Chapter 20 020
Dimitri’s Pov
The arena was packed with wolves from every corner of the territory, their excited chatter creating a dull roar that made my already heightened senses ache.
The morning sun cast long shadows across the fighting grounds, but I barely noticed any of it because my attention was locked on a single figure in the crowd.
Seraphina stood with the other omegas near the front, dressed in a simple white dress that made her look like an angel among wolves.
Her eyes found mine immediately and I saw my own anxiety reflected there along with something else, complete faith in my ability to win.
That faith strengthened my resolve more than any amount of training could have.
"The rules are simple," One of the Elders announced from his elevated platform. "Three alphas will challenge Dimitri for the right to court Seraphina Nightingale. Each fight continues until submission or death. Should Dimitri fall to any challenger, that alpha wins the right to claim her."
My wolf snarled at the thought and I had to fight to keep my human form. The incomplete bond from our three days in the chamber made my control tenuous at best.
I could still feel her like a phantom limb, there but not quite tangible, and it was driving both me and my wolf to the edge of madness.
"First challenger," The Elder continued, "Alpha Garrett of the Northern Pack."
Garrett stepped into the ring, all bulk and brute force with scarred knuckles that spoke of countless fights. He was strong but predictable, the kind of alpha who relied on intimidation more than skill.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't be much of a threat, but these weren't normal circumstances. The incomplete bond had left me raw and hypersensitive, every nerve ending exposed.
"I'm going to enjoy this," Garrett growled as we circled each other. "Breaking the great Dimitri Volkov in front of his precious mate."
I didn't waste energy on words. The moment he lunged, I was ready, sidestepping his charge and bringing my elbow down on the back of his neck.
He stumbled but recovered quickly, spinning with a backhanded strike that caught me across the jaw.
I tasted blood and my wolf surged forward, demanding I tear his throat out for daring to make us bleed in front of our mate.
The fight turned brutal quickly. Garrett might have been predictable but he was still an alpha, and he fought like one with nothing held back.
We traded blows that would have killed lesser wolves, each strike fueled by the knowledge that Seraphina's future hung in the balance.
He managed to get me on the ground once, his massive hands wrapped around my throat, but I could see Seraphina in my peripheral vision and the fear in her eyes gave me the strength to buck him off.
I rolled to my feet and when he charged again, I was ready. My claws extended as I partially shifted, raking across his chest and sending him crashing into the barrier.
"Submit." I growled, standing over him with my claws at his throat.
He looked up at me with hatred but nodded his submission. One down.
Medical wolves rushed in to tend to Garrett while I tried to catch my breath.
My ribs ached and I could feel blood running down my face from a gash above my eyebrow, but I remained standing, turning to face my next opponent.
"Second challenger," The elder announced with what I swore was anticipation, "Alpha Kane of the Western Territory."
Kane strutted into the ring like he had already won, his arrogance nauseating, but I knew better than to underestimate him.
He was younger than Garrett, faster, and had been training specifically for this moment.
"Hello, old friend," He said with a smile that was all teeth. "Ready to lose everything?"
"The only thing I'm ready for is sending you to hell where you belong." I replied, noting how Seraphina had moved closer to the barrier, her knuckles white as she gripped the railing.
Kane's smile widened. "She's even prettier up close, isn't she? I'm going to enjoy breaking her in after I'm done with you."
The rage that flooded through me was volcanic. My vision went red and my wolf took partial control, bones cracking as I shifted just enough to be lethal but still maintain human thought.
Kane had been expecting this though, and he met my charge with his own partial shift.
We collided in the center of the ring with enough force to shake the ground. Claws and teeth tore through flesh as we fought more like beasts than men.
Kane was good, better than I had given him credit for, and he knew exactly how to use my rage against me.
Every time I gained the upper hand, he would make another comment about Seraphina, about what he planned to do to her, and I would lose focus just long enough for him to land another blow.
