Chapter 50: The Duel of Alphas

Claire’s POV

They had issued the challenge.  

Derek's voice, as piercing and uncompromising as steel, continued to echo in my ears.  The courtyard was filled with stunned silence as soon as he finished speaking—subsequently, whispers, astonishments, and a wave of excitement spread like wildfire throughout Redwater.  

Jared had not expected this much irritation.   It isn't an easy challenge.  

The Redwater and Midnight Moon wolves were watching closely the duel that was taking place.  

The battleground is a clearing beyond the walls of Redwater. Countless warriors have trained here, but none have applied their skills to a cause so personally meaningful to them. The crimson and gold colors of the dying sun heralded the soon-to-be spilled blood in the earth.   

I stood near the edge of the gathered crowd, my fists clenched at the sides. My heart raced.  

"This is reckless," I said it almost a whisper knowing Sophia could hear it.  

"It's necessary," she whispered back. Derek needs to show off his strength. If Jared gives up, he'll think he can keep pushing.  

I knew that. But logic would not be enough to counter the gnawing unease in me.  

Derek stepped forward, and he removed the shirt effortlessly. His muscles stiffened. Each of the creases of scars remembered him of the hardships that he crossed. He looked indifferent as if this was not a fight but a battle that would certainly change the fate of the packs.  

Jared prepared, smiled, and rolled his shoulders.     "You sure about this, Callahan?"   

"Are you?" Derek shot back.  

A tense hush prevailed throughout the area.  

Then the fight began.  

First move was Jared, streaking erratically fast and viciously. His fist was going for Derek's ribs; he ducked at the last moment and struck back with a plummeting uppercut that sent him stumbling back.  

The growling chorus of the Midnight Moon wolves filled the air as their Alpha was attacked.  

Jared snarled and shook off the blow, before he was back on his feet. He shifted mid-step and fell forward again, his wolf forming with an explosion of fur and claws.  

Derek followed suit.  

Suddenly a loud confrontation erupted between these two enormous wolves, their bared teeth snapping and crashing - tearing.  

They caused such an impact with each other's shaking that it rumbled the ground below them.  

The crowd around them froze, breathless.  

Jared hit quickly and wildly to simply overpower Derek. But Derek fought like a tactician, though waiting patiently and strategically as he waited for the right moment.  

Then it came.  

Jared lunged at Derek's neck.   

Derek twisted his head as he pulled out at the last second to bite into Jared's shoulder, the sickening tearing noise punctuating the scene. Jared screamed in pain and worked frantically to get loose as Derek held on and overpowered him with strength, forcing him back against the concrete slab.

Blood and dust filled the air.

Then—Derek stopped.

Everybody froze for a moment. 

Derek was breathing heavily, stood towering over Jared. The only thing to be done: One bite to the throat would end the hassle. 

Yet he hesitated.

Below him, Jared lay single-handedly, heaving his chest, his eyes burning from rage and humiliation.

Derek was the first to move back, towering over him in his human shape.    "Yield," he commanded in a spooky, low voice.  

Jared tensed.  

Derek repeated, "Yield," his patience severely tried.  

Jared's lips curled.    "You should have finished it."   

Derek didn't flinch.     "Well, maybe.   But I won't kill you.   Not to exert influence.   It's not pride.   He glanced at me and his eyes flashed something unreadable.     "Not when it would only make me like you."   

Jared's body was trembling from pain and anger, and he was having trouble breathing.   In the end, though, he gave the only answer he could.  

"I yield."   

The words were bitter and sounded as sharp as a blade.  

Gasps reverberated through the crowd.   The wolves of Midnight Moon squirmed uncomfortably, and the warriors of Redwater grew taller.   The tension in the air transformed into something else rather than breaking.  

Jared lost.  

He knew it.  

Derek exhaled slowly and turned away, his victory complete.   But as he walked past me, his voice was low, almost unintelligible.  

"This is not over, Claire.   Is it?

Jared's eyes blazed with hatred as Derek, still trembling from the fight, stepped aside.   I could feel the rage radiating from him as he struggled to accept the outcome, his fists curled into the dirt beneath him.  

He had looked stupid because of Derek.   Not just by winning, but by sparing him.  

The decision loomed large over Redwater's wolves.   Some looked admiringly at Derek, while others looked uncertainly.   There was rarely mercy in an Alpha duel.   Defeating an enemy and then leaving them alive was a recipe for more disaster, and the law of our kind was strength.  

Jared would never forget this.  

Reverting to his human form, he rose slowly.   Derek had a deep wound dripping blood from where his teeth had torn into his shoulder.   Midnight Moon wolves hurried to his aid, but he pushed them away.  

"I don't need your help," he screamed, his pride hurting more than his physical condition.  

His eyes wandered to me, and for a moment I saw something more sinister beneath the rage.  

A promise.  

Jared was far from done.  

"This was a mistake," he said to himself in a low voice that only I could hear.  Do you think you're safe here, Claire?   Do you think Redwater can protect you indefinitely?   

I stiffened, but before I could react, Derek turned back to him.  

"You lost," said Derek bluntly.  "Take your wolves and leave before I change my mind."   

Jared wiped the blood from his chin and looked at him, then at me.   The corner of his mouth curled into a smirk, but his eyes were not amused.  

"Enjoy your victory while it lasts, Callahan."    

Then he turned on his heel and gave his wolves a signal.   The Midnight Moon warriors hesitated, then backed off, their silence more solemn than any words they could have spoken.  

Unaware that I had been holding back a breath, I let it out.  

It was finished.  

In any case, it should have been.  

I was hoping to see some relief on Derek's face, but all I saw was cold, calculating thought.  

"You should have killed him," Sophia whispered to herself beside me.  

According to another warrior, "He's still dangerous."   "Mercy won't change that."  

Derek decided to ignore them.   He fixed his gaze on Jared's retreating form, his jaw set in a hard line.  

"This wasn't just a fight for power," he finally stated,  "It was a test."   Jared just realised something.  

"What?" I asked, my stomach twisted.  

Derek breathed out slowly.   Not in battle.  "That he can't defeat me."  His piercing, unreadable eyes shot to mine.     "Which means he’ll find another way."   

The cold reality of what he said made me shudder.  

Jared didn't accept defeat easily.  

He would come back.  

The next time, he wouldn't be alone.