Chapter 171

Ethan

Rolling my neck and breathing through the funk I’m in, I follow Laxus out of the tent and to the arena. Shouts and screams cheer fighters on, calling for them to beat the shit out of each other. I wasn’t the first fight of the day, which was probably good after the episode I had earlier.

“Zev, are you there?”

I need him with me for this, and even though I can shift without him being fully present, I don’t want to. We’re in this together.

But there’s no response other than a deep rumbling growl that reverberates through my mind.

Again.

Shit. This is going to be bad if neither of us can get ahold of ourselves.

“Alpha, are you sure about this?” Without meaning to, I stiffen, my body instinctually responding to the doubt in my Gamma’s tone. How dare he question me?

No.

I shake my head and grind my teeth, forcing the imposing thought to leave my head. Laxus doesn’t doubt me. He’s merely worried about me after the feral attack I had earlier. If it continues, especially in front of so many people, he won’t be able to jump in and stop me.

There have been rumors of Lycans turning feral before, but it hasn’t happened in over one hundred years. There isn’t enough stress or opportunity for our more human side to become regressive like it does in a feral state.

“I’ll be fine,” I lie, flexing my hands and hoping I sound confident enough not to worry Laxus. He’s been with me for years, since I became Alpha, and he’s never been disloyal. He’s stuck by my side long enough that if Ryan weren’t around, he’d have become my Beta.

“And your winner is Desmond Right of the Steel Pack!” The announcer yells as the crowd goes wild. The winner in question stands in the middle of the ring with his arms raised as he stands over his unconscious opponent. The man on the ground looks to be much younger and smaller. He wouldn’t have had a chance against the muscled behemoth.

Hunt prey.

I shake my head to drown out the thought.

“And next, a contender you’ve all been waiting for, ready to take on the winner, is Alpha Ethan Montgomery of the Silverclaw Pack!”

“Good luck, Alpha,” Laxus says, stepping back and letting me move past him. I stalk into the arena, not bothering with pleasantries as I lift my arms. We’re here to fight, so let’s get this over with.

To throw me off, Desmond lunges first, swiping his claws at my face. I duck under his arm and use his own plan against him, raking my claws across his ribs.

Blood flies from the wound, splattering across my face as I slide across the ground, spin, and lunge again. My foccus draws in, pinpointing every movement he makes- his breathing, the rise of his arms, the shift of his foot.

Red tints my vision, my breathing becomes ragged, and my focus narrows on my opponent.

Prey.

Kill.

Third Person POV

Everyone watches as something shifts in Alpha Montgomery, and it isn’t a physical shift. His entire demeanor changes and golden glowing eyes change to red.

Gasps fill the arena as he drives an unforgiving fist into Desmond’s jaw, sending the large man to the ground. He rolls, shifting into his animal form and narrowly missing Alpha Montgomery’s next attack.

A loud roar shakes the ground, and everyone freezes, including Desmond. All eyes turn to the red eyed Alpha as he cracks his neck and lowers to the ground, fluidly shifting into his large brown wolf form.

“Shit,” Laxus curses. This was worse than what happened in the tent. There was murder in his Alpha’s eyes and no one to stop him from doing just that. He couldn’t even interfere, or Ethan would be disqualified, not that he could even if he wanted to. Ethan had commanded him with the Alpha tone to not intervene.

“Get it together,” Laxus growls under his breath as his Alpha lunges at the other wolf.

Teeth sink into fur, claws rip at flesh, bodies roll across the ground. Everyone watches on bated breath as the two wolves tear into each other, snarling and howling. Cheers break out when Desmond kicks Ethan off of him and sends him flying across the arena.

Then, in a twist of motion, Ethan is human again, and he’s landing on his feet, sliding across the ground.

He snarls at the wolf across from him and charges, running on two legs and jumping. The action surprises Desmond just long enough for Ethan to land on him, wrap his arms around the wolf’s neck, and flip the animal by using his forward momentum. The wolf’s body slams into the ground with a loud thud and his wolf form melts away as he coughs and slumps to the ground. The audible gasps of the crowd echo through the stadium-like arena.

