Chapter 127

Grace

I held my breath as I gazed defiantly at Alpha Shadow's image on the screen, holding my arm up to show. My heart pounded in my chest as I tried not to focus on the hourglass, searching for any change in it.

All I could see was it filling back up, though it still remained glowing. The silence felt ominous, but I said nothing.

"The statistics aren't in your favor," he said calmly. "And I have no interest in humoring you and your half-baked knowledge."

"Hold on a second." I looked down at the older man. He looked old enough to be my grandfather, though I knew he was probably much younger than my grandfather would be if he were still alive.

"It has been a long time since a formal challenge of honor was issued in any form," he said. "Your grandfather issued one, and it's one of the more traditional things that any alpha can do."

He tilted his head. "If Alpha Shadow is really a champion for our culture, he can't just ignore the challenge... though you would have to complete it first."

A few others hummed and nodded in agreement. A werewolf challenge was more of a bet rather than a call for a duel like a lycan challenge would be. It was supposed to be used when someone's honor was insulted and was thought to be a carryover from old warrior culture back when we were still more human than werewolves. The insulted party initiated the challenge by acknowledging the insult, but if Alpha Shadow didn't accept it, he'd be considered a disgrace in the eyes of any werewolf with enough knowledge of history. He'd lose his respect among any werewolf that followed Blood Moon.

The witch challenge beneath it was a binding magical oath, and so long as I made him agree, I could guarantee Mooncrest's safety.

If...

It was a gamble, but right now, it was all I had. I just had to keep him occupied and hopefully not swear myself to do anything. It was unlikely that Alpha Shadow would agree in the first place.

"Keep trying. She's got him stalled!"

"To dismiss her challenge is to dismiss the very essence of who we are," someone said.

The murmurs of agreement spread like wildfire among the older members of the crowd, and I could feel their support like a warm, protective shroud. The hourglass continued to fill.

He scoffed again. "You'd want a half-breed to participate in a formal challenge? The same one who handed you over to a lycan of all people?"

"It would be an insult to who we are to not," another man said. "You have to answer!"

Someone else cheered. I swallowed, staring up at the screen and listening to Charles. They still hadn't gotten Eason from wherever he was.

"I can't get it. I need more time."

"The barriers aren't coming down."

Alpha Shadow sat forward. "You may have initiated talks, but you have not issued a challenge. I am not obligated to do anything."

The old man looked at me. "Given the situation, he has the right to ignore you if your challenge isn't substantial enough. You have a minute."

Fuck. I didn't read that far. Was a minute long enough? Did I care about my honor if it meant we'd all still be alive?

"A minute isn't long enough."

"Think of something, Grace," Seraphina said. "You can start with what you want from Blood Moon."

I swallowed. "Fine. First, when I win, I want the following: a formal apology from Alpha Shadow for your insults against me, my pack, and all the harm you've done. I want reparations for all the damages you've caused, and I want Blood Moon to cease all activity and disband."

I swallowed, and he chuckled, though his wrist seemed to glow a little brighter.

"And what do you have that can possibly measure up to that?" He asked. "You cannot force me to apologize for something that isn't true."

Crap. He was trying to call my bluff.

"Confirm that he's accepting and on what grounds," Seraphina said. "I'm almost there."

"Should I take that question as you accepting the challenge?"

"No."

"On what grounds would you be accepting it?" I asked. "Whose standard do I have to meet?"

He said nothing for a moment before he chuckled. "How about the standard of your beloved Mooncrest, hm? Specifically, those of Mooncrest who hate you the most hate what you've done and allowed to be done. Find your salvation in them if you can."

I was not made to negotiate with terrorists. What the hell could I offer or promise? They hated me for so many reasons. What do I do?

What should I do?

"Grace?" Someone spoke in my ear. "Deep breath. You still have a minute to come up with something."

Yet, it still wasn't enough time. I had trapped us both in this. He knew it, and I knew it, yet I was the one who was going to end up holding the ball in the end.

I looked out at the crowd as they began to murmur and shift restlessly. The hourglass wasn't moving. It wasn't enough to give us substantially more time, but what would do it?

"Before my father died, we were... on the verge of moving up a pack tax bracket," I said slowly. "Thanks to Wolfe Medical's vaccines. By the end of the year, we'll be there."

Someone in the crowd scoffed. "So what? What is you making more money supposed to do for us?"

I swallowed, feeling Alpha Shadow growing more smug by the moment.

"I'll be expanding the pack endowment by fifty percent."

"That's just a tax write-off for you," someone else said. "If you don't have anything, just step down."

"Yeah!"

My heart felt like it was in a vice, and I closed my eyes before looking out. There was a man in the crowd who looked like he could be related to Gabriel.

Gabriel...

I lifted my head. "Bit by bit, Mooncrest has made progress. While we were never aiming to become a large, influential pack, we have, and if it hadn't been for me, we would be so much more by now. I said I was learning from my mistakes and owning up to them. The only way I can do that, truly, is by getting us back on the track we were meant to be on. So, on my honor, my power, my ability, Mooncrest will have a seat on the Senate, or the Wolfe Family will step down as the alpha line, allowing someone else's line to take our place."

No one said anything. It was as if I had pulled the pin of a grenade and held it in my hand. I could almost feel the shock rippling through the air.

"By making this challenge, I am bound by it, legally. If I fail, it will be enforceable by the States," I said.

It would also be enforceable by magic. I would be compelled to do it, just like Alpha Shadow would be. It was really the only hope I had, but I could see that Alpha Shadow was betting on no one believing in me.

I didn't need them to. I just needed more time.

"So, what do you say?" I asked. "Does that meet the standard?"

"There's never been a female alpha on the Senate before," someone said. "Could she really do it?"

The hourglass' sand started to waver. The atmosphere was charged with uncertainty as the crowd began to speculate about the authenticity of my challenge.

"She could just be bluffing."

"But then she'd have to step down anyway, so why make the bet?"

The sand wavered.

"Maybe she knows something we don't? Maybe she's been planning."

"I'm not buying it," someone said, looking up at me. "If you fail, what's the harm to you? You just get to step down again and leave it to someone else."

"Mooncrest is my home," I said. "And since the entire country is watching this right now, I doubt I'd be welcome anywhere else."

The woman looked surprised. "You'd go into exile."

I clenched my jaw. "I would."

"Willingly?" She pressed.

"Yes."

"Swear it."

I swallowed. "I swear, if I can't pull it off, I'll go into exile... I'll even surrender my citizenship."

Cold sweat trickled down my neck at the thought. I had no idea what Eason had gone through without citizenship records. The idea painted my future in bleak colors. Maybe I could go to the Clans and live with Charles, but what about the drug and everything I'd worked so hard to build again?

I suppose, no matter which way it went, I'd be in danger of losing everything. At least this way Mooncrest wouldn't be destroyed...

If Alpha Shadow took the deal. My knees wobbled, but I said nothing as I looked back at the screen.

"So? What do you say? Are you taking my challenge? Is that to standard?"

He scoffed. "As if I would ever make a deal with a half-breed."

I shut my eyes, bracing for the explosion.

"For honor, for glory, or for the end that comes for us all."