Bad Situation (Wolf Investigations and Securities Inc. #6)

Chapter 8

The Challenge

Grant woke up the next morning, and he felt a little sore. They'd made love most of the night, and he'd not gotten much sleep. The saying that he'd sleep when he was dead had a lot of meaning right now. He looked at Jenna and was so glad to have her with him, regardless of how things turned out. Duroc had promised him that he would ensure Jenna would be cared for if the unthinkable happened. That would set his mind at ease when the fight began.

He gently nudged her, and her eyes popped open. At any other time, that would seem funny.

“Already?”

“They are probably already here. I'll take the first shower, and you can take the second one. We need to go to the kitchen as soon as we get dressed," Grant suggested.

Jenna nodded, and he knew she would probably fall back asleep as soon as he exited the room. It wouldn't hurt anything, and he would wake her when he returned to the room after showering and drying off. That was exactly what he did, and this time, she got up and headed to the bathroom while he was dressing. He had to admit that when they were in a hurry, she did not waste a lot of time like he'd heard some women did. She took a five-minute shower, returned to the room, and dressed.

They headed out to the dining room together and could hear voices coming from before reaching it. It looked like everyone was there, and they were in the middle of breakfast, so they hadn't slowed them down. Jenna and he got their breakfast quickly and rushed through it so they would be done at the same time as the others. This would be the second most important day of his life, with the challenge being the most important. As soon as everyone was done, Damon began

.

"First, I want to ask both of you if you want to do this. We can't have any doubts, and I am sure both of you know how important this is and everything that can go wrong.” They both nodded. “With that out of the way, we will call and extend the challenge.”

Damon made the call. “I need to talk to alpha George.”

“He isn't taking any phone calls.”

“I don't know who I'm talking to, but this is Damon, and I am a Councilman. If he doesn't answer the phone, I will send wardens to arrest him.”

“Is this a joke?”

“Is this George?”

“It is. What are you bothering me for?”

“I'm Damon McDougal, the council member. I am calling to issue a challenge for Grant Smith.”

“I don't know a Grant Smith, so he can't issue a challenge," George insisted.

“You don't have to know him since he's your son. He's challenging on his behalf because you abandoned him and on behalf of his mate because you killed her mother.”

“I don't know his mate, and I don't know him," George insisted.

“This is getting old. He is your son. It was proven with a blood test.”

“Nobody has taken my blood.”

“The council has your blood on file since before you became the alpha. There will be no getting out of this. You will automatically forfeit if you don't arrive tomorrow at 8:00 AM. Be there, or it will be considered a loss.” Damon hung up and was obviously aggravated with the old alpha.

“I guess you got it done?” Tyne asked.

“You heard. I think he was trying to stall to get more time so he could prepare. It's good that we are going there tomorrow to finish this," Damon admitted.

“How is your fight?” Tyne asked.

“Who, me? I'm still pretty good even though I haven't used it as much as I used to.” Grant admitted.

“Let's go outside and see what you got," Tyne suggested.

Grant didn't mind. A good fight would get rid of some of the stress that he was feeling and relax him. Tyne was good to fight with, even though he would probably damage him. A change to wolf would fix him right up. His boss liked the good fight from time to time. Everyone headed out and found the circle near the alpha house. This was just a training fight, but anyone who saw them coming to the circle would show up to watch. Why not? Tyne was a legendary fighter. Watching him fight even once would be amazing to the average citizen. Watching a future alpha get beat up would be a great story to tell for years.

Tyne didn't waste any time and went right for him with his fists. Grant was paying attention and moved, or he would have a broken nose. Maybe this training session was a good thing. It would help to get him back on alert so he would expect what was coming at him. Regardless of whether George was in good shape, he was an alpha who wanted to live and would fight for the right to continue. Grant needed to remember that and the extra power that being a pack alpha gave George.

Maybe he should have prepared better in the two weeks that Tyne had given him before they had come here. Hopefully, he will not be able to cheat when he thought that he would make all the difference. Grant had a lot to live for now and hoped that would be enough. It took a few minutes for Tyne to land a punch. But when he did, it was a bruiser and practically took his shoulder out. He better get serious if he wanted to land any punches at all.

