Rivals (Shifter Island #2) (8 page)

“No!” Abby blurted.

A chill flooded through her, and she could think of nothing except how Luca had looked that first night, as still as a corpse, covered with stab wounds that would certainly have been fatal to a human. For two days, he’d fought just to draw breath, and it seemed like a miracle to her that he had survived.

Now Aaron wanted to fight the man who’d stabbed Luca with a knife dipped in poison?

“You can’t,” she pleaded. “It’s crazy, Aaron. Let the elders deal with this. Let them lock him up or something.”

“That’s not our way.”

“Then your way is
crazy
!”

He seemed not to want her to come close to him, maybe because he thought she’d distract him, that if he touched her, the bond-thing would take over and he’d obey everything she told him to do. Maybe that was true; maybe she could lure him away, but each time she tried to come close, he moved quickly to avoid her, or gently pushed her away.

Finally, she turned to Aaron’s mother, who looked nowhere near as distraught as Abby had hoped she would be.

“It’s our way,” Rachel said softly. “By attacking Luca, Micah has attacked our family.”

“And your way of dealing with that is to put your other son in harm’s way? What if Micah’s still got that poisoned knife? What if he stabs Aaron right in the heart and kills him? What then?”

“He won’t be allowed a weapon,” Rachel said.

“Lock him up,” Abby insisted.

Rachel shook her head, and Abby got no further when she looked to Luca, who was cradled deep in his nest of pillows. His face was still pale, the wounds on his chest and arms livid and red. A while ago he’d tried sitting up, but that seemed to tire him. It was only during the last half hour or so that talking hadn’t worn him out.

“Isn’t there any other way?” Abby said to the injured wolf. “What do
you
want? You’re the one he hurt.”

Luca closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he said, “No. I don’t want Aaron to fight him.”

“There. See?” Abby said to Aaron.

“But he must,” Luca said.

Abby let out a cry of frustration. “Why can’t they send Micah away, then? They were going to send
you
away.” She jabbed a finger at Aaron. “My God, I don’t understand you people. You’re going to take the chance of another brother getting killed. What kind of sense does that make?”

Luca made a soft sound deep in his throat. He pressed a hand to his chest and squirmed a little, then grunted again. When he’d recovered, he said, “I remember seeing a good many fights on the mainland—out on the street, and in the drinking places. The bars,” he corrected himself. “Most of them over females. For that matter, I remember seeing a good many females fighting over a male. None of it seemed to make any more ‘sense’ than this.”

“And it’s all
stupid
,” Abby snapped.

“Maybe so. But the participants didn’t seem to think so. They were very committed to what they were doing.”

“Then is it okay with you that Micah attacked you? Huh? Is it?”

“No,” Luca said. “But—”

“But what?”

“I treated Katrin unkindly. I should not have. She’s not my mate, but still, I should not have shunned her.”

“So, it was okay for him to stab you.”

Shaking her head, Rachel took Abby by the arm and led her away, steering Abby into the bedroom she shared with her husband. She didn’t bother to close the door; instead, she stood with her back to the doorway, forming a blockade of a different kind, one that seemed no less solid than a slab of wood.

“It’s our way,” Rachel said. “The way of the wolf. We live in peace and community most of the time, but the blood can run hot and fierce. The young ones sometimes couple in a way that would probably alarm you. There’s blood involved. Biting, tearing.” She drew in a breath. “Then, more often than not, the one who caused the wounds tends to the injured one in a loving way.”

“Aaron could be killed, Rachel. He could
die
.”

“In defense of his brother. In defense of our family. It’s the only way to show Micah that this offense won’t be tolerated.”

“It’ll make things a lot worse,” Abby muttered.

“Aaron will fight with honor on his side,” Rachel said. “That will see him through. That, and the strength of the bond. He’ll survive, because he needs to demonstrate to you that he always will. That he brings to your union a strong will, a strong heart, and the ability to become an alpha.”

