CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Isabella didn’t know what the hell Jason was up to, but ignoring his request for them to meet in the library was futile—especially when Isaac heard the last part of the conversation, and she reluctantly had to give the phone to him. Dylan was watching the whole exchange in puzzlement, but made no comment and instead sidled up closer to her as support.
The heat of his body so near was distracting enough as it was, but with him in a suit tonight and looking too polished and handsome for his own good, she was barely able to concentrate on any conversation. He, in the meantime, hadn’t missed a beat, charming everyone with his knowledge of all things political and culture-wise, at the same time aggravating her older brother quietly.
The pretend thing was working—a little too much, in fact, so that Isabella had to remind herself a couple of times it wasn’t real. Dylan was doing everything he could to make sure the crowd knew he was serious about courting her, and it reflected in the way he touched her arm and leaned a little close to whisper in her ear, even when he was just saying random stuff. The fact that Isaac wasn’t in his usual pleasant mood at parties like this spoke of what he thought of the courting thing, and what he thought of Isabella’s non-protest of it.
If it worked as planned, it would result in him being careless with his thoughts, or was just going to murder Dylan in his sleep. Either way, it was going to be dangerous for them.
Jason’s sudden call put their plans in a different motion, but they all went nonetheless, waiting until another dance number was up before slipping back in the cave. Isaac led the way while Dylan and Isabella followed behind him, and it was obvious from her older brother’s body language that he didn’t like this interruption one bit.
When they got to the library, Jason had already set up four drinks for them, offering the first glass to Isaac. Isaac ignored the offer and demanded to know why the hell he was being called here and away from his own party.
With a shrug, Jason took a sip of the drink that was declined. Then, to Isabella’s shock, he began to go into detail of their suspicion of Isaac’s involvement in the slavery business, starting from the note up to the other evidence they found in the vault.
It was safe to say that Isaac didn’t like this accusation one bit. What calm expression he’d held dissolved immediately into one of anger, reminding Isabella of the man that was quick to temper beneath. He got in Jason’s face, panther claws coming out.
“Who exactly orchestrated this?” he all but snarled.
Jason smirked. “Mr. Masters had been kind enough to assist me in the investigation.”
Her name wasn’t mentioned, much to her surprise. But if it had been, she doubted it would have made a difference with the way Isaac’s blue eyes flared, pinning Dylan in place with a look of utter dislike.
“You betrayed my trust,” he told Dylan, voice full of quiet menace.
Isabella shot Jason a look before making a move to step forward—but before she could do so, Dylan patted her back once in warning and stepped forward first, facing the other coolly and nodding his head.
“It was necessary,” was all Dylan said.
A thunderous look filled Isaac before he composed himself. Isabella tensed, knowing it was the calm before the storm.
“In our clan,” Isaac began, “We have a tradition. We challenge those who betray us to a fight to death, especially if we have something to prove.”
“And what is it that you want to prove?” Dylan asked, a hint of curiosity in his tone.
“That everything you’re saying is lies,” Isaac replied. “And you will be served justice for it.”
There wasn’t even any hesitation when Dylan answered. “I’m not lying. And I accept your challenge.”
Isabella shot Jason another look, but Jason was too busy smirking. As they filed out of the room and tried not to let a fight break out now, Isabella did her best to walk between the two—her older brother and her pretend fiancé, one of whose life was going to be lost by the end of the night.
The scary part was, she didn’t know which one she wanted to make it out alive.
*****
She’d scolded Jason as all the guests left about how he didn’t think things through and this was the worst idea he’s had so far—but her younger brother merely assured her that this was for the best, because he had a plan at hand that involved throwing something at Isaac to help create an accidental confession. He apparently had a man on the inside working with him, with a recording ready for foolproof evidence.
“I’ll stop the fight before they can kill each other,” Jason said. “Just trust me on this one, Iz.”
Reluctantly, Isabella nodded her head and stood beside him as they gathered in a circle around the pair.
The panther clan tradition in regards to a battle to the death was like this: in the middle of an open area, with only the panther shifters as witnesses and circling the fight until it was finished. This meant that none of the leaders got elevated and they were all equal, something that was important as they reverted to their very beastly nature.
Jason’s hand on her arm was a small comfort, and she held on to it like an anchor as the two shifter leaders shifted—Isaac to his panther form, sleek and black, his light blue eyes iridescent in the firelight.
But it was Dylan who took her breath away.
His wolf form was pure black, as black as Isaac’s panther form, but with more fur and an almost shiny glow. It was such a contrast to his blond human hair that it left her speechless. She’d heard shifters could shift to the opposite of their form only when they were really powerful, and this was proof—proof that Dylan’s power had been hidden all along.
They stalked each other in the circle, paws deadly quiet on the soil as they measured each other out. Then, in a blur of motion and strength, they attacked at the same time, and Isabella’s eyes watched claws striking out before the blur was too much for her to follow.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect the guy to be courting you when this all started out,” Jason whispered in her ear. “And based on your reactions to his…actions, I take it you’re going to say yes if he offers his hand in marriage?”
Isabella shrugged, distracted as Isaac took a swipe in. Blood sprayed on the ground, the smell rusty and fresh. Her own blood was pumping, and she knew it was the beast in her raring to get out. After all, she hadn’t let it out in days. “They both have to survive first.”
“Yeah, well, I should have expected where that was going, I guess.”
“Where what was going?” Isabella asked automatically, though she wasn’t really listening. Jason needed to stop talking and pay attention to the fight if he wanted his so-called plan to come to fruit. She was still slightly pissed about that and was going to keep railing at him later in private.
But not now. Now was for the fight.
The two were evenly matched, with Dylan maybe winning by a whisper. It wasn’t much, because Isaac gave as good as he got, and soon they were both covered with wounds. Isaac was the more graceful one with his cat-like abilities, but Dylan was a pure, raw aggressor, his wolf instincts never allowing him to be manipulated.
She’d have watched more and would have ignored Jason altogether—if not for the next words out of his mouth. He said it casually, almost as an afterthought, and her mind told her he was just talking for the sake of talking.
“Whatever happened in that fat man’s office, it really shouldn’t cloud your judgment about Masters. He may be our enemy for all we know, and him kissing you was part of some elaborate seduction plan.”
Her blood ran cold.
She had never told anyone about her kiss with Dylan in Henley’s office, and she doubted Henley would have given that information freely to an enemy.
Things clicked into place as she realized this wasn’t a fight to get Isaac to reveal his involvement—because he was never involved in the first place.
This was a fight to either usurp Isaac or kill Dylan altogether.
And Jason had orchestrated it all.
She took a step back—a mistake, she knew, and something she was going to regret for a long time. As it was, she glanced at Jason.
His blue eyes widened in realization. Then, regret.
Isabella started shifting, ready to break the fight and shout. But a hand clamped on her arm, bringing her back. She turned her head to growl—
And found Clay on her other side, essentially trapping her.
Clay didn’t use force. He used something else, a quiet move, and Isabella felt the needle slide inside the skin of her hip smoothly. Then her whole body became numb in the span of a second.
They both led her away. No one saw.