Chapter Sixty-Four
“How are you feeling?” Graham asked above her head.
Catherine continued to run her fingers over the hair of his arms. “Aren’t I supposed to be asking you that?”
His chest rumbled with laughter drawing her fingers to the lines of tattoos etched there. “I didn’t take a shift suppressant this morning.”
“Oh, yeah, that,” Catherine felt around for the wolf-side of herself and shrugged. “I feel how I always feel.”
Graham touched her chin and lifted. She craned her neck back to see his face. The windows of the car had fogged up during their first session and they’d remained a protective veil ever since. The patter of the rain on the roof had been enough to lull them to sleep for a few hours until a loud clap of thunder roused them enough to hold each other while they thought to themselves. Graham leaned down and touched his lips gently to her forehead.
He ran his thumb over her cheek. He sighed. “We have to head out soon.”
Catherine sat up so that he could follow suit. She reached in the front seat to find all of their clothes. Once he’d slipped his pants on, Graham climbed to the driver seat and revved the engine. Catherine climbed up with him and took his hand before he put the car in gear and headed toward the setting of the challenge.
The clock on the dash told them it was half an hour before the moon was at its highest. They drove in silence. Every few minutes Catherine would glance over at Graham expecting to see him running his hand through his hair or for his leg to be bouncing. Instead she saw her mate as calm as he normally appeared. The sharp features of his face were relaxed. A small smirk pulled at his full lips and his reddish-brown eyes were filled with contentment.
Graham turned the car down a gravel road leading into the woods outside of Blackmoore. The dark road appeared to lead nowhere until a torch brightened up the dark. More torches began to appear, lining the road. Catherine noticed people walking through the woods. Despite the rain, groups of people were making their way to the arena. Many of them seemed to be intoxicated. Women were catcalling groups of men. Men were holding each other up as they whistled at the women. She noticed several blurry forms running and a few of the men suddenly shifted to follow the blurs. Howls echoed through the air, seeming to come from every direction possible.
The road eventually opened up into a field which had been converted into a parking lot. Graham parked and stepped out. He pulled his t-shirt back on as he made his way around the car for Catherine’s door. When she stepped out, he immediately gripped her upper arm and pulled her into his chest.
“MacTavish!” someone screamed.
“Grey!”
“Tavish!”
Graham turned in the general direction of the people yelling and gave a distracted wave and nod of his head.
“Come on, Baby,” he whispered in her ear.
Graham kept her pinned to his body as they waded through the throngs of people toward the area marked off for the challenge. Past the parking lot stood a circle, outlined by a wooden fence. Metal bleachers were situated around one side of the circle. The area was packed. The bleachers were mostly taken up, leaving crowds of people hanging off the fence line. Despite being pressed firmly against her mate, men were leering in her direction. One man, made brave by alcohol, made the mistake of brushing up against her.
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Before she had a chance to acknowledge what happened, Graham grabbed the man by his shirt collar and slammed his fist into his face. The man crumpled to the ground, groaning as he clutched his broken jaw. Graham pulled Catherine back against himself and wrapped both arms around her this time. Several onlookers realized who he was and swarmed the couple.
“Grey! So glad you showed up! Betty, you owe me $50!”
“He’s here! He’s here! Where’s Stuart?!”
“This is going to be so good.”
“Good? It’ll be over in five seconds. I don’t know why everyone is wasting their time.”
“Hey, Man,” a familiar voice broke through the melee.
“Hey,” Graham said, holding his hand out to shake Lucas’. Lucas stepped up beside Catherine to help them make their way toward
the circle. “How do the borders look?
“Good. Theo’s still out there with the team you selected.”
“How’d you decide who got to watch this time?” Graham asked.
Lucas chuckled. “We counted chest hairs.”
“What are you doing here then?”
“He had three more than me.”
Catherine laughed, drawing the attention of the two men. They were standing beside the circle now. Graham’s eyes moved around the crowd, his gaze predatory. His grip on her tightened as more people trickled in and the added bodies pushed everyone closer to the action. For the first time since leaving Jensen’s office, Graham seemed on edge. Catherine placed her hand on his chest but Graham removed it and intertwined their fingers.
He leaned down as if to kiss her and so only she could hear. “Not now, Baby. I need it.” He kissed her lightly and she smiled while
she shook her head.
The crowd around them quieted. Graham’s head swiveled to the right. Across the circle, she saw Stuart, Jensen and Rebecca walk to the fence. Jensen kept his face unreadable as he glanced around the crowd. Everyone ducked their heads in a sign of respect and his chest puffed out slightly. She noticed the moment Jensen saw them. Graham’s body locked up like an electric shock had just gone through him. He nodded once and then started guiding Catherine toward the bleachers.
Jensen and Rebecca moved around the circle toward them while Stuart took the opportunity to hang back and socialize with a few of his followers. As they grew closer to the Alpha and Luna, Catherine realized Rebecca didn’t appear to be as composed as she normally was. Though outwardly there wasn’t a hair out of place, her eyes seemed to hold a great depth of sadness. She was already mourning the loss of her son. Catherine’s heart squeezed at the thought of what she must be going through.
When the two couples were finally in front of each other, Graham reached his hand out to shake Jensen’s. He then bowed slightly to Rebecca who gave him a shaky smile. They were all silent for a moment as Graham and Jensen held a silent council between them. Finally Jensen sighed and nodded. He turned to Rebecca and held his hand up for her to start walking up the bleachers to their reserved seats.
With the Alpha and Luna now present, the challenge could begin. A mic squealed and everyone clasped their ears as the MC apologized. Lucas clapped his hands together and started to bounce on the balls of his feet in excitement. Graham sighed behind her. Catherine turned in his arms and looked up into his stern face. She touched his cheeks gently.