Grant finally did manage to land a punch and hit Tyne with a glancing blow on his chin. All it did was make him grin. “You need to do better, or you're going to die," Tyne said.

There was nothing to say because he was right. Grant managed to hit him in the shoulder, but it didn't seem to hurt. He tried to kick him in the legs this time, but he managed to avoid the kick. The fight continued, and he could tell Tyne was an incredible fighter, but that was not surprising. When they were done, they were both tired, but neither had tried to hurt the other, so they were both still in good shape.

“You didn't do badly, Grant, but the killer instinct needs to come out when you fight George. He'll have it. You'll have a problem if you don't," Tyne admitted.

“You want to fight me?” Damon asked.

“I've heard about you, and I don't want to have the injuries you'll give me," Grant admitted.

Damon laughed. “Too bad, I could use a good fight. Let's get back to work.”

“What can we possibly do now?” Grant asked.

“We are going to watch a movie. I hope this will help you.” Tyne admitted.

They all sat in the office, and a screen was set up. The presentation came on, and it was clear that this was a fight about to take place in a circle. Maybe this was George's circle and one of the challenges people had discussed. The challenger looked desperate–like he had no choice. This was what would happen, even if it was his death. The fight began, and the challenger did well. George seemed to have little skill but kept looking off into the distance.

A loud sound echoed, and suddenly, the challenger fell. Grant couldn't figure out what had happened, but obviously, George had not been the one who had acted because he had been inside the circle. His challenger was dead, and as they lifted him, it was obvious he had been shot. Straight through the heart, a clean shot that required talent, but Harry said he didn't have to worry about something like that because the spell would not allow it to get through. Didn't the alpha George know they could protect the circle?

“He has to know this won't work if the circle is spelled. What do you think you will come up with instead?” Grant asked.

“The original spell did not work on others jumping into the ring. It has been corrected, so that cannot happen this time. George probably doesn't know that, and he will have some victims set up to take the fall for jumping into the ring," Damon explained.

“It surprises me that the circle will allow someone not in the challenge to jump into it.” Grant observed.

“When the circles were first set up, something so obvious was unexpected. I'm not sure it would allow it now since it has happened, even though it was on a different circle. It doesn't matter because Marissa and Harry will ensure that anyone who tries to jump in after the fight starts will be thrown back out. Don't let your concentration falter, and keep your eyes on the fight," Tyne advised.

“It is important that everyone get their rest tonight. So, they are prepared for what is coming," Moe observed.

Everyone knew that was true, but it was hard to think about sleep with what was ahead of them. They would eat supper, then head to their rooms, where everyone would find what sleep they could. Supper was on the table, and it was a selection of sandwiches of various types. Several of them were subs that were cut in half for easier eating. There were also chips with chips, and he was sure there would be dessert, especially with Harry here.

The food was good, and he ate well. He knew that besides sleep, he also needed sustenance to take on the challenge. As people finished their meals, they slipped away to find what entertainment they desired or to get extra sleep. He needed his mate, and that was what he would do before he got to sleep. Hopefully, they would be so tired when they were done that sleep would easily find them.

A grating alarm went off, and it was one that he was not familiar with. That was the way things were when you weren't at home. He slapped it and missed, and it fell to the floor. Damn! He slid into a sitting position and grabbed the clock alarm. He pressed the button and turned it off. It was good that he was naked and ready for his shower. Jenna had somehow managed to sleep through all of it.

Grant liked his hot shower, which relaxed his muscles and prepared him for the coming day. After getting back to the room and dressed, he shook Jenna lightly and told her it was time to get up. As he headed out the door, the aroma of coffee and food hit his nose, and he was ready for it. It looked like everything had already been cooked, and full plates were sitting on the counter, waiting for someone to take them.

It made him feel lazy, as everyone else was already up and eating. Jenna was the only one he had beaten to the kitchen. He grabbed his plate, sat down near Damon and Tyne, and began eating. It wasn't long before Jenna entered the room, grabbed her plate, and sat down to eat. At first, she seemed more interested in her coffee, but once she looked like she had woken, she began to eat like a wolf. No one could tell she hadn't been a wolf all her life.

