He stalked toward the closed gate with Dante and Tao flanking him, blanking his expression the way he had done as a child whenever his father and uncle decided to torment him for their own entertainment – being stoic had always agitated the hell out of both of them. Trey stopped as he came to stand directly where Darryl stood on the opposite side of the gate. His wolf growled inside his head, affronted by this male’s scent and reaching for the surface with his eagerness to get to him.
Looking as smug as all shit, Darryl grinned at him. “Time’s up. You really should have just given in to me at the beginning, Trey. I’ll tell you what, since you’re my nephew and all, I’ll give you one last chance to yield to me.”
Trey couldn’t help that his mouth twitched into a smile, especially since Dante and Tao were chuckling. “Yield? My mate’s right; you do live in La La Land.”
“You can’t honestly mean to accept my challenge.”
“And why’s that?”
“Look around you.” He gestured to his numerous supporters. “Forty against one hundred and seventy. I think it’s safe to say that you’re outnumbered.”
“If that bothers you so much, let’s keep this as a one-to-one battle. Let’s take care of this Alpha to Alpha.”
Darryl’s fear didn’t show on his face, but it could be heard in his voice. “I don’t think so, Trey – we both know your enforcers would attack me after I’d killed you. They have no honor.”
Dante and Tao growled at the insult and gave Darryl looks that promised he’d pay for that. But Darryl was Trey’s.
“You can’t win this, nephew. You never had any chance of winning it. Not even mating with the daughter of an influential wolf could help you out with this. I’m looking forward to becoming better acquainted with her, even if she is latent.”
A growl trickled from Trey’s mouth. His wolf wanted to sink his jaws into this male’s throat and feel his blood gush into his mouth. “I’m pissed enough with you as it is, Uncle. If I were you, I’d be very careful about pushing me even further.”
Darryl laughed, but there was a nervous tremor to it. “One last chance. Give in to my requests, and we can avoid this battle.”
As Trey backed away from the gate with Dante and Tao, his uncle smiled – obviously believing Trey was backing down. Snort. Like that would ever happen. “Ryan, open the gate.” The smile immediately fell from Darryl’s face and was replaced by a dark scowl.
As the gate creaked open slowly, more wolves stepped out of the trees – some from behind Trey, some from his left side, and some from his right, until there were approximately one hundred and fifty wolves standing with him. It didn’t make the numbers strictly even, but it was pretty damn close. He noticed Quinn was grinning like a kid in a toy store. The other nine Alphas that Trey had met at the diner only yesterday looked just as eager and bloodthirsty.
Darryl’s eyes widened and he swallowed hard. His face was a question mark.
Trey cocked his head. “You didn’t really think I’d reveal to the entire pack just how many wolves were joining me when I knew you had an informant who could tell you, did you?” Darryl’s eyes widened even more, though Trey wouldn’t have thought it was possible until then. “Oh yes I know all about that.” Finally the gate was fully open. “Know this: it doesn’t matter how many wolves you have protecting you, Darryl. I will get to you and I will kill you.”
Red in the face, Darryl howled. Taking that as a signal to attack, his supporters instantly shifted into their wolf forms and began galloping through the gate. Trey’s own allies followed his lead as he ran and leapt, rapidly shifting midway through the leap into his wolf form, and clamped his jaws closed around one of his enemy’s throats.
“It’s started,” Taryn told Greta, Brock, and Hope. Grace and Lydia, who were on either side of her, already knew through their link with their own mates. Echoes of Trey’s anger and rage reached her through their bond, along with his determination and focus. Even though she knew just how strong and powerful he was, she was so damn scared for him and so damn pissed off that she couldn’t be there. Of course she knew it was best that she wasn’t, but the idea that he could at some point be hurt and she wouldn’t be there to heal him was haunting her, mocking her healing gift.
Lydia, who was fidgeting crazily with worry, rubbed a hand over her face. “God, this is nerve wracking.”
Grace’s smile was weak. “They’re going to be fine.” Shakily, she added, “They have to be.”
At Taryn’s wince, everyone looked at her. “Trey’s gone feral.”
“In this instance, it’s a good thing,” said Greta.
Grace grabbed the glass beside Taryn that was filled with another weird concoction of hers. “Here, drink the rest of this.”
Taryn shook her head and placed a hand to her stomach. “I couldn’t eat or drink a single thing right now, I feel too nauseous.”
“So do I,” mumbled Lydia.
“It’s the nerves,” Greta told them. “Where’s Selma?”
“In her room,” replied Hope. “She’s refusing to come out and she won’t let me in. She says I’ve betrayed her because I’ve chosen to give my loyalty to Trey and Taryn. To be honest, I always thought Selma would do that too after a little while. I’ve never seen her so worked up before.”
“Maybe you should go see her,” suggested Brock with an understanding smile. “Selma acts tough, but she must be worried. No one should be alone right now.” Hope nodded and left the room.
“How long do you think it will go on for?” Grace asked Taryn.
It was Brock who answered. “Could be twenty minutes, could be forty-five minutes. It depends whether or not Darryl’s winning. If he’s not, some of his allies might leave. It’s unnerving to think that some of them might have already gotten past our own wolves and are on their way to the caves.”
Lydia made a low whining sound. “Don’t say things like that.”
“We have to be prepared for it happening. There are only forty of us out there. Darryl will have brought at least a hundred, if not more.”