I felt my eyes welling up with tears. He really meant it. He’d never lied to me. He really wanted to be married to me, forever.
“Go on,” I choked out. “Tell me the important part. Tell me how you’re going to go up against him without being killed.”
He squeezed my hand. “Kray got his magic formula from a scientist that he’s kidnapped, and is holding prisoner on the Iron Claw compound. Lucille managed to steal some of the formula and smuggle it out to me, and Cody studied it, and developed a counter-agent. I met her in town to give her the counter agent, and she went back and swapped it out. So for the past couple of days, Kray’s been taking the counter-agent instead of the real formula, and when he goes up against me in the arena, he’ll be fighting without the magic enhancement.”
“What scientist? Where did he come from?”
“That’s the sixty four million dollar question, isn’t it? We don’t know, and even worse – he’s human. Once I defeat Kray, we can grab the scientist and make him talk.”
“A human scientist who has magic enhancing drugs that work on shifters.” I shivered. “That’s a threat to our entire race.”
He nodded. “I know. We will make the Elders aware of it as soon as we defeat Kray. I can’t tell them yet, because there is a rumor that Kray has one of them on his payroll, and he would tip Kray off..”
“What if Kray discovers the switch, and starts taking the real magic formula?” I asked.
“We’ve anticipated that possibility. When I go in the arena, I’ll be able to tell whether or not he’s currently magic-enhanced, because Cody gave me this.” He held out the charm that dangled from his leather necklace. “When I’m wearing this, I can see through magic spells. That is how I knew you weren’t Camille. That’s also how, when I go in the arena against Kray, I’ll be able to tell at a glance whether his strength is enhanced by magic or not.”
“But what if the charm isn’t working? It’s too dangerous,” I protested. “Just report Felix and Kray. Tell the Council of Elders.”
He shook his head. “They won’t want to believe it, and they may charge me with treason. I have no proof at this point, other than Lucille’s word. Ever since Lucille came to me for help, I’ve been studying the rules of the Covenant very closely. I believe that what I have planned out will work, and I have no alternative.”
“Why couldn’t you tell me this earlier? You let me think you were having an affair!” I protested.
“I hated having to do that, but I promised Lucille I wouldn’t say anything, and when I give my word, that is sacred,” he said. “She made me promise because her family’s lives depended on it. If Kray caught word of what she was up to, he’d have taken it out on not just her, but on everybody close to her.”
“What does your father say about all this?” Surely Vince could stop all this madness.
“I am about to start my own pack, to take on the role of Alpha and leader,” Maxwell said. “As Alpha, this will be just the first of many challenges I face over the years. You know that. He can’t sweep in and try to save me, and I wouldn’t let him even if he offered.”
The thought sickened me, but I knew that I had to live with it. I loved this man, I was married to him, and I would stay by his side forever. That meant that I’d have to accept the risks that he faced because of his position, just as the wife of a firefighter or cop or soldier had to face those risks.
I buried my head in his shoulder. “I love you, Maxwell. I can’t bear the thought of losing you.”
“I love you too. No matter what happens with Kray, always remember that,” he said.
Chapter Sixteen
“Eat something,” Jade urged me, holding out a muffin. I shook my head.
I shook my head. “Thank you, but I can’t. I’m too worried to eat,” I said.
She nodded. “Me too,” she sighed, and tucked the muffin back into a small lunch sack she’d brought with her.
The Death Match would start in a few minutes. It was taking place in a large, flat clearing hemmed in by ponderosa pines and juniper trees, on Kray’s property; the location had been decided with the toss of a coin, with a choice between the Iron Claw property and the Timber Valley property.
Bleacher seats had been arranged so that the action could easily be observed by everyone. There was an unusually big crowd, even for a death match. The Timber Valley pack was very popular and well liked, and the Iron Claw pack had been once been very well liked, and now they were the object dislike and suspicion.