“We have four hours to get in position and be ready to enter the circle," Tyne explained.

“We’ve got SUVs out front ready to load," Duroc informed.

“It's time," Damon directed.

They all began to head out the front door, where three SUVs waited for them. Grant and Jenna rode with Duroc and Bindi. He didn't see which SUVs the others loaded in. It didn't matter because he knew they were all coming with them. As soon as they were in, the driver took off. It would take two and a half hours to get where they were going. He wondered if any traps were waiting for them along the way, and he hoped that Harry had some magical protection on these SUVs so they would make it where they were going.

A truck tried to hit them two hours later, but it bounced off and hit a tree instead. Thank the goddess for Harry and that she was on their side. After that, it seemed like they were a constant target, but no one could strike them. That didn't stop them from striking other things, and once they did, they were out of commission. It seemed obvious that George did not want to lose his position and especially did not want to lose his life.

Grant had to admit that meeting his father for the first time in the circle felt strange. He'd never thought of him as his father, and maybe that would make it easier to kill him. George was a worthless piece of crap that he really hadn't ever wanted to meet or deal with in any way. He was taking this on because he had caused others great sorrow. That was the justice that his mother and Jenna's mother deserved.

He glanced over at his mate, and it was obvious that she was nervous, so he took her hand and squeezed it lightly. While he might be risking his life, she was risking her love. It was a tragedy to find a fated mate and immediately have to risk losing them. He knew how he would feel if her life was at risk, and it was clear that she felt the same way. If not for this, a beautiful life would have been ahead of them without dangerous chances.

While it was true that working for Tyne could be dangerous, they had managed well, and he'd never felt any doubts that they would continue to do so. Even if he managed to defeat George, there could be other challengers once he became alpha. There was also the chance that someone would challenge Jenna. Could she win a fight? It depended on the challenger. She had been trained well and was a good fighter for a female. That made it a good thing that only a female could challenge her.

Grant had to admit that he couldn't imagine the female that could beat her unless it was Harry with her magic or Moe, who is also a good fighter. Neither of them would ever have a reason to fight Jenna. His mind was rambling on, probably trying to avoid thinking about what was about to happen. He believed he would win, but there was no true winner in fights to the death. It was worse in this case because he would be killing his father. Maybe it was even worse that he didn't feel badly about it.

They finally arrived at George's pack. His pack house was large and looked good. That would be 1 less thing to deal with when he won. Damon led the way to the circle. It was obvious he'd been there before. George was not here yet, but there was a little bit of time before he had to be. Others had gathered, waiting for what they knew would be a fight. Nothing mattered except to get the fight over with and move to the next step. His eyes scanned the surrounding territory, wondering if hidden traps awaited him. Harry and Marissa were setting up their spells that would hopefully protect him from anything George could come up with.

There was no doubt in his mind that he would win this fight without cheating or interference. George appeared, and it was hard to tell if he was confident in his fighting skills or in the actions he was going to take to ensure his win.

“I see you are still out to get me, Damon. No one can beat me, and you know it. Who are you feeding to the wolf this time?” George asked.

“This is your son, Grant," Damon replied.

“The half-blood? He should have died long ago. Someone must have helped him, or he would have never made it this long," George insisted.

“Are you admitting that you knew you had a son and did not support him?” Damon asked.

“I admit nothing except that I heard he was half-blooded and should have died long ago," George said. “A half-blooded wolf has no place in our society. I will finish him off, and he will no longer be a concern.”

“Take care, George, lest your blood bite you back.” Tyne entered the conversation.

“You know nothing of these things," George stated.

“I believe I know more than you do. You had an heir and cast him away, but now you have nothing. He will take your place, but you will be long gone," Tyne replied. “It is almost time for the fight.”

Someone else pushed their way through the crowd and took a place in the seat where the judge sat. It looked like George had asked a friend with some position in the council to judge the challenge. There was not much this judge could do once the fight began, and he could not help George, so Damon allowed him to keep his position in the judge’s seat. It would only help make this fight look proper and stop anyone from arguing that it was improperly done.

