“For the love of the Wolf God, could we please begin?” Cassandra asked.
“By all means”-Liam yanked off his black V-neck and tossed it to the ground-“let’s get this over with.”
Liam and Cassandra stood naked, shoulders squared, spines taut, muscles twitching. Justin had already shed his clothes, but I hadn’t. I’d take them off at the last minute.
As I circled the giant Creek Alpha, pretending to inspect her body, she said, “You’re a ruthless little thing, aren’t you?”
“Wanting what’s right doesn’t make me ruthless.”
“What’s right?” Her glacial blue eyes, mere slits behind her gummy lids, thinned even more. “Righteous people possess virtue. You lost yours this weekend.”
Alarm straightened my vertebrae. Had she spied on August and me? Or could she smell him-
“And don’t you bother convincin’ me it was all your aunt’s doing. I know she had help, and who better than a girl famished for revenge?”
She was talking about Aidan, not August. I tried not to let my relief show, repressing it as best I could.
“Or maybe it was my cousin’s ex-wife who aided your aunt?”
That snapped something in me. “Evelyn had nothing to do with Aidan’s death.”
“And how would you know, since you weren’t there?”
She’s trying to get under your skin. The intensity of Liam’s voice had me flinching. Finish the inspection and return to me.
Cassandra raised a stealthy smile. “I believe it’s her night off from that fancy new job of hers . . . Too bad Frank decided to attend the duel.”
My breaths congealed inside my lungs. “Are you trying to get me to kill you before the duel begins?”
Ness!
I started to turn, but spun right back to face the black-hearted woman. “The first time I heard about the female Alpha who brought the largest pack to their knees, I was awestruck. Proud that a woman had risen so high. But now that I’ve met you and understand how you got to the top, I’m ashamed.”
Her blue lips writhed as though she were chewing on something particularly unsavory. Even though I wasn’t the only one who’d fallen for her birthmark lie, it incensed me to have been so naïve.
“How I got to the top? You mean by fightin’? We all got our techniques, but seducin’ men to get to the top wasn’t for me.” Her eyes glinted maliciously. “To each her own.”
Anger bolted my bones. What man had I seduced? Was she talking about when she’d sent me to Heath, posing as an escort? Or did her barb have to do with Liam? Did she think he and I were-
“Ness!” This time, Liam roared my name out loud.
I jerked around. “She passes my inspection,” I muttered, my voice crackling through the starlit expanse.
“And Kolane passes my inspection,” Justin said, crossing back over toward his Alpha, leering at me. “Time to take those clothes off, Ness.”
I glowered at Justin as I stalked to the perimeter of the ring, yanking off my hoodie and lobbing it at Matt. He caught it.
As I closed in on him, fingers trembling on the bottom of my tank top, I whispered, “Tell Frank to go home.”
Matt’s pale eyebrows pinched together.
“Evelyn . . .” Her name came out hushed but clear.
As I handed him my top, he nodded. “I’ll tell him.”
A howl pierced the night. I looked over my shoulder to find Cassandra’s light-brown wolf edged in pale moonlight.
“I’ll take care of it. Now, go on out there, Little Wolf, and crush them, ’cause that’s what Boulders do. We roll and we crush.”
I could feel the sting of eyes on my spine as I dropped my shorts and underwear, but I didn’t care. I was too infuriated to care. I kicked both beyond the dueling ring, then padded back out toward Liam, who was still in skin and waiting for me.
Behind me, Matt repeated, “Roll and crush.”
“Ready?” Liam asked.
I nodded without hesitation. I’d never been this ready for anything.
When Liam released a howl to signal the beginning of the duel, everything and everyone outside the ring melted into the darkness.
My breaths were loud in my ears, like the whoosh of waves on sand, frothing into my veins, slowly filling them with grit.
Unless I call you, Ness, you stay as far back as you can, you hear me?
I hear you. But just because I’d heard him didn’t mean I’d heed his command. If I felt I could help, I would.
Justin was larger than I remembered, more bulky than tall. I estimated he weighed twice what I did and bet he planned on using those extra pounds on me if push came to shove.
His golden eyes slid from Liam to me, lighting up with a smirk.
I wasn’t scrawny, but I was small.
Unimpressive.
Easily overlooked, like the River Alpha said after Liam and I slayed the bear.
A breeze picked up, blowing clouds over the sliver of moon and smattering of stars, darkening the already dusky expanse. My lupine eyesight sharpened, adjusting to the dim luminosity. Cassandra was waiting for Liam to make the first move, the same way she’d waited for Julian to attack.
Exactly like he’d predicted.
Now! His word cracked like a whip against my hide
I took off alongside him as he raced toward Cassandra.
She waited and waited, and then, just as his hind legs bent in preparation to fling himself upward, she pressed her belly low to the ground, limbs coiled tight against her long body. She didn’t move, expecting him to pounce on her, but he arched high, overtaking her flattened form.
She blinked, ears perked up in surprise that he hadn’t landed on her. His front paws hit the earth with a thud that shook the ground. When his hind paws crushed the blades of grass, Cassandra lurched back onto all fours and swung around.
Liam turned fluidly and then held still, fixing the Creek Alpha with his yellow eyes.