Chapter Nine – Darius
Darius pulled in his final mouthful of blood before he licked the two holes in Cleo's neck, letting the natural coagulant in his saliva clot the wounds and stop the bleeding. Both were dressed again. Pale slivers of light were starting to seep in through the tent walls, and they didn't want to be caught by surprise when the Alpha decided their night was over.
"You can do this," Cleo said, stroking his face. "You're going to defeat the Thunder and we will go home."
"Of course."
He was brimming with energy. Between making love to his wife and drinking her blood, he felt powerful enough to destroy the whole pack of shifters. He knew he had to be wary of overconfidence, though. The Thunder was clearly a powerful shifter. He would not be easy to kill.
Darius clasped Cleo's hand and brought it to his lips. "Thank you for last night."
Cleo ducked her head. "I suppose it was different from what we've done before."
"I don't mean about making love to you. I mean what followed. You told me everything about yourself, and let me tell you everything about myself." Darius pressed another quick kiss to her lips. "From this day forward, we'll have a much stronger relationship. You'll have to introduce me to your sister when we get home."
Cleo nodded. Her eyes shone with tears, and he knew she was thinking that inescapable if. If they went home. If he survived the Alpha. If the shifters let them go when he did.
"You're strong, brave, and skilled," Cleo said. "You can defeat him. I know you can."
"Of course I can. I might let him get in a few blows, though, so he doesn't feel bad." Darius tried for his best rakish grin. Cleo laughed and kissed him.
It wasn't long afterward that the shifters came for them. They were brought out of the tent, and though Cleo clung to his hand, they pulled her away. Darius' muscles roped as he snarled, wanting to leap after them and tear apart the shifters that dared to put their hands on his wife. But he had to remain calm.
He doubted that if he were to attack the shifters would kill him outright. They would just make him waste his energy while injuring him enough to give him a serious disadvantage against the Alpha. Darius began to undo his uniform jacket. He would need better mobility against the bear than it allowed.
Stay calm and stay focused. He is going to die, not only for Cleo but for the sake of the vampire kingdom. When he is gone, the shifter invasion will fall apart.
The vampire was propelled to a place just outside the tents. A large ring had been burned into the grass, and it was cleared of any small debris. The Thunder was already waiting for him, crouched and ready to pounce. He was naked, other than a pair of black shorts, his muscles gleaming with oil. To prevent Darius was getting a proper grip on him, no doubt.
"The rules of this match are as follows," the Thunder said, still crouched. "The first to be expelled from the ring, pass out or die, loses. If I win, you die and your mate becomes mine. If you win, you can keep her."
He straightened, but in that instant, Darius had a flash of epiphany. His heart leaped. He was already fighting for his wife and kingdom, why not make it official?
"Cleo is already mine. I will defend her against the likes of you, but if I win I get more than what I already had." He glanced at Cleo to gauge her reaction. Her eyes were wide, but she nodded at him to continue. She must have guessed what he was doing.
The Alpha's eyes narrowed. "What do you want, then, vampire?"
"If I defeat you, then you allow me and my wife to return to our home in safety. You do not follow up with any assassination attempts, even if I don't kill you," Darius said, straightening his shoulders. His heart hammered, but his mind was set. "Furthermore, if I win, all of the shifters here leave vampire territory and surrender in this war."
"I would expect a vampire to demand no less." The Alpha snarled but shrugged. "Very well."
"Will these other shifters obey if Darius kills you?" Cleo shouted desperately.
"I am their Alpha. They will obey. It will give you even more to lose as I choke the life out of you, vampire, to know that you failed your kingdom as well as your mate."
The bear pulled a knife from his belt.
"Wait," Darius nearly stepped back until he realized it would put him on the outside of the ring, "where's my weapon?"
"You don't get one."
The Thunder charged him, muscles strained and tendons popping from his neck. Pure hatred shone from the man's eyes. Darius pulled in a quick breath before running straight back at the bear. As the beast sprang forward, shouting, the knife in his hand glinting, Darius ducked. He slid under the bear's feet and twisted on the ground, aiming a solid kick at the bear's knees as he landed.
Darius jumped back to his feet as the bear stumbled. He followed it up, punching the bear in the kidneys. An arm flew back. He ducked, but it clipped him on the top of his head. The sheer force of impact made him stumble. The Thunder roared, swinging the knife at him. Darius blocked him, using both arms against the bear's one. The force of the blow still forced him back a few steps.
In the back of his mind, Darius knew that the shifters around them were shouting, that somewhere was Cleo's voice as well, telling him not to give up. His muscles strained as he fought to keep the knife from plunging into his body.
A huge fist sunk into his stomach. Pain exploded through his body, blinding him. He was just able to keep his hands wrapped around the thick wrist, to keep the knife away. His heartbeat had nearly stopped from the blow. When a second one came, stealing his breath, Darius did the only thing he could.
He lunged forward, clamping his teeth in the shifter's shoulder. The hand with the knife jerked and the bear pulled back. Darius took the opportunity to put distance between them, spitting out blood. It tasted awful like he had dragged his tongue through diesel.
The bear inspected his shoulder. It was dribbling blood, but the wound was superficial. It would be healed before Darius had a chance to get his breath back. His lungs felt like an elephant was sitting on his chest.
"I should have expected such a low blow from a vampire," the bear growled.
"Low blow?" Cleo shouted from somewhere. "You're the one with the knife! If this were a fair fight you'd already be dead, but you're too much of a coward to face him on equal footing."
The bear turned, snarling. Darius saw the opportunity to attack – but he was just able to draw in a single breath. If he attacked now, his strength would be greatly diminished. The Thunder would easily turn the attack against him.
"And as for you, you wuss of a vampire, just take him out!"
Darius couldn't help but smile. Always directly to the point. It was exactly what he needed. He didn't bother wasting time looking for his wife in the crowd.
He ran forward, springing off the ground right before he clashed with the bear. The shifter spun on his heel to follow him, but Darius kicked him hard in the face before landing lightly and driving his knuckles hard into the bear's abs.
The bear gasped for breath a moment, but raised his knife again and shook off the blows. Rage was still in his eyes, but there was something else as well. Desperation. Pain. And even as they continued to trade blows, Darius suddenly felt a surge of sympathy for his opponent. If their positions had been reversed and it had been Cleo to die… wouldn't he have done the same thing?
There were only two options for the shifter. Revenge or death. There was nothing else for him. Not without his mate.
Silence fell around them. It was just the two of them, fighting for so much more than their own lives. And when Darius twisted the knife from his opponent's hand and drove it through his throat, there was no joy on his face. There was no fear in the Thunder, either.
"I'm sorry," Darius whispered, pulling the knife back out.
The bear sagged, and he caught the massive brute and lowered him slowly to the ground.
"I'm sorry for killing your mate," the vampire whispered. "I hope there's an afterlife where you may be rejoined with her."
He got to his feet and backed away from the bear. Glancing around, he saw absolute fear on the faces of the shifters. Maybe that was a good sign. His shoulders slumped as he gestured to their Alpha.
"The last thing he sees should not be the face of his enemy."
The shifters stirred. A second man, almost as big as the bear he had just defeated, stepped forward. "Take your mate and leave. We will do as was promised and leave vampire territory."
Darius nodded at him. Nobody challenged him as he went to Cleo's side. Tears shone on her face and there were red scratches oozing blood on her arms. He picked her up, holding her close, and started walking. He knew in his gut that the shifters would honor the agreement their Alpha had made. The war, at last, was over.
If only there was a way this could have ended without violence, he thought sadly. But at least it is over now.