“No.” Rinaldi removed his jacket and tossed it aside, then cracked his knuckles. “You understand this is to be a fight to the death, with no quarter given.”
“I understand. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were stalling.”
Rinaldi flushed at her accusation.
“Hold on,” Gideon said.
Rinaldi frowned as Gideon moved to stand beside Kay.
“I know this is between you and Kiya,” Gideon said. “No one will interfere.” Holding Rinaldi’s gaze with his own, Gideon bared his fangs, knew his eyes had gone red. “But if Kiya loses, the next fight will be between you and me.”
“You have no right to challenge me,” Rinaldi said. “You’re not pack.”
“That’s true. But she’s my wife and if she dies by your hand, you will die by mine. Just like those two men who disappeared.”
“You killed them?”
“I did.”
“One of them was my son.”
Gideon shrugged. “You should have kept him home nights.”
Fury rolled off the werewolf in waves. There was the sound of shredding cloth and in the blink of an eye, an angry brown wolf hurled itself at Gideon’s throat.
Sidestepping, Gideon called up his own wolf, spun on his hindquarters in time to fend off Rinaldi’s next attack.
Kay stared at the two wolves. They were evenly matched in size. Had it not been for the difference in color, she would have been hard-pressed to know which was Gideon. Light on their feet, their movements quick, controlled, and savage, they drew blood again and again, until the heavy metallic scent of it permeated the air.
Excited by the scent of blood, several of Rinaldi’s pack members shifted.
But Kay had eyes only for Gideon. Both wolves were splattered with blood from numerous bite marks. She noticed Rinaldi seemed to be tiring. And then, from the corner of her eye, she noticed one of Rinaldi’s wolfs moving closer to the battle, creeping up on Gideon’s back, getting ready to spring.
She shifted before she realized what she was doing, a howl of anger rising in her throat as she sprang forward and buried her fangs in the wolf’s jugular.
Her cry energized Gideon. Fearing that she was in danger, he lunged at Rinaldi, his body partially shifting, so that his forelegs became arms. He sank his fangs deep into the werewolf’s throat, then ripped the wolf’s heart from his chest.
Before the rest of the Green Mountain Pack could shift, the Shadow Pack emerged from the cover of the trees, hackles raised, fangs bared.
“It’s over,” Gideon said, assuming his own form again. “Surrender or we’ll tear you to pieces.”
A young man with a slight build and light brown hair strode toward Gideon. “I am José Rinaldi, the last of my line,” he said. “As the next Alpha, I ask that you take my life if you must, but that you spare my pack. This was not their fight. I would not have them punished for my uncle’s misguided ambition.”
“That decision isn’t mine to make,” Gideon said, but he couldn’t help admiring the boy’s courage. José couldn’t have been more than twenty years old, yet he carried himself with an Alpha’s innate pride and heartfelt concern for his people.
“It’s my decision,” Kay said, coming to stand beside Gideon.
Gideon slid a glance at his wife. Naked and blood-spattered, she was, in his eyes, the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
“José Rinaldi, I accept your surrender on behalf of the Green Mountain Pack.”
José went down on his knees, his head bowed, obviously awaiting execution.
“I’m tired of fighting,” Kay said. “I propose a truce between our packs if you will give me your word of honor that you will abide by it.”
José looked up. “I swear to you by the life of my mother that I will honor the truce between us. I further vow that anyone who breaks it will be executed immediately.”
“I believe you,” Kay said. “We’re through here. Take your people, and your dead, and go home.”
* * *
Chapter 42
“It’s over.” Soaking in a hot tub fragrant with jasmine-scented bubbles, Kay closed her eyes while the words repeated in her mind. It’s over. Over, over …
The tension of the past few weeks drained away, leaving her feeling like a balloon that had gone flat. No more witches. No more fights. No more worries, at least for the foreseeable future.
The future. What did it hold for her and Gideon? For the first time since she’d met him in that dreadful dungeon, she had time to think about it. So, what did she want? What did he want?
“He’d like to share your bath.”