King Cave (Forever Evermore, #2)(83)

Ezra purposely blew the smoke his way, but his eyes were on me. “How’s your popcorn?”

“Good, thank you.” My head cocked in thought. He was watching me awfully hard. “Mad?”

His lips quirked around his beer. He swallowed, shaking his head. “No. More…intrigued.”

That was a relief. If he had been upset about Rose I probably wouldn’t have had it in me to apologize. “Good beer?” I munched on my food with my eyes on him, returning the favor.

“Yes, thank you.”

Abruptly, a black envelope hovered in front of my face, obstructing my view of Ezra. Blinking, I tilted my head back to look at it. It smelled of wolf and hung in midair, obviously spelled. It had my name on it. Wiping my hands on my pant legs, I plucked it from the air. Shrugging at Ezra when he raised an eyebrow, I opened it curiously.

Read its contents.

Quickly, I wiped all expression from my face.

I had known this would happen. King Kincaid had prepared me for it. Still, it was a shock to the system. But there was nothing to be done except to handle it.

“Problem?” Ezra asked, more than likely scenting my emotions.

“No. Just some Shifter shit,” I mumbled, lying out my ass as I set my popcorn and drink down on the ground, standing. “I’ll be back in a bit.” He stepped in front of me, but I quickly stuffed the envelope in my pocket before he could peek at its contents, smiling up at him. “Nothing major.” He couldn’t be involved in this. It was mine to handle.

His head cocked. “Sure?”

“Mmm-hmm.” I nodded. “I’ll be back before the movie starts.”

Resting against the back of the couch in front of us, he drawled, “Alright.” His lips curled around his cigarette, taking a drag, his green eyes watchful.

I hadn’t fooled him, but he wasn’t going to push so I gave him another smile before turning to where the Kings and Elders were. Elder Merrick was talking with King Nelson, but I caught his eye. His speech faltered. Raising my eyebrows, I tilted my head slightly toward the exit. When he gave the briefest nod, I started moving through the couches, trying not to let my nerves get the better of me. One glance at King Kincaid and Elder Talus, and they were quickly following. There had to be three witnesses for a formal challenge. That was what I had in my pocket, and what I couldn’t believe some f*ck was doing during a time like this. On the brink of war. But there it was.

I had been challenged, Shifter style.

As soon as we were beyond the arena’s doors and heading up the walkway, I pulled the envelope out of my pocket, and handed it to King Kincaid. “I’ve been challenged, like you said would happen.” Probably not the last one I would receive in my lifetime. I was small when Shifters were supposed to be large and strong like the three men around me. That in itself was enough to make Shifters question my strength. Honestly, it wasn’t a bad assumption. I didn’t try to fool myself that I was stronger than them.

“Jesus,” King Kincaid muttered, quickly reviewing the letter’s contents. His feet stalled, before he put them back into motion. “Two? Two people are challenging you?”

“Apparently,” I sighed, rolling my shoulders, utterly tense, pissed…and a little scared. “This is gonna hurt a little.”

“Who signed it?” Elder Talus asked, placing a hand on my shoulder, offering comfort.

“Doesn’t say,” King Kincaid growled, crumpling the letter. “Only that the challenge is now. On the beach.”

“Shifted form, hand-to-hand, or swords?” Elder Merrick asked instantly.

“Hand-to-hand,” I whispered, beginning to stretch my arms. “Maybe we should have a medic on stand-by.” This wasn’t going to be pretty. Though, if it had been my tiny shifted form…that was a worry to evaluate on another day.

“Shit,” Elder Merrick growled, even as King Kincaid pulled a cell phone from his pocket, calling the medical staff. “Okay…okay. You know where your weak points are. Just don’t let them hit you there.”

I snorted. “Lord help me.” I was going to need it. A formal challenge was to the death.


“Are you sure you want this?” I asked the Shifter woman in front of me. I hadn’t seen her before, but that wasn’t saying much since King Cave was enormous. The other person challenging me was sitting on top of a grassy sand dune, watching silently. He would be next, assuming I made it through this first fight alive. “You have the option to back out.” I could only ask once per Shifter Law.

“Fuck you,” she sneered. As I thought she would. She didn’t appear to like me much. “Do you really think you can lead us through this war? Because I sure as hell don’t.”

My eyebrows rose. “I am going to lead us through a war if it comes to that.” And I attacked.

This was not what I wanted to be doing. Killing a Mystical. We needed every single viable one available to us in the case of war. But, since this was going to happen, I was going to fight the only way I knew how. Quickly, with the surprise of attack. I was going to survive. There was no other option.

Shifter power was allowed, so I hit her first with that. She was incredibly strong, but she didn’t have the Queen’s power. And as she faltered — though I didn’t even use all I had — I jumped, planting my fist into her face.