kai said, barely containing his humanity. I could see patches of fur rippling over his body.

Dane flashed his silver-pointed teeth. “I was hoping you would say that.”

Our pack began circling them and opening up an area for them to fight. My wolf was itching to come out. I felt the need to shift, to fight instead of Kai, to protect him. I didn’t even know how to shift but I wanted to. No one should die for me.

Dane stood in the center of the circle and bowed. “I enact the right to fight the Mount Hood Alpha for my wolf, a human that was born in my territory. A female. According to rules, this fight ends in death or forfeit.” The word female sounded dirty in his mouth.

The words barely left Kai’s mouth before he began shifting. “I accept.”

In a blur of motion, Kai was human one second and wolf the next. He lunged at Dane while he was mid-shift and sank his teeth into the meat of Dane’s thigh, coming away with a chunk of flesh. Something between a howl and a human wail cut through the night. Kai was fast, really fast and he had the most beautiful markings. He was all black with a white star on his forehead and white socks on his paws. My wolf approved. The vegetarian in me wanted to close my eyes. There was blood and flesh flying everywhere, but the wolf in me stared. My hands were clenched, my breath coming out short.

Compared to Dane, Kai was a blur of motion. Dane had just finished fully shifting and Kai has already torn off most of his leg meat.

I leaned into Emma. “So is that Kai’s gift? He’s fast?”

Emma nodded and kept her voice low. “He can shift instantly, and he can move faster than anything anyone’s ever seen.”

I watched as Kai dodged Dane’s silver jaws and ran from left to right in a blur of motion. Then, he swiped a claw at Dane’s belly and Dane used the close proximity to bite Kai in the shoulder. A howl ripped from his throat as Kai darted to the other side of the clearing. He was still fast but slower than before. The silver must be affecting him. Emma let out a low growl. Dane’s wolf grinned and blood glistened on his metallic teeth.

Kai came closer to Dane and lunged, biting right into his neck. He shook Dane like a rag doll until his body stilled. Kai’s wolf relaxed for just a second and Dane jerked violently, loosening himself and grabbing Kai’s left front paw in his mouth. He bit down hard and we all heard the crunch of bone. I made a move to run into the circle, not sure what I was going to do, but someone grabbed my arms from behind. 

“Easy there.” It was Devon, Emma’s mate. Kai was limping away, getting slower by the moment when Dane stalked after him. Dane’s leg, I could see, was already healing.

“Why isn’t Kai healing like Dane?” I asked Emma as Devon loosened his grip.

“The silver. One more bite and he will probably be poisoned beyond repair.” Tears shown in her eyes. That’s when I realized I could stop this fight. I just needed to tell Dane I would transfer to his pack and stop this. Kai said he wouldn’t keep me against my will. Two yellow eyes caught my attention and I stared at them. ‘Mine,’ Kai said and lunged at Dane with more speed and strength than he had before. Dane was slow, too slow, and Kai landed on him as they both rolled. Kai had Dane’s head in his jaws and he was chewing. Oh god. I was going to see someone decapitated.