That struck Abby as being nothing more than more craziness. Thoughts spilled through her head: musclebound professional wrestlers slamming each other to the canvas on TV, football players doing much the same thing, men in expensive suits making decisions that would benefit them and ruin others, dogs fighting in the street.

Then she thought of her father, making judgments that overruled those of his wife, making her look foolish in front of her daughter.

She thought of Lane, telling her that pants made her look “all ass”—and not in a good way, an appealing way.

She slipped past Rachel, out of the bedroom, intending to appeal to Aaron one more time, to tell him that she’d think no less of him, and in fact would think more of him, if he didn’t do this.

But he had already left the house.

“You don’t want this to happen, do you? Don’t you want to stop this?”

Granny Sara was wrapped in a thick knitted shawl, had it pulled up around her neck and head, almost as if she was trying to hide inside it. Her head was bowed and she looked very solemn, and Abby had no idea why she was here, standing with the crowd around the clearing—unless it was to try to talk Micah and Aaron out of this awful fight. But Sara had gone nowhere near her grandson, something that was completely at odds with the way she’d fussed over him before Luca had woken up.

Maybe, Abby thought, this was Sara’s way of rejecting Micah for what he’d done. She was going to bear witness to his defeat.

For a minute Sara didn’t look at Abby at all. Then she shifted her shoulders underneath the heavy shawl and gripped it tighter. “I wish it hadn’t happened,” she said in a small voice. “I wish Micah had come to me and told me how upset he’d gotten. I knew he cared for Katrin, but I had no idea it had gone further than that. But then I’m–” Sara smiled wryly, sadly. “I’m just a human.”

“So, no one will listen to you?”

“Not about something like this. It’s their way.”

Their way.

Our way.

Everyone here kept saying that. Over and over, like it had been etched into their brains when they were children.

But how many times had Abby heard the same thing back home, about a whole group of people, or an individual?
Oh, don’t mind what he said. That’s just how he is.
Even her mother had said things like that about her father.

Maybe it was something you said when you knew you couldn’t win. Couldn’t convince the other person that what they were doing was insane.

Aaron had said almost nothing to her yesterday, or this morning. In fact, she’d seen very little of him; he’d spent most of the time with his family, particularly his brother. He was psyching himself up for the fight, she supposed, the way a ballplayer would prepare for a big game—except that this game involved the strong possibility of his being killed—of having his throat torn out by the teeth of another wolf.

Those were stakes a lot higher than there’d be for a ball game.

The entire village was gathered around the perimeter of a big clearing, even Luca, who had been carried out of his house by two men Abby had seen before but hadn’t been introduced to. His friends, she supposed. He was sitting in a big chair, wrapped in blankets, looking a little better than he had the day before, but still pale and clearly nowhere near full strength. His mother was standing on one side of him, his father on the other.

The girl who’d started this whole thing, Katrin, was a few yards away, standing with an older man and woman Abby assumed were her parents. The elders were there too, looking poker-faced and humorless.

What did they all want? she wondered. Did they expect someone to die? Did they
want
someone to die? And if that someone was Aaron, did that mean Micah would win Katrin?

A little surprised when no one took any notice, Abby moved back through the crowd, away from Granny Sara, until she reached the simple rail fence surrounding someone’s house. She leaned heavily against it, glad for the support and feeling a little sick.

She could take a boat, she realized. She’d heard mention of where the boats were kept, that it wasn’t far away, and knew that with everyone here watching the fight, she’d be able to get away without a struggle. It would take her only a minute to run back to Granny Sara’s and retrieve her overnight bag, then she could make her way to the boats. If she circled the island to the dock where she’d originally landed here, she’d be able to point herself back across the water to Dolphin Cove.

To civilization. To normal life among normal people.

Yes.

That was what she had to do, and quickly. She couldn’t stay here, among these people.

These wolves.

