Fate Stained - Part Two
Chapter 40 - Let The Challenge Begin

“You killed my son!” Alpha Rhys roared as his eldest son was put to work trying to hold him back.

Jayce shifted into his human form and shrugged his shoulders.

“Pack law states—”

“I know what fucking pack law states! He was an idiot but you baited him on purpose. You knew his control was wavering and you used it!”

“Prove it” Kyanite snapped, “the way I see it, your son broke pack law by engaging in combat after an Alpha challenge was made; a crime punishable by death - and Alpha Jayce dished out that punishment fair and square”

The anger that radiated from Alpha Rhys was palpable. Wave after wave of pain inflicted rage rolled off him and I could clearly see the concern in his other son’s eyes. To let your emotions control you before or during battle was dangerous; it made you sloppy and irrational. But Alpha Rhys’s middle son had just been killed in front of his eyes, there was no way he would be reigning in his emotions now - and I had to agree - my gut said Jayce had baited Trey on purpose.

“Fine. Let’s get this challenge over with. The sooner I dispose of this abomination” the mourning father fumed, his eyes narrowing on me, “the sooner I can drag his body back to Fern and watch as she cries over him before separating her deceitful head from her shoulders”

Alpha Rhys’s comment didn’t anger me the way he’d hoped. I was smarter than that. His words meant nothing to me. Once this sack of shit was dead he would pose no threat to either Fern or my sister. The fight hadn’t even started yet and already Jayce had him on the ropes.

“Clear a space!” Kyanite shouted.

Everyone, including myself, stepped back and created an empty space with enough room for the challenge to take place. I moved over to where Kyanite, Jayce and Cameron were standing and began stripping off my clothes.

“Short, sharp and savage” Jayce muttered, quiet enough so that none of the Point Invictus wolves could hear, “you can’t afford to be dragging this fight on any longer than necessary. No doubt you’ll be fighting Brandon the second his father’s corpse hits the ground and a tired wolf makes for a dead wolf”

“And I guess I owe you for the fact that I don’t have two sons to fight instead of just the one”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about”

Jayce gave me a little wink then grabbed my clothes and stepped right back to where our other wolves and panthers stood. Kyanite remained where he was, as did Brandon - they would act as the referees to the fight and announce any rule breaks. The only rules were essentially that there were no magics to be used and only the powers given naturally to us by the wolf Goddess. For me this meant that I could only fight in my wolf form.

I knew I was strong but I’d be lying if I said that the fact I’d never fought properly in my animal forms didn’t make me the slightest bit nervous. I’d trained a lot with my father and Dominic, but that was just sparring. I’d also had that fight with Quinn but Hades had been taking the reigns. This fight now was up to me and only me.

And me.

I smiled as Pieter’s voice echoed through my head and I was relieved knowing we had such a strong connection.

Let’s make this arsehole pay.

“Alpha Rhys, Flynn…step up and take your wolf forms!”

At the sound of Brandon’s voice both myself and the Alpha did as he said. I watched Rhys shift first, his dark grey wolf snarling and frothing at the mouth in front of me. Then it was my turn.

With a flick of the switch, Pieter took hold and my body snapped, twisted and transformed. Even over the top of the sound of breaking bones and re-aligning cartilage I could hear the gasps and growls from all around me as the witnesses took in the sight of my golden beast.

With a satisfied lick of my lips, I nodded my large head in the lesser sized wolf’s direction. There was no hiding the shock in his hazel eyes, a look which his son mirrored perfectly.

“Ok. Umm. Alpha Rhys, Flynn— this is a fight to the death. The winner becoming the Alpha of the Point Invictus pack. At which point this space is open to anyone else that wishes to challenge him to the title. Any following fights will be fought back to back until there are no further challenges. Understood?”

I nodded my head, my ice blue eyes not leaving Alpha Rhys for even a second. Finally he did the same and the fight was officially underway.

The grey wolf stepped forward and dug his claws into the dirt. His lips curled back over his disgusting teeth and he lowered himself slightly to the ground. If Rhys was trying to make himself look intimidating then I didn’t care. I remembered what Jayce had said ‘short, sharp and savage’, that was the only way to conserve the energy I’d need to fight Brandon. So, without hesitation I pushed forward on my powerful legs and tore through the dirt and towards the Point Invictus Alpha.

Quinn POV

I’d known all along that these pains hadn’t been simple braxton hicks contractions, but there was no way I would have said anything to Jayce. If Jayce had any incling that the baby was on the way, he wouldn’t have gone and I knew his men and Cameron needed him.

“Moira is on her way, as is Cassius, he just arrived”. Blake said.

Between contractions I’d managed to get upstairs and was now set up in my bedroom. Moira had set the space up with everything I needed for the birth and everything she needed if medical intervention was required.

“And Flynn?” I asked, tensing as another contraction took hold.

Blake looked down at her watch.

“That’s five minutes between contractions. They’re getting closer together”

The pain was intense as it started in my back and gradually moved around the front. I leant forward so my forearms rested on the bed and my tight belly hung underneath me, the gravity doing it’s thing to help ease my discomfort. Even though the contractions were very distracting, they weren’t enough to prevent me from seeing through Blake’s off tone and avoidance of my question. Thirty seconds later the contraction subsided and I slowed my breathing again before standing up and looking over to the mage-wolf hybrid.

