Moira Rogers - Deadlock

It ignited something wild in the other man’s eyes. «Then I have nothing to lose.» He snarled and crouched, his teeth bared.

Figured the greedy bastard would miss the point. «Unless you back the fuck down, and we’ll give some of it back .»

«Begging for scraps from a bastard like you? I’d rather die.»

Pride. Stupid, reckless pride, and Alec was going to have to kill his lover’s uncle because of it. «So be it.»

Time slowed, and an eternity passed before Cesar rushed him with a roar. The first punch barreled toward Alec’s abdomen, not too fast to dodge but so powerful that Alec could imagine how much it would hurt when he didn’t manage to wrench his body out of the way. Cesar was built like his nephew — not Miguel’s tall, lean form, but Julio’s compact muscle.

Pain prickled up Alec’s spine, the wolf clawing for the magic to burst free. The precious seconds needed to rein in the beast gave Cesar another opening, which he exploited with two quick, hard punches to the solar plexus.

Alec doubled over, a snarl escaping that wasn’t even mostly human. Only rage and adrenaline straightened his body, and he slammed into Cesar, exploiting the older man’s moment of self-congratulation. They both staggered back, Cesar’s boot slipping in the bloodstained grass, and Alec managed a half-hearted punch to the man’s gut before agony sliced through him again.

This time he could feel the fur just under his skin. If the wolf escaped, he’d lose. Cesar could put him down like a rabid beast and no one would think twice. A shapeshifter who couldn’t hold the form in which he was supposed to fight didn’t deserve the honor of victory.

Change, he silently begged as Cesar regained his footing. If Cesar changed, Alec could follow. Somehow he had to convince the man to do it, to let the animal free.

Somehow he had to stay alive long enough to do it, even with his wolf clawing him up from the inside out.

Cesar punched him in the throat and wheezed a laugh. «You’re dying to get to teeth and claws, aren’t you? Crazy bastard. I was there.» He shoved Alec away and stepped back, to the outer edge of the circle. «I was there when you challenged your cousin. You’re a fucking lunatic.»

The words could have been lie or truth, Alec didn’t know. He couldn’t remember who had witnessed the challenge, just the pounding rage as he killed his way through the purebred bastards who had thought any human who married a shapeshifter deserved to die.

His breath rattled out, sparking bright lights in the corner of his vision. He couldn’t speak in anything louder than a whisper, but it was enough. «If you were there, that explains why you’re scared to fight me as a wolf.»

«Scared?» Cesar’s eyes narrowed, and he kicked off his boots. «Crazy is crazy, man or wolf. Either way, I’ll destroy you.»

Stupid is stupid, man or wolf. Anticipation shuddered inside him, and Alec fumbled with his boots, tearing out the tongue of one and nearly ripping off the sole of the other. Barefoot, he could feel the blood drying on the grass, tacky and warm.

So much pain. So much rage. He’d tried everything he knew to stop it, to let Cesar yield. So much for a bloodless revolution. It had started in blood, and now it would end that way, with two wolves fighting to rip each other open.

He could only hope Carmen would still be able to look at him when it was over.

Cesar stripped off the rest of his clothes and hunched in the grass. The change flowed over him, leaving a snarling black wolf in his place. Alec let his pants fall and followed suit a moment later, pain and fear vanishing in the wild giddy rush of power and magic.

This was who he was. The strongest wolf. A predator.

He pounced, and Cesar met him full-on in the middle of the clearing with a crash of bone and hard muscle. Heavy and bulky, but still slow. With the wolf as his giddy ally, Alec was faster.

He landed the first bite, a vicious clash of teeth that should have closed around Cesar’s throat but hit his shoulder instead. Alec clenched his jaw and hung on as Cesar twisted and clawed and finally wrenched free, tearing the flesh of his shoulder in the process.

No more mercy. No more chances to yield. Alec charged, ruthlessly pressing his advantage. He tasted blood and fur as he bit down again and again, driving Cesar across the slippery grass.

Cesar growled and stumbled, fell. There was no final surge, no last-ditch attempt to drive Alec back. He struggled to rise and failed, his eyes wide and desperate. His sides heaved, and he kicked at the grass as blood welled from his wounds.

Kill kill kill.

Alec took one trembling step backwards. His rear paw slipped on a leaf, and his claws dug into the dirt.

Bite. Rend. Win.

Another step as the wild creature inside him howled protest. They were stronger. Better. They deserved triumph, and their enemy deserved death.

He lifted his nose. Scented the wind. So many smells, so many people. But she was there, so attuned to him that he thought he could pick her heartbeat out of the crowd. Racing. Scared.

She would understand the need for total victory. She might even forgive him.

Alec didn’t want her forgiveness and understanding. He wanted her trust and pride.

If becoming a wolf had been easy, finding the shape of a man was a trial. The wolf was confused, edgy, but with their adversary brought low he was no longer frantic. Alec called magic and felt the change, maybe a few seconds slower than usual, but soon he knelt on the cool grass. Naked. Bloodied.

He wiped his face on the back of his arm and ignored the streaks of red as he rocked to his feet and turned to find one man in the crowd. Diego Mendoza. Carmen’s father. Victory lurked in his eyes — the knowledge that he had a son on the council now. Diego had risked his youngest son’s life and had nearly killed his daughter, all in a quest for power, and Cesar’s death would bring that power one step closer to his grasp.

Alec had no intention of letting Diego win. «Come here and get your brother. If a doctor can hold him together, he’ll live.»

The victory melted into confusion. Diego started forward, then stopped.

A growl rose up, and Alec didn’t check it. « Now .»

The command broke the man’s paralysis. He rushed to his brother and picked him up, blood soaking into his shirt. His gaze found Carmen, then darted to Alec and away, and he carried Cesar off through the crowd.

«Diego.» Not a shout, but it cut through the unnatural stillness nonetheless. The man froze and looked back, and Alec felt his lips turn up in what must have been a chilling smile. «You and your brother have until midnight to get the fuck out of my state. You won’t come back. You won’t contact your children. If they want to talk to you, they’ll call you. If you have a problem with that, you can challenge me now.»

The last bit of triumph faded from Diego’s expression, and his lips barely moved as he spoke. «Understood.»

He left in silence. Alec bent and pulled on his jeans, though he didn’t bother with his shirt or boots before glancing over to where Andrew stood. The man walked forward, heeding the silent summons. Julio followed, a little more slowly, though all but the worst of his wounds had already closed.

They stood beside him, and he turned to find the final two members of the Southeast council — Alan Reed and William Levesque. Reed stood with his younger brother, both immaculately dressed and wearing identical blank expressions, though Alan’s jaw tightened whenever he looked at Julio.

Levesque, on the other hand, looked scared, his hands in tight fists, his eyes darting about the crowd, as if wondering who else Alec might pull from among it to challenge the only remaining council members. Good. That fear would keep them in line for the time being.