Reina's Mate (5 page)

“
I challenge
you.”

The crowd let out a collective breath,
shuffling their feet.

“
You what?” A hint of
anger now in his voice as he took a couple of steps closer. “First
you sabotage a political alliance that was more than a fair deal
for this pack and now you have the gall to come here and challenge
me? With her? Both of you are a disgrace to me and this pack.
Selfish and weak.” He shook his head, the light of self-righteous
anger bright in his eyes.

Why didn't I see that light before? Had I
seen it but refused to see it for what it was? An almost manic
obsession, a zeal bordering on the deranged?

“
You hurt individuals for
the good of the pack as a whole, dad. But the individuals
are
the pack. We need to stand together.
Not sacrifice each other.”

He laughed, his even white teeth glinting in
the waning light.

“
You don't know what
you're talking about, pup. Leadership is about making those hard
decisions. Yes, people sometimes get hurt. That's life.”

“
Not the life I want. Not
the life I want for Sofia, or the people in this pack. Nobody
should have to be worried about being stabbed in the back by the
very people who are supposed to be our family.”

The crowd murmured a little as I stopped
speaking and I watched as he glared at them. They slowly subsided
into a watchful silence again.

“
Challenge accepted. I'm
going to wipe the floor with you. And then you are going to be
exiled and Sofia here is going to do her fucking duty.”

“
Fuck you,” Sofia said
clearly.

His eyes flashed as he gave her a look that
clearly promised retribution.

“
Here and now,” I said,
stepping forward.

“
Fine with me.”

I watched his shoulders as I moved closer.
He tended toward impatience. I was willing to let him strike
first.

We circled each other slowly.

My heart pounded in my ears as my focus
sharpened, until everything around me had a brilliantly sharp
edge.

In that moment, he wasn't my father.

He was an obstacle that I needed to
demolish.

He feinted but I didn't take the bait, my
eyes still on his shoulders, waiting for it.

There.

He lunged and I moved to the side, letting
his fist graze my ribs as I hammered a knee into his belly.

He gasped at that but danced away quickly
before I could follow up.

His eyes had turned wary now as he watched
me.

I went in next and let my claws out to slash
at his throat, distracting him as my other hand went for his
leg.

He blocked and maneuvered away, slashing at
my side as I hurried out of his reach.

I felt the warm wetness of blood and looked
down at my ribs to see four shallow gashes.

“
First blood,” he taunted,
his eyes focused.

I didn't wait for him to come at me.

I came in low and swept at
his legs. He stumbled back instead of going down and I used that
fumble to take him down to the ground.

I used my whole body to hammer a punch to
his face, hoping to daze him enough to make a difference.

I got one more good one in before he sent me
flying over his head.

Landing lightly, I sprang toward him again,
landing a kick to the middle of his chest. I felt something snap
under my foot and he grunted.

But he was a stubborn bastard.

Rolling back to his feet, he hammered a blow
to my kidneys. I ignored the pain and twisted to put force into the
elbow I aimed at the side of his face.

We both let go and moved back to recover a
little.

Both of us were sweating and a little out of
breath.

He came at me fast and hard. I blocked his
kick, the force of it reverberating up my arm. He didn't stop,
throwing a flurry of kicks and punches.

Gritting my teeth, I dodged and blocked,
looking for an opening.

I grunted as he landed a blow on my
thigh.

There.

He put too much power in a punch and
overbalanced. Using his own momentum, I slammed him to the ground
and got him in a choke hold.

He didn't have to tap out. I could just
squeeze until he blacked out and nobody would argue that I won.

I wouldn't have to kill him.

I put more pressure on his throat.

His body jerked under me.

Between one instant and the next, he'd
changed into his wolf form and twisted to close his jaws over my
forearm.

Fuck.

“
Foul! Form change in the
middle of a bout! Forfeit!”

I heard the shouts around me, but I was too
busy trying not to be taken down as he let go only to clamp down on
my thigh instead.

I moved just enough at the last instant to
avoid having those sharp teeth tear into my femoral artery.

He was trying to kill me.

I suppressed my emotions and went for his
jaw, putting pressure on the joints, forcing him to let go.

As soon as he did, I adjusted my grip to his
neck.

My heart was almost bursting out of my chest
as I used all my strength to break his neck.

The crowd went silent around me.

I laid his limp body down gently, sinking my
fingers into the soft fur. It was still warm, but it would start to
cool soon.

Why didn't he just let me win? He knew even
if he managed to kill me, he could no longer be Alpha. He would
have effectively forfeited.

I smelled the familiar scent reminiscent of
freshly cut grass before a warm hand came down on my shoulder.

“
Come on Reina. It's
over.”

I let Griffith pull me up, staring down at
the white wolf that lay so still on the asphalt.

I knew this was a possibility. Hell, I knew
it was a probability if I was honest with myself.

But the reality was so much more final and
wasteful than I could have prepared myself for.

Griffith raised my hand with his and threw
his head back to let out a howl. The first howl for the pack's new
Alpha.

All around me, the pack joined him, the song
a blend of mourning and exultation.

Taking a deep breath, I joined in, closing
my eyes as a few tears escaped.

Griffith

The fight had been brutal and draining.

I never wanted to see that look on Reina's
face again. The bastard had deserved to die, was willing to cheat
to kill his own daughter if it meant he didn't lose.

But he was still Reina's father.

And no matter how much of an asshole that
man had been, Reina had still cared for him on some level.

I pulled her into a tight hug as the howls
slowly died down.