Soon we were both covered in blood, circling each other with labored breathing.
"You feel it don't you?" Kane panted, pressing a hand to his bleeding side. "The incomplete bond. It's making you weak and desperate. You can barely hold your form."
He was right. The partial shift was taking more energy than it should and I could feel my control slipping with each passing second.
But then I heard it, a soft whimper from Seraphina, so quiet no one else would have noticed. She was scared, not for herself but for me, and that fear centered me in a way nothing else could have.
I let Kane think he was winning, let him get cocky as he landed blow after blow. Then, when he went for what he thought would be the killing strike, I moved.
Using his own momentum against him, I grabbed his extended arm and snapped it at the elbow. His scream echoed through the arena as I drove him to his knees.
"You want to know what the incomplete bond does?" I growled in his ear. "It makes me desperate enough to kill you slowly instead of quickly."
I could have ended it there but I wanted him to suffer for threatening Seraphina. My claws found every sensitive spot, every nerve cluster, until he was sobbing for mercy.
Only when the elder called for restraint did I step back, leaving Kane broken but alive in the dirt.
Two down. One to go.
"The third challenger," The elder announced, and I could hear confusion in his voice as he read the name. "Alpha... Cassius?"
The crowd went silent. That wasn't the name we had been expecting. The third alpha was supposed to be Mark from the East, a younger and weaker opponent, but the man who stepped into the ring was anything but weak.
Cassius was ancient by wolf standards, probably close to two hundred years old, but he moved with the fluid grace of someone in their prime.
His hair was silver-white and his eyes were the pale blue of winter ice. Power radiated from him in waves that made even the other alphas step back.
"Hello, young Dimitri," He said, his voice cultured and smooth. "I apologize for the deception, but when I heard about this trial, I simply had to participate."
"Why?" I demanded, trying to assess this new threat. "What interest could you have in this?"
His smile was sad and knowing. "Let's just say I have a debt to settle with the Nightingale line. Did you know I once courted Seraphina's mother? Beautiful woman, Celeste. She had the same beautiful eyes as her daughter."
I glanced at Seraphina and saw her shock. This was news to her too.
"That was decades ago," I said carefully. "What does that have to do with now?"
"Everything," Cassius replied, beginning to circle me with predatory intent. "You see, Celeste chose another over me. Drew Nightshade was a good man, a strong alpha, and I accepted her choice, but someone else didn't."
My blood ran cold as he continued, his voice carrying clearly across the silent arena.
"You've all been told that rogues killed the Nightingale alphas, haven't you?" He laughed but there was no humor in it.
"Such a convenient lie. No, they were killed by someone within this very pack. Someone who wanted to possess the Nightingale bloodline, specifically the women who carry a very special gift."
The crowd erupted in shocked whispers, but Cassius wasn't done.
"Seraphina's mother could have been the most powerful luna in generations if she had lived. Her daughter has the same potential, the same rare blood that makes her irresistible to alphas and someone in your pack has been waiting patiently for her to come of age, removing obstacles and manipulating events to ensure they could claim her."
"You're lying," I snarled, but even as I said it, pieces were falling into place. The convenient rogue attack, the way Seraphina had been isolated and protected, the sudden interest from multiple alphas the moment she turned eighteen.
"Am I?" Cassius asked, his eyes never leaving mine. "Tell me, Dimitri, don't you find it strange that the Elders were so quick to arrange this trial? That they're so determined to see her mated to someone other than you? Someone they can control?"
The implications hit me and I heard Seraphina's gasp from the crowd. If Cassius was telling the truth, then her parents' murder wasn't random.
It was calculated, planned by someone who was still in the pack, still waiting to claim what they believed was theirs.
"Who?" I demanded, my voice barely human as my wolf raged against this new threat. "Who killed them?"
Cassius smiled and it was cold and sharp. "Defeat me, and I'll tell you everything. Lose, and the secret dies with you.”