Her Mates by Tamara White
Twenty-Four
This is it. Today’s the day my mates will fight for their lives in a trial to prove they are worthy of being my mates.
Last night at dinner, Luke announced the order in which they would compete, explaining to the rest of the room that they would be facing six enforcers each instead of the traditional four.
The order that they will compete is Stephen, Trey, Mitchell, Jonnie, Jason, Pete, Nate, and lastly, Cam.
“How do they win? Is it just a whoever stays conscious type of thing?” I ask Tim, Dad, and Laura, all of whom are sitting beside me.
There were chairs set up around the training arena when we got down here so we could watch what the trial. There aren’t enough chairs for everyone, so only the more important members of the pack are allowed to use them. The rest are forced to stand or sit on the ground, which honestly would probably be a lot comfier than these thin plastic chairs.
“Yes and no. When we competed, it was based on who could protect our queen better against multiple attackers. For you, the elders have devised a point system for your mates. They each have three minutes to defeat their attackers. At the end of the match, the elders write the mate’s name on a card and their score out of ten, then at the end of the fights, they tally them up. They’ve told us the four who have the highest scores will make it through to the next trial with you,” Tim explains, watching the pack members.
James walks through the crowd, taking a seat at my side. “Hi, Dani. How are you doing? Nervous?”
“Nah, I know they’ll do well,” I tell him, being as casual as I can while inside I’m screaming. My boys are fighting to get into the top four as my mates. I want six. How can I be with only four?
“What happens to the ones who don’t make it through to the next trial?” I inquire.
“Well, it all depends on you. They can still hang around if that’s what you’re worried about, but you won’t be allowed to be intimate with them. No kissing, hugging, or touching. You can only be their friend once they’re no longer in the running for the trials,” Laura says sadly.
I kind of figured I wouldn’t be able to, but that doesn’t make things any easier. The elders all stand from their seats at the front of the training arena, ready to begin today’s trial. Sonja steps forward to greet everyone.
“Welcome to the second Alpha Pair trial. Today, our future Alpha Queen has presented her eight mates to compete. They must prove that when the time comes, they can defend her from any threat, such as the rogues we have constantly attacking our packs.
“The four competitors with the highest points at the end will be deemed worthy of the Alpha King position and will move on to complete the next trial with the Alpha Queen.
“Now, without further ado, I give you our current Alpha King and Queen,” she finishes, bowing deeply and stepping to the side as Luke and Carrie move forward.
“Hello, everyone. My mate and I are here for two reasons today. Firstly, to watch the trials in which our son is proudly competing in,” Luke says, gesturing over at Cam who smiles tightly, not enjoying the spotlight. Or it could be that his father is blatantly being kind when he’s anything but.
“And secondly, we would like to announce to the packs that my mate and I are expecting a child. It’s very early days yet, but we want you all to be a part of this wondrous journey. Now, let the trials begin,” he shouts, making the surrounding people cheer with joy.
Just great. He’s turned our trials into a publicity stunt. Gaining sympathy with his pregnant mate is low, even for him.
I watch as Stephen steps onto the field. It’s going to take twenty-four minutes for all of them to fight, but it’s going to feel like hours while watching those I care about compete for their lives.
The fight with Stephen is over pretty quickly. He’s out cold after barely a minute. I try my best not to smile when he’s knocked out.
Trey steps up and lasts slightly longer, but he gets surrounded and taken down. Rookie mistake. You don’t let attackers box you in like that, then you have nowhere to run to and you get your ass kicked. I can’t help the smile that breaks free when he’s knocked out, but at least I hold back the laugh.
Mitchell is next, and I scoot forward on the edge of my seat, watching with bated breath. He’s fighting six people, six enforcers who train to defend their pack every day. What makes things worse is that they’re all part of Luke’s enforcers. They’re just as ruthless as the ones I killed in the woods.
