Dawn of a New Age: A Sons of Satrina Novel (22 page)

“I think we have it all under control now.” Kelton raised an eyebrow at him.

“This should have never happened in the first place. You have my sincere apologies.” Patrick said to Kelton before turning to address the other warriors and trainees. “To all of you. This should not have happened.”

Before Kelton could reply, the shifter who was still doubled over in pain shouted, “You’re apologising to him? To them? You have got to be shitting me!”

Patrick lurched forward, pounding up the steps and grabbed the shifter by the scruff of his shirt. Kelton quickly relaxed his grip. If he was going to break the guys arm, it wasn’t going to be done by accident.

“The Sons are helping us, you idiot. This is something we can’t do. What part of that don’t you understand? If we kept the boys with us, they would have only suffered. Here, the warriors can help them in a way we can’t.” Patrick violently shoved the other shifter away from him, sending him tumbling down the stone steps.

“You’re choosing to defend them over your own kind? What’s wrong with you, Patrick?”

“Bullshit. That’s not what’s happening here and you know it. They’re trying to help us. We need their help. It’s not about taking sides. We’re not children, even if you are behaving like it.”

“Only because you are too weak to deal with it.”

Silence rang out as Patrick slowly stalked forward, rang and incense steaming out of his pores. “Be very careful what you are saying.” He growled menacingly.

The shifter pulled himself up off of the floor and stood to his full height. There wasn’t much difference between them, but Patrick wouldn’t back down regardless. He could have been twice his size and Patrick wouldn’t have batted an eyelid. He was the Alpha. He was the pack master. There was no way that he would let some jumped up little bitch talk to him like that.

“Believe me, Patrick. I know exactly what I’m saying.” The shifter said in a loud, proud tone.

“You really want to do this? Here? Now?”

“Damn straight I do. This needs to come to an end and you can’t see that. Our boys can’t stay here. It isn’t right. You made the wrong call for the pack.”

“I made the only call that made any sense for the pack.”

“I think you’re wrong. Many of us think you were wrong.”

“Once you say the words, there’s no taking them back.” Patrick said in a warning tone.

The other shifter puffed out his chest and tried to look confident. “I, Carlos Sandera, challenge you, Patrick Mulholland, for the position of pack master.”

A gasp rose up among the other shifters. The warriors glanced at one another questioningly. They had no idea what was going on. Sure, the words were pretty self-explanatory but they had no idea what it all meant. Kelton had a slightly better idea than the rest of them, but even he didn’t know the finer details of what this involved.

Kelton really wasn’t sure that he wanted to know, either. It was clear that whatever was happening was huge for the pack. He looked over at Patrick, who looked calm and collected in comparison to the other shifter who was shaking with barely concealed anger. It was obvious to even those who didn’t know what this all meant that Patrick had just been challenged for his position of pack leadership, but they had no clue what that challenge entailed.

“I accept your challenge.” Patrick replied formally.

“We fight to the death.”

“We fight to the death.”

And with that, each of the men turned their back on one another. Kelton immediately followed after Patrick, who moved back within the walls of the building, as the other shifter stayed outside.

“What’s going on here?” Kelton asked, shoving a couple of trainee’s who lurked nearby out of the way, not wanting them to over-hear.

The whole room was abuzz with noise, though the shifters studiously stayed away from the warriors. No one but Kelton approached Patrick as they moved into a corner to speak privately.

“I’m sorry that this had to happen here. I’ve spoken with the pack at length and I’ve explained that all of this is necessary, that the boys will be better off here than struggling with the pack. They should all know that I hate the fact that they’re not with us, but you always get some dumbass who thinks he knows better. I didn’t think they’d go this far, though.”

“I didn’t mean that. I meant the challenge.”

Patrick nodded. “I knew that there were some of them out there that didn’t agree that this was the only course of action that we could take. I should have known that Carlos would have been at the centre of any problems like this. He’s a trouble maker and doesn’t know when to stop.” Patrick set his eyes in steel as he glanced around the room. “I should have seen this coming. Carlos was a problem from the start. And now he’s challenged me to the role of pack leader.”

“So, what happens now?”

“No one from the pack must approach the current leader of the pack or the challenger. To do so would show allegiance, which could be a dangerous thing, depending on the outcome of the fight.”

“Dangerous, how?”

“If they were to come to me and Carlos was to win the battle, he could punish them in any way he saw fit. I put this rule into motion several years ago. I thought that it would be better for the safety of the pack.”

“And what exactly does this battle entail?”

“It’s a fight to the death. The winner takes all.” Patrick looked at Kelton intently. “The challenger chooses whether the fight is in fur or flesh. They usually choose the form that they think they can beat me in.”

Kelton looked understandably shocked. He knew nothing of pack dynamics. “So, this has happened before?”

“A few times. I’m just sorry that it’s happening here. This is the last thing you need landing on your doorstep, but it can’t wait.”

“It’s fine.” Kelton nodded. “It’s tradition for you and I can’t and won’t stand in your way. After all, it’s our tradition that has brought you here to this point. I’m simply concerned for you.”

“Don’t be.” Patrick grinned, as humorous as a shark. “I can kick his ass with my eyes shut.”

“Good to know.”

Patrick stepped closer and spoke softly. “You do know that if Carlos is the victor, he will demand that Caleb and Rees are returned to him.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“You won’t have a choice in the outcome, Kel. The boys won’t have a choice if it comes to that, either. They’ll have to obey him. He’ll be their pack leader.”

“As I said, that’s not going to happen. You’ll defeat him. I know you.”

“Let’s hope.”

