CHAPTER FOUR

It's clear automatically that the fight is one to the death. The old alpha leaps up, and snaps at Raphael’s neck, going for the veins that would bleed out if ripped through like the old alpha wants to.

This is a fight to the death. This is a fight to shed all their blood. And my heart leaps out of my chest as I panic for the man I've grown to care so deeply about.

It's more than just caring about him deeply though. I know he's my mate. He's the one person for me. He's the wolf I'm destined to be with.

And he just might be destined to die. I can't even fathom it.

“How dare you,” the old alpha snarls, as he snaps at Rafael. “Your claim is illegitimate, I told you that. You’re a rogue. You have no place in trying to be in alpha.”

“I have more grounds to be an alpha than you do,” Rafael says. “I won this fight fair. Now, bow down to me or I'll have no choice but to kill you. I don't want things to end like this.”

“It's almost cute how you think that you could end me,” the old alpha says. “You're the one who will die if we fight to the death. You're the one who needs to give up your position.

“I'm giving you one last opportunity to get out of this. Bow down to me and I'll let you live.”

“Never,” Rafael says.

“Then, be prepared to die,” the old alpha says.

At that, the old alpha wiggles out from underneath Rafael and leaps up at his throat. The old alpha is still strong, and he's more determined than before not to be beaten.

The fight is more intense than the last one, as they both know it's a fight to the death. They both know that more than ever, everything is banking on who wins this.

The old alpha lunges at Raphael, nipping him on his front leg and taking a huge chunk out of his flesh.

Rafael howls in pain, and I feel terrible for him. I want to rush in and help him. But that's not how these things are done. It would make him look weak if I did so. So, I'm forced to just stand there and watch.

Though he's clearly in a lot of pain, Rafael comes at the alpha with vengeance. He leaps at his backside and takes a bite out of his rear leg, causing blood to spray over the ground.

This only serves to anger the old alpha more, and they wrestle in a flurry of bites, claw marks, and moves of pure muscle as they try to get the upper hand.

The fight is nasty, and it seems like the alpha might win. It seems like he might regain his place in the pack.

I notice that's because Rafael is reluctant to kill the old alpha. I don't think he wants this to result in death. I think he wants the alpha to give up on his own. He doesn't want to harm anyone in this pack. Not even the person who wants to kill him.

I worry that might get him killed though as the old alpha pins Rafael to the ground. His teeth are dangerously close to Rafael’s neck. It seems like he's about to win the fight.

But then Rafael realizes the true danger he's in. He's able to topple over and pin the alpha to the ground. He knows that if he doesn't end this soon, he'll be the one who's killed. So, he lashes out at the old alpha who screams up in terror.

“This is your last chance to surrender,” Raphael said.

“Never,” the alpha replies.

Rafael leans down for the killing blow.

Before he can do so though, the beta lunges out at him, knocking him off of the alpha.

I've never seen anything like it. That's highly against the rules. No one else is supposed to interfere in a fight like this. I don't understand what's going on.

What are they going to do to my mate? I can't lose him now.

I want to step forward and say something, but I have to see how this plays out first.

“You're under arrest,” the beta growls. “Turn back into your human form right now, or all of us will descend upon you. You will be killed.”

Rafael looks at him in horror. This is not at all how these challenges are supposed to go. They have no good reason for arresting Rafael. He wasn't doing anything wrong except challenging an alpha who challenged him already.

“I don't understand what's going on,” Rafael snarls. “What on earth am I being arrested for?”

“You're being arrested for trying to kill the alpha,” Jacob, the beta says. “You have no right to try to challenge him you rogue. Therefore, this challenge isn't legitimate. It's just a murder attempt that we won't stand for in this pack.”

“That isn't fair,” Rafael says. “None of this is right. That's not how these things go.”

“This is exactly how they're going right now,” Jacob said. “And though you may think that you can kill our alpha, you won't be able to stand a chance against all of us. And we will all attack you if you don't give in now.”

Raphael looks at the wolves surrounding him, all of the old alpha's friends and henchman. He doesn't stand a chance against them all. He may have been able to win a fight against one of them, but not all of them. He is stuck.

Not wanting to risk his life on a death mission, Rafael turns into his human form. Jacob turns into his human form and handcuffs Rafael with silver handcuffs.

I want to speak up. I want to say something. But now I can't fight all those wolves either. There's nothing I can do as they force Rafael up.

“Let this be a warning to all of you,” Jacob says, looking out at the rest of the pack. “This is what you get when you try to murder the alpha. You'll be locked up in a prison cell for the night. You just better hope we show you mercy.”

With that, Jacob leads Rafael away from everyone. I watch in horror, knowing there's nothing I can do.