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“You’ll be careful?” she asked.
It earned her a smirk and she was proud of herself for it. He brushed his thumb across her cheek. “I’ve never had someone here to
tell me to be careful before.”
“I wasn’t telling, I was asking,” she responded.
“I’ll do my best. And what will you do?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist.
“I’ll stay with Jensen,” she said, looking over her shoulder at the alpha who was waiting for her.
“For no reason will you be with anyone but him. I don’t care what the reasoning is, you will stay by his side. Even if my mom or Lucas were to tell you to go with them, you won’t. Jensen is the only one who can protect you if I’m caught up,” he told her sternly.
“Okay, I’ll be fine. Just worry about yourself,” she said.
“I’m not worried.”
“Fine, I’ll stay with Jensen and worry about you.”.
Graham chuckled and leaned down to kiss her. Several people cheered the kiss nearby while others groaned or growled in jealousy. He placed his forehead against hers.
“I love you, Catherine.”
“I love you too. Now go and bring that puppy to his knees,” she encouraged.
Graham smirked and nodded. He kissed her one last time before turning. Lucas smacked him on the shoulder and together they
walked toward the circle entrance.
Catherine followed Jensen up the steps of the bleachers to a row that was set aside for him. She let him in first so he could slide in beside his mate. Rebecca took his hand roughly between both of hers and squeezed. He whispered something in her ear that caused her to sigh deeply and press her forehead against his shoulder.
“Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen!” the announcer called. The crowd around them cheered. Across the circle she could see Graham and Stuart lounging by the entrance, not looking at each other. “Welcome to Blackmoore’s first challenge in three years! This is a special one. Tonight we will see who will become our rightful Beta!” Again the crowd broke into a frenzied applause.
Loud clapping brought her attention to Lucas who was sliding down the bench to join her followed by Mary and Natalie. Natalie waved like crazy and Mary gave a brief flit of her wrist while her face contorted with nerves.
“Theo’s at the border so I got nothing better to do,” Natalie said as if she had to explain her presence.”
“Nothing better to do?” Lucas clicked his tongue. The announcer continued droning on about the merits of a Beta and the different accomplishments of both competitors. “What’s better than watching your brother kick another fucker’s ass for a title said fucker doesn’t deserve?”
“Language Lucas,” Mary chastised.
“Sorry Mrs. MacTavish,” he said while giving Catherine a quick roll of his eyes.
“It’s nothing I haven’t seen before. After the second one it just got old,” Natalie explained.
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*Second one?” Catherine asked. The entire group turned to look at her. “Graham has been challenged more than twice?”
Everyone around her laughed. Lucas wiped a tear from his face. “Oh yeah, Graham’s been challenged… How many has it been, Alpha?”
Catherine turned to look at her father who was studying the crowd with a penetrating gaze.
“This is the fifth,” he answered.
“Fifth? He’s been challenged five times?”
“Well,” Lucas began. “He never wanted to be Beta…”
“He never wanted to be Lead Warrior either,” Natalie said.
“Or Lieutenant of the frontline,” Mary added.
“Or head of the trackers,” Lucas said. He shrugged. “People always saw him as a threat. He is good at what he does and keeps his head down. Makes people nervous. Especially when he does that thing where he just shuts his mouth and looks at you like he knows every dark thing about you. Makes people do and say stupid things.”
“Like challenge Graham MacTavish in a one-on-one fight to the death,” Natalie exclaimed causing the people closest to them to burst out in cheer.
“You’re a freak,” Lucas said. “Sit your ass down.” Lucas reached around Mary to grab Natalie’s arm and haul her back to the bench. “They’re getting into the ring.”
Everyone looked back at the circle and watched as Graham and Stuart walked toward the center of it.
“As is per custom,” the MC continued. “We have a third party here to watch and pass judgement on fairness. We welcome Alpha Lucien to the circle!”
The alpha lycan was met with a mixture of excitement and nerves which presented itself in a half-cheer, half-nervous silence to circulate around the bleachers. Lucien walked up to Graham and Stuart and shook both of their hands before he returned to the circle’s edge to lay lazily back against the railing. The light drizzle started to shift to a heavier rain again and the tension in the arena started to spike.
“Without further adieu, let’s get this challenge started! Both men have read the rules of the match. First man to submit or die is deemed the loser! Until a clear winner is established, the challenge will continue. Once the bell tolls, you may begin!”
As if he’d just set a timed detonation, the MC ran off toward the entrance of the circle and slammed the gate behind him. Catherine looked over at her father who seemed to be stiff with nerves.
“I’m sorry this is happening,” she whispered. Jensen’s jaw ticked, the only sign he’d heard her. “I hope once this is all over we can move on and bring the pack closer together. Tomorrow the pack will have a great Beta and Graham and I can finally move forward with our bond.”
Jensen turned to her finally. His eyes were filled with sympathy until they glazed over and hardened. “The outcome of this match won’t change anything. Yes, we will have a new beta…” Rebecca whimpered slightly beside him. Jensen squeezed her hand. “But it will be some time before I give him my blessing to mark you.”
Catherine’s mouth fell open at his words. A bell tolled in the distance and her head whipped back to the circle. When she looked down, she noticed her mate staring up at her. She tried to change her face to one of excitement but she couldn’t shake her father’s words. Again the bell chimed and Graham’s attention turned to the man whose torso was lengthening with his shift. Graham pulled
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Chapter Sixty-Four
his shirt over his head and jumped back just in time to avoid the first slash of Stuart’s claws.
Surrendering to Destiny
