46

46
BRANDON
It takes every bit of strength I have in my entire being to cage the wolf, and I’m not quite sure how I manage. All I know is that at the sight of Alicia, even though sh’s already in her wolf form, my human self surges forward again, and I try to sprint to her side.
But one of Lonnie’s men is holding my baby. That takes precedence over everything.
Two of Lonnie’s men catch me and hold me back. I pull against them, and I’m nearly able to break free, but thentwo more of them come running over to get their hands on me.
I lunge in their grip. “Damn it, Lonnie!”
“Stand down, Alicia,” Lonnie barks quickly. “We don’t want your daughter alive that badly. And we’ll kill Brandon, too.”
There’s a tense standoff for a moment. Then she shifts and falls back. “You betrayed us,” Lonnie snarls, his yellow-ringed eyes fixed on me.
“You went to her and told her everything, didn’t you?” “I’m not going to let you hurt her,” I say.
“Fuck, Brandon, this bitch kept your child from you! You don’t care about that?”
“You never asked me what I cared about,” I snap. “You never asked me what I fucking wanted. If you had, you’d have known a long time ago that I’d never agree to something like this.”
“I can’t believe you’re protecting her. I can’t believe you would turn on me.”
“I’ve never been with you,” I tell him. “I’ve been third in command of this pack, but it was never fucking about you. You should have known that. If you had paid any attention, you would have seen how little I always cared about what you thought. You would have realized I’ve been doing what I wanted for a long time now.”
“Oh, is that right? Well, tell me, Brandon, what is it you want?” “I want Alicia,” I say. “I claim her as my mate.”
Lonnie shakes his head. “You can’t do that.”
Alicia turns her head to the side so that her hair falls back and exposes her neck… and the place where I bit her. “It’s done,” she says. “He’s claimed me, and I’ve accepted him. We belong to one another. You can’t stop it, Lonnie. Not now.”
“You accepted him?” Lonnie demands. “After what I told you? He’s using you.”
“You lied,” Alicia says. “I’m not lying.”
“You’ve never had my best interests at heart. You’re threatening to kill me and steal my child. And you still imagine that I’d believe you?” She shakes her head. “You’re insane. I always knew you were a fucking idiot, but you’re actually insane.”
“Watch your mouth, or I’ll do worse to the kid than steal her from you.”
Alicia struggles against the men who are holding her, letting out a cry of rage and pain. They’ve got her completely on lock, though. No matter how hard she fights, she can’t break free.
“It’s all right,” I tell her softly. “I can handle this.”
Lonnie snorts. “What do you think you’re going to do? In case you haven’t noticed, you’re pretty outnumbered here, Brandon.”
“I’m challenging you,” I say. The relief in saying the words is huge. “You can’t challenge me,” Lonnie says.
“I can, and you know that,” I tell him. “You’ve been worried since Alicia got back that somebody was going to do it. Well, that someone is me. I’m challenging you for alpha.”
“Kill him,” Lonnie snaps.
The men around him glance at each other.
I shake off the ones holding me. “They can’t kill me,” I say. “You know they can’t. Now that I’ve challenged you, you don’t have any choice but to accept. You have to fight me. Single combat.”
“I don’t have to do anything,” Lonnie says. “I don’t know who you think you are. Just because you banged my sister, that doesn’t make you a part of the bloodline. That doesn’t give you the right to challenge for alpha.”
“I have the right as her chosen mate,” I say. “I’m mated into the bloodline now. That gives me the power to vie for the alpha seat if I want it-and I’ve decided that I do. I would make a much better alpha than you would. I actually care about the future of this pack.”
“If you gave a damn about this pack, you’d be supporting its rightful
leader,” Lonnie snarls. “I’m not going to fight you. I’m not going to give you
the honor of being defeated by me. You’re going to be exiled from the pack, starting today.”
“Oh, no, he’s not.”
I turn toward the new voice. Vern is walking into the clearing, with Kayla by his side. He may be old, but he’s standing tall, and the look on his face is pure alpha dominance.
“Dad,” Alicia gasps.
“Let my daughter go,” Vern says. “Give her back her child and let her go.” The alpha command is in his tone, and the others have no choice but to obey. Growls echo around the group, but the man holding Emmy dumps her back in Alicia’s arms. Alicia runs to her father’s side. He wraps an arm
around her. Kayla embraces her too.
“Now,” Vern says, “you’re going to fight Brandon, Lonnie.” “Like hell I am.”
“He’s within the bylaws of the pack,” Vern says. “He’s mated into the bloodline. That gives him the right to challenge. If you refuse the challenge, you forfeit your claim to alpha automatically, and no one will ever recognize your authority. You have to fight him. You have no choice.”
“You’re not scared you’ll lose, are you?” one of Lonnie’s lackeys asks. That’s good. I like that they’re taunting him. I like that they’re not entirely on his side.
I step forward. “He’s not afraid,” I say, because I want this fight now. Because I want Lonnie to act. “He’s not going to stand down and just let me steal his position in the pack. Only a coward would do that. And you’re not a coward, are you, Lonnie?”
Lonnie narrows his eyes. “Fine,” he says. “You’ll live to regret this. Let’s go.”