Chapter Sixty Four

Azalea

“No, no, no…” I thought. I knew that voice. Kol could not be here. There was just no way. Liam’s face flashed with a surprised expression before snapping out of it and stepping in front of me. Austin was immediately by my side. Damien had moved in front of Lily as well.

“What is going on Alpha?” Austin shot at Liam.

“I don’t know. Don’t leave her side,” he commanded. I grabbed onto Liam’s arm, not wanting him to leave me alone.

“Liam, it's Kol,” I whispered.

The voice was coming closer and there were murmurs through the crowd, although my view of everything was blocked by Liam’s giant form. “Thank you so much for coming out here today. I do say that an audience makes this all the better,” Kol boomed. Liam growled.

“Now, now, big bad Alpha. We had a challenge, did we not? And I did warn you that I would come for MY mate if you did not choose the time of the challenge,” he continued, his voice continuing to grow louder.

“You are trespassing. Leave here now and you will remain unharmed,” Liam said ignoring his taunts. He was walking a fine line not setting the time of the challenge.

“Tsk, tsk, Alpha. No one needs to get hurt here. Just hand over the girl and I will be on my way. Then I will dispose of you when you are ready,” Kol said. He sounded even closer now.

Liam growled. “You will not be touching my mate,” he said in a dangerous tone.

“I am sorry, but I am a man of my word. I told you to pick the time or I would come for her. Although, I am running a bit late due to some other … complications.”

“Get off of my territory before I punish you for threatening my Luna,” Liam threatened.

“Sounds to me like your pack isn’t sold on that little bit yet,” Kol shot back.

Liam’s posture got more rigid. “Austin, take her out of here, now.”

“No, Liam. Don’t please,” I begged behind him.

“Azalea, I don’t want you here for this,” he said to me.

“Please,” I pleaded in my head. I just could not form the words. Austin was pulling on my arm, but I wouldn’t let go of Liam.

“I am waiting, Alpha. Hand her over or fight me right here, right now,” Kol taunted.

“You have threatened not only the future Luna of Blood Eclipse but also the Alpha of White Moon. We will not hand her over to you and you will not have the right to challenge for the title of Alpha. This is your last chance, leave here now or I will take action against you,” Liam said in a calm but angry voice.

“I guess you haven’t heard. That complication I mentioned was White Moon. They no longer have an Alpha,” Kol said with something sinister in his voice. I gasped. “Alpha Isaac just couldn’t keep up. The rumors were not true about his special ability either. SO, I just put him down.”

I shot my eyes to Damien, I could see his expression slightly glazed, Lily’s too. They were linking people. I could see warriors emerging from the sides of the pack house and other pack members running away. They must be getting as many people out that will leave. Austin’s arms came around me, pulling me back from Liam but not off the stage.

“Fine, I will honor your challenge. But there will be no mercy. I will end your life,” Liam said with determination.

“No,” I whispered.

“I’m sorry, Luna. There is no other choice,” Austin said quietly to me. He began pulling me towards the side of the platform, taking me back to the packhouse.

“Ah, ah, ah. She will not be leaving here Alpha. She will watch every moment,” Kol said.

“That is not up to you,” Liam said. I could see Kol now. He was shirtless in only some athletic shorts. He had obviously come through the border in his wolf form. He looked dirty but still strong. Liam’s muscles were straining hard against his shirt. I could tell Gavin was trying to get out.

“Ah, but you forget. Your title is not the only prize; your mate is as well. So, she must stay for the fight. It is our law, is it not?” Kol said. He had an evil smile on his face. He may look a lot like Liam, but he was not Liam in anyway.

Austin stopped pulling me and looked to Liam and Damien. Damien had a hard look on his face and Liam had his teeth bared. I closed my eyes and swallowed the lump in my throat. “I’ll stay!” I yelled, causing everyone’s attention to turn to me. Austin’s grip on me loosened and I stepped away from him, back towards Liam. “I’ll stay. No one needs to get hurt,” I said now that all eyes are on me.

Liam’s eyes were dark. He turned back to Kol. “Ten minutes. At my training grounds. My warriors will escort you,” he said.

A wicked smile flashed across Kol’s face. There was something dark behind his eyes and it turned my stomach. “Good choice,” he said, turning to walk away. Liam nodded to warriors now standing around the gathering area. Six of them came forward surrounding Kol and leading him to the training grounds.

Liam watched him turn and strut away before turning back to me. His eyes were dark as night. His eyes stayed glued to me as he addressed Austin and Damien. “You two need to keep her safe. If this does not go my way, get her out of here. Far away. He will kill her if he tries to mark her,” he said in a dark voice. I could tell he just barely had control.

“Liam…” I said quietly. He closed the distance between us in a few strides and took my face in his hands.

