Chapter Seventeen
Malcolm spared a glance at Irina as they pulled off a dirt road and up to an old barn on the site of a long since abandoned corn farm. Something about all the farming they did in the Valley of the Sun confused him. Growing so much food in the desert just seemed unnatural, even to a werewolf.
Part of the barn roof had caved in, and colorful tags suggested some teens or gang members had gone far out of their way to find somewhere to party. The main house was nothing but a foundation and a few wall remnants.
Hardy weeds covered the area, though much of the land was hard, cracked dirt. Removed from the main path of the summer monsoons, this part of the valley received very little rain. Malcolm was starting to see why the place had been abandoned. Some poor sucker probably had tried to make a good go of it, though.
Yuri stood in front of the door, his arms crossed, and an annoyingly familiar smirk sitting on his face. The smug prick looked like he was convinced he’d get an easy win. Malcolm was more than happy to correct his mistaken impression.
The werewolf stepped out of the car. Irina stepped out the other side, paler than normal.
She stared at Yuri, sadness rather than fear on her face. “You don’t have to do this. There doesn’t need to be more bloodshed. You can just let me go.”
The werebear chuckled. “No, my little carnation. There must be death until you learn your lesson: that you will always be mine.” He turned toward Malcolm. “You’re brave, wolf. I’ll give you that, but you will die here, and once you die, she comes back with me. Know that what you are about to do is futile.”
Malcolm growled. “There’s only one person not walking away from here, and it’s not me.”
A cloud of dust down the road signaled someone was approaching. Everyone stopped and waited. They couldn’t risk exposure to humans not in the know. First a fancy black Porsche came into view, followed by a familiar red Ford F150, Caleb’s truck.
Malcolm relaxed and took a deep breath. Despite the fact he was about to fight a werebear, he wasn’t that tense. There was a calmness that had come with him committing to the decision so early.
Yuri belly laughed. “More people to watch you die, little wolf. Maybe you’d have a chance if you and your entire pack attacked me at once, but by the time I’ve killed you, it’ll be too late.”
The Porsche and truck pulled to a stop. The black-suited Greg stepped out of his car, sunglasses on. Caleb exited his truck a second later.
Greg eyed Yuri. “This the bear?”
Malcolm nodded. “Yeah.”
Greg lowered his glasses, revealing his reptilian eyes. Malcolm swore he’d never seen the guy use contacts. Someday the dragon was going to screw up and show his eyes to the wrong person. What did dragons do when they were the ones messing up?
“I’m Greg Thomas, and I represent the King of Maricopa County.” The weredragon offered a thin smile to Yuri. “Now I happen to know that even in Moscow it’s proper procedure to greet the local dragons and let them know you’re visiting, but you didn’t do that. At minimum, we find that rude.”
Yuri shrugged. “I didn’t expect to stay long. I apologize to you and your King.”
Greg nodded. “If you win, I take it you’ll get the hell out of our county immediately?”
The other man nodded. “Yes. And I’ll be taking the girl.”
Malcolm growled.
Greg held up a hand. “If you don’t like it, just make sure you win, Malcolm.”
Caleb and Malcolm both snorted at the same time.
The weredragon nodded to the barn. “Too many drones and satellites these days. You’ll be doing it in there just to be sure. I’m guessing one way or the other, this won’t take long.”
Yuri shrugged. “I don’t care.” He stomped over to the rickety door to the barn and threw it open. It fell off its hinges.
Greg chuckled and followed him. Caleb and Malcolm moved next, followed by Irina.
Rays of sunlight peeking in through holes in the roof and walls highlighted the swirling dust in the empty barn. Malcolm glanced around. There was a lot of space to move. It’d work well. It played to his main advantage, speed.
Yuri stared at Caleb. “You’re the alpha?”
“Yeah.”
“And you’re not going to interfere?”
Caleb shook his head. “Malcolm’s asked me not to, and I think he can kick your ass. So why would I need to?” He gave Yuri a merry smile.
“I see where he gets his arrogance now. I’m sorry your pack will soon be missing a member.”
Greg leaned up against a wall and crossed his arms. “Just to be clear on the terms, Malcolm and Yuri are to fight, with the possibility of death. A surrender can be offered, but it’s up to the other shifter to accept it. I’m not going to interfere either way. Does everybody understand?”
