Eugene turned, snarling ferociously, and charged at Knox.
This wouldn’t be like his fight with Kevin, over before it had even begun. Kevin had been a spoiled bully who’d never picked on someone his own size before. Eugene was an Alpha – he was a powerful, experienced fighter, and he was mad with loss. They were evenly matched. And he wouldn’t be hoping for Knox’s submission – he’d be trying to rip out his throat. He’d kill him or die trying.
Knox’s body coiled like a spring, muscles bunching, and he hurled himself at the onrushing wolf. They collided, bodies coming together with a thump. They sprawled to the ground, and were back on their feet almost at once, snarling and snapping. They skirmished, withdrew and circled. They paced around each other, watching for any weakness, any opening that would allow them to get the upper paw.
The sounds of the battle beyond the clearing filtered through to them. Yelps of pain, furious baying, whimpers of submission. Knox could distinguish a few specific voices. Janet. Clarence. Sasha, fighting against her pack. He shook his head to clear it. He couldn’t allow himself to be distracted. That was just what Eugene was waiting for.
A brief flicker of Eugene’s eyes towards the edge of the clearing gave Knox the opportunity he needed. He leaped at the huge, grizzled wolf, fastening his powerful jaws around Eugene’s thick neck. Eugene roared and heaved with his broad shoulders, trying to throw Knox off, but he held on tight. He thrashed his head from side to side, determined either to yank his opponent off his paws or tear a chunk out of his neck.
With a convulsive heave, Knox flipped the other wolf onto his back, and before he could struggle back into a standing position he threw himself at him, snapping and snarling, trying to get at his throat or his belly.
But Eugene was strong. They rolled over and over among the dirt and the leaves, trying to stay on top, looking for a chance to make the kill. Knox knew his strength wouldn’t last forever. They were too evenly matched. And when Eugene pinned him down, teeth at his throat, he found that however he thrashed and twisted, he couldn’t buck the other wolf off.
Eugene held Knox’s eyes, growling low in his chest, exerting steady, increasing pressure on his throat. He didn’t just want to beat Knox – he wanted him to know he was beaten.
He thought of Heather, wondered how she’d cope with losing him. At least he’d claimed her before he died – that meant she couldn’t be put down because of her knowledge of the shifter world. He guessed maybe she’d distance herself from the whole thing. Move away, find some human to marry, pretend it had all been a strange dream or a half-remembered movie…
There was a thwack, a howl, and a blur of fur as Eugene was thrown off his body, teeth leaving bloody furrows on his throat.
Knox scrambled to his feet, bewildered, and looked around the clearing.
Eugene was sprawled on the floor, shaking his head groggily. Heather stood panting nearby, a stout branch in her hands and a look of fierce determination on her face. As she dropped the branch and rushed to help Margaret to her feet, Knox leaped on Eugene, knocking him back to the floor as he struggled to get to his paws.
Knox wasn’t interested in a power play. All he cared about was protecting his mate and his pack. He lowered his head, and he tore out the other wolf’s throat.
When he looked up, his muzzle matted red and the taste of Eugene’s blood in his mouth, Heather was half-supporting, half-carrying Margaret out of the clearing. Margaret was clinging to her, sobbing with relief.
Knox could hear howls and snarling, thuds and breaking branches – the sounds of the battle going on between his pack and Eugene’s men. His people were hopelessly outnumbered, but it sounded like they were holding their own.
But when he ran past Heather and Margaret, back towards the house, he could see they couldn’t possibly win. Several pack members lay bleeding on the ground. Maybe badly hurt. Maybe dead. Others were being kept at bay by groups of Eugene’s men, who surrounded them, doing little more than threatening, but winning the fight through sheer weight of numbers.
Knox trotted to a halt and took in the fight. Strategies flashed through his mind. Game plans, tactics, ways of approaching the battle…but there were just too many of them.
Sasha and Peter were tag-teaming Clarence, Knox’s second-in-command, flashing around him in a blur of light- and dark-gray fur. They were leaner than Clarence’s impressive bulk, and not nearly as seasoned as fighters, but they fought dirty. Their parents, Nathaniel and Louise, prowled around the edges of the fight, stepping in every time it looked as if Clarence might get the upper hand. Four against one – even the loyal, burly Beta couldn’t beat those odds. Knox’s lip curled in contempt at their cowardice.