Chapter 159: The Hunt

If you enjoy music while you read, try "Game of Survival" by Ruelle while reading this chapter and the following fight scenes. It's what I listened to while writing.

*****

~ ZEV ~ 

Zev reached back and broke Sasha's grip on him. She made a noise of protest, but he shook his head and spoke into her mind low, quiet, and deadly serious.

Stay close to Yhet. Do not get involved in the fighting. No matter what you see. This isn't  a fight for you. This is a fight for Thana.

"Zev—" she breathed. He could scent the flash of fear in her.

Go. I'll keep you safe.

He squeezed her hand, then nudged her towards Yhet, never taking his eyes off of Xar. When Yhet had tugged her back, out of reach, he straightened and let himself feel his strength. Remembered all the fights, all the wins, all the ways he had navigated this life, this world, these males and taken victory.

All of the ways he was the better male. And all the of the ways Xar had failed.

There was a whisper in the back of his mind, a niggling insistence that he, too, had failed. But he shook it off.

He had been mistaken. He had been deceived. He had never intended harm for his people. And he had never offered them into the hands of the humans.

"You betrayed your people, Xar," he said, his voice low but rock-hard. "You chose loyalty to your own needs, your own family, over the Chimera. You chose comfort over the conflict with humans. And now you will chose life in submission, or death."

He turned to meet eyes with as many of the males as he could, raising his voice to ensure everyone heard. "Choose your sides, Thana. I challenge for Alpha!" Then, as the males all began to move, shifting to stand behind Zev or Xar, Zev lifted his head and gave the howl of the hunt.

All over the clearing, wolves raised their howls to meet his—all of them declaring death walking.

Then here and there, peppered over Thana, in the hills and mountains beyond, more rose, echoing in recognition of their Alpha and his challenge.

When Zev dropped his head, he locked eyes with Xar again and the Tiger's upper lip pulled back from his teeth.

"Wolves," the old King sneered. "Always so dramatic."

And then he smiled.

Zev didn't hesitate, but began to stalk towards Xar.

The hunt was on. And this fucking Cat was going to die.

*****

~ SASHA ~ 

As the males sucked in around Xar and Zev, Yhet pulled Sasha backwards away from them. At first she fought. It was futile of course, Yhet could drag her like a child pulling a teddy-bear. But he didn't want to.

"Please, Sasha, I'm charged with keeping you safe. You aren't a part of this fight. Please." Then, as Sasha wavered, still trying to pry Yhet's fingers from her wrist, but recognizing there was little she could do by staying next to Zev, Kyelle came alongside her and murmured in her ear.

"If you are close, you will only distract him with worry for your safety. Help him by keeping yourself out of the way."

"I have to be close to him! We're supposed to be touching. I can't just leave him!"

"This isn't about the mating, Sasha!"

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"I know, but we can't… we can't give anyone any reason… Please, Yhet, this has to be it. I can't… we can't be held apart anymore."

Yhet frowned at her, a low growl puttering in his massive chest, then he looked at Kyelle before turning back to her with a sigh.

"We have to get out of the circle of the fight. Just a few feet away. You will still see."

"But what if he needs help!"

Kyelle snorted. "You think you could fight these males, Sasha?"

Sasha looked sheepish, but then a terrible snarl rose behind her and she tried to turn, caught by Yhet's grip on her hand. All she could see was that Zev and Xar had both shifted.

Now, instead of her handsome husband—he was her husband now, right?—and the older man, there was a massive, near-black wolf, and an even larger tiger, its coat so deeply orange it was almost red, it's stomach sagging slightly, but otherwise looking powerful and strong.

It roared and bared its teeth, the fangs inches long.

"Zev," Sasha whimpered. But Kyelle grabbed her other arm and they ushered her to the side.

The males had split, some of them coming to stand behind Zev, calling for his victory, others moving to stand behind Xar, encouraging the King to "kill the dog."

"Will they fight too? Will you?" Sasha asked Kyelle in hushed tones as she watched Zev, his hackles raised, making his massive shoulders look even larger, and his teeth bared, and Xar circle each other.

Kyelle snorted. "Females don't fight males."

"What? Why not?!"

"Because the males are bigger and stronger than even the strongest among us. And plus, we can—most of us—reproduce. Injuries sustained in battle might remove that ability from a female. And it's the only way to sustain our species. For that reason it's a violation for a male to strike a female who didn't strike him first—and males of honor wouldn't strike back even then. They would flee, rather than harm her."

Sasha's heart was in her throat, terrible snaps and snarls erupted from both Zev and Xar, but neither of them darted forward yet.

"How did you become Alpha if you didn't fight the males?" she asked Kyelle without taking her eyes off of Zev.

Kyelle huffed. "There are many ways to do battle, Sasha," she said, tapping her own temple. "And most do not require physical domination."

"Excellent point."

  They watched the two circle each other as most of the males filtered into one group or the other, but one cluster remained in the middle, watching the fighters.

"What are they doing?" Sasha asked, her voice too high and thin out of fear for Zev.

"They are undecided," Kyelle said, glaring at the males. "Too cowardly to pick a side, they will follow whoever wins. But their ranks in the hierarchy may drop as a consequence.

Sasha was about to ask how that worked when, without warning or sound, Zev in his wolf form suddenly flowed across the space, snapping at the tiger's hind leg.

The crowd held its collective breath and Sasha's hands flew to her mouth as Xar whipped around, one massive pawful of claws extending and missing Zev's face by barely an inch.

Please, Zev, Sasha pleaded in her mind, just in case he could hear her. Please stay safe.

*****

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