Fate Stained - Part Two
Chapter 39 - The Challenge

I remained composed and calm as the sight of fifteen large, grey wolves appeared through the trees. I’d chosen not to shift into my wolf, not yet. Kyanite remained in his human form beside me and we watched as a couple of the wolves raised their noses into the air, sniffing our scents and they slowly padded towards us.

It was quite clear who Alpha Rhys was. There was one wolf, slightly bigger than the rest and not trying in the slightest to conceal his Alpha aura as it emanated from him in invisible ripples that flowed through the air all around. On either side of the Alpha were his sons. They were no bigger than the other fighters; but shared the exact same hazel eyes as their sister, Fern.

Fern. How I wished I could have told her I was leaving, how I wished I could have said goodbye; but I knew if I’d done that she would have tried to stop me. I wondered if the alarm had been raised on Kyanite and my absence yet, if it had then we only had minutes before Jayce and his men arrived - I needed to challenge the Alpha before it was too late.

“My name is Flynn. I am from Fern Creek. We are alone and I wish to speak with Alpha Rhys of the Point Invictus pack” I announced as the wolves stopped approximately fifty metres in front of us.

The wolves shuffled their feet, a few huffing, a few more snarling as they glared at myself and Kyanite. I knew they were communicating to each other through their link, which was unfortunately not something that myself and the panther were able to do. After a few seconds, the large wolf that I’d identified as Alpha Rhys, and the two wolves on either side of him, rose on their hind legs and shifted smoothly into their human forms.

“You don’t smell like a wolf” one of the sons snapped.

He looked to be the older of the two. His hair was a dark red, a lot darker than Fern’s and was completely shaved on one side. The other side was quite long and braided into four thick cornrows that stopped halfway down his back. The man was solid with thick muscle but not overly tall and had a scar that ran diagonally across his chest and ended just above his hip. It was difficult to leave a scar on a shifter, as normally they healed quite quickly. This injury must have been caused by a poisoned weapon or some kind of magic.

“Neither does he” the other brother growled, pointing towards Kyanite.

The younger of the two sons was taller and leaner. He didn’t look as muscular as his brother but that didn’t matter, it was all about how his wolf fought…not his human.

“That’s because I’m a panther” Kyan answered, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You must be Prince Kyanite of the Panthera Kingdom” Alpha Rhys snarled, “You’re the one fucking Alpha Jayce’s bitch”

The way the Alpha spat the last words made my body recoil with anger and I found my calm and composed mask quickly slipping. Rhys’s eyes darted over to me and his brow rose slightly and I knew he’d detected a taste of my power.

“And you are?” He drawled.

The Alpha was as tall as his younger son but as thick as his older. His head was completely shaved and every second tooth in his disgusting snarl was replaced with gold. I instantly hated the man - well, I’d hated him before now but seeing him in person just magnified my loathing.

“I am Flynn. Brother to Luna Quinn, The Shifter Queen”

The sons both looked at their father then back to me. From the looks in their eyes word clearly hadn’t got out that Quinn had a brother, this could only work in my advantage.

“You’re a tribrid? That explains your filthy stench. I wasn’t aware that dirty slut had a brother. What is it that you want with me?”

Trying to ignore Alpha Rhys’s jab at my sister, I instead smiled cooly across at him. This was it, as soon as I said these next words I knew that there was no going back. I straightened my shoulders and allowed my power and aura to seep from my pores. Alpha Rhys and his sons tensed, clearly getting of whiff of what I’d been concealing.

“I’m here to challenge you as Alpha to the Point Invictus pack”

“You?” Rhys spat, looking me up and down as if I were nothing more than dirt on the bottom of his shoe, “And what makes you think you have what it takes to defeat me and be Alpha? What makes you think my men will follow you?”

“Does it matter?” Kyanite asked, “he’s made the challenge. Pack law states you have to accept”

“No, I’ll answer that” I smiled, taking a step towards the Point Invictus wolves.

The fighters growled but Alpha Rhys raised his hand slightly, silencing them in an instant. The arsehole wanted to hear what I had to say and I knew I would take great joy in seeing his reaction.

“Your daughter, Fern. She has the Alpha gene…and by the smell of you two” I said, pointing to her brothers, “I’d say once she turns twenty she’ll be more powerful than any Point Invictus heirs”

The sons snarled but once again Alpha Rhys silenced them with a simple raise of his hand.

“Fern is nothing. She is weak and a whore. That being said, what has she got to do with your challenge as Alpha?”

“She is my fated mate”

The reaction was everything I’d hoped for. Rhys didn’t even have a chance to conceal his shock and anger, it pulsated off him towards me like a tsunami of unhinged emotion. The sons, though, didn’t seem to share his anger. Their response was more so one of fear and I’d be lying if I said that didn’t excite me.