Kelton looked at him for a moment. Patrick had a deadly look in his eyes, but he was talking reality. They didn’t know what would happen. “I need to go and sort out the warriors. I know that this is your fight, but we must be prepared.” He moved away from Patrick, giving him some time and space to think about what he was going to have to do next.

Kelton walked straight over to Verynai.

“Damn, Kelton. What the hell’s going on here?”

Kelton shook his head. “Bloodshed. And it’s not ours this time.”

Verynai rumbled out a laugh, but his hand was still gripped on the hilt of his dagger, knowing just how dangerous this situation still was and could get. “How long are these fleabag’s going to be here for?”

“Be nice.” Kelton mock glared at him. “They’ll be gathering outside for the challenge fight any minute now. I want everyone on high alert. Patrick should take this, no problem, but just in case the worst happens, I want Caleb and Rees kept as far away from this crowd as possible. I need time to figure out if Patrick isn’t successful. This could mean the start of a war between us and the pack.”

“Sounds bloody.”

“It will be. But hopefully it won’t come to that.”

Verynai nodded. He turned to start rounding up his men, the warriors and the trainees who had gathered to defend the academy. Kelton noticed that the shifters were all starting to head outside for the battle.

Kayleigh was hanging back behind the warriors. Patrick was a good friend to her and Kelton and she hated the thought of watching him get beaten to death. A shiver ran down her spine.

“Kayleigh, what are you doing here?” Kelton said as soon as he spotted her silently standing behind the reception desk.

“I heard the commotion.”

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“But, Patrick –“

“That’s not our concern.”

“But he’s supposed to be your friend.”

“This isn’t about friendship. This is pack business. Which makes it none of our business. I can’t get involved in this in any way. And neither can you.”

“But-“

“But nothing. I need you to go upstairs and wait for me up there.”

“Kelton –“

“I’m not going to take no for an answer here, Leigh. I want you where you’ll be safe. We’ve never been involved in something like this before. I don’t want you getting caught up in the crossfire.”

Kayleigh glared at him before she stormed off. Kelton knew that she was going to be pissed, but he would rather that she was annoyed at him as opposed to getting caught up in the violence. If he knew that she was somewhere safe, that would be one less thing for him to worry about.

Moving around the large entry hall, Kelton kept the graduated warriors and Master warriors with him and sent the rest of the trainee’s back to their rooms. He knew that they would probably all congregate in the windows to watch the action, but there was nothing he could do to stop that. All he could ask was that they kept out of the way. He had no idea how this was going to go down and he needed the guys that he trusted to take care of themselves with him.

As Kelton stepped outside into the cold night air, he moved to stand next to Patrick. He didn’t give a damn about their stupid rules. He would stand next to Patrick and show his allegiance to the goddamn world if he chose. He wasn’t a pack member so the rules didn’t apply to him anyway.

“Don’t interfere. No matter what he does.” Patrick muttered.

Kelton took that to mean that Carlos would more than likely fight dirty. “What about the rest of them?”

“If they intervene, feel free to pull them out of it. This is between him and me only, and they all know that.” Patrick glared at the ground for a moment. “I’m sorry about this, and thank you.”

“For what?”

“Everything. You’ve been a good friend.”

Kelton gave him a friendly shove. “You’re talking like this is goodbye. It’s not. You’ll go out there, kick his ass and do what you need to do. Then tomorrow will be just the same as always.”

Patrick glanced over at him out the corner of his eye. “Fancy going for a beer at Red?” Red was the local biker bar that they often met up in.

“Yep. I’ll be there for seven. You’d better not stand me up for some lame ass reason like you’re dead. That would not make me a happy vampire.”

Patrick laughed, which was the whole point. “It’s a date, fang-boy.”

The air suddenly got serious and Kelton took a step back as the shifters moved into a tight circle around the leader of the pack and the challenger. With all the bodies in front of him, Kelton could barely see what was happening. He glanced over to where Dixon and Verynai were stationed, but they shrugged in response. They weren’t actually supposed to see what happened with the fight anyway, so maybe it was for the best.

With a sudden angered roar, Kelton knew that it had all started. The sounds of fists hitting flesh and blood being spilled could be clearly heard. The crowd around the battling pair were eerily quiet. Kelton guessed that this was part of the whole no-taking-sides thing.

The fight seemed to go on forever. It was even more infuriating, seeing as Kelton didn’t know what was happening. He could only hear, guess and hope.

It wasn’t until a final roar went up from the crowd that signalled the end. Now he would know. Kelton strained his neck to try and identify the victor.

Abruptly, the pack fell to their knees with their heads bowed. It was a show of respect for the winner of the bloody battle, the leader of their pack.

Kelton felt a huge weight suddenly lift from his shoulders as he saw Patrick standing in the centre of the circle. He was badly beaten, bloody and bruised, but he was the last man standing. Carlos lay on the floor in a broken, lifeless heap.

The pack silently rose to its feet and clamoured to shake Patrick’s hand and clap him on the back, mindless of his injuries. They may have followed Carlos to the academy and backed him in his insane plan to get the boys back, but they knew that they had to show their undying loyalty to Patrick. He had just eliminated the opposition. After seeing the state of Carlos, it would have been a huge surprise if any of the other members present were stupid enough to challenge him themselves.

Their eyes met briefly and they shared a manly nod. He saw Patrick turn and speak harshly to some of the members who were standing to his right. They turned immediately to pick up Carlos’ dead body.

Patrick slowly moved through the throng of shifters to approach Kelton. “Guess we’re still on for that drink tomorrow.”

Kelton nodded grimly and shook his hand. “Do you need anything? Everyone came here on bikes.” He wasn’t sure how they were going to get the body home.