Ethan growls down at the struggling wolf, and Laxus leans against the gate, watching his Alpha closely. The murderous rage doesn’t fall away, instead Laxus realizes, as his Alpha lifts his claw-tipped fingers, that it’s grown.

“Alpha! He’s down!” Laxus shouts, hoping it’ll pierce the feral haze. This is just day one of the Challenges. While death isn’t uncommon in some challenges, this isn’t right.

Ethan doesn’t listen. He brings his claws down on his opponent, raking them across the man’s face. Then Ethan brings his fist down, slamming it into the man’s face over and over until complete silence surrounds him.

He can’t stop himself.

Ethan

Pain splinters the back of my head, and I blink, lift my hand to the pain, and wince at the sight of blood on my hands.

“What happened?”

“You won,” a familiar voice says. Looking to the left, I find Laxus, Elder Raen, Elder Nugyen, and a medic. The medic is practically hiding behind my men, watching me with wide, frightened eyes.

“Shit. Did I… Is he dead?”

My chest and throat tighten in dread. If I’d killed an innocent man because I couldn’t control whatever the fuck was happening with me… I drop my head into my hands, the scent of iron and blood filling my senses.

“No, but not for lack of trying,” the medic says, and then adds, “Alpha,” when I lift my head to look at him. His head dips in a respectful bow, but I can see how he’s shaking. I can smell the fear wafting off of him in waves.

“Go take care of him. Anything you need, ask for one of my pack. They’ll help you,” I tell the medic. His eyes pop open and then he nods, rushing out of the tent.

“This can’t continue,” I mutter. My eyes fall on my bloodstained hands and my stomach rolls. I’m not opposed or unfamiliar with violence, but I know whatever I did out there was too much. I can see it in their eyes. “I couldn’t control myself. It’s like… everything went black after the first hit. This red haze covered my vision and then I was gone. I don’t remember anything after I sliced his side with my claws within the first thirty seconds of the fight.”

Elder Nugyen sits beside me, rubbing his fingers against his chin and humming. Elder Raen also hums, deep in thought.

“Do you know what’s happening? We have to figure out what’s going on so he can continue with the challenges,” Laxus presses, and they both look at me.

“Did you experience any extreme stress or trauma in the East the no one knows about?” Elder Raen asks.

“My mate,” I mutter, dropping my head again. “She left—”

“She rejected you?” Laxus growls.

I can’t stop the snarl that rips from my body in response. “NO!” He moves back a step, and I grit my jaw, forcing myself to calm down as best as I can. “The bond is still there, but barely. It’s fraying and constantly painful. I can feel it snapping little by little, but it isn’t gone yet.”

The rejection of a mate is almost unheard of here in the West, but it does happen. From what I’ve heard, it usually doesn’t cause many problems other than a few weeks of discomfort. Nothing like this.

“What does your animal say?” Elder Nugyen asks, and I cringe.

“He hasn’t spoken with me since she left. He blames me, and he’s right. I kept secretes and didn’t handle Angela’s situation and the Midnight Pack the way I should have,” I tell them, scrubbing a hand over my face. “I should’ve gotten rid of them, consequences be damned, as soon as I found Fiona.”

That damned silence stretches between the four of us again, and I growl as it rings in my ears.

“Losing your mate and having your animal recede into your mind seems to have had a heavy, negative impact on your instinctual responses,” Elder Raen speaks up, making me look at him. “The only way to fix this would be to undo the damage by reuniting with your mate and coaxing your animal out of your mind. Until you can do that, you need to focus and control your instincts as much as possible.”

“And how do I do that when I’m fighting the need to rip apart anyone who challenges me? I’ll end up killing someone before these fights are over.”

The two elders glance at each other then look back at me.

“Will you forfeit your place in the Challenges?”

“No.”

“Then you fight the urge. Do everything possible to keep from slipping into that feral state until you figure out how to control it.”