“Fucking bullshit” Rhys spat, ropes of frothed saliva flicking from his teeth and lips like a rabid dog, “she is promised to the heir of Northern Waters. She has no fated mate”

“Who, Vincent?” I asked, “He is dead. Didn’t his father tell you?”

Another shocked reaction. For an Alpha, Rhys was extremely poor at hiding his emotion. The man was an open book at this point.

“Of course I knew—”

Lie.

“—I just wasn’t sure you did”

Another lie.

“So, in saying that, let’s get this fight under way. The sooner I rip your heart out, the sooner I can get Fern back home to where she belongs; to the pack where she will be Luna - a more fitting title for the rightful heir of Point Invictus”

The sons growled loudly, their wolves tearing at the surface and I felt Kyanite tense next to me in preparation for them to shift and break protocol. But before Alpha Rhys could try to control them, the ground began to vibrate and a blue, buzzing sphere slowly opened to the side of us.

“Took em’ long enough” Kyan muttered.

As soon as the portal was wide enough, Jayce appeared through the centre of it, closely followed by Cameron and the remaining Fern Creek and Panthera fighters. The added numbers only heightened the tension in the air but the challenge was made now, all fighting would cease until it was complete.

“You’re too late” Rhys barked, his hazel eyes narrowing on Jayce, “your idiot brother in-law has already challenged me to Alpha of the Point Invictus pack. He’s as good as dead”

Jayce stepped forward confidently and took position next to Kyanite. If Alpha Rhys was going to take lessons from anyone in regards to reigning in their aura, emotions and power, then it was Jayce. His stance on what was currently happening was unreadable. Not even I had any idea what he thought about the challenge, the man was as stoic as they came.

“Too late?” Jayce asked calmly, “What, you think I would have tried to stop him? Not a chance. Flynn will make a better Alpha than you ever did or your sons ever could. I am simply here to witness your fall and spit on your corpse after the last staggered breath falls from your lips”

“TREY!”

I hadn’t even realised that the youngest son shifted until he sped towards Jayce in a flurry of thundering paws and grey fur. Alpha Rhys roared his name again and attempted to stop him but the eldest son grabbed his father, pulling him back to prevent anymore carnage than was necessary.

And carnage there was.

Jayce shifted instantaneously and his giant black claws hadn’t even touched the ground before Trey reached him. But the stupid, naive heir was too slow. The pitch black wolf bit down on his aggressor’s neck with a force that could only result in one thing - death. A sickening crack echoed through the forest as Trey’s limp body fell to the ground, followed by the blood curdling howl of twelve Point Invictus wolves.

Blake POV

As soon as the last wolf and panther passed through the portal, I swiftly closed it and leant back against the railing on my front porch. Seeing my mate pass through the blue haze into certain danger left me with an empty feeling in my stomach and an equal hollowness in my chest.

Flynn was an idiot. I almost didn’t doubt that he could defeat Alpha Rhys - but then to fight and kill his sons, one by one after that…

Jayce seemed to think the warlock-tribrid knew it was a suicide mission but also knew that Fern Creek and it’s wolves stood a better chance if he at least took out Point Invictus’s Alpha before they reached Fern Creek. It’s was common for fighters without a initiated Alpha to become flustered and reckless. They needed that leadership, that dominance, to control them and give them focus. Flynn planned to take that focus away and in turn give us all a better chance at winning…We owed him for that sacrifice.

Sighing, I rubbed my face and stood up. Moira was inside with the kids, that were all still sleeping, and I knew now I’d have to go tell Quinn what the change of plans were.

She’s not going to like this - I thought to myself as I approached the pack house front door.

I knocked on the door, silence greeting me on the other side.

“Quinn?” I called out.

“Blake, is that you? Come in”

Quickly grabbing the handle, I pushed the door open and stepped inside. Something about the tone in the Luna’s voice and the effort behind it made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

“Where are you?” I called, my eyes darting around the empty kitchen and living area.

“In the study”

Moving as fast as I could in my human form, I bolted into the study at the back of the house to replace Quinn crouched over, her forearms leaning on the desk and her hair and face damp with sweat. As my eyes combed her body for signs of injury, I took in her stance and body language. I watched intently as the tribrid breathed in deeply through her nose then out through her mouth. I watched the way her face scrunched up and her eyes squeezed shut as an obvious pain took hold of her body.

Oh shit.

“Ummm, Quinn—”

The Luna turned her head towards me and her eyes opened as she took advantage of a small, temporary relief from her discomfort.

“I need you to get Moira and my brother. The baby— the baby is coming”