I felt the dampness on my neck as she
wrapped her arms around me and squeezed hard.

I wish she didn't have to go through
this.

After a few minutes, she pulled back, wiping
her face off roughly.

“
I'm glad you're
here.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“
I'm sorry.”

She nodded, looking away.

“
Manny isn't going to be
far behind. The death of the Alpha doesn't void the contract. He's
going to want Sofia.”

“
Well, we're not letting
him have her.”

She nodded.

“
War. We're going to war
then.”

“
Yes. We're going to
war.”

Chapter 4

Reina

We buried him in the family cemetery.

I made sure to give him all the respect an
Alpha deserved. Even if I hadn't wanted to, it was a good political
move to make. I wasn't under the impression that everyone in the
pack was thrilled with the way things had played out. Especially
the older crowd.

And I was sad that I had to consider such
things in my new role.

The ceremony was done and over with quickly.
We didn't have time to draw it out.

I was still standing over the freshly turned
earth when I got a phone call.

“
I hear congratulations
are in order.”

I clenched the phone in my hand as Manny's
voice came through. Forcing myself to relax before I crushed the
phone, I unclenched my jaw so I could speak.

“
Sofia isn't a bargaining
chip. If you would like to revisit the terms of the alliance
contract, I am willing to do so.”

He chuckled, the sound hard.

“
Oh no. We're well passed
resolving this in such a civilized manner. You invaded my territory
and stole something that by right is mine. And one of my own
betrayed me in order for you to pull it off. Why would I give you
what you want?”

I walked away from the crowd, Griffith's
eyes sharp on me.

“
Because nobody really
wins in a war. Casualties are felt by both sides.”

“
Sometimes losses are
acceptable.”

The dial tone sounded in my ear.

I took the phone away from my ear, fighting
the urge to throw it.

I'd known it would come to this, but some
small part of me had hoped a miracle would happen.

“
What did he
want?”

I turned to Griffith.

“
He doesn't want to
resolve this. Not a surprise, but...”

He nodded, looking over at the milling crowd
that was slowly dispersing.

“
We need to set up a
security perimeter. I wouldn't put it past that asshole to attack
while we're in mourning. It makes too much tactical sense to do
so.”

He was right.

And I needed him by my side if I had any
hope of pulling this off. Not just the conflict to come, but
running this pack without making too many mistakes.

“
I need a
Second.”

His eyes snapped back to me.

“
Reina...”

“
Listen to me. I know you.
I trust you. And you see things I don't. I need that balance to be
a good Alpha.” Taking a deep breath, I put it all out there. “More
importantly, I need you by my side. As my best friend. As my mate.
If you'll have me.” I smiled a little. “It's not exactly a good
proposition right now, I know. But-”

He shut me up pretty effectively by kissing
my mouth closed, pulling me in close so I felt surrounded by
him.

He broke the soft kiss to look into my eyes
from inches away, the eye contact searing.

“
Yes,” he said
simply.

I pushed my face into the side of his neck,
the relief almost dizzying.

I felt I could take on the world if only he
was there next to me.

It took me a moment to process, but that was
all I could allow myself. We needed to move to fortify our
defenses.

“
Sofia.”

She came over, her eyes pink and puffy.

I could see the same confusing mix of
emotions in her face that I was feeling.

“
We need to get the
Council together. Manny is going to attack and we need to get
ready. The town hall in fifteen minutes. Get the word
out.”

That should be enough time considering most
of the Council was here for the funeral anyway.

She nodded, pulling out her phone, which
we'd retrieved already.

Sofia was in charge of communications. She'd
been replaced while she was gone, but I'd reinstated her.

Griffith fell into step beside me as I
started for the town hall. Meetings were often held in the Alpha's
house, but I'd rather have them somewhere more neutral, especially
while I was solidifying my power base.

There was no telling when someone might
decide it was a good idea to test the newbie. And I'd rather not
have that happen in my home.

Fifteen minutes later, the conference room
was full. Only one Councilor couldn't come because she was visiting
family out of state.

“
Alright everyone, thanks
for coming on such short notice. I wanted to start by saying that
I've known all of you for my entire life. And you've known me. You
know this pack is my home and I will do everything I can to keep it
safe and healthy.” I paused as they murmured among themselves.
“First, I wanted to say Griffith is now my Second.” There was a
louder murmur at this point.

“
He abandoned the pack
years ago! Why should we trust him?”

Some people made agreeing noises while
others simply sat back and watched.

I looked at Tija, the one who'd made the
comment. She was in her early fifties with a a gray bob and
matching piercing eyes set in a finely lined face. She was a hard
ass, but usually fair.

“
He left for a variety of
reasons, non of which involved any disloyalty to the pack itself.
As Alpha, I can reinstate him as a member and I can appoint him to
the Second position. Does anyone disagree?”

“
I don't disagree. I just
want to make sure we can trust him. He can't go haring off again if
things are too tough or he just doesn't feel like staying
anymore.”

I looked over at Griffith.

He nodded almost imperceptibly and stepped
forward from where he'd been holding up the wall.

“
Yes, I did leave. My
reasons had to do with how the pack was being run. I didn't like
John or his methods.” He looked over at me. “But I trust this Alpha
with my life. I'm older now, and I'd like to think wiser. I most
definitely know myself better. I wouldn't make this commitment
unless I knew I could handle it.”

Tija gave him a hard stare, but he just
stared back at her calmly.

Finally, she gave a begrudging nod.

Griffith stepped back again.