She gasped when she felt hands on her arms as they helped her to sit upright. When she looked over, she saw that it was Leo and Case who had helped her up and positioned themselves between her and Rob.
She felt Case beside her cut the zip ties that held her to the chair as Leo worked on the other side. Once she was free, Tuck and Hawk came to help the other two surround her.
She knew right away what they were doing. She moved to stand beside Leo.
“Stay behind me, Luna. If anything happens to you, our Alpha will have our asses,” Leo pleaded with her.
“I may be the Luna of the pack, but I refuse to hide. My husband is fighting not only for his life, but for the life of his parents, his sister, and his pack. I will not hide like a weak human.” Athena glared at Leo, trying hard to keep her emotions at bay.
“He’s fighting for you and your unborn child too, Luna. He’s fighting for all of it. He will win.” Leo promised her a smile on his face.
“Leo, that Council member has been giving Claude serums that make him stronger than a normal person. While I know my husband is damn good at what he does, I’m still worried about that serum. That’s how he beat the other Alphas he’s fought against,” Athena informed Leo, fear sounding in her voice.
“It’s okay. We already knew about the serum before we got here. Maplewood won’t win. Even if he does manage to beat Draco, which he won’t, we have an ace up our sleeve as well. Try to relax, Athena. If you’re agitated, he will feel it.” Leo pulled her into his arms to soothe her.
Athena watched as the two men circled each other. One with decades as an Alpha of his bedraggled pack that seemed sewed together of those who defied the laws or were rejected from their packs because of their past.
Then there was her husband. A man who took pride in not only his pack, but his family and in his destiny.
While he was at first hesitant to take a fated mate, because he felt that made him weak, he now relished having a fated mate, realizing that made him stronger. She didn’t know what made his sudden change, but she would not challenge it.
The man he was now, was vastly different than the man she’d met months ago. The man months ago was hard, cold, and firm in his decisions.
The man now, was totally different. Now, he smiled, laughed, teased, joked and loved.
He was still hard, cold and firm, but he was more so in a way that you didn’t fuck with him or his family. Only she, or those he considered his inner circle, saw that soft side.
She gripped Leo’s arm and held on tight as she closed her eyes and said a silent prayer for the safety of her husband andtheir pack. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that if Claude beat Draco, they were all dead.
She had to control herself when her husband walked over to her and took off his shirt to hand to her. Unable to resist, she reached for his nape and pulled him down for a passionate kiss.
“Please be careful. Do what you need to take him out. I need you to come home to me. I can’t live without you,” Athena pleaded with Draco, her head in his neck as he held her tight.
“Fear not, my mate. I know what I’m doing. I’ve faced stronger than him in my years in the military. Kiss me again for luck.”
Athena growled as she leaned up onto her toes and kissed Draco with everything she had. He stole the breath she breathed as he kissed her like it was going to be their last time ever touching lips again.
“Enough! Stop stalling and let’s get this over with so I can get on with my day to dismantle your pack and end your family line,” Claude growled as she stalked toward them.
Athena watched as Draco slowly backed away and winked at her. What the hell was he up to now?
When the fight started, she wasn’t sure what to expect. She’d heard that some fights within the packs were fought in their wolf form, but Claude opted for them to fight in their human form.
Apparently, from what little she had gathered, the serum only made the human side stronger than the wolf side. Something that didn’t make sense to her.
“Leo…” she whispered to him, pulling him down so she could speak into his ear softly.
While she knew that wolves had superior hearing, she was afraid that her question would be heard by Rob, who was watching his father fight with an evil smile on his lips. When Leo leaned down to accommodate her, she asked a barrage of questions that had been plaguing her.
“This serum, if it only works on the human side, what could it do to the wolf side? Wouldn’t the Shifter Council want the wolf to be stronger than the human side?”
Leo pulled her in for a hug. She felt like he was patronizing her but when he pulled her down to speak in her ear, she bit back the harsh comment she had ready to come out.
“What isn’t said about that serum is that it weakens the wolf side. The serum was only in the experimental stage when the High Lord pulled it from being used because of that. The serum was Roosevelt’s baby and he didn’t listen when people told him the damage it caused. He strongly believes it makes both human and wolf stronger but only has tested the human side. While it does make the human side stronger than the average human, it overworks the heart when they are in fighting stage. Claude is dying and doesn’t even realize it.”
Athena pulled back and stared at Leo in shock. They knew about the serum the whole time and knew that Claude was using it.
But it didn’t explain why Draco wasn’t worried about the outcome of the fight he was now a part of. She jumped when she heard a fist hitting flesh and turned to see Claude land a fist to Draco’s jaw.