He fights fast and quick, lasting the full three minutes and knocking two of them out cold. At the end of it, he’s still standing, but barely. He goes back to the others and drops to the ground, panting heavily. Jonnie steps forward as two other enforcers pull the unconscious ones off the field and replace them.
Jonnie’s fight goes much the same way. He knocks out one and sends another to the ground, ready to finish him off when the buzzer sounds. That doesn’t stop one of them from landing a punch to the side of his head. Blood goes spraying, and I’m up and out of my chair before I even realize it, pinning the enforcer on the ground with me growling over him.
“Stop! The fight is disqualified due to interference,” Luke calls.
“How dare you? The fight was over, and this brute threw another punch! How is it interference?” I demand.
I help Jonnie up to see if he’s okay. There’s blood running from his nose, which means it’s probably broken.
“Are you ready? This is going to hurt,” I tell him, gently touching his nose.
He nods, grimacing when more blood sprays down his front and onto his bare chest. I brace my hand on his shoulder and let him hold my waist for support. There’s a clear crack when I set his nose.
Luke grabs me by the arms, swinging me around and getting up in my face. “You may think because you are next in line to be our Alpha Queen that it gives you special treatment, but not in my pack. Now get off the field!”
My wolf is pissed! She pushes her will and we watch in satisfaction as he backs off.
“You listen to me. I understand you are my king and I respect that. What I don’t understand is why you are bending the rules for your own benefit. If that was you and your mate stepped in, would you react the same? Would you want the one responsible reprimanded or would you instead allow them to blame it on your mate for caring about her partner?”
With each word I speak, he pales considerably. Not because of my words, but because mine are loud enough for the whole pack to hear. There are whispers among the pack, and amid them is “Why is he disqualifying him?” I guess the people really don’t like favoritism.
“Fine,” he grumbles, leaving me with Jonnie.
“Are you okay?” I ask him.
“Yes, thank you for defending me. It was very sweet,” he replies, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek before running back over to the others.
Walking over to my seat, I hear more whispers among the pack. Things ranging from, “That’s so sweet,” to “Did you feel her wolf?” It’s both embarrassing and exciting. They’re already starting to feel my power.
I sit down, and the next three fights go better than I expected. Pete, Jason, and Nate only manage to knock out two, but at least they last the whole three minutes. It’s a lot harder than I thought to watch them, but at least they haven’t been hurt like Jonnie. I don’t know whether the enforcers were scared of them or me, but either way, no one made a shot that wasn’t justified.
It’s Cam’s turn now. My heart races as I watch him step out onto the field. The others each had the choice of wearing a shirt or not, but Jonnie was the only one who chose to go shirtless until Cam.
He’s wearing a dark blue, button up shirt and jeans. I expected him to fight fully clothed rather than reveal his scars to the pack, or his tattoo—not many people know about it from what he’s told me.
Cam turns to face me, staring me down with a heated look in his eyes as he slowly unbuttons his shirt. It sends shivers through me, the spark of lust and determination in his gaze.
He rips the shirt off, throwing it to the side, baring his scars for the pack to see. Murmurs spread through them, and I can tell they’re trying to figure out how he got such horrible scars.
Two of the enforcers are at Luke’s side, and he’s whispering in their ears. From where they are, I doubt anyone can hear what he’s saying, which frightens me. They nod and move onto the field, facing Cam and waiting for the signal to start.
The fight begins easily enough, and Cam knocks two of them out within the first minute. The other four try to circle him, but he’s quick, striking one down with a kick to the throat.
Three left, and just over a minute to go.
One of the ones who was talking to Luke dives at Cam, and I see the shine of silver in his hand.
“Dad? Is that a knife?” I ask, pointing to the sheen just as he stabs Cam.
“Yeah, it is. I’m sorry, sweetie, but you can’t interfere until the time’s up. If you do, it will disqualify him,” he responds, standing to watch.
“What? I have to watch him bleed out after being stabbed and possibly get stabbed again?”