Something that felt a lot like grief welled up in her, gripping her heart in a way that made her gasp. She couldn’t feel Aaron calling to her at all, and decided he was too wrapped up in this fight to care where she was or what she was doing.

That was fine, she told herself. She wouldn’t have to explain anything to him, wouldn’t have to worry about him trying to keep her here. She could just run, and be done with this.

It was just a… a fling. That’s all.

That’s all.

The murmuring among the crowd was getting a little louder. It was almost time, then.

Trying not to look around in a way that make her look suspicious, she moved along the fence to the path. A couple of people glanced her way but paid her no real attention; they were far too focused on that clearing, where the fight would take place. Abby shuddered as she retreated, then steeled herself and scurried down the path to Granny Sara’s.

When she was inside with the door almost fully closed, she took the time to breathe, still trembling. Yes, her bag was still where she’d left it, there by the table. She picked it up and examined it to make sure nothing was likely to fall out, then turned back toward the door.

When it started to swing open, she had to stifle a scream.

Sara? Micah? One of the elders?

Aaron?

It was none of those. The door opened the rest of the way to admit Katrin, who looked every bit as somber as Granny Sara had.

“I—I had to get something out of my bag,” Abby stammered.

Katrin looked her up and down, her expression giving away nothing of what she was thinking or feeling. Did she want to fight, too? Abby wondered. Was that yet another thing the wolves did? Was Katrin interested in Aaron, and willing to fight for the right to have him?

Oh, God, you can’t stay here!

If Katrin told her “it’s our way,” Abby decided, she
was
going to scream. She might scream until she passed out. Things had been so simple a couple of days ago, up at the cabin, and now they were so complicated she couldn’t think straight. She didn’t think she’d be able to duck past Katrin, but she could use the back door and run through the woods.

But Katrin was a wolf. Katrin could catch her.

“Please,” she moaned. “I just want to go. I’ll go, and none of you will have to worry about me any more.”

For a moment, Katrin didn’t respond.

Then, to Abby’s astonishment, she strode across the room and wrapped her arms around Abby in an embrace that was both comforting and desperate. Abby felt the other girl shake as if she were standing in the middle of an earthquake and instinctively tried to hold on, but Katrin abruptly let her go and took a step back, reached up and swiped tears from her eyes with the back of her hand.

“I love them both,” Katrin whispered.

“Who? Aaron and Micah?”

Katrin shook her head. “Aaron and Luca. They were like my brothers. When we were small, we were never apart. Someone from another place would have thought we were family.” She paused. “You would have thought so.”

“What about Micah?”

“Micah is… troubled. He… he isn’t someone I could…”

She spun around, looking frantically around the house, though for what, Abby had no idea. She looked like she’d woken up to find herself in a completely strange place, which was a feeling Abby was all too familiar with. She peered at Abby sharply, and again Abby had the feeling that Katrin might suddenly come at her, and this time not to hug her.

“We have to go,” Katrin said.

Abby frowned. “What, away? You want to leave?”

The idea seemed to appeal to Katrin; she took a deep breath and her eyes opened wider. Then she shook her head again and nodded at the door. “No. We need to go to the gathering place. Aaron will need your strength. And mine. Micah is stronger, and more emotional. He has no bond to guide him. He’s never really connected with Granny. Aaron has us, and Luca, and his parents. If we give him that strength, he’ll win.”

“Then… Micah’s going to die.”

“Yes,” Katrin said. “He must. This has to end.”

The crowd got even noisier as Abby and Katrin returned, but it wasn’t the two women’s approach everyone was interested in—it was Aaron and Micah, who moved into the clearing at almost the same time. They were both nude, something that startled Abby until she realized that the lack of clothing would make it easier for them to shift into their wolf form.

She and Katrin found a place near the front of the crowd, not far from Aaron’s parents and Luca, and Katrin took firm hold of Abby’s hand.

There’d be no running away now. But did she want to?

Yes.