“He doesn’t know you are marked yet. I wanted you out of here because I don’t know what he will do when he finds out,” he said. He pulled some of my hair over my shoulder, hiding my mark from view. “Austin and Damien will keep you far enough away that he cannot smell it. I have no intention of letting him take what is mine. Azalea, if I fail, I need you to run. Run far away. Okay? Forgive me for failing you and get away from him.” I could hear the desperation in his voice.

My eyes searched his looking for anything to tell me he was okay. His lips came down on mine in a desperate kiss. I whimpered a little behind his kiss. Our lips broke apart. “Liam, please, don’t…” I begged.

“I have to, baby. I have to end this now or you will never be safe,” he said.

“But I can’t lose you,” I thought, tears brimming my eyes.

“You won’t,” he whispered. My eyes widened. How did he know?

Liam

I unbuttoned my shirt and wrapped it around her shoulders. My scent around her would help obscure her marking. I also knew she had to be a little chilly out here and the training grounds would be far more windy.

“If he is declared the winner, you waste no time. Carry her out of here if you have to,” I linked Damien and Austin. They both nodded their heads. I grabbed Azalea’s hand and we began walking towards the training fields. I could feel her fear blooming in my chest. Damien, Austin, and Lily followed as we walked across the packhouse grounds.

Gavin was ready to take charge and end Kol. I was keeping him at bay for now. Kol was standing in the center of the sparring circle, arms crossed with a cocky look on his face. I stopped at the side of the ring and slipped my shoes off. I looked down at Azalea who was clutching my shirt around her.

“You don’t have to watch. Close your eyes and stay with Austin,” I told her, rubbing my thumb along her jaw. I kissed her lips gently, trying to reassure her. Kol clears his throat. I look into her beautiful green eyes one more time before turning to face him. Austin is immediately next to her. Lily stands on the sideline while Damien follows me to the center.

“You sure you’re ready for this?” he links.

“Yea, I am,” I say confidently. Since Azalea woke up from her marking, I have felt this power inside me blossoming. I guess Gavin was right all along; we are stronger now that we mated and marked her. We met Kol in the center of the ring. We stood opposite each other. Damien stood in between us.

“We are here for the official challenge to the title of Alpha of Blood Eclipse Pack between reigning Alpha of Blood Eclipse, Liam Blackfur, and challenger Kol Blackfur. This challenge will be to the death. Losing party cannot beg for mercy. The winner will have the right to the title of Alpha of Blood Eclipse Pack. This challenge will be officially witnessed by myself, Beta of Blood Eclipse, my mate, and the Delta of Blood Eclipse,” Damien boomed.

“And don’t forget the other lovely prize, the future Luna of Blood Eclipse,” Kol interrupted.

“She will not be an official witness,” Damien said in a flat tone. “Now, is the challenger ready?” Damien looked at Kol. He nodded his head with a stupid smirk on his face. “And defender?” I nodded, my features stoic. “The challenge will officially begin once I step out of the ring. Take your positions now,” Damien finished. We both took our positions. I let Gavin come to the surface. Although it was not a technique we practiced often, Gavin and I were able to share control when we both needed to be present. We had done this a few times when fighting rogues, but the steaks had never been like this.

Damien walked back over to where Lily, Azalea and Austin stood. “And begin!” Damien shouted, stepping out of the sparring ring. Kol immediately launched himself at me. I easily dodged him. He continued to launch himself at me and I easily dodged. This was too easy.

“Quit playing,” I said. He launched himself at me once more, this time I ducked but spun to kick his legs out from under him. He surprised me by easily rolling out of it. This time I did not wait for him to come at me. I launched myself at him, fist clenched. As I thought, he was not caught off guard and tried to duck away, allowing me to grab onto him and throw him to the ground.

He hit the ground with a thud. My eyes momentarily darted to the sideline where Azalea stood. Austin stood protectively next to her while she watched us with her arms wrapped around herself.

“Pay attention to the fight!” Gavin roared at me. I snapped back to Kol who was trying to get to his feet. I launched myself at him, claws coming out of my fingers. His legs came up, catching me in the stomach before I could land a strike. I fell back, trying to suck in air.

“Let’s just shift and bite his head off!” Gavin complained.

“No, we are not shifting first!”

“Fine, we’ll do this the hard way!”

Kol was now on his feet and I could see hair sprouting along his arms. His bulky form came at me once again. This time I did not dodge him but met him head on, and we exchanged blows. His strikes were hard but slow allowing me to evade many of them. It seems his time as a rogue has not afforded him much hand-to-hand combat practice. I continually landed blows to his face and body, but it seemed to be having no effect other than making him angrier.

We broke apart for a split second and I brought my leg up to kick him. He caught it easily, surprising me. Using my leg, he threw me down and jumped over me. His eyes were dark as he tried to rain down blows on my face. He caught me once, rocking my head into the hard ground. This only infuriated Gavin more, causing a growl to escape my lips. My fist connected with his jaw, dizzying him for a moment. I used this opportunity to take control and roll us over. I rained down blows with my claws, trying to draw blood. I could feel him shaking beneath me as if he were restraining himself from shifting. I could not let him shift while I was on top of him.

