Billion Dollar Bear: BBW Paranormal Billionaire Romance (Bad Boy Alphas) (13 page)

“You’re so brave for accepting Ravena’s
challenge,” Jessie said as she finished guiding Becca through a series of
warm-up stretches. “Some might consider it pretty stupid as well.”

      “Don’t
remind me,” Becca groaned, bending backward into a back-stretch. “Jericho is
furious with me, but I saw no other way.  According to clan law if another
she-bear challenges the role of mate, I either accept the challenge or I
jeopardize the harmony of the clan.  I didn’t know what else to do.”  

“You could just walk away, Becca.”
Jessie’s voice grew soft and she reached out to squeeze Becca’s arm. “You
aren’t part of the clan. You really don’t have to follow our laws.”

“But then Jericho will be forced to
choose between breaking free from his clan, or breaking free from me… and I
can’t do that to him. I’d rather die.”

“Wow,” Jessie replied. “You really love
him, don’t you? But you’ve never fought in bear form in your entire existence!”

      Becca
winced. She didn’t need to be reminded of that. Her decision was starting to
sound more and more foolish by the minute.

“Ravena doesn’t belong with Jericho. I
do.”

      Jessie
snorted. “That’s if you survive,” she pointed out. “The rules of engagement
don’t prevent Ravena from killing you, and knowing her, I wouldn’t put it past
her to try to do just that.”

      Becca’s
own heart went cold at the truth Jessie forced her to face – something Jericho
had already mentioned repeatedly during his ongoing tirade – that she
could actually die tonight. “Yeah, well that’s what we’re training for, isn’t
it? So that at the very least I can survive this thing?”

      Jessie
nodded grimly. “And we don’t have much time, so let’s shift already.”

      Taking a
deep breath to settle herself, Becca closed her eyes and did what she normally
tried so hard not to. She let the beast take over.

* * *

Jericho’s insides felt like they were
twisted up into knots as he watched Becca and Jessie train from the upstairs
window overlooking the backyard. Becca had improved in the last hour or so, but
nowhere near enough to beat Ravena. As a daughter of Sergei, Ravena was sure to
be a good fighter regardless of her elegant manner and feminine wiles, and
Becca would be in real danger of losing her life. He was furious.

      Gritting
his teeth, he watched as Jessie slammed her forehead into Becca’s midsection,
knocking her back into one of the walls.

     
Whatever
happened tonight, Becca couldn’t lose her life. He wouldn’t think twice of
stepping in, and ending the battle.

      A knock on
the door gratefully distracted him from his thoughts. “Come in,” he called,
already knowing who it was.

      Emerson
entered the room, a solemn expression on his normally mischievous face. “How’s
she doing?” he asked as he cautiously crossed the room to stand by Jericho’s
side.

      “As well
as can be expected.” Biting back a sigh, Jericho turned to face his cousin
– the only family he had left, and the person he held most dear to
himself aside from Becca. “I called you here to ask you for a favor,” he said
quietly.

      Emerson
inclined his head. “Anything, chief,” he said. “Whatever I can do to make this
easier on you, I’ll do.”

      “I need
you to be my successor.”

      Emerson’s
head snapped up in a flash. “What?”

      Jericho
glanced out the window again. Jessie and Becca were locked in a bear hug,
struggling for dominance. “As much as I hope that Becca wins the fight tonight,
the chances are that Ravena will overpower her. She hates half-breeds, and I’m
pretty sure she’ll try to kill Becca if she can. I need to be ready to
intervene, if I have to.”

      Emerson
scowled. “Intervene? You can’t get in the way of a blood match. If you do
you’ll have to – ”

      “Forfeit
my title as clan chieftain,” Jericho finished for him, and Emerson’s eyes flashed
as he realized exactly what Jericho was trying to tell him. “And if I do that,
I need to be able to pass my title onto someone who will take good care of the
clan. I can think of no one better to do that than you.”