“Unfortunately, it’s part of the trials. We aren’t supposed to have weapons, but even if we do, if we stop the trial, he’ll still be disqualified.”
Crap, crap, and double crap. How the fuck is any of that fair? They have rules that don’t have to be followed?
Am I really expected to stand by and watch him be butchered by his father’s minions and not do anything? It looks like the boys feel just the same, because Jason and Nate are being held back by Jonnie, Pete, Mitchell, and Tim.
Cam knocks the fourth one out and is left with two knife wielding enforcers. The bigger enforcer, a guy easily six-foot-six, lunges, stabbing Cam along his ribs, making him wince and roll away before landing on his feet again. I’m counting down the seconds on the clock, waiting for the moment I can interfere. I won’t let him die.
Twenty-three seconds to go.
The other enforcer is limping slightly from damage Cam inflicted to his knee, yet they still try to gang up on him.
Fourteen seconds to go.
The first swings at Cam, but he dodges. Silver must be addling his system, though, because he stumbles, giving them the chance to jump on him, stabbing him over and over. I leap to my feet. I need to help him, but Dad’s holding me back.
“Dani, you can’t. You have to wait,” he begs.
“Dad, they’re killing him,” I cry, watching as he’s stabbed in what feels like slow motion. They’ve already stabbed him eighteen times!
The timer goes off and Dad releases me. I run across the field, shifting in midair. I grab the first enforcer off Cam, but he fights back. I lunge and rip out his throat, throwing him to the side.
The remaining enforcer backs off. Jason and Nate are there, pulling him away from me as I shift back.
“Cam, oh God, you have to shift and heal,” I plead, moving my hand over his wounds and trying to stop the blood, but there’s too much.
“Dani, he can’t shift. It’s the only rule of the trial, you know that,” James reminds me, sidling up to my side. Pete joins me on my other side, placing a coat over my shoulders, trying to help me staunch the flood of Cam’s blood.
“You are not allowed to die!” I scream, shaking Cam by the chest.
“Jeez, Dani, he’s dying and you shake him?” Pete’s trying to joke, but it’s not funny.
“Dani, think. You healed Jake, you can heal Cam,” James whispers.
Yes! I can heal him! I focus on healing Cam the same way I did Jake, but it’s not working.
“It’s not working! Why isn’t it working?” I scream in frustration.
“You have to relax. If you’re panicked, it’s not going to work,” James tells me calmly.
“How am I supposed to relax? The man I love is dying! All because his father is a sadistic son of a bitch!”
Luke chooses that moment to interrupt us. “I demand you move at once! I wish to be with my son in his final moments.”
Hearing his words causes something inside of me to snap. My wolf and I are one, and we know what this bastard deserves.
I rise up, feeling our power flowing through us. I face him and my expression sends him stumbling back.
“You will stop! You hold no power over me, and if you’re not careful, I will rip your throat out the same way I did your scum of an enforcer,” I utter softly.
“How dare you speak to me that way? Threatening the king? You deserve to be put to death,” he sneers, trying to drum up support from the packs.
“No, you deserve death! You tortured your own son, left scar after scar littered across his back, all because you wanted a toy to play with. Now, you want to make demands on me when I try to save him? Tell me something, Your Majesty. Did you give your enforcers the knives to kill Cam?” I ask, my wolf pushing force into my words.
“Yes, he was in my way,” he answers simply before paling, realizing what he said.
“Detain him until I heal Cam,” I order James and Tim, knowing between the two of them they will overpower him.
Dropping to my knees, I feel Cam’s heart slowing and start to panic, thinking I’ve wasted too much time. I focus on my feelings for him to calm myself.
Closing my eyes, my wolf and I travel into his body, giving him our strength, our power, and our heart.
Once I give him everything, I slump down and open my eyes, glad to see his injuries are gone, but there are fresh scars marking each wound. His father will pay for this.
