Unleashing His Alpha (18 page)

The worst part was that they were adamant about her not being there and that was something she couldn’t handle. She wasn't going to just send him out of the camper and have him go off to either die or fight a brutal battle in the woods that she wouldn’t be a part of.

How could they ask that of her?

She was his mate and that meant she was the other half of a soul that they both shared. Having to be away from Shane was like cutting off her legs or ripping out her organs. There was no way that she could live without him. She needed him just like she needed air and food. Shane was the sunlight to her flower and without him, she was going to wilt and die.

Honestly, she didn’t care about their rules and she didn’t care about the traditions of their people. In her world, you didn’t leave the one you love when they were in their hour of need. You couldn’t just turn your back on the ones you loved because there was a stupid rule that said otherwise.

“Don’t be scared,” he told her soothingly, walking over to her and putting his hand on her cheek. She was naked under the sheets in the bed and hadn’t been able to bring herself to get ready. She felt like she was going to vomit whenever she thought about leaving the bed. It was all too much for her. If she had to do something right now, she was going to just sit there and hope that all of this was just a bad nightmare.

“Of course I’m scared,” she said with an angry tone that she knew she shouldn’t have with him. There was no reason for her to be mad at him right now. None of this was his fault and it wasn’t like he had come here asking to fight to the death. He was doing what he knew in his heart he needed to do and she was going to respect that.

She couldn’t hold that against him anymore. He was a man of honor and this was what was being demanded of him.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly, taking his hand and squeezing it gently. “I just don’t want to lose you, Shane. You’re everything to me and I can’t imagine a world without you.”

“You won’t have to,” he said with a soft smile. “I’m going to be here with you forever. I know Peter Vincent is an experienced fighter, but I’ve got you on my side and there’s no stopping me when I have you. Right?”

“Right,” Katie smiled softly, not sure if she believed that, but she wanted to, so she was going to give it a shot. As she kissed him on the lips, she wrapped her arms around him and held him close to her. He was going out there in a pair of pants and that was it. She knew he would probably be turning into a wolf when he went out there and she was sad she was going to miss that, but she knew she’d probably see it plenty of times in the future.

“I love you, Shane,” she said to him, as honestly and truthfully as she had ever said those words to anyone.

She loved him more than anything in this world and it was killing her to gamble him on something so violent and so deadly. It was all wrong to her, but she hoped that those words would linger in his heart and they would give him courage in the coming fight.

“I love you, Katie,” he said with all the sincerity that a pure heart had.

They kissed once more, but the pounding of a fist on the door interrupted it. Katie pulled away and looked toward the wretched door and knew that this was it. She was going to have to let him go and there was nothing she was going to be able to do.

“Win this,” she told him.

“I will,” he said confidently.

When he went to the door and opened it, it was Priss and a few of the other members of the pack that had come to collect him and escort him to the fighting area. She had no idea where it was, but she knew she was supposed to keep far away from it. If she was seen there, they would consider it an insult and they would probably turn on him, claiming that he had cheated against Peter.

Well, she actually doubted that a lot, but that was what they had warned her about. Most likely, she figured it was a brutal affair and having your loved one there to witness it probably wasn’t the best idea. As far as Katie was concerned, they were all a bunch of bastards.

He gave her one last look of confidence before the door closed and she immediately turned and looked at the window next to the dining table that was right next to the bed. She had been eyeing it all last night, judging the size of it and she knew it was just about right. It was going to do the trick for her and that was all that she cared about right now.

She had told herself that she was going to respect these people and she was going to abide by their laws and their rules, but she knew there was no way she was going to be able to do that now. The feeling of sickness faded from her stomach and the fear of leaving Shane alone with that criminal was all that she cared about right now. There was no way she was going to abandon him to this fight and she knew it was time to act.

So, she threw off the covers and immediately rushed to her luggage and started to open it. She had a pair of white jeans, brown and white boots, and a white sweatshirt that she knew would keep her hidden in the snow. She searched for a white hat and found it at the bottom of the luggage and quickly dressed herself. She layered long sleeved shirts under her sweatshirt and pulled the hood up over her head to keep her black hair from showing. She didn’t want anyone to know that she was out there spying on them.

Opening the window, she dropped down into the snow, quickly rushing behind the cover of the pickup truck and scouting out the snowy camp. It was snowing heavily, but it was as silent as a tomb. It was the most surreal scene she had ever witnessed and it was the heaviest snowfall that she had been given the pleasure of experiencing before. It would do for cover and it would make a veil for her to hide behind as she searched for signs of the coming battle.

She could hear their voices in the trees and she gave a wide berth to wherever they were clustered together, talking and whispering to one another about the fight that was coming. There was one person shouting, others talking at the top of their lungs to explain everything that was going to happen, but she couldn’t hear them with the echo between the trees. All she knew was that they were in a general area and she needed to keep low and silent.

It wasn’t long until she had a fix on their location and moved discreetly from tree to tree, letting her legs get soaked in the snow, but refusing to let it bother her as she made her way toward the fight.