      Emerson’s
pale green eyes briefly shone with tears before he blinked them back. “You do
me a great honor,” he said roughly, and then his eyes slanted to the window to
gaze at the two she-bears locked in combat outside. “But I wish that you
wouldn’t. I’d much rather have you here with us.”

      Jericho
placed a comforting hand on his cousin’s broad shoulder. “If I could stay, I
would, cousin. But I promised her my protection while she’s here, and I
couldn’t go back on that even if I didn’t love her. I have to do this.”

      Emerson
nodded. “Just answer me this…is she worth it?”

      Jericho
smiled. “Oh, yes. She’s worth everything.” But the words were said with a heavy
heart, one that seemed to weigh a bit more with every minute the clock struck
closer to midnight.

* * *

Becca was scared out of her mind as Jericho
parked outside the graffiti-covered warehouse that was to be the battleground
for the blood match between her and Ravena. It didn’t look like much from the
outside, with crumbled, stained concrete and cracked asphalt, but lights glowed
from the inside and she had no doubt there would be an audience waiting for
her.

      After all,
Jericho’s entire clan had come out with her, so it stood to reason Ravena’s
would be there as well.

      “Please
don’t do this.” Jericho squeezed her hand as he killed the engine. “Please,
Becca.”

“I have to,” she replied, her voice
surprisingly calm. “For my honor, if nothing else.”

      He was
startled by the fierceness in her eyes, and the determined look on her face.
She was a true warrior, and though he knew that she would not yet acknowledge
it, she was a true were-bear.

He pulled her against him for a deep,
loving kiss that brought tears to his eyes and he did his best to hide the
emotion that swirled in his chest.  She was determined to do this and it
was wrong of him to make the situation harder on her by pleading with her not
to. He was so angry at himself for bringing her to Chicago without having
thought things through. He knew the clan law; he should have expected this
would happen. He should have protected her from Ravena’s jealousy. He had been
too caught up in his own selfish desire to think beyond having her back in his
arms. He had been foolish to think that Ravena would have just let it go, and
moved onto another chieftain.

Sighing deeply, he braced himself for what
was to come as he reluctantly walked with Becca into the warehouse. The other
bears of his clan fanned out around them, forming a solid barrier of protection
not just for Jericho, but for her as well.
If only she could bring them into
the arena with her,
she thought dryly.
Then she might have a fighting
chance.

      Still, the
gleam in their eyes as they looked at her told her that she’d earned their
respect for being willing to face off against Ravena, even woefully outmatched
as she was. If she somehow did manage to win, she knew that they would accept
her as the chieftain’s mate unequivocally.

     
Great.
Now you’ve just got to survive this night.

      Becca’s
jaw nearly dropped when she stepped inside the warehouse. The interior looked
like something out of a professional fighting arena, with four sets of steel
bleachers arranged to form a huge rectangle around a well-lit ring. Ravena was
already standing there waiting for her, dressed in skin tight leather as she
preened for her audience beneath the spotlights glaring down from the ceiling.
Even from here Becca caught the mocking gleam in her blue eyes as she looked
their way.

      “Ah, so
you actually showed up.” Ravena cackled, then looked down to examine her red,
manicured nails. “I guess I might have to break a nail after all. So sad.”

      “I would
worry more about your hair than your nails tonight,” Becca said nonchalantly,
refusing to betray the boiling blood that had instantly ignited.
Oh well, at
least it chased away all the fear, right?
“Before the night is over I
intend to rip every single little pretty curl out of your head.”

      Ravena’s
face turned a blotchy red again, but before she could attack Becca Jericho put
himself between them. “Stop,” he growled. “The match hasn’t begun yet. You know
the rules, Ravena.” He turned his back to her and pulled Becca into his arms
for a deep kiss. Boos and hisses issued from the Kamtchatka bleachers, while
cheers rang out from the Moon Bay clan seated behind him.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he
whispered into her ear. “I can take you out of here. Just say the word.”

Becca couldn’t help the swell that filled
her chest, a mixture of anxiety and pride. She knew there was no way she would
ever back down from Ravena, not now, not ever.