The spells were set, and everyone was in their place except for the two fighters, who had not yet taken their place in the ring. All the others were seated, waiting for the judge to start things.

“Orion, are you ready to start the fight?” Damon asked.

Orion looked surprised. Grant was sure they intended to use this to delay the fight. They would say that Orion was an acceptable judge and that they had not allowed him the position that he should have, and they would cancel the fight. Now, there was no way to cancel it because Damon was letting him take charge and only observing like a council member generally did.

Finally, the male nodded. He stumbled through the explanation of these fights, and it was obvious that he had never been the judge at one before. At this point, he found no way to delay the fight any longer, so he slapped his fist into his palm so that the two fighters could begin. As the challenger, George's place was to decide what form the fight would begin in. No one had told him that, so they started fighting in human form and continued that way until someone yelled instructions to George. He'd fought a few times and should have known he could fight however he chose.

Once he'd been told he could change if he wanted to, he immediately changed to a sad-looking wolf. Grant changed, too. He was a beautiful wolf with solid black glossy fur. It was easy to see who the favorite in this fight would be. A large sound reverberated around the circle as something hit and dropped on the other side. The gunfire did not increase George's odds because it never entered the circle. A fearful George continued to fight, but he looked around occasionally as if he was looking to be saved.

He was bleeding from bites all over his body, and it was clear he couldn't take it much longer. Now, someone came running to the circle and tried to jump in, and the circle evicted them, sending them twenty feet away. Clearly, he wouldn't be allowed to cheat, and there was no way anyone or anything was getting into the circle with the two fighters. George looked as if he realized what was happening, and now, he seemed determined to be taken out. It looked like Grant was willing him an easy death.

This might be his son, but he'd never treated him like one. Mercy would only take the form of death, and that was the best he could have hoped for. Grant circled George, and he turned to keep Grant in view. Grant moved faster, and George looked tired but still tried to keep up and defend himself. Grant jumped on George without warning, and his jaw wrapped around his neck. George struggled and somehow managed to break free, but his neck looked like a raw hamburger.

George was bleeding badly. Enough that if it didn't heal quickly, this would be over. The alpha was desperate and jumped at Grant. His reward was being scraped with a claw, and now he was bleeding even more. Grant wanted to end this, but George was desperate to survive. His wolf slunk around, trying to find a weakness where there wasn't one. It was clear to the crowd that Grant had had enough and finally jumped on George, knocking him to the ground and wrapping his jaws around his neck. He shook George like a rag doll until, finally, no life was left. The fight was over, and George was gone. Now, the next step would begin.

The wardens that had come with Damon entered the ring to drag the body away. Grant exited the ring and went straight for his mate. He could feel her shaking and knew it was a sign that she had been concerned the whole time. What came next would include her, too, and he was sure it wouldn't be easy. They would be learning the equivalent of a whole new job, and neither had ever done anything like this. It was true they had help, but they would only have help for a little while, and then that help would be gone.

“What do we do now?” Jenna asked.

Harry tapped her on the back. “Let's go check out the alpha house. I like to do that, and I can help. We'll check out the food and make sure nothing's poisoned, and then we'll look for weird things that you don't really want, and I'll take them with me," Harry explained.

That sounded easy enough for the ladies. “We'll go with them and get something to eat because you've taken some damage," Damon observed.

That was fine with him because it would give him a break before he had to take his next steps. He'd been assured that the mess wouldn't be that bad once he took over and that the main thing would be emotional healing. He hoped that it wouldn't be as bad as the situations some of the other new alphas had to deal with when they took over.

They headed up the steps and into the alpha house. So far, everything was decorated tastefully, and nothing stood out as weird or odd. It was a big house, so it was possible that the weirdness was hidden. Harry took off running from room to room, but suddenly, she stopped.

“What did you find?” Jenna asked.

“I think the alpha was extremely weird. Don't judge me because I know some of this stuff, but I've never used anything like it," Harry admitted.

