Chapter 377
Three hundred and seventy nine
Wesley POV
The back of my hand caught blood as I wiped the corner of my mouth. I groaned and lifted my head to check my reflection.
I hated what I saw.
Fever-flushed skin. Eyes darker than usual. Exhaustion I could no longer hide.
The sink water turned red as I washed the blood from my hand and straightened my shirt, trying to look less like a beast who had spent the night fighting his own body.
Isabella had begged me not to fight Desmond, the fear in her voice almost enough to make me give in. She believed he would poison me, or that my body would fail me in the middle of the duel.
I listened to every word and promised her none of it would happen. I didn’t tell her that another part of me was waiting for the fight.
I had always hated waking up after, counting how many bones my wolf had broken beneath his teeth. But the taste of an enemy’s blood thrilled something in me.
Desmond wanted a duel, and he would have one.
He was a powerful Alpha, and I wasn’t stupid enough to believe defeating him would be easy. But he had asked for
A knock pulled me from my thoughts.
Isabella stepped inside. The sight of her tightened my chest. She looked tired, but she was here. Every unease knotted in my bones settled.
Grandma Cassidy rushed in behind her and startled us both.
“Don’t touch,” she announced, planting herself between Isabella and me.
I glared at her while Isabella hid a smile.
“Seriously p>
“You’re fighting a duel at dawn. No sex tonight p>
Isabella’s cheeks burned as she looked away, and I laughed.
“Can’t I at least hug her p>
“Don’t make me regret letting her in p>
She moved farther into the room and took a chair near the door.
Isabella came to me. I had never wanted to hold her the way I wanted to now, but I stayed where I was.
Her eyes moved over my face.
“You look terrible p>
“I was hoping you’d say handsome p>
1/5
+15 Bonus
She didn’t smile.
ou’re really going to do this p>
I nodded and reached for her hand. Her fingers slipped into mine, warm against my feverish skin. Grandma Cassidy crossed the room and smacked the back of my hand.
“Hands apart p>
Isabella swallowed a laugh as I released her.
“This is ridiculous,” I muttered while Grandma Cassidy stepped back.
Isabella’s smile vanished. Worry filled her eyes.
“You could die. Don’t fight him p>
I stepped closer, keeping my hands at my sides.
“This isn’t only about you, Isabella. Desmond has been waiting for a chance to humiliate my family. My illness isn’t a secret anymore. Everyone knows what the Meridian poisoning did to me. They know I need medication, that my body isn’t what it used to be. If I refuse now, what do you think happens p>
“You stay alive p>
I shook my head.
“For an Alpha, reputation isn’t something you lose and pick back up when it suits you. Once people decide you’re weak, they treat you like you’re weak. They stop trusting your judgment. They stop fearing your authority. Then they start looking for ways to take what belongs to you. This isn’t about proving I’m stronger than Desmond. It’s about refusing to let him decide what I am p>
Her eyes glistened.
“And if you lose p>
“I won’t p>
“You don’t know that p>
“I don’t know what will happen. But I’m not going to stand here while Desmond takes Maverick and tells everyone I was too afraid to fight for him p>
Her lips parted. I wanted to kiss her.
She looked down.
“I’ve already lost so much. I can’t lose you too p>
Her words moved something in me. I wanted to promise her I would come back, that nothing in this world could keep me from her. But even I wasn’t sure of that.
Grandma Cassidy stood.
“That is enough, Isabella. He needs to rest p>
“That sounds impossible p>
“Then make it possible p>
2/5
+15 Ben
Bonus
She walked to the door, and Isabella followed her, dragging every step. I watched her go and felt the distance stretch between us.
She reached the doorway and stopped. Her eyes met mine.
“I love you p>
My breath caught.
She pressed her lips together as if holding herself together.
“Come back to me p>
I smiled.
“I will p>
Grandma Cassidy guided her into the corridor. I stood alone and listened to their footsteps fade.
I had never wanted anything more than I wanted to walk back through that door and find her waiting for me.
Dawn had not broken when Joanna came into my room. My body sat heavier than it had the night before, every muscle aching beneath my skin.
What if I didn’t make it?
The thought had been crouching under everything I told Isabella.
Joanna set a vial on the table.
“Drink this p>
I looked at it.
“What is it p>
“Something to keep you standing p>
The liquid burned down my throat and spread heat through my chest and limbs. The heaviness lifted.
Joanna watched me.
“You’ll need your wolf p>
The thing I had spent years caging was the thing everyone wanted me to unleash. It would have been funny if my stomach weren’t twisting.
We left the room. The sky stayed dark as we made our way toward the clearing. Cold air bit my skin, and I hardly noticed.
Desmond hadn’t arrived.
My parents and Anita stood waiting, along with the rest of my family. Members of the regional council ringed the clearing with the referees who would oversee the duel. Bloodkeepers, we called them. Their job was simple. They watched, enforced the rules, and stopped anyone from interfering.
I walked toward my family. My mom wrapped her arms around me. Aunt Nadia kissed my forehead and my cheeks.
3/5
“Desmond asked for this. He always thought his pride would protect him. He has always been a liar who believed he could talk his way out of anything. Now he’s asked for a fight he can’t talk his way out of. Unleash your wolf and end his pathetic life p>
No sympathy softened her voice.
“I’ll hold on to that,” I said.
A noise came from behind us.
Desmond arrived with three men trailing him. He walked into the clearing as though he owned it, shoulders back, chin raised, satisfaction sitting plain on his face.
He looked at me and laughed.
“So this is the great Wesley. Are you sure they didn’t send the wrong man p>
His men laughed.
I ignored him.
Desmond’s smile widened.
“I hear you need medicine just to walk. Is that true p>
He stepped closer.
“Do you need someone to hold your hand before we start p>
One of his men laughed again.
Desmond turned to the people gathered around us.
My hands tightened. Across the clearing stood Isabella, watching me with fright in her eyes while Grandma Cassidy murmured to her. If I let myself hold on to that fear, I would lose whatever control I had left.
A Bloodkeeper stepped into the center of the clearing.
“Both combatants will shift when instructed. The duel ends when one combatant falls dead p>
Desmond laughed.
“Let’s get this over with p>
The Bloodkeeper looked at us.
“Shift p>
I closed my eyes and reached for my wolf.
Nothing.
My heart pounded.
Come out.
The silence stretched.
Desmond and his men kept laughing, kept mocking, and my father moved to my side.
4/5
+15 Bonus
“Easy. Don’t force it p>
Oncle Franklin joined him.
I breathed through my nose. My wolf stayed distant. I felt the edges of him somewhere inside me and couldn’t reach him. My father set a hand on my shoulder. I shut my eyes and my body shook. The pressure behind my eyes turned unbearable. My knees buckled, and my father caught me.
Uncle Franklin grabbed my other arm.
Desmond laughed so hard his voice carried across the clearing.
“This is who you sent to fight me?” he said to my father. “Look at him. He can’t even shift. I think everyone here is terrified of admitting that you’re exactly what your son has always been. A pathetic weakling who needs his family to drag his useless body into a fight. And this is the weakling who wants to raise my child for me p>
My father tightened his grip on my shoulder.
“Wesley. Shift p>
Desmond stepped closer. His smile widened.
“You should have stayed in bed. Maybe your wolf is too ashamed to come out p>
Something inside me snapped.
The last thing I remembered was my father and Uncle Franklin throwing themselves clear of me.
A sound tore out of my throat.
The sound of something trapped too long, finally breaking free.
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Lucia Morh
Lucia Morh is a passionate storyteller who brings emotions to life through her words. When she’s not writing, she finds peace nurturing her garden.