When this was over. She’d explain to Aaron that she wasn’t cut out for a life among the wolves, that their society was too different, something she wouldn’t be able to blend into the way Granny Sara had. Surely he’d be able to understand that; after all, he hadn’t been able to fit into human society and feel comfortable there.

The two men paced back and forth, eyes on each other. Without the camouflage of clothing, it was clear that Micah was the larger of the two: a couple of inches taller, heavier, more muscular. Aaron was broad-shouldered, but Micah’s shoulders were massive, almost as large as Daniel’s.

“Give him your strength,” Katrin murmured.

Abby looked over at Aaron’s family. They were all focused on him, eyes half-shut in what almost looked like prayer. Maybe it was; maybe they were praying that Aaron would walk away from this in one piece.

For barely a second, Aaron glanced in Abby’s direction.

He couldn’t afford to be distracted, and what they had between them was nothing
but
a distraction, one in which the rest of the world disappeared, where nothing was important but the two of them. Abby had felt that over and over in the time that she’d been here, and had luxuriated in it, that feeling that nothing mattered to Aaron but her, that he would surrender anything and everything to be with her. Now, he needed to let that go. If he let her distract him, Micah would kill him.

The combatants got closer, now only a few yards apart. Each step they took was deliberate, carefully calculated, and Abby saw in Micah’s eyes a sharpness and clarity that hadn’t been there before.

She also saw him glance at Katrin… and frown.

He knew, then. Knew that even now Katrin wouldn’t support him, wouldn’t provide him with any kind of strength.

He sprang at Aaron suddenly, the leap as powerful as anything a real wolf could do. He struck Aaron full in the chest and knocked him down, and almost instantly the two of them were rolling in the dirt, pushing, grasping, using elbows and fists and knees to steer their combined form where each of them wanted to go.

For a moment Aaron was on top, then Micah regained his advantage. He delivered a blow to Aaron’s jaw that made Abby gasp, but Aaron barely seemed to notice; because Micah had had to draw back to give himself room to strike, there was space between them that Aaron used to raise his knee and thrust, shoving Micah away from him long enough for him to scramble to his feet.

Micah was up instantly, readying for another blow, but Aaron landed a solid punch to Micah’s jaw that sent him stumbling backward.

Abby caught a glimpse of Granny Sara, who had knotted her hands together and had them pressed to her mouth. The older woman seemed no more supportive of this than Abby was, but she made no move to leave.

She’s all he has
, Abby thought, and for a second that made her feel sorry for Micah.

Micah, who’d turned his loneliness and despair and need into a reason to nearly kill Luca.

She watched the fight with an ache in her gut that came as much from the absence of Aaron’s passion as it did from watching the two men hammering each other. She struggled to find a way to send some sense of support to Aaron, but she felt no more connected to him than she did to any of the other wolves. He seemed like a stranger now, someone she’d found fighting in the street.

Aaron flung out a leg, caught Micah on the back of his thigh, and sent him sprawling to the ground. Micah flipped to all fours, lifted his head to glare at Aaron, and then Abby saw him begin to change.

Aaron had no choice. He too dropped to all fours.

Limbs bent and shortened. Shoulders drew in. Fur flooded from their skin, covering them in thick pelts, Aaron’s mostly blond, Micah’s a deep charcoal gray that melted into black.

They snarled at each other, teeth bared as they circled, their readiness to attack plain in each step they took.

Katrin gripped Abby’s hand so tightly that Abby thought her bones would snap.

A collective gasp rose from the crowd as the two wolves slammed together. If not for the colors of their fur, it would have been hard to tell one from the other; they spun and rolled, feet scrambling for purchase on the dusty ground, teeth looking for purchase of another kind. One of the wolves let out a scream as a bite sank into his flesh; they were flailing frantically, advantage shifting almost by the second.

Someone in the crowd howled. Then another, and another.

Blood was flowing now, smearing the coats of both wolves as they struggled. A bite caught Aaron’s leg, but he whirled and clamped his jaws onto Micah’s shoulder.