Moon Bound

(45) Permission |Scarlet's POV|

The sky was clear, the Moon shining over us as we waited for them to take their places. Men who were going to turn beasts for the sake of the fight. This was only the first one. Other challengers had arisen from inside the pack but the most frightful opponent still appeared to be Beta Hayden.

How many wolves will he fight tonight? Does he have a chance against all of them coming in a constant string against him?

I'd seen Alpha in his battle cry and it was a sight to behold, a force of nature like none other. But was it going to be enough? Was the Alpha blood running through his veins enough for him to defeat all of his opponents?

Uncertainty was sneaking into my heart, a palpitation of concern, however, I tried to ignore it.

Fear never helps you. Fear brings you down.

I didn't know if it was the bond affecting me, but I knew I'd be affected whatever the outcome might be. No matter how much I wanted to deny the connection between us, no matter how many times I tried to convince myself I couldn't feel it, deep down I knew I was going to feel it. I was going to be weakened by his fall and shall he fall, then I would too.

'Is that all, Scarlet? Is it just because his demise will lead to yours or is there something else, something more?' That sneaky voice inside my head asked. It always chose the right moments to appear and haunt me. Pretty much like everything else in my life.

I couldn't answer these questions. Instead, I just looked at him, remembered all these lessons my father taught me before he went into the night. Alpha's challenges were never fair. There could be just one to oppose the leader or there could be many. It was the latter tonight.

Sixteen lesser wolves beside Beta Hayden. This had happened before, just not at the scale it was happening now. I'd never heard of an alpha's challenge having so many contestants. However, he had the option to seek help from his pack. The ones who were still supportive of him could help in the fight but how many were left from his loyal wolves? A handful? Less?

The faces around me looked all excited by the spectacle that was about to unravel. They did observe those first moments with anticipation.... expecting his fall and a new rising.

'Who is going to be the new Alpha? Who will be the next to sit on the throne?' I could see the questions written on their moonlit faces, in the humming tension of their bodies as they stood on the side of the opponents.

Alpha had been deserted by his own people. Forsaken. A look of dread had befallen him, letting us see, know that he knew too. That he was afraid this was it. His final fight. His final moment as an alpha.

There was shame that could be felt in every tremble of his muscle rippled body. You could notice it if you watched him closely. Small spasms made his muscles flicker and stretch. It was probably the first time he felt what had been unknown to him for so long, all his life, perhaps. Fear and shame.

He stood in the middle of the clearing, chest bare, spring orbs holding the moonshine as he gazed up at her pale grace with a plea in those eyes. Cold, windy hands caressed his messy locks, lifting and playing with them as fate was playing with him too. As glorious as he might be, he was still a man about to start a battle against destiny. A king who would fall.... at last.

The contestants took their places opposite him, chests as bare as his was. Their raging stares held him captive, the first mark of their attack obvious to the observer. Yet, Alpha was still to speak up. Whether to swallow his pride and ask for assistance or to go through this on his own, one could only wait and find out.

His head dropped low, eyes falling on the crowd, seeking out the ones who would stand on his side in this fight. People turned, eyes were cast to the ground, heads shook in refusal. Not a single wolf stepped forth, dooming him to a fate he'd never wished for.

The man turned our way, greens searching until they stopped at me, his stare holding mine in a silent inquisition. Pleading for something I didn't know how to give. If I could even give. It broke my heart to see him look at me that way, to see him ignore his wounds so he could just keep us here, alive.

He wouldn't be facing this challenge if he just turned us up to the wildlings, regardless, not even for a moment did I see the thought cross his mind. If it did, he didn't show it.

"I think he wants us to help him, Scar," Micah whispered in my ear. Help him protect us. The unspoken words hung there, lingering.

I nodded. The intent in his eyes was clear to me but we couldn't do what he wanted. We were not a part of his pack but outsiders and outsiders did not have the right to intervene in pack's affairs. What did he really want me to do?

"They can't be a part of this. You know the law, Alpha," Beta Hayden voice rang through the quiet, the insidious idea with which it had all started now a full-fledged intent on his face. And he spoke the truth—the law.

"She is my mate and they are her family," Alpha stated, his tone quiet, his voice even. Lacking the emotions I could see battling under the green surface.

"She must wear your mark for this to apply, Alpha. However, she does not. The law is clear about this and even your alpha status doesn't allow you to bend the rules," Hayden interjected sternly. The man was more ruthless than I'd ever thought he was. But then again, this whole pack was ruthless when the situation required it of them. Alpha's shoulders slumping down, his eyes broke the line of our contact. His last hope had died and now it was his turn to do so. I shuffled on my feet.

"Don't, Scarlet...." Cole breathed out, desperation audible in that single word. I glared at him, realizing he wanted to stop me before I did the unthinkable. Too late.

I took a deep breath and exhaled it loudly, then stepped forward. This is the only way, I said to myself, hating what I was about to do, then turned to face the pack. "I will wear his mark," I stated in a loud voice and waited for their reaction. There was none but silence. Perhaps they didn't hear or didn't understand.

"If it's a mark what we need to fight in this challenge then I will let him mark me," I shouted.

"You're not related by blood so they won't automatically become members of this pack after you are marked by him," Hayden objected, trying to find holes in my plan. He could do nothing to stop me now. I knew the law as well as he did.

"Hayden." I chuckled. "I've been trained to become an alpha since I was ten years old. I've studied the law for years. I know, perhaps, even better than you do what it says and nowhere in it is stated that the mate's family must be his or her blood kin. It says family and those people" – I nodded in the direction of the guys – "are my family even if it's not the same blood running through our veins."

"But he still can't mark—"

"He can and he will," I cut off his next objection I gave him an equally smug to his earlier look when I saw him open his mouth again but come up with nothing. I turned back to Alpha, my eyes locked on his as I walked the remaining distance to him. I halted a step away from him, unzipped my jacket, and let it slide down on the ground, staying only in the strapless top I'd chosen to wear today.

"Mark me, Alpha," I gritted out, angry with myself, angry with him, angry with the pack. My body was starting to hum from the feeling that was invading every fiber in me.

Warily, his eyes watched me with a feeling inside them. I didn't recognize the emotion. It was the first time I ever saw something so intense in his eyes and it had me confused and wondering.

"Are you sure you want me to—"

"Mark. Me." I repeated, my eyes never leaving his. He was the one to break the contact first as he leaned closer, his mouth lingering over the crook of my neck, his breath on my skin making me shiver.

This bond—this feeling, was my curse to live with.

Mere seconds later, his canines broke the skin.

End of Part III