“Blake” I said sternly, “where is my brother?”

“Shit” she whispered under her breath.

“Not telling me isn’t doing anything to ease my stress”

“Ahh. He— he went into the forest…with Kyan”

“He’s gone with the other’s? Why? I thought the plan was for him to stay here”

It didn’t make any sense. Flynn was meant to remain here in Fern Creek as a last line of defence. Why was I only just hearing about this now?

“Not exactly” Blake sighed, she rolled a large exercise ball over to me and I happily sat down on it as I waited for her to continue, “He and Kyan left before the others did…probably even before they finished their meeting”

“What? They went to take on fifteen wolves on their own? That’s a death sentence!”

A combination of anger and fear flooded my body. I was pissed that both my brother and my mate— Kyanite…would do something so stupid without even telling me but the feeling of anger was quickly surpassed with the mind numbing fear of what this could all mean.

“Quinn, you need to relax. This isn’t good for the baby, or you”

It was at that moment that the bedroom door opened and both Moira and Cassius stepped inside.

“Someone tells me my cousin is having a baby! How exciting!”

I didn’t even turn to face Cassius, my eyes still narrowed on the mage-wolf hybrid in front of me.

“Or— not so exciting. Quinn…Blake, is everything ok?”

“I just told her that Flynn and Kyanite are gone” Blake answered.

With a warm presence next to me, I felt Moira’s hand rest gently on my shoulder.

“Quinn please try not to let this upset you. Flynn is stronger than any of us can even comprehend. He will destroy Rhys in this Alpha challenge, trust me”

“Alpha challenge?!”

I groaned and grabbed my knees as another contraction took hold. Blake grimaced and Moira swore under her breath, clearly having thought that I’d already been told about the challenge.

“I’m sorry” the wolf doctor groaned, “Quinn, darling, just breathe ok? You need to breathe through these contractions or they’ll tire you out”

Even though in this moment all I really wanted to do was curse and yell and tear both Kyanite and my brother a new one…I knew Moira was right. I breathed in deeply through my nose for four counts then out through my mouth for four. After what felt like forever, the contraction finally subsided and I straightened myself on the ball.

“Thirty five seconds” Blake noted, “five seconds lounger than the last”

“And how far apart?” Moira asked.

“Four minutes”

Cassius crouched down in front of me and placed his hand on my knee. It felt like forever since I’d seen him and his presence did it’s bit to ease a little of my stress.

“Flynn is challenging Rhys to the title of Alpha?” I breathed, “Why?”

“I don’t know. He didn’t speak to anyone before he left, except for Kyanite…obviously. Jayce believes it’s his way of trying to eliminate some of the threat. If your brother can take out even just Alpha Rhys then it considerably increases Fern Creek’s chances of defeating them with as little casualties as possible”

I didn’t doubt what Blake was saying at all and it sounded precisely like something Flynn would do because, if given the chance, I would have done the exact same thing.

“If his sons are with him and Flynn wins the challenge then they will challenge him immediately. That’s potentially four fights back to back…if he even makes it that far”

Moira sighed and began rubbing my back as she looked at her watch.

“He will get that far, you know he will. That brother of yours is stronger than even he realises”

The familiar aching pinch started in my lower back again and I closed my eyes, leaning forward on my knees. Without a second’s hesitation, Cassius gripped my hands softly and Moira applied a little more pressure with her back rubs as the contraction built.

There was something so empowering, yet so terrifying about being in the cusps of labour. The contractions, the pain, it was all completely out of my control. My body was doing precisely what it was designed to do and my brain and pain receptors just had to suck it up and deal with it.

“You’re doing great Quinn. Breathe through it. I can’t ask you to do anymore that what you’re already doing”

With every contraction I’d noticed that the pain and intensity increased. The worst of the discomfort was definitely in my back but with this contraction I could feel a lot of pressure in my thighs.

“I need to stand” I moaned, already pushing myself up to my feet.

Cassius quickly stood and took my body weight as I used him to lean on and Moira rolled the ball out from underneath me. But now that I was on my feet I was in even more pain and struggled to hold my weight at all.

“Where is it hurting Quinn?” Blake asked.

“Back. Legs”

“Ok. Let’s try kneeling, shall we?”

Like a puppet on a string, I allowed the trio to move me where they pleased. If there was a position that any of them could suggest where I’d be more comfortable, then I was all for it.

“Here, lean on this” Moira rolled the exercise ball in front of me and lowered me down as the contraction faded away.

With my knees now safely on the ground I leant forward so my upper body hugged the ball which allowed me to rock a little bit too.

“Quinn, do you mind if I feel your belly before the next one comes?”

I nodded weakly and the wolf doctor sat next to me, her hands pushing and prodding my tight bump.

“Hmm”

“Problem?” I breathed.

“Not exactly” Moira stepped back, giving me room so I could rock again, “the baby is posterior, which means her spine in currently up against your spine. It doesn’t necessarily make for a more difficult birth, but it can make for a longer, more painful labour”

I laughed tiredly and took a sip of the water that Cassius offered me.

“Longer labour. That’s good”

“Ahhhh, why?” Blake snorted.

“Because then hopefully Jayce will be back in time to help deliver her”