“No,” she replied, looking deep into
Jericho’s eyes. “I really do need to do this, Jericho.  Don’t worry about
me. I’ve got this.”

He chucked her chin lightly, smiling. “I
know you do,” he said. “Your match is about to start.”

      Becca
turned away as Jericho headed for the stands, not wanting to concentrate on the
fact that he was leaving her out here alone, despite the fact she had insisted
on fighting. Instead, her eyes scanned the Kamchatka bleachers, looking at the
faces of the opposing clan. Her eyes alighted on a she-bear with Ravena’s icy
eyes and mane of curls who had to be the bitch’s mother, cozied up tightly
against a behemoth of a man with close-cropped brown hair and dark brown eyes.

      To her
surprise, those eyes widened as she met them, and the man’s face went suddenly
pale. He took a step forward, but a shrill whistle blew, and she turned back to
face Ravena.

      In the
center of the ring was one of the Kamchatka bears, wearing – for the love
of God – an umpire’s shirt. “The blood match will now begin,” he called.
“Ravena Hastings has challenged Rebecca Donaldson, for the hand of Chieftain Jericho
Knight!” The crowd roared, and he paused to allow the boos and cheers to
subside before continuing. “The match is decided when one person is no longer
able to fight due to injury or death. Do you both understand these rules?”

      Ravena and
Becca both nodded, Becca noting that Ravena’s face had gone serious now –
no more sneering or preening. She was all business, and a chill of terror
bolted through Becca’s chest at the cold determination in her opponent’s eyes.
She had no doubt that Ravena would kill her if she had to in order to win this
match.

     
Come on
,
Becca thought to herself.
You can do it.

      “Alright,
begin!”

      Ravena
immediately hunkered down in an attempt to shift into bear form, and it came as
no surprise. Jessie had warned Becca that it was expected during a blood match,
though not required. Becca crouched down as well, posturing as if she were also
going to change, then sprang for Ravena, tackling her to the ground and burying
a dagger in her stomach that she’d tucked beneath the waistband of her jeans.

      Howls of
outrage echoed from the Kamchatka bleachers as Becca sprang back, hurriedly
putting some distance between herself and the enraged she-bear. She hurled the
knife toward the bleachers, and then crouched down and pushed herself into the
fastest shift she’d ever done in her life, as Ravena charged, kicking and
punching and biting at her. Becca weathered the storm as she stretched and
widened and grew, and, seeing that she had no choice, Ravena fell back and began
her own shift.

      Becca’s
heart sank as she rose up on all fours to see that Ravena had nearly completed
the transformation. By attacking her quickly, Becca had hoped to prevent Ravena
from shifting, but she took advantage of what little time she had now and
rushed the she-bear.

Gasps of shock rose up from the Kamchatka
bleachers, though Becca didn’t know what had happened to elicit such a response,
and she tried to stay focused as she rolled on the ground with Ravena, clawing
and biting and trying to get a good hold of the she-bears jugular. But though Ravena
was bleeding and weakened, she was still stronger, and since she healed so
fast, Becca was going to need to latch onto her throat and hold on until she
actually bled out, something that just moved to the realm of impossibility as Ravena
slammed her hind legs into Becca’s stomach, propelling her off of Ravena’s
body.

      Becca
slammed into the ground and skidded several feet, nearly crashing into the
bleachers before she stopped herself. She rolled over and tried to spring to
her feet, but Ravena was on her, jaws snapping, eyes glowing fiercely as she
went for Becca’s throat. Evading, Becca grappled with her, struggling for the
upper hand, and they rolled across the warehouse floor.

      Ravena
bashed her thick skull into Becca’s, and as Becca knocked the back of her head
against the concrete, she felt her strength begin to fade. She roared as Ravena’s
fangs pierced the flesh covering her throat, and struggled as warm blood seeped
into her fur, knowing if she didn’t get out of this hold she would die. But it
was no use… this was the end…