“Wow. I've heard of some of this stuff but never seen it in person," Jenna admitted.

Grant pushed his way to the door and looked in. “This is one kinky next room. Looks like the guy was a sadist. He has all the equipment, that's for sure. You want any of this, Harry?”

“What, me? Not any of the pain stuff, but I like the picture on the wall," Harry admitted.

It didn't look like it had anything to do with the items in the room that were used for torture. The picture looked innocent even though the guy in it was nude.

“Take it.” Jenna offered. “Maybe as we go through the room, there'll be more that you want. It looks like some things here have nothing to do with the room's purpose.”

The picture immediately disappeared, and they closed the door and went on to look in other rooms. They would come back later and deal with that room. It was too much to try to handle on the same day as the challenge. Eventually, he was sure that it would make for a nice guest room. Right now, it looked like something from hell. There was equipment they could do nothing but torture people. That needed to be taken away.

Grant couldn't imagine that there was anything else in this room that Harry would want. The other rooms looked normal, so nothing was exciting that Harry might be drawn to. He'd heard that Harry had an eclectic taste and liked wild colors and unique items. The rest of this house didn't look like it had anything she might be interested in. Of course, they hadn't looked at very much of the house yet. They'd seen one hall and four others, an upstairs, a basement area, and an attic.

“I bet we'll find something in the attic for you, Harry," Jenna suggested.

Grant continued to look at the rooms on this level while Jenna and Harry ran upstairs to the attic. He could hear noises while the girls looked through things in the attic, and he felt that Harry had found something. Perhaps Jenna had found something as well. It was a well-known fact that attics could be stuffed full of all kinds of things. It made him curious but not curious enough to go upstairs and see what they were getting into.

He was pleased when he found an office, and he was sure that it was the one George had used. Grant was hopeful that the information he needed, or at least some of it, would be in this office. It had a nice desk, a smaller desk like a secretary might use, and all the office equipment anyone could ever want. There was a computer and lamps on each desk to see things more easily. Still, he wondered if another room would make a good office for Jenna so she wouldn't steal his. That thought made him smile because he knew he would give her anything she wanted. Grant was feeling very domestic when someone came out of one of the rooms with a knife and tried to stab him.

Luckily, he'd been somewhat aware of what was happening. He managed to take the knife out of her hand, turned her around, and pressed her against the wall.

“Who the hell is this?” Grant asked. “She just tried to kill me, so we need to restrain her and put her somewhere safe until we find out who she is.” Restraints appeared out of nowhere, compliments of Harry. “Thank you, Harry. I'm unsure where to put her, but it looks like she's dangerous.”

That was something they would have to work out later. Maybe they could find someone who had helped them figure out who these people around them were. The house was so big that it would take some time to get through, and other things probably needed to be dealt with more immediately.

“Does anyone know who the second is?” Grant asked.

“He took off for parts unknown. He was into all the bad stuff that happened around here, and he didn't want to stay if he couldn't continue it. He would have slinked back and tried to take his place had George won. George doesn't like people who leave and might not have allowed him to return. I'm halfway through the hierarchy. The first five are set by George, and we are not allowed to fight them. My name is Milo. If I am needed, I would be happy to help.”

“You are needed. I have no idea what is happening here, and I do not know anyone. My mate also needs to know who her second will be, " Grant said.

“George never cared about the female hierarchy. The number one was Brenda, but I am not sure that your mate will like her. I also expect her to challenge me. She is not nice, and no one likes her. If she loses, I expect her to leave.” Milo admitted.

Grant was not pleased that Jenna would have a mess on her hands, but it was no surprise. His thoughts had been that either the female in charge would have no power, or she would be cruel and hateful like George. It was likely that she was both. George did not like to give up power, even to someone like him.

“Who is the one below, Brenda?” Grant asked.

“That's Simone. She's a good fighter, but she's not evil or mean. Brenda usually cheats, and George encourages it because he likes the females fighting. Or at least he did. Most of us will appreciate him being taken out, but there are a few you need to watch out for. I expect most of them to leave, and I am glad to see them go," Milo explained.