Out of nowhere, I felt a sharp stab in my side. Looking over, Kol held a small knife in my side. An overwhelming burning sensation radiated from the wound as he ripped the knife out. The wound was not large or too deep to be fatal, but the blade has to be laced with wolfsbane which would stop the healing and make it difficult to shift. My eyes grew wide. A cold laugh came from Kol’s lips as I fell off him, clutching my side. He stood up breathing heavily.

I shakily tried to get to my feet. “How dare you!” I shouted.

“Stop! This challenge has now been invalidated!” Damien shouted from the side. He had stepped just inside the ring.

“You think I was going to leave a chance of you winning?” Kol said.

Azalea

There was a burning pain in my side. “Ahhh!” I gasped. Austin immediately grabbed onto me, keeping me from collapsing.

“What’s wrong Luna?” Austin asked worriedly. Lily also pulled her attention away from the fight. Liam was on the ground now clutching his side.

“Stabbing pain… It burns...” I groaned, holding my side.

“Damien, wolfsbane!” Austin shouted. Damien stepped into the ring to stop the fight immediately. “Wait, don’t get close! We don’t know what Kol will do!”

“Stop! This challenge has now been invalidated!” Damien shouted.

I could feel Liam’s pain and Gavin’s rage. The pain made my legs weak. Austin held me up, so I didn’t collapse on the ground. “Are you okay, Luna?” Austin asked. I nodded. I looked up to see Liam trying to get to his feet. Let him be okay, I silently prayed. Just let my mate be okay.

Kol and Liam looked like they were having a conversation, but we could not hear them. Out of nowhere, Kol began to shift. “Liam!” I shouted! If it were wolfsbane, Liam wouldn’t be able to shift into his wolf until it was out of his system. The pain in my side seemed to lessen and I felt this warmth drain from as if it was pouring from a spout at my feet. Everything started to spin.

Liam

I was struggling to stand, the pain in my side excruciating.

“You never had a chance of leaving here alive, Liam. I would never let you take my mate and rightful place away from me!” Kol said. His eyes held something possessive and unhinged.

“I will never let you have her or my pack!” I said. I looked down at my hand. There was purple ooze seeping from the wound.

“You won’t have a choice now. You can’t shift and I bet you won’t be much of a challenge anymore,” he said. The pain was beginning to subside. I dropped my hand from the wound. Somehow, I was healing. I could feel it. This amount of wolfsbane was never meant to be fatal; just to stop the healing and prevent me from shifting.

“Get ready Gavin, we need to shift at the right moment and catch him off guard.”

“Keep him talking,” he said.

“Don’t be so sure. I’ve had worse than a little cut. You’ll regret underestimating me,” I said with a cocky smirk.

“I think you are overestimating here. You could not even mark your mate. You had to force her to even mate with you,” he spat.

“Oh yea? You did not notice? Odd? Everyone else could smell it right away,” I said. I knew this would set him off. I wanted him angry and erratic. Angry wolves did not fight smart. And just like I thought, he began to shift. The pain in my side was completely gone now and I could feel the wound closing itself.

“Liam!” I heard Azalea’s voice. I wished she would not watch.

“Almost….” said Gavin. I could feel a warm sensation flooding through me, like I had the power of two people all of a sudden. Kol shifted. His wolf had grey fur. He was large, but not as large as I am.

He lunged at me and I easily dodged him, letting him skid past me. I looked to the sideline for a split second, noticing Azalea in Austin’s arms with Lily next to them. Damien stood in a defensive position 10 yds in front of them. I snapped my attention back to Kol and he once again lunged for me. I jumped out of the way.

“Now!” Gavin said, pushing himself forward. All at once, he took full control and we shifted. Landing on all fours, Gavin snarled at Kol. Surprise struck his features and we used this to lunge at his throat. Grabbing a hold of his throat, he thrashed under my jaws, trying to get away. I could feel my teeth pierce the skin of his neck, drawing blood. His paw came up, swiping at my side. I felt blood trickle down my side as I let go of him. We circled each other, calculating our next move.

Kol attacked first, breaking the circle, and running at me at full speed. I leapt before he could get to me, snapping my jaw over the back of his neck as I landed on top of him. We rolled on the ground fighting for dominance, but not once did I let go of his neck. The strength I felt right now was far more than I had ever before.

“It’s mate…” Gavin thought as we fought Kol into submission.

Finally, with a loud crack, we snapped Kol’s neck, dropping his lifeless body to the ground. I stepped away from him, walking towards the side of the ring. Austin was holding Azalea still and she was not moving in his arms. Gavin quickly gave me back control as we shifted back, and I sprinted to her.

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