Yuri grinned. “Beg all you want, wolf. I’ll still kill you.”
Malcolm snorted. “All you’re good at is scaring women, bear.”
Irina moved over near Caleb. She laced her fingers together tightly, fear in her eyes.
“You don’t have to watch,” Malcolm said.
She shook her head. “I have to. I owe it to you.”
Yuri offered a booming chuckle. “Good, watch this wolf die, you disloyal whore.”
In a blur, the man and his clothes disappeared, replaced by a gargantuan brown bear. Yuri stood on his hind legs, easily twelve feet in height. His loud bellow rattled the barn shutters.
Malcolm cracked his knuckles. “You know what they say about the bigger they are…”
The werewolf’s human form stretched and twisted until it was replaced by a large dark-furred wolf. Normally, the massive size of his wolf form compared to a normal wolf or a dog would have been intimidating, but standing against a werebear that made the average bear look short, he looked like a lost puppy.
Malcolm let out a long, low growl. He sprinted toward Yuri.
The bear swept a claw at him, missing by an inch. The wolf didn’t want to risk the delay a bite might take and was grateful that his unnatural anatomy granted him swiping claws. A quick rake of the bear’s leg as Malcolm ran by drew out a loud growl.
The wolf didn’t stop moving. He rushed several yards away before turning and growled.
On a human, the attack would have ripped out half a leg. On a wolf, it would have done decent damage, but it’d barely scratched the bear.
Yuri dropped to all fours and let out a loud roar.
Irina whimpered and clung to Caleb. Greg stepped in front of both the alpha and the woman, his face blank. It was one of the few times Malcolm had ever seen him not look smug or annoyed.
The wolf’s lack of attention almost cost him as Yuri charged, his massive jaws open. Malcolm leapt to the side just in time to avoid the bear raking him with both claws and crushing him with his maw.
Malcolm nipped at the bear’s side and then slashed a few times as he ran past the other shifter. Yuri might be strong, but his lack of speed was costing him. The wolf just needed to keep up the attacks. A death by a thousand cuts.
The wolf’s heart pounded, and his blood sang for him to finish off the bear. He pivoted again and charged Yuri who was still facing the other way. He leapt and shut his jaw around one of the bear’s back legs, sinking deep into the muscle.
The bear roared and kicked back, tossing the wolf. Malcolm rolled several feet before hopping back to his feet and shaking his head.
Yuri rounded on him, growling. Blood dripped to the ground from his latest wound, but his earlier wound had already stopped bleeding. He’d obviously not been away from the forest enough to eliminate his regeneration.
The bear let out another bone-shattering roar. Malcolm darted toward him and altered course at the last second, avoiding a claw for his efforts. He leapt atop the bear and planted his fangs into the thick hide, all the while scraping away at the fur and flesh with his claws. Blood spurted from the wounds.
Again, Malcom was struck by how he would have easily killed a human or even another wolf at this point, but it didn’t matter. Even if Yuri was weakened by being away from the forest, he wasn’t to be taken lightly.
Yuri shot up on his hind legs and tried to shake the wolf off his back. He clawed at his back, but his arms couldn’t reach Malcolm.
The problem with fighting a shifter was that even another shifter could get too caught up in seeing just a large animal and forgetting the intelligence behind the beast, which was probably why Malcolm didn’t expect Yuri to fall backward.
The wolf dropped to the ground and rolled out of the way just in time to avoid being crushed by almost a ton of flesh. A loud thud echoed throughout the empty barn, and it was fortunate for the bear that central Arizonians tended to eschew basements.
Malcolm sprinted toward a wall and spun around, growling. Fresh blood stained the walls and dusty ground now, but Yuri didn’t appear to be moving all that much slower. He rolled onto his stomach and then stood on all fours, letting out a deep, low growl.
The wolf bobbed his head. Even if the bear was healing, he wasn’t healing instantly. If Malcolm kept up his harrying tactics, he’d get his chance to dig out Yuri’s heart or rip the asshole’s head off. The wolf ran toward the bear, again planning to dodge to the side at the last moment.
Five yards. Three yards. Malcolm changed direction, but Yuri didn’t take the bait. He lashed out with a claw slamming into the wolf and ripping into his side. Pain shot through the wolf’s body as he flew across the room from the force of the blow and crashed hard into a wall.