Chapter 91: Rogue Challenge

Derek's Point of View

The sky was still dark when I stepped outside the Redwater main hall, the moon hanging low and cold above the trees. A strange silence had settled over the land since our return from Stormpine. The message was clear: war was coming. But this morning, I felt something else in the air—something colder. Thicker. Like the ground itself held its breath.

I had barely made it to the training fields when Rowan found me.

“There’s a visitor at the eastern gate,” he said, out of breath. “He’s calling for you. Demanding it.”

“Who is he?”

“He calls himself Alpha Crane,” Rowan said, eyes tight. “Says you stole what was his.”

That made me stop in my tracks.

“I’ve never heard of him.”

“He said he used to run the Black Hollow Pack.”

I remember something about that name. Black Hollow was a bad neighbourhood outside the old border that had been left empty for a long time after the Alpha was killed in a blood challenge by his own son. I thought the place had ended and become nothing.

"Then he is lying," I said, but I had some doubts.

Rowan took a deep breath. "He is not by himself." He came with fighters. There are not many, but they're... unique. Too calm. “Trained.”

That was enough. I turned around and went through the trees with Rowan. When we got to the eastern gate, there was a tall man standing just outside the line of the fence with his arms folded. There were six other people standing next to him, all wearing black leather and having a silver flame sewnAcross their shoulders.

The same sign we saw at Stormpine.

Crane's hair was dark blonde and pulled back. His eyes were very pale, almost white, and when he looked at me, my wolf did something strange.

Challenge.

“I heard you were strong,” Crane said, his voice smooth and even. “I wanted to see for myself.”

“This isn’t your territory,” I said coldly. “You walk in wearing the Flame’s mark and expect peace?”

“I expect blood,” he replied simply. “You lead with weakness. Your mate spares traitors. You take in broken wolves. Redwater used to be feared. Now, it's just… soft.”

I stepped forward, anger rising.

“I don’t care what you think. This pack has survived more than you know. And I won’t let a glorified rogue walk in and insult what we’ve built.”

His lip curled into a smile.

“Then prove you’re still strong. Fight me. From Alpha to Alpha. By yourself. No weapons. Not helpful. I will take your title and pack if I win.

There was a heavy silence.

As Claire walked up behind me, I could feel her. Even though she did not say anything, I could tell her breath was tense. She knew what this meant. From behind the trees, everyone else did the same thing.

I would look weak if I said no. That was too expensive for Redwater right now.

I went into the ring to challenge. Crane came after.

The crowd got together in a loose circle and kept quiet. Looking at.

Crane cracked his neck and stooped down a bit. Wolf's energy was already coursing through his body.

He told her, "I hope you are ready to lose everything."

I did not reply. I let my wolf run things.

The change happened quickly. My bones broke, my fur stood on end, and my claws dug into the ground. My wolf charged forward and crashed into his.

He was fast. Faster than I expected. But he fought with too much pride and confidence. He went for the throat to end it quickly, but I dove low and scratched his side with my claws.

He growled and spun around, biting my shoulder hard.

Even though it hurt, I slammed my weight into his ribs and knocked him out. He fell all over the ring.

People yelled, but I could not hear them. I only saw Crane getting up again, his eyes filled with anger.

He lunged, but this time I was ready.

We kept running into each other, like two storms meeting in the middle of the field. He bit. I scratched. He threw me to the ground, and I rolled over and kicked him off. Things got very quiet as the world was filled with the smell of anger and the heat of battle. Blood flew and dust rose.

After that, he moved.

In the middle of the fight.

His wolf turned back into a person, and blood started to drip from his mouth.

He laughed and said, "You fight like a brute." "Not a plan." "Not a thought."

I hesitated for half a second—and it cost me.

He pulled a hidden blade from his boot—illegal in a challenge—and slashed across my chest.

People in the crowd gasped.

I staggered, blood gushing, pain sharp.

Crane turned, laughing. “Your laws are weak. Just like your leadership.”

That was when Claire stepped forward, her voice rising like thunder.

“You cheated.”

Crane turned. "War has no rules."

She said, "No," with fire in her eyes. "But there are in Redwater." You just broke them.

But before anyone could do anything, he charged me again with his sword raised.

I dove low and swept his legs out from under him. I then shifted back in midair, grabbing the blade with my bare hands. I did not care about the cut as I turned his arm around and slammed him to the ground.

I growled, "I should kill you."

He laughed and spat blood. "Do it." “You need to do it.”

I didn't, though.

Instead, I stood there, my chest heaving and still bleeding.

I told her, "You are not worth it." "You are not in charge." You are a coward who hides behind fire and chaos.

He looked at me with eyes filled with hate.

“I’m not the last,” he whispered. “The Flame has many faces. You’ll burn with the rest.”

Guards dragged him away. They did not fight; instead, they bowed their heads and looked at him, then at me. They went with strength. They saw it now.

It took a while for me to hear the crowd cheer.

Claire was next to me and helped me stand up straight.

She asked, "Are you okay?"

Even though my whole body hurt, I said, "I will live."

Then Rowan came running through the crowd with a pale face.

He told her, "You need to see this." "Now."

He took us back to the border with Canada.

Five symbols made of blood-stained wood were hanging from the trees.

Five names.

Mine. Rowan's and Claire's. Elder Myra's.

And Jared's.

Claire said in a whisper, "They know everything."