path toward Granny Sara’s useless grandson.
He remembered, now, noticing Micah’s scent among all the others in the glen and thinking how unlikely that seemed. Like the other scents, it had been full of rich emotion, full of what Aaron had assumed was lust.
It wasn’t lust. It was hatred.
He thought Micah might try to run, but he didn’t. He simply stood where he was, watching Aaron approach, his expression dull and unreadable—but there was something burning in his eyes.
“It was you,” Aaron said when he reached the other wolf.
Micah blinked lazily at him.
“It was you,” Aaron repeated. “You attacked my brother and meant for him to die. You’ve committed a grave offense against my family, and the entire pack. My brother should challenge you, but he won’t be strong enough for weeks.”
Micah seemed unperturbed, but that quiet fire was still burning in his eyes.
“I speak in his place,” Aaron said. “I challenge you, Micah.”
“Do you?” Micah murmured.
“I do. I’ll announce it to the pack. Tomorrow at sunrise, I will fight you until one of us is dead.”
Fourteen
“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
He remembered, now, noticing Micah’s scent among all the others in the glen and thinking how unlikely that seemed. Like the other scents, it had been full of rich emotion, full of what Aaron had assumed was lust.
It wasn’t lust. It was hatred.
He thought Micah might try to run, but he didn’t. He simply stood where he was, watching Aaron approach, his expression dull and unreadable—but there was something burning in his eyes.
“It was you,” Aaron said when he reached the other wolf.
Micah blinked lazily at him.
“It was you,” Aaron repeated. “You attacked my brother and meant for him to die. You’ve committed a grave offense against my family, and the entire pack. My brother should challenge you, but he won’t be strong enough for weeks.”
Micah seemed unperturbed, but that quiet fire was still burning in his eyes.
“I speak in his place,” Aaron said. “I challenge you, Micah.”
“Do you?” Micah murmured.
“I do. I’ll announce it to the pack. Tomorrow at sunrise, I will fight you until one of us is dead.”
Fourteen
“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
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