The sounds of fighting were much more desperate and much different from what she had expected, thanks to movies. Punches weren’t loud and cracking like they were on television, but they sounded heavy and meaty, like the pounding and battling of two strong men going at each other. There was a crack and a loud shout, but it didn’t sound like anything final. She didn’t recognize the shout and prayed that it had been Peter Vincent who had suffered the blow. Moving through the snow, she cursed the snowfall that drifted down from the trees and made it hard for her to see anything that was happening.

There was an echoing thud as they were thrown to the ground and before she could find them, she froze at the sound of something unfamiliar. There was the sound of growling and snapping, like two feral dogs that were fighting over a bone in the woods.

She didn’t like the sound of that and as she stood there, silently listening from where she was hiding, she could feel the cold air seeping inside of her. The fear was getting to her as she listened to the snarling and tearing sounds. There was yelping and thuds echoed through the forest, bouncing off the trees all around her and made her feel like she was right in the midst of all of it. It was too much for her as she covered her mouth and felt tears burning and brimming in her eyes. Without having a second thought, she sank down and listened in horror as she knew that Shane and his nemesis were going to kill each other.

It felt like hours as she listened to the sounds of the two wolves crashing through the forest, whimpering and yelping as they battled to the death, fighting like the savage beasts they had become. She didn’t know what to say or do right then. She couldn’t even see them from where she was. Pinching her eyes shut, she prayed that Shane was going to be okay and that he was going to be safe after all of this. She didn’t want him to die out here in the frigid snow at the hands of the bastard that had killed his parents.

Suddenly, the sounds stopped and Katie could hear the sounds of heavy breathing and wheezing in the darkness of the forest. She wondered if it was over. Had Shane killed the man who had killed his parents? She slowly stood up and looked around the tree, feeling the trickle of tears running down her cheeks and freezing on her cheeks. Wiping them away, she looked around the tree and could see the figures in the distance, one standing over the other.

“Submit,” Shane shouted through the trees. “Submit and vow to never come back.”

“Never,” Peter Vincent growled, his voice gurgling and choking out of his voice as Shane planted his foot on the man’s throat.

“I’m sparing you because my mate is right,” he said, applying pressure to his enemy’s throat. “I’m better than you, Peter, and I don’t have to kill you. If you ever show your face around the pack again, they’ll kill you instead. You’re banished from our people, shamed and disgraced for all to see. Let your mangled body be a reminder to all others what will happen if you cross Shane Blackwood and my pack ever again. Do you understand me?”

“You spare me and I’ll keep hunting you, Blackwood,” Peter Vincent chuckled sinisterly. “You’ll never have a moment’s peace.”

“You’re broken, old man,” Shane said, his voice carrying through the forest and Katie couldn’t help but smile. He was right. He’d beaten the man and shamed him in front of the pack. There was no way they were ever going to follow him. Katie was thrilled to see Shane out there, standing victorious over her enemy. She wanted to shout and hug him, but she knew she had to keep quiet.

“Crawl into the abyss for all I care,” Shane said.

His voice echoed through the forest and Katie kept low as she sneaked back to the camper, praying she could get back there in time. She didn’t want him to know that she’d been out here. She didn’t want him to know that she’d been rooting for him in the darkness all along. She would never leave his side and she would never abandon him, even if he didn’t know it.

*

It was strange to think it had been three years that the two of them had been together as she watched the snow start to fall for the first time in November. It always reminded her of the day when he had faced the man that had killed his parents, in the middle of the forest, while the snow came down and the world around them decided it was time to change for the better. As far as Katie could see, there was nothing but happiness in the community.

After Shane won his victory, Peter Vincent was exiled from the pack. He was driven out with just a pair of pants and a shirt, abandoned to the snow and the frigid air. As far as anyone knew, Peter Vincent had died out in the snow from his injuries. No one wept over him. His two remaining lackeys quickly turned their loyalty to Shane and they were happy to submit to whatever punishment he decided they deserved.

Katie traced her fingers over the side of Shane’s face, feeling the grooves of the scars he’d earned that day. He was still as handsome as ever, but now he just had a look that would intimidate people that came looking for a fight. It was the kind of appearance that gave his words weight, but weren’t enough to disfigure him horrifically. It didn’t matter to Katie. Even if he’d been brutally maimed in the fight, she still would have been captivated by his presence and she would have eagerly awaited him like he was a god to her.

She wasn’t ever going to give up on him. But, he didn’t need to hear that from her. She was a woman who believed in showing her man that sort of thing.

They spent the winter in Wallace and when the snowy passes became safe again for them to travel, they headed into Montana, crossing the border and settling out in the middle of the wilderness on land they purchased and decided to set up their cabins. By the time winter came again, they had four cabins and a town hall built.

It had been hard work clearing the land and driving back the forest, but they liked the isolation and they enjoyed the silence they were given. They were close enough to a town to buy supplies and they all worked their jobs that they once had on the road as well.

It was a new kind of life for everyone in the pack and it was the kind of life that Shane’s parents had truly envisioned for all of them. When they looked at him and everything he had given them, it was like looking at a new world. Katie was proud to stand by him and be there with him. They planted crops and berry bushes, they set up electricity, and they even drew attention from the nearest city looking to annex them. There was talk of starting to turn them into a town as more and more cabins went up as more Shifters passed through and decided to stay.