"Get out of my way!" Kenneth snarled, his voice cutting through the thick rain. The warriors before him stood unyielding, a wall between him and his escape. Their eyes dared him to make the first move.
Beside him, Aimee shifted uneasily. "Your greed got us into this mess. We should've left when we had the chance."
"You need to make an opening," Kenneth muttered.
"No! You're not going to leave me here to die. We fight together or nothing at all," Aimee refused.
"I don't have time for your games. You were ordered to protect me. Now, protect me," Kenneth snarled at her.
"Kenneth!"
The shout jolted him, and he turned, his lips curling into a snarl. But what he saw made the color drain from his face.
Garrett, flanked by Ethan's delta, Darren, strode forward, the very sight of him an impossibility. Garrett should have been dead, pumped full of silver and wolfsbane by the Hunters, but here he was- alive, unscathed.
"How...How are you here?" Kenneth's voice faltered, disbelief chipping away at his defiant growl.
Garrett's growl rumbled from deep within, low and menacing. "What did I tell you would happen if you touched my mate?"
Kenneth, instinctively defensive, raised his hands in mock peace, though his arrogance still lingered. "Let's be reasonable." He shoved Aimee forward with careless ease. "I brought Aimee as a peace offering."
Aimee recoiled, fury and betrayal flashing in her eyes. "You bastard!" she spat. "After everything we've been through, you throw me away like nothing?"
Kenneth's sneer deepened, cold and dismissive. "You were always expendable. I never needed you- only what you could offer."
Aimee's breath caught, her heart pounding as she watched Garrett close the distance between them, his Alpha presence overwhelming. He didn't speak, but thankfully his gaze was focused on Kenneth.
"Move," Garrett growled and the warriors blocking Kenneth parted. Aimee quickly stepped aside, understanding the inevitable confrontation.
"That's Ethan's problem," Garrett said, dismissing Kenneth's claims. "You and I have unfinished business."
Kenneth's smirk faltered as Garrett closed the distance between them.
"You already won the challenge from last time and you are now over my pack. What more do you want?" Kenneth asked.
"Retribution is what I want," Garrett replied.
Nothing else was said as Garrett and Kenneth circled one another. The warriors gave them space to fight this out. Garrett made the first move. Kenneth parried, his movements desperate and sloppy as he was exhausted. Kenneth used one of his old tactics as he knew he was losing and threw sand in his pocket into Garrett's eyes.
"Bastard," Garrett swore as he tried to remove the sand from his eyes. Kenneth took advantage of this, lunging for Garrett shifting in mid jump. Garrett smirked, dodging, grabbing Kenneth by the neck. He used the weight of Kenneth's body and gravity to snap Kenneth's neck on his knee.
The clearing fell silent, the tension of the moment hanging thick before the cheers erupted, reverberating through the trees like thunder. This victory was more than personal; it was a declaration.
Aimee's screams almost cut through the celebration as she struggled against the iron grip of the warriors who held her fast. "Let go of me!"
Her limbs flailed, desperate to break free. Her once ambitious eyes, now filled with terror. "I'm meant to be Luna! I was supposed to be Ethan's mate! I'm supposed to be the Alpha Luna! He will kill all of you for hurting me!"
"Do you really think any of us would believe us? The one thing the Alpha King hates more than Hunters are traitors," came a voice as cold as steel. Ethan's delta, Darren, stepped forward, his authority undeniable, his face twisted with disgust as he looked down at Aimee. "You delusional fool," he snapped, his voice dripping with contempt. "Someone as despicable as you were NEVER going to be his Luna."
"You can't harm me until he gets back," Aimee stammered.
"I am acting Alpha King while he is away and I am going to do him a favor by getting rid of you," Darren said, "Take her to the guillotine." The guillotine was one of the worst punishments. It would mark you as a traitor in this life and the next with no chance of redemption. Head and body thrown to the forest without a proper burial.
Her eyes widened, panic flooding her chest. "You can't do this to me!" Her voice cracked. Aimee's heart pounded in her ears as she was dragged forward, her feet stumbling on the wet earth beneath her.
"No! I won't die like this! Not after everything!" She fought against the warriors, her body twisting and jerking. "I have marked him as mine. If you kill me this way, he will never be free!"
"So, you say. Our allies are already working on a way to remove your curse," Darren said.
The chill in his voice sliced through Aimee's fragile composure, but something- defiance- began to spark within her. Her fate was sealed, but she wasn't ready to go quietly.
"I challenge Kasia Thorne for the title of Alpha Luna!" The words burst from Aimee's lips.
The ancient laws of the pack surged to the forefront of her mind: a challenge had been issued. No hand could fall upon her now. The warriors who had held her frozen in place now stepped back, their expressions conflicted.
The chance that Kasia survived the battle at the Hunters compound was slim to none. If she didn't show to accept the challenge, she would automatically be the Alpha Luna. If she did survive, she would demand the challenge to happen as soon as possible. Aimee would not allow Kasia a chance to recover.
"You can't do anything to me now. I'll make sure you all pay for this once I'm Luna," she sneered pointing at Darren and the warriors who had restrained her before.
Then, just as swiftly as Aimee's newfound confidence had surface, it was broken by the opening of a portal. Kasia stepped through the portal with Ethan by her side.
Behind them, warriors appeared from portals, silent and deadly. Some were carrying the injured and the dead while others were assisting the prisoners through the portals.
Aimee's breath caught in her throat. Kasia seemed fine; in fact, she looked even better before. This couldn't be happening to her. She then smiled as she remembered she could still control Ethan. All she had to do was say the magic word and Ethan would become an uncontrollable beast. He'd kill Kasia for him.
Aimee opened her mouth to say the words, but nothing came out. "What the hell?" How could she still speak but not those words.
Darren laughed and said, "You idiot. It is not working because you invoked the pack law. Magic is bound by rules, and you are bound by pack law which will come first."
Kasia's lips curled into a slow, dangerous smile, her eyes never leaving Aimee's. "I accept your challenge," she said, her voice slicing through the tension like a blade. "In three days, we'll fight in front of the Elder Council. Take her to the dungeon."