Filed To Story: Their Bullied and Broken Mate by Teri Petry
“Esteemed members of the Spirit Mountain pack. Today we come before you to honor a request for an Alpha Challenge. Alpha Lawrence DeLuca has been challenged by his son, Damian DeLuca, for his title of Alpha. As speaker of The Royal Council, I approved this challenge. Damian, since you have issued the challenge, it is up to you to issue the terms. What say you?” he asked.
I stepped forward, coming almost nose to nose with my father. While staring into his eyes, I clearly stated, “To the death. I will allow a submission, but death will follow that submission. The only way one of us leaves these grounds is in spirit only.”
“Alpha Lawrence, do you accept these terms?” the elder asked. My father accepted the terms, and we were let in the center of the training field. From the sidelines, Elder Xavier finished explaining the rules.
“Gentlemen. This is a one on one. There will be no outside interference in any way. If someone interferes, you lose, and will be put to death. The person interfering will also be put to death. There is no time limit. No weapons. You may fight in either human or wolf form. If the rules are understood, you should begin,” he finished.
My dad started to circle me. My eyes never left him. I could tell he was about to lunge at me, and I was ready for it. Sure enough, after one full circle, he lunged at me from the left. I grabbed him and slammed him to the ground, and punched him hard in the face. I was able to get in around 4 good hits before he rolled away from me. “Is that all you got my boy?” he taunted. I stood straight up and carefully watched him as he became upright as well.
We went back and forth with one another for a long time. I was trying to wear him out, and it was working. Just not fast enough. I called out to my wolf, Zion, and asked him what he thought the best strategy to tire him was. He told me that we should shift, and use his speed against my dad. It was as good an idea as any, and I started to back away from my father. I crouched down, and prepared to shift.
Dad sensed what I was doing and shifted quickly. He started to run towards me and when he was close, I shifted to Zion. Zion stood taller than my dad’s wolf, Demitri. Zion was pure black until you got to his front paws. His paws were a beautiful charcoal gray. Demitri, was smaller, and dark gray. As Demitri was upon us, he jumped for Zion’s neck. Zion swatted him away with his large clawed paw, and ripped into Demitri’s face, leaving large gashes.
Demitri let out a loud yelp, but was also quick to get back to his feet. Blood was streaming down his face, and it looked as if his eye had been mutilated. He wasn’t backing down, and had to commend him for that. However, this was taking much longer than I had time for.
I relayed to Zion that it was time to stop toying with my dad. We needed to end this, so we could get to Alette. He agreed, and stood tall. He released a loud growl, and bared his teeth. My father bared his teeth in response and, without hesitation, jumped at Zion. His teeth were able to sink into Zion’s shoulder, and my wolf let out a loud roar. He shook my father off of him, and towered over top of him. With one quick snap of his jaws, he sunk his teeth into my father’s neck. He twisted his head, ripping out my dad’s jugular, and I watched as the life left his body.
As Zion stood over him, his throat still in his muzzle, he let out a small whimper. He whispers to me, “I’m sorry, Damian. I didn’t think I would feel bad for ending his existence, but I do.”
The Elder rushed to Zion’s side, and declared us the winner. He demanded we shift back to human form, and Maddix approached me with a robe. Zion dropped what was left of my dad’s throat, and allowed himself to shift back to my form. I slipped myself into the robe, and turned to the pack.
One by one, they started to stand to their feet. I heard a female voice exclaim, “All Hail Alpha Damian! May the Goddess bless his reign!” I stared in awe, as I was given a standing ovation for defeating my father. It felt amazing, and bittersweet. Unlike Zion, I didn’t feel bad. I felt pity. Pity that he couldn’t have been the man he should have been. Pity that his life was so selfish that he could only feel himself when he was making other people miserable.
Trustworthy Beta
*MADDIX POV*
Watching my brother-in-law fight his father was heart-wrenching. I could never imagine having to challenge either of my dads. It goes to show that not everyone is raised with love. The second his wolf took his father’s life, I saw a shift in his wolf’s demeanor. It was almost something looking like regret, but the emotion pouring from him was more like pity.
The elder demanded him to shift, and I grabbed the robe for him off the table. I ran it over to him so that I could cover him when he shifted. He slid it on, and stared out into the crowd of pack members. He stood tall and proud. Elder Xavier approached him and held his hand high in the air. “Your winner and your NEW Alpha,” he exclaimed. The crowd started to cheer, and fell to their knees and bared their necks to their new leader.
Damian said a few words to his pack, and assured them that he would oversee the pack in a just and fair way, unlike his father. He assured them that big changes were coming, as well as their Luna. He announced that the pack dinner to welcome him as Alpha would have to wait as he had an urgent matter to attend to, but told them he was leaving them in good hands until he returned.
“Do you even have a Beta in mind?” I asked. He nodded his head, and said that he was hoping his cousin, Buckman Thunderhawk, would take the position. He lived close to the Spirit Mountain border. “Right now, he is the only person I trust to help me with anything like running this. We have been thick as thieves since childhood. He was my protector growing up, especially from Lawrence,” he explained.
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.