Chapter 48: Here We Go Again
As Marcel makes his claim, silence falls over the crowd, and I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut. I can’t decide which would be worse: losing another pack member in a challenge or having no one oppose Marcel.
Not for the first time, I find myself unable to recognize this man I’ve just called my friend.
Of course, I’ve always known his tendency for ambition and obsession. Still, I never imagined that he would become so consumed with having me as his Luna. How could he say such things? And to what lengths will he go to have me as his bride?
We look at each other with equal measures of hurt and disappointment.
“Don’t do this,” I plead, but I know I’ve already lost him. There’s something savage about the way he’s staring at me; it’s like he doesn’t even recognize me.
“It’s already done. You and your friends took down an Ernouf Alpha, but do you really want to go against another one?”
I shake my head, leaning on a nearby column to steady myself. This has all gone so terribly wrong.
“I challenge Marcel Ernouf’s claim as Alpha.”
There’s a deafening silence in the room except for the beating of my heart and the ringing in my ears. I’m caught in the aftershock of the proverbial bomb that’s just been dropped. I clutch my chest as though I’d been shot as the crowd turns to face the challenger. I’m the only one that doesn’t move. I stand there frozen in my spot, barely breathing, because I know that voice. In such a short amount of time, I’ve come to know it better than my own. I could spot that voice in a crowd of hundreds if I had to. But never before have I been appalled to hear it as I am now.
Several people in the great hall step aside, making way for Dorian as he steps forward. For a moment, I think he’s going to fight Marcel then and there, but then Dorian walks past him and comes to my side. He frowns as he bends forward, examining me.
“You’re pale. You’re not fully recovered yet; you should sit,” he tells me, completely ignoring the way everyone is staring at him. I can’t believe what I’m hearing.
“Don’t. Do not talk to me like I’m some damsel in distress,” I hiss at him. “I can handle Marcel; you don’t have to do this.”
He’s already issued the challenge, but a delusional and desperate part of me wants him to take it back.
But it’s too late.
Emily’s father nods solemnly, and the gathered lycans mutter amongst themselves.
“Very well then. A challenge stands between Marcel Ernouf and Dorian Boris. The fight will be to the death, and if it pleases the Goddess, the winner will become Alpha of the Lobo Pack,” he says, and the crowd begins to disperse.
I realize with horror that they’re clearing a space in the center of the hall for the two wolves to battle. After all, it was decided that in light of Anthony’s scheming, all future challenges would be open to the public. Other members of the pack would bear witness to the outcome to ensure there was no more foul play.
But not here. Not now. Not them.
“No. Please. Dorian, this is wrong,” I whimper, clinging to him as if I could hold back this nightmare.
“I’m sorry, Valerie. But you know what he’ll do with this power if he gets it. I can’t let that happen,” he says, his voice calm and determined, and it doesn’t surprise me. As much as I hate what he’s doing, it’s hardly out of character.
“Why can’t you just stay out of a fight, just this once? This challenge will only end in death, and I can’t lose you,” I beg. He looks at me as though my words pain him, but I know he won’t back down.
“I can’t lose you either. That’s why I have to do this. When I first came to this town, I thought I’d never be able to call it home. But thanks to you, I do. You taught me to fight for my home, and that’s what I’m going to do,” he says, gently prying away my hand from his arm. “This is my choice, Valerie.”
So I let him go.
I hold on to him until the last second and then watch as he slips right from my fingers and walks towards the hall’s center. Within seconds, Marcel is across from him, and at some point, Emily makes her way to me. She slips her hand into mine firmly.
“He’s going to be okay, right?” she whispers, and I’m unsure which of them she’s referring to. I can’t answer her. I can’t do anything besides stand back and bear witness as Marcel and Dorian shift into their wolf forms and everyone steps back.
A hush falls over the crowd in a moment of breathless anticipation.
Then, all hell breaks loose, and they’re at each other’s throats.
Even if I wanted to, I could not describe the grotesquely violent scene that unfolds before my eyes. For what feels like an eternity, everything is teeth and claws. Growls, howls, and yelps echo throughout the hall as the rest of us watch and wait. The two wolves are evenly matched, and each struggling for the upper hand. Murmurs break out throughout the crowd. From what I hear, it seems the group is split between the disgraced Ernouf heir and the outsider white wolf. Regardless of who wins the battle, someone will be disappointed, and someone will be dead, but no one will question the outcome.
I want to look away, but I don’t. I need to see this, need to be a part of it somehow. It would be so easy to close my eyes, but that would feel like abandoning them, and I can’t abandon him.
A miserable, heartbroken part of myself fears that this is all because of me. I’m the one Marcel wants. I’m the one Dorian is protecting. But this is bigger than me. This is about finishing what my father started and putting an end to the abuse of power. I trust Dorian, and I will honor his choice just as he has respected all of mine.
I gasp, and everything goes still. Just as quickly as the violence began, it comes to an abrupt stop.
It’s done.