Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Caidrik staggered.
Bulwark followed and drove him back, punching with sharp precision. Caidrik blocked some of the hits. Others landed. Each one snapped his head or folded his body. He slipped in the churned slush and went down on one knee.
The pack roared.
Nadia pressed her hands to her mouth. Her heart felt too big for her chest. He had to get up. Right now.
Caidrik did. Slowly. Blood ran from his nose now, splashing onto the snow. He planted his fist in Bulwark’s thigh, and the other wolf howled, hopping back. Then Bulwark’s chin lowered, and he moved in again.
A blow to the jaw sent Caidrik sprawling this time, landing hard on his back. Snow sprayed up around him. Bulwark loomed over him with his fists clenched. “Stay down.”
Caidrik rolled onto his side and pushed himself up. He swayed on his feet.
Around Nadia, the pack went quiet.
Bulwark smiled again and went in for the kill.
He grabbed Caidrik by the throat and slammed him backward. Nadia screamed, the sound tearing out of her before she could stop it. Caidrik’s head and shoulders hit the ground hard. Bulwark dropped, knee first, to smash into Caidrik’s gut.
Caidrik retched. Blood sprayed the snow.
Nadia couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t look away.
Caidrik twisted and kicked Bulwark off him to hit the ground and slide away. They both leaped to their feet, circling and snarling.
Caidrik drove his shoulder into Bulwark’s hip and took him down. They hit the ground together, rolling, fists and elbows colliding. Snow flew. The sounds of them fighting to the death filled the air. It was ferocious and terrifying.
Bulwark snarled and punched Caidrik in the face again. Caidrik’s head snapped back, but he didn’t let go. He shifted his grip, bared his teeth, and punched hard into Bulwark’s ribcage. Once. Twice. A third time.
Bulwark grunted.
Nadia leaned forward so far she thought she might fall out of the stands.
Caidrik rolled them, using leverage instead of force, and got on top. Bulwark bucked hard, nearly throwing him off. Caidrik clung on with a relentlessness that was all him. He drove a fist into Bulwark’s face. Blood arced gracefully across the air.
The pack erupted.
Bulwark roared and surged, throwing Caidrik off. Both males struggled to their feet, staggering. They stood there for a heartbeat, chest to chest, both breathing hard now.
Bulwark swung wild.
Caidrik ducked under his brother’s arm and drove his forehead into Bulwark’s nose.
The crack echoed through the raging wind.
Bulwark reeled back, and his hands flew to his face. Caidrik didn’t give him time to regroup. He stepped in and landed a brutal punch to Bulwark’s temple. Bulwark’s knees buckled.
Caidrik caught him by the shoulders and slammed him down onto the icy turf.
Bulwark went still.
For a second, no one moved.
“End it,” Solomon shouted.
Nadia collapsed back against the bench with her entire body shuddering. Bussy pulled her into a half hug. Margaret cried openly now. The pack roared like the field itself might split.
Caidrik stood over Bulwark with blood dripping from his hands. He looked down at his brother, who was unconscious in the snow. Then he staggered away and motioned for two of the enforcers. “Take him to the edge of the land and let him go.” Bleeding, gasping, and barely standing, he looked at the pack. “I won’t kill a son in front of his mother.” He ducked his head toward his mother, where she stood, tears on her face.
The enforcers ran to do his bidding.
“Wait!” Solomon raised the grimoire. “The old laws are clear. You have to kill him.”
Caidrik turned to face the librarian. “No.”
Panic engulfed Nadia. “There’s a chance even you aren’t interpreting the passages perfectly, Solomon. Surely mercy was part of the culture, even millennia ago?”
“Yeah,” a male down the bleachers roared before many of the pack members yelled in agreement.
Solomon paled and looked at the loud crew. “I guess that’s fair? I mean, this was a clear win, even without a death. I could’ve taken that part of the grimoire a little too literally. “ He took a step back. “Everyone quiet down. I’m agreeing that we have a champion. Tonight we will declare you as our Alpha. Caidrik? Would you like to choose your mate?”
Caidrik’s gaze met hers. “Already have. Nadia?”
Solomon lowered the book. “Oh, no. Sorry. I thought you knew. You were allowed back in the challenge because of the trials today. The trophy who broke the chastity rules? She’s disqualified for life.”
Nadia dropped back onto the bleachers. Was that true?
Caidrik’s lips curled in a snarl. “Too fucking bad. We mated. She’s mine.”
Bussy gasped next to Nadia. “You mated?”
Nadia nodded, her entire body numb.
Margaret hugged her. “That’s perfect. There’s no going back.”
Solomon’s shoulders sagged. “Why didn’t you say so? You’re disqualified as well. You didn’t need to go through any of this.” He looked down at the book. “There’s no way for me to find a different interpretation this time. The grimoire is clear.”